Category: Military

NATO Looking to Send 300,000 Troops to the Russian Border

NATO Looking to Send 300,000 Troops to the Russian Border

BY RICK MORAN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/03/19/nato-looking-to-send-300000-troops-to-the-russian-border-n1679663;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

NATO military planners want to designate an additional 300,000 troops to be positioned along the eastern edge of the alliance on the border with Russia in order to forestall any thought by Moscow of expanding the war in Ukraine.

There’s only one small problem; they don’t know where they’re going to get the weapons and ammunition.

“The current rate of consumption compared to the current rate of production of ammunition,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in early March, “is not sustainable.”

But the problem isn’t just manufacturing bullets and shells. It’s a problem of figuring out how much every NATO nation has to give in men, money, and material. And that has proved difficult in the past.

“If there’s not somebody hosting the potluck and telling everybody what to bring, then everyone would bring potato chips because potato chips are cheap, easy to get,” said James J. Townsend Jr., a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy.

“Nations,” he added, “would rather bring potato chips.”

When the NATO alliance went to war in Afghanistan, it was amusing to see many of the countries eagerly volunteering for duty at the Kabul airport. They all wanted to contribute “potato chips” to the war effort. How will this latest effort at demonstrating NATO solidarity work?

Politico:

But the process could get tricky. Why? Because moving so quickly, even given a month, requires lots of people, equipment and training — and lots of money.

Some militaries will have to up their recruitment efforts. Many allies will have to increase defense spending. And everyone will have to buy more weapons, ammunition and equipment.

Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, said that “readiness” is “basically, do you have all the stuff you’re supposed to have to do the mission assigned to a unit of a particular size?”

“An artillery battalion needs to shoot X number of rounds per year for planning purposes in order to maintain its level of proficiency,” he said. A tank battalion needs to hit targets, react to different situations and “demonstrate proficiency on the move, day and night, hitting targets that are moving.”

From what we saw of NATO in Afghanistan, I am not confident that this plan to augment forces on the Russian border will amount to much. NATO countries will find ways to avoid their responsibilities rather than fulfill their obligations.

And that includes meeting the critical need for more ammunition.

“We have tended to try to stockpile munitions on the cheap … it’s just grossly inadequate,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. “I think the problems that our allies have in NATO are even more acute because many of them often rely on the U.S. as sort of the backstop.”

Sound familiar? Any NATO plan for more troops and equipment ultimately means more U.S. troops and more U.S. equipment.

Once NATO’s military plans are done, capitals will be asked to weigh in — and eventually make available troops, planes, ships and tanks for different parts of the blueprints.

A test for NATO will come this summer when leaders of the alliance’s 30 member countries meet in Lithuania.

“We are asking the nations — based on the findings we have out of our three regional plans — what we need to make these plans … executable,” said the senior NATO military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning.

“I think the most difficult thing,” the official added, “is the procurement.”

As always, the devil is in the details. But NATO — aside from some frontline nations like Poland and the Baltic States — is not likely to get serious about defense against Russia until Russian tanks are rolling into NATO territory.

Watchdog Group to Investigate Biden’s “Woke Army”

BY DAVID KELLY

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/watchdog-group-to-investigate-bidens-woke-army/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) announced Thursday they were launching an investigation into President Biden’s recent executive order (EO) that requires each major federal agency to assemble an “Agency Equity Team” — basically a permanent “woke army” — to “coordinate the implementation of equity initiatives and ensure that their respective agencies are delivering equitable outcomes for the American people.” 

Calling Biden’s egalitarian EO an “unprecedented scheme,” the FGA stated in a press release that they were “filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests targeting the 23 agencies addressed in the Equity EO, including the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, Labor, Transportation, Social Security, Education, … and Health and Human Services. FGA will share the information gathered with Congress, the states, and the American people.” 

All of the equity teams will report to an EO-established “White House Steering Committee on Equity,” chaired by the assistant to the president for domestic policy (currently Susan Rice). The Steering Committee members will be hand-picked, unelected, senior officials representing policy councils and offices within the Executive Office of the President.  

