Tag: perpetual war

Pentagon Tells Congress It Doesn’t Know Who It’s Killing in Latin American Boat Strikes

US War Department officials don’t know the identities of the 61 people who have been extra-judicially executed in US military strikes on boats in the waters near Venezuela and in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, POLITICO reported on Thursday, citing House Democrats who attended a classified briefing on the campaign.

“[The department officials] said that they do not need to positively identify individuals on these vessels to do the strikes, they just need to prove a connection to smuggling,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA). “When we tried to get more information, we did not get satisfactory answers.”

While the Trump administration has cited overdose deaths in the US related to fentanyl to justify the bombing campaign, lawmakers were told in the briefing that the boats that have been targeted were allegedly smuggling cocaine, though the Pentagon has not provided evidence to back up its claims about what the vessels were carrying.

“They argued that cocaine is a facilitating drug of fentanyl, but that was not a satisfactory answer for most of us,” Jacobs said.

The briefing on Thursday came after the Pentagon shut out Democrats from another briefing it held with Republicans a day earlier, which left Democratic senators fuming. Democrats who attended Thursday’s briefing said Pentagon lawyers were pulled from the meeting at the last minute.

“Am I leaving satisfied? Absolutely not. And the last word that I gave to the admiral was, ‘I hope you recognize the constitutional peril that you are in and the peril you are putting our troops in,’” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) told reporters after the briefing, according to CNN.

Jacobs said that, based on what she was told, even if Congress authorized the bombing campaign, it would still be illegal. “[T]here’s nothing that we heard in there that changes my assessment that this is completely illegal, that it is unlawful and even if Congress authorized it, it would still be illegal because there are extrajudicial killings where we have no evidence,” she said.

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America’s $30 Trillion Publicly Held Debt Is 42 Times Larger Than It Was in 1980

In 1980, America’s publicly held debt reached more than $712 billion (about $2.8 trillion in 2025 dollars), or roughly 25 percent of annual U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, that figure is a little over $30 trillion, or around 100 percent of GDP. And as the federal debt grew 42 times larger over that span, the economy grew only tenfold. You can’t expand the numerator four times faster than the denominator for 45 years without courting economic danger.

That’s where we find ourselves. The U.S. is at peace, and despite President Donald Trump’s claims, there’s no national emergency. And yet we’ve only seen debt as a higher share of GDP during the years of 1945, 1946, 2020, and 2021. Then, Republicans and Democrats knew to scale back. Now, debt explodes during emergencies and continues to grow in peacetime.

In 1946, after World War II, debt-to-GDP was 106 percent. It declined to just 25 percent by 1980, not only because of inflation and economic growth but because of real fiscal discipline. With budgets nearly balanced, the fruits of a booming private sector could actually reduce the burden. Beginning in the Reagan era, discipline gave way to a new normal of chronic budget deficits.

Three forces made the shift possible.

First, and the main cause of the mess we are in, is that the entitlement state became enormous yet untouchable. The Social Security reforms of 1983 are a rare example of bipartisan structural reform of a major entitlement program in U.S. history. Since then, despite economic and societal changes, the program has never been reformed. Never mind that it faces insolvency and the potential for automatic benefit cuts of more than 20 percent in 2033. The same is true of our other major debt driver: Medicare. And Medicaid is growing far beyond its original intent.

Democrats, occasionally helped by Republicans, have worked to expand welfare programs meant for lower-income people to those in higher and higher income brackets. The most recent and extreme example is the COVID-19–era expansion of the Obamacare tax credit to wealthier taxpayers, a significant share of whom enjoy early retirement. The fight over its continuation is what the government shutdown is about.

Second, Republicans discovered that promising tax cuts without offsetting spending cuts was politically painless so long as one claims that they “pay for themselves.” There is one rare and recent exception: this year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which included $1.5 trillion in spending reductions over 10 years to offset some of the tax cuts. It’s not enough, but it’s something. Meanwhile, the Democrats love to claim that debt wouldn’t be a problem if the rich paid their “fair share.” They already do pay an enormous amount in taxes. But the numbers still don’t add up.

Finally, the Federal Reserve, starting under then-Chairman Alan Greenspan in 1987, learned how to anesthetize the political pain of budget deficits by keeping interest rates artificially low and monetizing debt. Politicians concluded that they could borrow endlessly without suffering political consequences. The problem is that this only works insofar as investors don’t worry that they will be paid back with inflated dollars.

That illusion has vanished. Interest costs have surged from $372 billion annually just a few years ago to nearly $1 trillion today, surpassing what we spend on defense or Medicaid. Within a decade, yearly interest payments are projected to nearly double, reaching $1.8 trillion. Even without new programs, the built-in deficit would keep rising and outpace economic growth. And Washington keeps adding more deficit spending.

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US Bombs Somalia for Three Consecutive Days

The US has launched three more airstrikes in Somalia over three consecutive days, according to press releases from US Africa Command, as the Trump administration continues to bomb the country at a record pace.

