TheFrontPageCover
~ Featuring ~
America's Unsustainable Empire
by Pat Buchanan 
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Wednesday Top Headlines .
Republicans hold on to Arizona House seat (The Hill) .
Trump saves millions of working-class families from liar-nObamaCare penalty (Washington Examiner) .
VA nominee Ronny Jackson in jeopardy as Senate delays hearing amid “serious allegations” (USA Today) .
Judge effectively sentences baby Alfie to death, denies parents request to seek treatment in Italy (The Daily Wire) .
At White House state dinner, Trump, Macron call for new nuclear deal with Iran (AFP) .
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commie-Bernie Sanders proposal promises jobs to all Americans (The Hill) .
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CDC buried data supporting defensive use of firearms (New American) .
Settled science: Global warming likely to be 30% to 45% lower than climate models project (Reason) .
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In a first, 2020 census to count same-sex couples (NBC News) .
Some couples are refusing to have kids because Donald Trump is the president (The Resurgent) .
1,049,200 “serious offenses” reported in nation’s public schools in 2015-16 (CNS News) .
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The Senate’s Blind Spot on Terrorism in Yemen
by Alexandra N. Gutowski
{ defenddemocracy.org } ~ On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed hard on top administration officials to justify U.S. support for the Saudi war effort in Yemen... where hunger and cholera cause tremendous suffering. Senators certainly should be asking these tough questions, yet their narrow focus resulted in a missed opportunity to ask equally important questions about the opaque U.S. mission to fight terrorism in Yemen, which the Trump administration has conducted with growing intensity. At Tuesday’s hearing, the senators’ questions focused intently on America’s ability to improve Saudi Arabia’s conduct of the war and advance a political resolution to the conflict. In that regard, the administration’s witnesses sought to demonstrate how American support encourages responsible behavior by the Saudi-led coalition that is battling Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. On an operational level, the Saudi-led coalition has implemented several procedures, consistent with American best practices, to reduce civilian casualties. For example, the Saudis have put in place a No Strike List, tightened their rules of engagement, and replaced cluster munitions with more precise alternatives, according to the Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Karem. On the diplomatic side, American support ensures that the Saudis do not pursue alternative security partnerships, which may not entail any pressure to reduce civilian casualties or move towards a political solution, as noted by Ambassador David Satterfield, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. Important as these issues are, the counterterrorism (CT) mission remains the primary U.S. line of effort in Yemen, where both Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State maintain a strong presence. American troops are directly engaged in disrupting AQAP and the Islamic State, whereas the U.S. military provides only limited non-combat support to the Saudi-led effort to defeat the Houthis... http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/alexandra-n-gutowski1-the-senates-blind-spot-on-terrorism-in-yemen/.
Spain: Jihad Continues
by Soeren Kern
{ gatestoneinstitute.org } ~ Ten members of an Islamic State jihadi cell have been sentenced to combined prison terms of nearly 100 years... for a plot to bomb landmarks and behead infidels in Barcelona. The cell, composed of five Moroccans, four Spaniards and a Brazilian, was separate to and independent of the jihadi group that killed 16 people in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils in August 2017. The case shows that Spain continues to be a prime target for jihadis, many of whom are striving to reconquer al-Andalus, the Arabic name given to those parts of Spain, Portugal and France occupied by Muslim conquerors also known as the Moors from 711 to 1492. Many jihadis believe that territories Muslims lost during the Christian Reconquest of Spain still belong to the realm of Islam, and that Sharia law requires them to re-establish Muslim rule there. The court heard how the jihadi cell — called "Islamic Fraternity, Group for Preaching Jihad" — was created in 2014 at a mosque in Terrassa, a city located 30 kilometers from Barcelona, with the objective of creating a global Islamic Caliphate... https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12202/spain-jihad.
California law would effectively ban the Bible
{ patriotnewsalerts.com } ~ California lawmakers about to take a step that will infuriate God-fearing Americans... A new bill that is working its way through the California House could ban the sale of the Bible. The legislation will make it an “unlawful business practice” for any transactions that engage in “sexual orientation change efforts with an individual.” The bill then goes on to define “change efforts” as “efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings towards individuals of the same sex.” As far as the Bible is concerned, sex is something that occurs in marriage between a man and a woman. I want you to think about that. This legislation is literally suggesting banning books...Theses Liberals are clearly taking things too far. https://www.patriotnewsalerts.com/california-law-ban-the-bible/?utm_source=boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=pna1&utm_source=boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=pna1 .
Mueller’s Appointment is Result of Illegal Leaks
by ANDREW
{ conservativefreepress.com } ~ President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was only through former FBI Director James Comey’s illegal leak of classified information... that Robert Mueller was appointed as the special counsel for the Russia investigation. As such, he implied, Mueller’s entire scope of inquiry was null and void. Whether this is a line of argument being pursued by the president’s lawyers or just something Trump is spitballing on social media, it is a powerful cause-and-effect statement that could have wide-ranging implications for the Mueller team. “James Comey’s Memos are Classified, I did not Declassify them,” Trump tweeted. “They belong to our Government! Therefore, he broke the law! Additionally, he totally made up many of the things he said I said, and he is already a proven liar and leaker. Where are Memos on liar-Clinton, Lynch & others?” Trump then wrote: “James Comey illegally leaked classified documents to the press in order to generate a Special Council? Therefore, the Special Council was established based on an illegal act? Really, does everybody know what that means?”....