The FGA press release declared: 

“These equity teams are a Trojan horse planted in the heart of every federal agency to fundamentally change decision-making across the bureaucracy. Their goal is to continuously and permanently embed Left-wing ideology into every agency action,” said Tarren Bragdon, FGA President and CEO. “We cannot allow this new ‘woke army’ to force un-American philosophy into all corners of our federal government. They will degrade our nation’s capabilities and effectiveness, while undermining our liberty and security.” 

“We’ve seen the economic devastation over the first two years of the Biden presidency. If radical ideology is ingrained into every policy and regulatory decision at all agencies, the impact on the American people and economy will be widespread, devastating, and impossible to reverse,” Tarren Bragdon added.   

The FGA claimed the Biden administration will implement the EO using as a guide a left-wing activist group’s plan that is “designed to circumvent the normal, democratic process and instead force their ideology onto Americans using ‘government equity leaders and practitioners’ from within the government itself.” 

The fast-tracking of building this “woke army” comes at a time when Biden’s rule on the egalitarian-based environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) retirement-investment policies is being exposed and questioned in Congress and by conservative politicians. Woke ESG policies are also reportedly being blamed for the recent Silicon Valley Bank failure that has rattled the stock market. Now, just imagine how well our federal government will serve Americans when Biden’s equity teams are unleashed to ensure the U.S. becomes an egalitarian utopia. 

In Thomas Sowell’s 2001 article titled The Dangers of Egalitarianism, he explained quite well how Biden has been able to enforce his woke agenda:

To create even the semblance of “equality” [of results] requires a concentration of power in the hands of political leaders…. And, as the history of the 20th century has shown repeatedly and tragically, in countries around the world, once concentrated power is put into the hands of political leaders, they can use it for whatever purpose they have in mind — regardless of what others had in mind when they granted them that power. 

Becoming the pawns of politicians is a high price to pay for letting demagogues stir up our envy and beguile us with promises to equalize. 

Thankfully, the FGA has drawn a line in the sand and is taking action to hopefully force the Biden administration to disband their “woke army” before they destroy what few liberties we have left. The FGA knows what’s at stake, and is ready for the battle ahead, stating: 

“The clock is ticking on President Biden’s term. And the radical forces inside his administration and their partners on the outside know they have limited time to embed their ‘leaders and practitioners’ into every federal agency before they lose power. If successful, this ‘woke army’ will outlast the Biden presidency and become a permanent fixture deeply entrenched in our government,” said Stewart Whitson, FGA legal director.  

“Through this investigation, FGA is fighting to expose this attempted ideological takeover of our federal agencies, and we won’t stop until we’ve uncovered the truth. We will share the information we uncover with Congress, the states, and the American people so that, together, we can help stop this unconstitutional effort before it’s too late.” 

Air Force Will Pay Big Money for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Jobs

Air Force Will Pay Big Money for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Jobs

BY MATT MARGOLIS

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2023/03/17/air-force-will-pay-big-money-for-diversity-equity-inclusion-jobs-n1679215;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The United States Air Force is looking to hire people for several diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions, offering a minimum salary of $82,830, but as much as $183,500 annually for the top position.

The jobs, which are posted at USAJobs.gov, are located in Alabama, Alaska, and Virginia. But don’t think that means you have to relocate if you want to brainwash America’s military with DEI, which is basically a euphemism for the racist principles of critical race theory. All these positions are telework-eligible, though occasional travel may be required.

The highest-paying role, identified by the military service branch as a first-level supervisor for “diversity equity inclusion and accessibility” efforts, has a starting salary of $155,700, reports Just The News. The primary duty of the position is to strategize, organize, and oversee the activities of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion within the branch to guarantee compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility education and training, and strategic outreach and engagement complies with legal and regulatory requirements.”

I’m sure our enemies will be really intimidated by our military now.

All diversity positions are accessible to current or previous federal employees, veterans, military spouses, and individuals with disabilities, among other eligible candidates.

