The Front Page Cover
~ Featuring ~
What's behind Trump's new executive actions
by Byron York
.
More Consequences of Abandoning Iraq
by National Security Desk: The Islamic State is losing ground — that’s the good news. The bad news is that our Kurdish allies are now facing a civil war with our Iraqi allies.
It’s hugely encouraging that the Islamic State has been beaten back by a joint effort of U.S.-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The road hasn’t been easy. In 2014, when the Iraqi army’s divisions collapsed and abandoned the northern region to the Islamic State, the Kurds’ Peshmerga saved the day, driving back the Islamic State, including saving Kirkuk. Gradually, that battle continued and the Islamic State is now a shell of its former self. Indeed, the Kurds also this week achieved victory over the Islamic State in its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.
But with the Islamic State threat being reduced, and once the Kurds voted to break away from Iraq last month — a referendum opposed by the U.S. — the Iraqi government turned on them with its increasingly capable military, taking back Kirkuk in the process.
So far, Shiite militias are playing only a supporting role to the Iraqi army, but that may change. Ed Morrissey writes, “The Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias appear to be driving this outcome, forcing [Iraqi Prime Minister] Haider al-Abadi to act with force against the Kurds — and thereby confirming the Kurds’ worst fears about the Iraq federation’s future direction. If Iraq falls completely under Iran’s thumb, it will spell the end of the autonomy that Kurds have enjoyed since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.” Indeed, Iraq post-American withdrawal has come ever more under the influence of Iran, which just happens to be ticked off at Trump’s decertification of the nuclear deal.
On that note, David French, a veteran of the U.S. fight in Iraq, highlights the real lesson here: Barack liar-nObama’s disastrous withdrawal from Iraq. “Perhaps the best way to plot a course ahead is to remember the road behind,” French argues. “Back in 2008, we won a military victory in Iraq. In the aftermath of that victory, we withdrew our troops from the country, leaving Iraq to its own devices. The result was catastrophic.”
So, he says, “‘Win and leave’ won’t work. There is too much volatility, and the costs of instability are too high. There’s no guarantee that ‘win and stay’ will yield the results we want, but by staying we’ll retain our power and influence. We know all too well the cost of withdrawal. It’s time we discovered the benefits of long-term, strategic engagement.”
The Trump administration must back the Kurds and pressure the Iraqi government to work out a deal. Abandoning our Kurdish allies would send all the wrong signals in a volatile region. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/51912
by National Security Desk: The Islamic State is losing ground — that’s the good news. The bad news is that our Kurdish allies are now facing a civil war with our Iraqi allies.It’s hugely encouraging that the Islamic State has been beaten back by a joint effort of U.S.-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The road hasn’t been easy. In 2014, when the Iraqi army’s divisions collapsed and abandoned the northern region to the Islamic State, the Kurds’ Peshmerga saved the day, driving back the Islamic State, including saving Kirkuk. Gradually, that battle continued and the Islamic State is now a shell of its former self. Indeed, the Kurds also this week achieved victory over the Islamic State in its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.
But with the Islamic State threat being reduced, and once the Kurds voted to break away from Iraq last month — a referendum opposed by the U.S. — the Iraqi government turned on them with its increasingly capable military, taking back Kirkuk in the process.
So far, Shiite militias are playing only a supporting role to the Iraqi army, but that may change. Ed Morrissey writes, “The Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias appear to be driving this outcome, forcing [Iraqi Prime Minister] Haider al-Abadi to act with force against the Kurds — and thereby confirming the Kurds’ worst fears about the Iraq federation’s future direction. If Iraq falls completely under Iran’s thumb, it will spell the end of the autonomy that Kurds have enjoyed since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.” Indeed, Iraq post-American withdrawal has come ever more under the influence of Iran, which just happens to be ticked off at Trump’s decertification of the nuclear deal.
On that note, David French, a veteran of the U.S. fight in Iraq, highlights the real lesson here: Barack liar-nObama’s disastrous withdrawal from Iraq. “Perhaps the best way to plot a course ahead is to remember the road behind,” French argues. “Back in 2008, we won a military victory in Iraq. In the aftermath of that victory, we withdrew our troops from the country, leaving Iraq to its own devices. The result was catastrophic.”