‘You are classless’: Stormy’s lawyer throws down
on Martha MacCallum after she humiliates him for lying
by Renee Hayes
{ bizpacreview.com } ~ Stormy Daniels’ lawyer was just called out on national television for being a liar... and he’s not too happy about it. Michael Avenatti explained his absence from the Fox News Channel by telling CNN over the weekend that Fox doesn’t “seem to want me on their shows much.” According to Fox host Martha MacCallum, that’s not true. MacCallum who hosts Fox News Channel’s “The Story” made a point to deliver her audience a “program note” to address Avenatti’s claim. “That is not actually the case,” MacCallum said. “In fact, Mr. Avenatti was scheduled to appear on this show tomorrow night. But this morning, he abruptly canceled the interview despite his pledge to appear on Fox News this week. “So, there you go. That is our true story, on that.” she ended....
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America's Unsustainable Empire
by Pat Buchanan
{ townhall.com } ~ Before President Trump trashes the Iran nuclear deal, he might consider: If he could negotiate an identical deal with Kim Jong Un, it would astonish the world and win him the Nobel Peace Prize.
For Iran has no nuclear bomb or ICBM and has never tested either. It has never enriched uranium to bomb grade. It has shipped 98 percent of its uranium out of the country. It has cameras inside and inspectors crawling all over its nuclear facilities.
And North Korea? It has atom bombs and has tested an H-bomb. It has intermediate range-ballistic missiles that can hit Guam and an ICBM that, fully operational, could hit the West Coast. It has shorter-range missiles that could put nukes on South Korea and Japan.
Hard to believe Kim Jong Un will surrender these weapons, his ticket of admission to the table of great powers.
Yet the White House position is that the Iran nuclear deal should be scrapped, and no deal with Kim Jong Un signed that does not result in the "denuclearization" of the peninsula.
If denuclearization means Kim gives up all his nukes and strategic missiles, ceases testing, and allows inspectors into all his nuclear facilities, we may be waiting a long time.
Trump decides on the Iran deal by May 12. And we will likely know what Kim is prepared to do, and not prepared to do, equally soon.
France's President Emmanuel Macron is in D.C. to persuade Trump not to walk away from the Iran deal and to keep U.S. troops in Syria. Chancellor Angela Merkel will be arriving at week's end with a similar message.
On the White House front burner then are these options:
Will North Korea agree to surrender its nuclear arsenal, or is it back to confrontation and possible war?
Will we stick with the nuclear deal with Iran, or walk away, issue new demands on Tehran, and prepare for a military clash if rebuffed?
Do we pull U.S. troops out of Syria as Trump promised, or keep U.S. troops there to resist the reconquest of his country by Bashar Assad and his Russian, Iranian, Hezbollah and Shiite allies?
Beyond, the larger question looms: How long can we keep this up?
How long can this country, with its shrinking share of global GDP, sustain its expanding commitments to confront and fight all over the world?
U.S. planes and ships now bump up against Russians in the Baltic and Black seas. We are sending Javelin anti-tank missiles to Kiev, while NATO allies implore us to bring Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance.
This would mean a U.S. guarantee to fight an alienated, angered and nuclear-armed Russia in Crimea and the Caucasus.
Sixteen years after 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan, we are still there, assisting Afghan troops against a Taliban we thought we had defeated.
We are now fighting what is left of ISIS in Syria alongside our Kurd allies, who tug us toward conflict with Turkey.
U.S. forces and advisers are in Niger, Djibouti, Somalia. We are aiding the Saudis in their air war and naval blockade of Yemen.
The last Korean War, which cost 33,000 U.S. lives, began in the June before this writer entered 7th grade. Why is the defense of a powerful South Korea, with an economy 40 times that of the North, still a U.S. responsibility?
We are committed, by 60-year-old treaties, to defend Japan, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand. Voices are being heard to have us renew the war guarantee to Taiwan that Jimmy Carter canceled in 1979.
National security elites are pushing for new naval and military ties to Vietnam and India, to challenge Beijing in the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
How long can we sustain a worldwide empire of dependencies?
How many wars of this century -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen -- turned out to have been worth the blood shed and the treasure lost? And what have all the "color-coded revolutions" we have instigated to advance "democracy" done for America?
In a New York Times essay, "Adapting to American Decline," Christopher Preble writes: "America's share of global wealth is shrinking. By some estimates, the United States accounted for roughly 50 percent of global output at the end of World War II. ... It has fallen to 15.1 percent today."
Preble continues: "Admitting that the United States is incapable of effectively adjudicating every territorial dispute or of thwarting every security threat in every part of the world is hardly tantamount to surrender. It is rather a wise admission of the limits of American power."
It is imperative, wrote Walter Lippmann, that U.S. commitments be brought into balance with U.S. power. This "forgotten principle ... must be recovered and returned to the first place in American thought."
That was 1943, at the height of a war that found us unprepared.
We are hugely overextended today. And conservatives have no higher duty than to seek to bring U.S. war guarantees into conformity with U.S. vital interests and U.S. power.