Flashback: Marine Corps Disgraces Itself With Pride Month Pandering

The military has come under significant scrutiny in recent years for prioritizing “wokeness” over military readiness. According to a recent report, the U.S. Air Force hosted 67 pride celebrations in 2022.

“Among those events, top Air Force leaders participated in the first service-wide LGBTQ+ Pride event organized by a new volunteer team within the Air Force focused on LGBTQ+ issues, the newsletter, dated Feb. 10, shows,” the Daily Caller reported last month. “The LGBTQ Initiatives Team (LIT) participated in 67 Pride commemorations across 33 Air Force and Space Force installations throughout 2022 and intends to organize more events this year.”

According to the report, there are also several  “Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Groups” dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Air Force, including the LGBTQ Initiatives Team, the Black and African American Employment Strategy Team, the Disability Action Team, the Women’s Initiative Team, and more.

The military’s increased prioritization of promoting social justice issues is alarming. The primary duty of the military is to protect our country—not host pride events and post concepts that divide people based on race under the guise of promoting “diversity” and “inclusion.” Our nation deserves better than this. Our enemies will look at what we’re doing and realize we no longer have the strong military we used to.

Iran warns Europe: Designating Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist group ‘declaration of war’

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/03/iran-warns-europe-designating-islamic-revolutionary-guards-corps-a-terrorist-group-declaration-of-war;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Iran’s threat presents a big dilemma for Western leaders, as Iran is the most powerful Shia country in the world, and Western leaders are still willfully blind to the fact that one cannot separate politics from mainstream Islam. Sharia is divine law. For mainstream Muslims, no law in the world transcends it. The Sharia is both religious and political. But if one believes that Islam is a religion of peace and not a political system, then how can one declare the world’s most prominent Shia regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a terrorist group? Particularly when the IRGC serves the function of defender of the Islamic Republic.

‘National Decision’ Declaration On Iran’s Islamic Revolution Day: ‘We Warn The European Countries Not To Make An Historic Mistake By Declaring The IRGC Terrorist – Because We [Would] See This As A Declaration Of War On The Iranian Nation; In Such A Case, They Will Be Forced To Meet The IRGC At Strategic Straits And In Difficult Regions,’” MEMRI, March 13, 2023:

The Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan published, on February 12, 2023, the text of the “National Decision” declaration that was read out at the end of the Islamic Revolution Day march in Tehran the previous day. The declaration was featured on the front page, next to coverage of the marches across the country.

Kayhan wrote: “Yesterday, 44 years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the people took to the streets chanting ‘Death to America’ more gloriously than ever, and showed more clearly than before that they love [Supreme] Leader [Ali Khamenei] and the revolution.”

The National Decision declaration glorified the Quran and the two leaders of Iran’s Islamic Revolution – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the revolution, and his successor Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. Both of them, it said, had restored the grandeur of Islam as rightful leader of humanity, a task undertaken by Iran. It reiterated absolute acceptance of Khamenei’s leadership, and his many acts of grace in the face of those participating in the widescale civil protests against him and his regime in the past months. Emphasizing hostility towards the “Satanic front” – i.e. the West, led by the U.S. – and its culture and liberal values, particularly with regard to women, it expressed support for the resistance front’s struggle against Israel and against the Arab countries that are Iran’s rivals, and for “strengthening Iran’s strategic depth.” The National Decision also included a warning to the European countries not to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and threatened the West with operations in “strategic straits” and other regions.

The following is a translation of the Iranian regime’s National Decision declaration:

“Praise and thanks be to God, who brought the Quran to light up our path and the great blessing of the Prophet of Mercy [Mohammad] and his supporters [the Shi’ites] to guide us in passing through the darkness of ignorance, so that we will be able to actualize the good and desirable life of sacrifice to the Kingdom of God, which brings human happiness. [All] this is by grasping the strong rope and turning to the guides of revelation [i.e. the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei].