AFRICOM said that it launched an airstrike on October 26 that targeted al-Shabaab about 25 miles north of the southern port city of Kismayo. That same day, the US-backed Somali government said a “precision airstrike” killed an al-Shabaab leader, though the town it said he was targeted in, Bu’ale, is more than 100 miles north of Kismayo, so it’s unclear if it was the same strike.

AFRICOM offered no other details about the strike as it stopped sharing casualty estimates and assessments on potential civilian harm earlier this year. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” the command said.

The command also announced two separate strikes in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, launched on October 27 and October 28. AFRICOM said both strikes targeted the ISIS affiliate in the region and were launched about 53 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aden port city of Bosasso, and shared no other details.

Puntland is not under the control of the US-backed federal government, so the US backs local forces in the region. AFRICOM previously announced airstrikes in Puntland on October 24 and October 26 as Puntland’s security forces said they were intensifying operations against ISIS fighters hiding in caves in the Cal-Miskaad mountains.

Puntland officials claim that the ISIS militants are largely defeated, something they’ve been saying for months. But local sources told Garowe Online that the militants are still entrenched in the area and have resorted to guerrilla tactics and are constantly moving between caves and valleys.

The US has dramatically increased its airstrikes in Somalia this year, and the latest three strikes bring the total number of US bombings in the country this year to 89. The Trump administration has shattered the previous annual record for US airstrikes in Somalia, which President Trump set at 63 back in 2019. For context, President Biden launched a total of 51 airstrikes in Somalia throughout his four years in office, and President Obama launched 48 over eight years.

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Ex-Army Sergeant Sentenced to 4 Years for Offering Secrets to China

A federal judge sentenced a former Army intelligence sergeant to 4 years in prison on Tuesday for offering national defense secrets to China. Sergeant Joseph Daniel Schmidt, who had top secret clearance, served in western Washington at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he worked in military intelligence.

According to court documents, he served in the Army from January 2015 to January 2020. Schmidt was discharged after a mental health episode in late 2019.

The judge said he considered Schmidt’s mental health as well as the seriousness of the crime in sentencing him to 4 years in prison. Schmidt’s public defender requested that he be sentenced for time served, arguing that the crime was the result of schizophrenia. Schmidt mistakenly believed he was “subject to a mind control network operated by the FBI and [was] hoping to warn the Chinese government about the Program,” according to the public defender Dennis Carroll.

In the Army, Schmidt led a team that de-briefed and interrogated potential intelligence sources. His work gave him access to intelligence collection and reporting systems. After being discharged, he kept a device that gave him access to secure military computer networks. He later offered the device to Chinese authorities for them to access the secure system.

“He used his training to provide sensitive information to the Chinese security service. He knew what he was doing was wrong—he was doing web searches for such things as ‘Can you be extradited for treason,’” said Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg in a statement.

In February 2020, Schmidt flew to Turkey. Court documents state that while there, he searched online about defecting from the United States. He also emailed the Chinese consulate offering to share information with a Chinese official in person.

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US to withdraw some troops from NATO’s eastern flank, Romania says

The United States plans to cut the number of troops present on Europe’s eastern flank, including soldiers who were to be stationed at Romania’s Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, Romania’s defence ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said the decision was expected given changes in Washington’s priorities, and that roughly 1,000 U.S. troops would continue to be stationed in Romania. Between 1,000 and 1,200 U.S. troops rotated out a month ago and will not be replaced, it said in a statement.

Washington’s European allies have been told previously by the administration of President Donald Trump that they will need to take more responsibility for their own security as the United States focuses more on its own borders and on the Indo-Pacific region.

“The American decision is to stop the rotation in Europe of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries,” the defence ministry said.

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Trump Directs Pentagon to Start Testing Nuclear Weapons Again

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the Pentagon to begin conducting nuclear weapons tests again after a three-decade moratorium on the practice.

“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.”

Trump posted the statement just before he was set to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two discussed trade issues.

Nuclear tests in the atmosphere, space, or underwater have been banned since the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, which permitted continued underground nuclear testing for several decades.

The United States last conducted a nuclear weapons test underground in September 1992.

That year, President George H.W. Bush announced that the United States would undertake a unilateral moratorium on all nuclear weapons testing, including those conducted underground.

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Israel Declares Gaza Ceasefire Back on After It Kills Over 100 Palestinians, Including 46 Children

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it was re-implementing the ceasefire in Gaza after unleashing heavy airstrikes across the Strip that, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, killed at least 104 Palestinians, including 46 children, and 20 women, though it bombed the Strip again later in the day.

The escalation came after Israel claimed that its troops in Rafah came under attack, which killed one Israeli soldier. Israel accused Hamas of being behind the attack, but according to Israeli media, the IDF doesn’t know if the attack was approved by Hamas leadership or if it was carried out independently by a cell of Palestinian fighters isolated in the Israeli-occupied area. Israel’s Walla news reported that the attack started when Israeli troops were using heavy equipment in the area and a tunnel the militants were hiding in began to collapse.