So, he says, “‘Win and leave’ won’t work. There is too much volatility, and the costs of instability are too high. There’s no guarantee that ‘win and stay’ will yield the results we want, but by staying we’ll retain our power and influence. We know all too well the cost of withdrawal. It’s time we discovered the benefits of long-term, strategic engagement.”
The Trump administration must back the Kurds and pressure the Iraqi government to work out a deal. Abandoning our Kurdish allies would send all the wrong signals in a volatile region. ~The Patriot Post
https://patriotpost.us/articles/51912
.
Napolitano – Why No Probe of FBI Cover
Up and liar-Clinton Russia Uranium Bribes
by rickwells.us
{rickwells.us} ~ David Asman calls the report shocking, although no news of corruption coming out of the DC Swamp shocks anyone anymore... It’s rotten to the core, and we know it. Shocking news would be along the lines that a trace of integrity remains in either the DOJ or FBI, particularly in their leadership. Asman cites a report from The Hill which states “That the liar-nObama administration approved of a Russian of about 25% of all US uranium reserves even though the FBI had warned of massive bribes, kickbacks and elements of extortion.” He follows that up with the involvement of “the untouchable” liar-Hillary Clinton, saying, “There were also serious questions raised about Russian-related donations to the liar-Clinton Foundation from individuals working on the uranium deal at a time when liar-Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.”...All very good questions. https://rickwells.us/napolitano-fbi-clinton-russia-uranium/.
The FBI Found The Smoking Gun
That Could Send Loretta Lynch To Prison
.
Jeff Sessions testifies on Comey,
Russia investigation at Senate hearing
by foxnews.com
{foxnews.com} ~ Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice," where he is expected to face questions a wide-range of questions including on the Russia investigation and former FBI director James Comey. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/18/jeff-sessions-testifies-on-comey-russia-investigation-at-senate-hearing-live-blog.html.
Recent Reports Suggest liar-Obama Administration Covered for the liar-Clintons on More than One Occasion
by Kemberlee Kaye
{legalinsurrection.com} ~ The liar-nObama administration ran interference for liar-Hillary on more than one occasion (that we know of), if two recent reports are to be believed... First, there’s the issue of the liar-Clinton Foundation’s dealings with Canadian Uranium One sold to Russians, which include a bribery scandal the FBI was aware of, and in which the DOJ chose not to reveal until after the deal was done. In 2015, the story was an issue because the donations were not publicly disclosed when the liar-Clinton’s were promising complete transparency on all liar-Clinton Foundation transactions while liar-Hillary was serving as Secretary of State. Now, it’s resurfaced for a different reason — the FBI was aware of the bribes, and sat on the evidence for four years...Why isn't this being investigated and brought forward? https://legalinsurrection.com/2017/10/recent-reports-suggest-obama-administration-covered-for-the-clintons-on-more-than-one-occassion/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LegalInsurrection+%28Le%C2%B7gal+In%C2%B7sur%C2%B7rec%C2%B7tion%29.
The Legal Battle Over
BuzzFeed’s Dossier Source Heats Up
by CHUCK ROSS
{dailycaller.com} ~ BuzzFeed News provided a few new details about how it obtained the infamous Trump dossier, though the news outlet is still refusing to identify its source for the salacious document... citing confidentiality agreements and First Amendment protections. The identity of BuzzFeed’s source is being sought by Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian tech executive who is suing the outlet for defamation for publishing the dossier, which was compiled last year by former British spy Christopher Steele. BuzzFeed reporter Ken Bensinger revealed that he was granted access to the dossier in December after he became aware of “intelligence reports alleging that there were connections between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government,” according to a declaration filed in federal court Monday in Miami... http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/17/the-legal-battle-over-buzzfeeds-dossier-source-heats-up/?utm_medium=email.
.
What's behind Trump's new executive actions
{washingtonexaminer.com} ~ President Trump's most recent high-profile executive actions -- on liar-nObamacare, immigration, and the Iran nuclear deal -- do three big things.