“With endless gratitude that at the height of modern ignorance, when the world has become full of regimes of heresy, of polytheism, and of tyranny, we are privileged to be present in the era of the great Khomeini, the reviver of the pure Islam and the awakener of the people who descend into sin, and in the era of the great man [Khamenei] from the same seminary as the wise elder [Khomeini], the candle of whose existence warms, like the blazing sun, the existence of the oppressed and barefoot, and who led to the increasing authority of Islamic Iran, and instilled disappointment in the camp of the arrogance [the West, led by the U.S.].

“The school of pure Islam that gives life [i.e. the Shi’ite Islamic Revolution] was trapped in the damage of ignorance of history and caught up in misinterpretations and misperceptions that were sometimes specific, revived itself by virtue of the guidance of the enlightened elder [Khomeini], and [continues to do so] today by virtue of the leadership of the Supreme Leader of the Muslims of the world [i.e. Khamenei]. We owe the continuation of the glorious Islamic revolution and Iran’s stable peace and security to the struggle and heroic deeds of the martyrs [during] the Iran-Iraq war, to the martyrs who defended ‘the holy places’ [i.e. the Iranian soldiers sent to Syria], particularly the commander of hearts, the martyr Haj Qassem Soleimani [the late IRGC Qods Force commander killed by the Americans in January 2020], to the martyrs [working in] health and security, and to the patience of their families. We believe that in the second phase of the revolution, the new foundations of the great Islamic civilization are being laid by emphasizing the discourse of the promised happiness that has no substitute and that grants identity.

“Now, on Revolution Day, after [44 years] of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, with the motto ‘Iran is strong, 44 years of honor,’ at the end of the national and glorious march of today that is an expression of the coalescence of determination and unity of the word and solidarity of the Muslim nation of Iran, we declare loudly, with ‘Allah akbar [God is great], Khamenei is the leader,’ the following:

“We, the nation of velaya [i.e. the rule of the jurisprudent, Khamenei], consider him the most precious legacy of the Imam Khomeini. Today, more than ever, the light of his existence is difficult for Satans, bats, and people of darkness and ignorance…..

China, Russia and Iran hold joint naval drills in Gulf of Oman, NSC’s Kirby isn’t concerned

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/03/china-russia-and-iran-hold-joint-naval-drills-in-gulf-of-oman-nscs-kirby-isnt-concerned;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Once again, the Biden Administration is factoring itself out of a critical global event.

With Russia demonstrating its determination by threatening to use nuclear weapons, along with its suspension of a nuclear arms control treaty and its threat to resume nuclear tests, there’s a big reason to be concerned. Add to that the fact that Iran has issued a threat that designating its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group will be seen as an act of war. And that China just brokered a groundbreaking deal that saw Iran and Saudi Arabia resume ties. Biden’s America remains as clueless as ever and has now descended to the role of a global jester.

The threat of a world war is real. Meanwhile, Kirby downplays the China-Russia-Iran deadly alliance that is holding joint military naval drills in the Gulf of Oman. Let’s also keep in mind Iran’s determination to obliterate Israel and China’s ambition to invade Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also conducted military drills ahead of its call for a third intifada:

Speaking after large-scale military drills were held in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, Abu Hamza threatened that “the Islamic Jihad will cause the stupid enemy to be worn down by launching rockets in its direction, since the organization has many other means of warfare that will hurt the enemy.”

Will Kirby claim that PIJ conducting drills is merely routine, too?

“China, Russia, Iran hold joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman,” Associated Press, March 15, 2023:

BEIJING (AP) — Naval forces from China, Iran and Russia — countries at odds with the United States — are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, China’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Other countries are also taking part in the “Security Bond-2023” exercises, the ministry said without giving details. Iran, Pakistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates all have coastline along the waterbody lying at the mouth of the strategic Persian Gulf.

“This exercise will help deepen practical cooperation between the participating countries’ navies … and inject positive energy into regional peace and stability,” the ministry statement said.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday that the White House was not concerned by the joint training exercise. Kirby said the U.S. and other nations conduct training exercises all the time and this won’t be the first time that the Russians and Chinese have trained together.

“We’re going to watch it, we’ll monitor it, obviously, to make sure that there’s no threat resulting from this training exercise to our national security interests or those of our allies and partners in the region,” Kirby said on CNN. “But nations train. We do it all the time. We’ll watch it as best we can.”