For its part, Hamas denied involvement and said that it had “no relation to the shooting incident in Rafah and reaffirms its commitment to the cease-fire agreement.” Israel claimed that the bombardment that killed mostly women and children targeted 30 “terror commanders.”

Israeli media reports said that Israel was ready to launch heavy airstrikes in Gaza before the incident and Rafah over claims that Hamas was violating the deal based on a video Israel said showed Hamas staging the discovery of an Israeli body. But the US said there was no evidence Hamas breached the deal and objected to the escalation.

Israel has been violating the Gaza ceasefire deal since it went into effect on October 10 by not allowing the agreed-upon number of aid trucks to enter the Strip, and has also continued attacks in Gaza, killing about 100 before the major escalation on Tuesday. Later on Wednesday, Israel launched another airstrike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, killing at least two people.

Despite the breaches, the US hasn’t offered any public criticism of Israel’s actions and has backed the massive bombardment. “They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back,” President Trump said on Wednesday.

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Intel Operative Tried To Recruit Maduro’s Pilot, Have Him Divert a Flight So That US Authorities Could Arrest Venezuelan Dictator

The ‘betrayal in the skies’ did not happen.

Under the feeble Joe Biden administration, a federal agent developed an operation that, while unsuccessful, demonstrates just how approachable is the inner circle of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

The agent approached Nicolás Maduro’s chief pilot, General Bitner Villegas, with an offer: divert the Venezuelan presidential plane to a place where US authorities could detain him.

In exchange, the pilot would become ‘a very rich man’.

Associated Press reported:

“The conversation was tense, and the pilot left noncommittal, though he provided the agent, Edwin Lopez, with his cell number — a sign he might be interested in helping the U.S. government. Over the next 16 months, even after retiring from his government job in July, Lopez kept at it, chatting with the pilot over an encrypted messaging app.”

The operation – started under Biden but seemingly continued during Trump’s administration – seems very improvised to the observer, but sheds light on the Maduro team’s vulnerabilities.

“’I’m still waiting for your answer’, Lopez wrote the pilot on Aug. 7, attaching a link to a Justice Department press release announcing the reward had risen to $50 million.

Details of the ultimately unsuccessful plan were drawn from interviews with three current and former U.S. officials, as well as one of Maduro’s opponents. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were either not authorized to discuss the effort or feared retribution for disclosing it. The Associated Press also reviewed — and authenticated — text exchanges between Lopez and the pilot.”

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Out Israel for Slaughtering Dozens of Children in Gaza

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Wednesday called out Israel for its heavy bombardment in Gaza and the killing of dozens of children in the Strip.

“Israel’s military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials,” Greene wrote on X. “46 CHILDREN!!! Are these not war crimes?”

Israel’s heavy airstrikes that began on Tuesday pounded targets across Gaza and also killed 20 women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry said that another 253 people were wounded, including 78 children and 84 women.

In recent months, Greene has been outspoken in her opposition to US military aid to Israel and has introduced bills attempting to strip assistance to Israel from the annual Pentagon spending bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act.

Back in July, Greene became the first Republican in Congress to label Israel’s campaign in Gaza a genocide. “It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,” she said.

Greene has also clashed with the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC after it attacked her in response to her criticism of Israel. “The truth is AIPAC needs to register as a foreign lobbyist by US law because they are representing the secular government of nuclear armed Israel 100%!!!” Greene wrote on X in August.

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Inside The Trump Administration’s “Master Plan” For Gaza Regime Change

On October 10, the latest Gaza ceasefire was officially declared. According to the plan, ‘Phase One’ of the ceasefire was supposed to include a full cessation of hostilities, the mutual exchange of captives on both sides, with pledges for at least 400 humanitarian aid trucks to enter the besieged coastal territory for five days and an unlimited number afterwards.

From day one, Israel not only violated the ceasefire agreement through shooting dead a number of Palestinian civilians, but also unleashed a range of Palestinian collaborator militias to begin targeting Gaza’s local security forces. Hamas, as the governing force inside the Gaza Strip decided to re-deploy some 7,000 police and security officers to the streets of the war-ravaged territory, attempting to restore order after its forces were prevented from operating during Israel’s relentless bombardments.

Although Israel’s own forces have directly murdered over 100 Palestinian civilians since the start of the ceasefire, it had decided to switch its strategy on October 10 to using proxy forces to do its bidding instead of its own soldiers. The insidious plot, or “master plan” that has been in the works over the past two years, as US Envoy Steve Witkoff admitted during a recent interview on 60-minutes, also involves carving up Gaza into cantons ruled by separate forces.

This plot is a strategy for a multi-layered scheme that will seek to effect regime change, and in its worst iteration means the tax payer will foot the bill for another multi-national war of aggression — the goal being the completion of the objectives Israel failed to achieve through its own military operations.

In order to fully understand this scheme, all the relevant factors must be explored.

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