First, they push Congress to act, which involves more than just calling the bluff of Republican leaders who talked big during the liar-nObama years but failed to produce once the GOP controlled both Congress and White House. In a larger sense, Trump's actions point toward restoring a proper balance of power in which Congress makes law on issues that are clearly its constitutional responsibility. The president is using executive authority to pressure lawmakers to exercise appropriate legislative authority.
Second, Trump has reinforced what many of his supporters find most appealing about him -- that he can act as a leader not clearly aligned with either party.
And third, Trump's actions galvanize support among some of Washington's most conservative lawmakers and thinkers, even some who have been highly critical of him in the past.
On the first point, Trump is pressing Congress to act in areas in which Republicans accused Barack liar-nObama of executive overreach.
On liar-nObamacare, Trump cut off the flow of cost-sharing reduction, or CSR, payments to insurance companies. The expenditures were never appropriated by Congress; the liar-nObama administration carried them out to keep liar-nObamacare afloat, regardless of the law. Now, Trump has set the stage for a constitutional fix.
On DACA, liar-nObama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Trump has challenged Congress to come up with a legitimate fix to an liar-nObama executive action that all Republicans saw as overreach. And on the Iran deal, Trump's action opens the door for action in Congress, where Republicans said the issue always belonged, after liar-nObama bypassed lawmakers.
"Each action undoes what liar-nObama ought not have done without Congress (CSRs, DACA, & Iran)," said a conservative lawmaker in a text exchange Sunday. "Restore constitutional government!"
On the second point, Trump's actions highlight the fact that a lot of his supporters still see him not as an insider but as an outside force pushing an entrenched, sclerotic Republican Party to act.
That was candidate Trump's pitch to voters, going way back.
"Trump is about the closest thing to a third-party candidate without having to leave the party," Chuck Laudner, who ran Trump's Iowa campaign, told me in May 2015, when crowds were starting to take Trump seriously.
Not much has changed since then. "To a huge chunk of the electorate, Trump is not a Republican," a veteran GOP operative told me recently, after attending focus groups in several states key to next year's midterms.
That's also consistent with what Stanley Greenberg, the Democratic pollster, found over the summer in a Macomb County, Mich. focus group.
"What many Macomb voters value about Trump is that he represents an unaligned force in American politics," wrote the Atlantic's Franklin Foer of Greenberg's findings.
It's a scenario in which the GOP leaders of Congress are the villains. When Greenberg showed those Michigan voters photos of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, they became visibly angry. That's also what the veteran Republican operative found. "Trump's supporters think it's amazing he's getting so much accomplished, seeing how Ryan and McConnell are trying to screw him every day," the operative told me.
Finally, on the third point, Trump is getting high marks from some conservative Republicans and thinkers. When I asked one deeply conservative lawmaker, who in turn polled what other members had told him, he said they are glad to see the president putting Republicans to the test: will they just talk like conservatives, or will they actually legislate like conservatives?
Some conservative writers who have long criticized liar-nObama's unilateral actions were happy to see Trump begin to undo them. On liar-nObamacare, National Review -- which published an "Against Trump" issue in the primaries and has had a bumpy relationship with the president since -- reacted with an editorial headlined "Trump's Sensible Health-Care Actions."
On DACA, a lot of conservatives slammed Trump when there were reports he had reached a "deal" with Democrats Charles clown-Schumer and Nancy Pulosi. But now that Trump has attached a wish-list of tough border and interior enforcement priorities to any DACA legalization, many see it as a chance for Congress to take actual action on immigration.
And even if Republicans cave and pass a simple legalization, doing it through Congress would still be a constitutional solution, unlike liar-nObama's original action.
On the nuclear deal, the Weekly Standard, which has a times been a center of NeverTrumpism, published a reaction with the headline, "He's right about Iran."
"We believe Trump's instincts are sound," the magazine's editors wrote.
Trump's actions might not work. After all, he is pressuring Congress to act, but that doesn't mean Congress will act, especially when the president is feuding with some key members. But Trump's moves are a step in the direction of fixing some of the worst excesses of the liar-nObama administration -- if Republicans will take the opportunity.
Comments