The exercises scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday come amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China over a range of issues, including China’s refusal to criticize Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine and continuing support for the Russian economy.

The U.S. and its allies have condemned the invasion, imposed punishing economic sanctions on Russia and supplied Ukraine with defensive arms. Iran and the U.S. have been adversaries since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979 and the taking of U.S. diplomats as hostages.

China has dispatched the guided missile destroyer Nanning to take part in the drills centered on search and rescue at sea and other non-combat missions. China maintains its only foreign military base, complete with a navy pier, in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, located just across the Gulf of Oman.

The three countries held similar drills last year and in 2019, underscoring China’s growing military and political links with nations that have been largely shunned by the U.S. and its partners.

Last week, China hosted talks between Iran and its chief Middle Eastern rival Saudi Arabia that resulted in an agreement between them Friday to restore full diplomatic relations after seven years of tensions…….

Xi Jinping Signals That the ChiComs Will Soon Seize Taiwan

Xi Says China Will Take a More 'Active Part' in ‘Global Governance’

Xi Says China Will Take a More 'Active Part' in ‘Global Governance’

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2023/03/14/xi-says-china-will-take-a-more-active-part-in-global-governance-n1678265;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese government, reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping told the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) Monday that China “will play an active part in the reform and development of the global governance system.” Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Tuesday, “According to bank documents we’ve already obtained, we know one company owned by a Biden associate received a $3 million dollar wire from a Chinese energy company two months after Joe Biden left the vice presidency. Soon after, hundreds of thousands of dollars in payouts went to members of the Biden family.” Will Biden stand up to China as it begins to “reform” global “governance”? Or does he have a few million reasons not to do so?

There was a great deal more that was noteworthy, if not downright ominous, in Xi’s remarks, which Global Times is touting as a significant indication of what China’s policy will be in the coming years: “Chinese analysts said the remarks have highlighted the direction China will take on its march after the 20th CPC National Congress, and 2023 is the opening year of this new journey.” The speech, according to this government press organ, is “key for Chinese society and also the international community to better understand how the CPC will lead China to reform, develop and more actively participate in global governance and contribute to world peace and development.” CPC is China’s official abbreviation for the Chinese Communist Party.

The goal leading up to the middle of this century, according to Global Times, is to “build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.” In a passage that should make Old Joe Biden’s woke military brass tear itself away from its Critical Race Theory lessons for a minute or two, Xi made it clear that part of being a “modern socialist country in all respects” is not having a breakaway province nearby where people live freely and are not slaves of the all-encompassing state. Xi declared, “Realizing the complete reunification of the motherland is a shared aspiration of all Chinese sons and daughters, and it is the key part of the meaning of national rejuvenation.” That means that seizing Taiwan and incorporating it into the People’s Republic is high on Xi’s priority list.

Global Times emphasized this by adding: “Expert [sic, and no, it didn’t say which one, either] said this has once again sent a clear message to the world that there is nothing that can stop the process of China’s national reunification, and the Taiwan question will and must be resolved in China’s journey toward national rejuvenation.” Xi, it said, “stressed adhering to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, actively promoting the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, resolutely opposing external interference and ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities, and firmly advancing the process of national reunification.” Of course, it helps that there is a desperately corrupt octogenarian with dementia in the Oval Office.

Xi also emphasized that China was going to remain under the boot of the Communist Party: “It is important to stay alert and determined to tackle the special challenges that a large party like the CPC faces.” Global Times’ unnamed experts chimed in to opine that the “strong leadership” of the ChiComs was “the most crucial advantage that helped China realize successful development in the past and that will help it to achieve the goal of national rejuvenation in the future, especially when the world is currently seeing great turbulence, but the Chinese leadership has also wisely and farsightedly seen the special challenges for a large political party that must be overcome.” In the face of this challenge, instead of standing resolutely for the principles of a free society, the Biden regime is growing increasingly authoritarian and hostile to the freedom of speech. So the global rivalry is shaping up to be one frankly authoritarian regime versus one stealthily authoritarian one. And may the least authoritarian regime win.

Related: China vs. USA

Sounding like Democrats waxing lyrical about “our democracy,” by which they mean their own hegemony, a Global Times “expert” said: “The key in the next stage is to institutionalize our successful anti-corruption efforts and to modernize the democratic supervision over the operation of political power, and this is why we need to fully implement and promote whole-process people’s democracy and all-round law-based governance.” Democratic supervision over the operation of political power? That’s just what the Left is working toward and has largely already obtained here.

Xi is looking toward the future of the People’s Republic as a world power: “China will make efforts to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity…. We will be dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, stand firmly on the right side of history, practice true multilateralism, and uphold the shared values of humanity.” It sounded like a speech Old Joe Biden himself could have made.

Biden’s Woke Military Brass Prevented a Sniper Team From Taking Out the Jihad Bomber Who Killed 13 Americans

Biden’s Woke Military Brass Prevented a Sniper Team From Taking Out the Jihad Bomber Who Killed 13 Americans

The Untold Truth of America's Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan

‘We Were IGNORED’: Weeping US Marine Recalls Taliban Suicide Bomber

‘The Five’: Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal is worse than we thought

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2023/03/08/bidens-woke-military-brass-prevented-a-sniper-team-from-taking-out-the-jihad-bomber-who-killed-13-americans-n1676674;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Some details of how Old Joe Biden’s Potemkin military, distracted by wokeness, catastrophically bungled our withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 are well known: a government watchdog has just confirmed in a new report that Old Joe’s diverse and vaccinated military brass left behind $7.2 BILLION in weapons and aircraft for the Taliban, but that was already widely known. Less well known, however, is the information that Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews revealed Wednesday: American snipers could have taken out the jihad bomber who killed 13 Americans at Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, but their superiors ordered them to stand down.

Vargas-Andrews, who was on the scene in Kabul on that fateful day, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that his team of crack snipers had been given precise information about the jihad bomber before he committed his murderous act, including an accurate physical description. Vargas-Andrews recounted, “I asked the intel guys why he wasn’t apprehended sooner, since we had a full description. I was told the asset could not be compromised.” So apparently, if American forces had stopped this jihadi, the person who had provided us with all this detailed info about him would have been able to be identified and killed. That’s plausible, but what happened next is not.

Not long after they received the information about the bomber, Vargas-Andrews, and his crew spotted him, but their commanding officer told them not to take any action. Vargas-Andrews recalled that they explained to the commander that it wouldn’t be difficult to take out the bomber: “We reassured him of the ease of fire on the suicide bomber. Pointedly, we asked him for engagement authority and permission. We asked him if we could shoot. Our battalion commander said, and I quote, ‘I don’t know.'” Vargas-Andrews concluded, “Plain and simple, we were ignored. Our expertise was disregarded. No one was held accountable for our safety.”

The commanding officer’s uncertainty may have been related to the rules of engagement by which U.S. troops in Afghanistan had to abide. For many years, these were a cause of considerable vexation to the troops on the ground, as they hamstrung their efforts to strike a serious blow against the Taliban. Back in 2010, a Marine commander in Afghanistan stated, after two Americans were killed by remote-controlled bombs: “It causes a lot of frustration. My men want revenge – that is only natural. But I keep telling them that the rules are the rules for a reason. If we simply go crazy and start shooting at everything, in the long run, we will lose this war because we will lose the support of the population.”

That Marine commander added that the Taliban jihadis “know we can’t shoot them if they don’t carry guns or without positive identification. They are fighting us at another level now.” After one Taliban attack, another Marine said, “We were attacked treacherously. We came under fire from everywhere, but the rules of engagement prevent me from doing my job.” Did they prevent Sergeant Vargas-Andrews’ commanding officer from allowing him to take out the jihadi before he killed thirteen Americans? The possibility should not be dismissed out of hand, but Biden’s woke Pentagon is almost certain not to conduct any investigation.

Related: Report on Afghan Withdrawal Details the Spectacular Failings of the Biden Administration

Not long after Vargas-Andrews was not given permission to shoot the bomber, the bomber struck, setting off what Vargas-Andrews described as “a massive wave of pressure. I’m thrown 12 feet onto the ground but instantly knew what had happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me.” According to the Washington Free Beacon, Vargas-Andrews “lost multiple organs and two of his limbs. He has had 44 surgeries to date as a result of the attack.”

Even after that, Vargas-Andrews continued, “no one wanted my report post-blast. Even [the Naval Criminal Investigative Service] and the FBI failed to interview me.” He concluded that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was “a catastrophe and there was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence.” That’s right. Biden’s military leaders were too busy implementing critical race theory and making sure the troops were vaccinated to bother paying any attention to trivial matters such as how to get American civilians and military personnel safely out of Afghanistan. Their misplaced priorities are still in place and are likely to lead to more disasters in the future before the woke brass is decisively repudiated.

Tranny Madness in U.S. Military Expands With Updated Rules

Tranny Madness in U.S. Military Expands With Updated Rules

BY R. CORT KIRKWOOD

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/tranny-madness-in-u-s-military-expands-with-updated-rules/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Joe Biden opened his madcap assault on the U.S. military when he appointed a cross-dressing man to run the Defense Department’s transition team.

It worsened when he OK’d “transgenders” in the foxhole, and when his Pentagon underlings handed down rules on how to “treat” tranny “soldiers.” Those rules include forcing women to shower with tranny men.

But now, Biden is “quietly” expanding those crazy, morale-wrecking policies, a recently released report says.

Prediction: By the time Biden gets finished, the military will be, too.

Six Big Changes

The report from the Center for Military Readiness disclosed that Biden’s Pentagon has altered policy in six ways in an updated “instruction”:

1. Changes official DoD vocabulary to reflect transgender ideology;

2. Specifically involves the military service academies and ROTC (contract) programs;

3. Holds commanders directly responsible for all alleged “biases against transgender individuals;”

4. Allows cross-dressing and other “transitioning” behaviors on-base as well as off-base;

5. Allows “de-transition” procedures if treatments do not resolve gender dysphoria; and

6. Restricts collection and disclosure of data on “incidents of harmful behaviors” involving sexual

orientation and transgender persons, even for legislative purposes. 

As to the ridiculous vocabulary change, CMR’s report says, “the DoD Instruction rests on the false premise that a different ‘gender role,’ if recognized by a bureaucratic change in a person’s ‘gender marker,’ is the same as or equivalent to a change in biological sex. Therefore, a man claiming to be a woman must be treated as a woman, and vice versa.”

A person cannot change his sex, but anyway, the report warns, military personnel who do not comply with the preposterous policy will be punished. That includes chaplains.

As well, a person who is confused about his “gender” cannot seek a second opinion. “A self-diagnosis of gender dysphoria permits only one course of treatment, moving toward ‘transition,’” the report avers.

Biden is also extending his tranny policies to ROTC and the U.S. military academies. That means, of course, that men pretending to be women will compete in women’s sports, just as they are at non-military colleges.

If all that isn’t disturbing enough, officers will be responsible for policing and punishing “anti-trans” behavior. They must also enforce the insane rule that requires women to shower with men who pretend to be women.

Not surprisingly, “the DoD Instruction does not mention or call for protection of rights of religious liberty for chaplains and people of faith who object to transgender ideology on moral grounds,” the report reveals:

Nor does the directive provide any options for doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel who do not want to participate in transgender treatments that violate personal convictions or medical ethics.

Cross Dress on Duty? Sure

Perhaps most frightening is that Biden will permit trannies to act out on base.

“Apparently for the first time, the December 2022 revision … specifically authorizes on-duty, on-base ‘real life experience’ (RLE) options for persons who are preparing to transition,” the report says:

During RLE, “the individual begins living socially in the gender role consistent with their self-identified gender.… RLE generally encompasses dressing in the new gender, as well as using self-identified gender berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities.” 

Aside from destroying the morale of every normal man or woman in the services, drag queen shows and story hours will surely increase.

“Whether intended or not, this significant change also could increase cross-dressing performers (drag queens, who are not necessarily transgender), performing on military bases,” the report avers:

Enthusiastic promotions of LGBT Pride Month celebrations in June have expanded to nearly year-round sexualized events, including hyper-sexual drag queens performing “family friendly” story hours for the children of military parents.

And when trannies get in trouble, well, those “incidents of harmful behaviors” cannot be reported publicly because “a certificate of confidentiality prohibits disclosing or providing information created or compiled for purposes of research in any Federal, State, or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or other proceedings.”

So neither Congress nor the public will receive information, apart from whistleblowers, about harmful behavior among trannies that adversely affect the military.

One of His First Orders

Wrecking the military by recruiting mentally ill freaks and weirdos was one of Biden’s top priorities. After he “won” the 2020 presidential election, he hired a retired Navy commander who pretends he is a woman to run the Defense Department’s transition.

Then came the order everyone feared: Trannies will be recruited and serve.

In a ludicrous statement that only a mentally defective could believe, Biden claimed that “there is substantial evidence that allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military does not have any meaningful negative impact on the Armed Forces,” and “that enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and healthcare costs.”

Trannies everywhere got the message: It’s party time in the military. And so in June, 2021, Nellis Air Force Base hosted a drag queen show.

In March last year, Biden’s Pentagon handed down rules on how to treat the trannies. There followed in July another shocking mandate: Women will shower with men who pretend to be women and men who believe they are women because they are mentally ill.

Then came the inevitable: a drag queen story hour planned at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Officials canceled it after the Post Millennial publicized it, but not because it would have permitted perverts to groom children.

Rather, the notice for the event was posted to the base library’s Facebook page without permission.

Presumably, had the groomers received permission, the grooming show would have gone on.

 

Joe Biden Shackles U.S. Taxpayers with Ukraine War

President Joe Biden pledges continued U.S. support of Ukraine in the Russian conflict, while Putin counters by suspending the nuclear New START agreement. Americans react with anti-war rally in Washington D.C.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earns Democratic ire, handing 44,000 hours of J6 footage over to Fox News. Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee is ramping up Hunter Biden investigations.

Post-Covid jab birth rates are nosediving, while George Soros and Bill Gates are making plans to block out the sun. Rebecca Terrell and Daniel Natal discuss these headlines.

Later in the program, we re-visit the “Rage Against the War Machine!” rally in Washington, D.C. with TNA senior editor Veronika Kyrylenko.

Christian Gomez and Peter Rykowski bring us legislative updates from Capitol Hill and various States.

And Leah Southwell, Program Manager for The John Birch Society, joins us to talk about the demise of Chile’s constitution, and what is in store for this country if we do not vigilantly guard our own founding document.

 

WATCH: Biden Falls on the Stairs to Air Force One

Biden Stumbles, Barely Makes It Up the Stairs to Air Force One as He Leaves Poland

WATCH: Biden Stumbles, Barely Makes It Up the Stairs to Air Force One as He Leaves Poland

BY ATHENA THORNE

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2023/02/22/watch-biden-stumbles-barely-makes-it-up-the-stairs-to-air-force-one-as-he-leaves-poland-n1672839;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Russian President and Ukraine War aggressor Vladimir Putin must be shaking in his boots after U.S. “President” Joe Biden’s manly show of strength and unity in the region this week. First, Biden snuck into Kyiv to strut alongside Ukraine’s besieged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — because nothing says “I’m the most powerful man in the world, leading the most powerful country in the world, and I go where I want” like having your handlers smuggle you into a meeting.

After preening and posing alongside Ukraine’s actual wartime leader, Biden was whisked away by his handlers to visit neighboring Poland, where he was to deliver a speech. Upon landing, Biden’s support staff commenced the visit with a female staffer’s spectacular tumble down the steps of the jet she arrived in.

“The person is understood to be part of the White House support staff who arrived in Warsaw on Tuesday morning,” reported the Daily Mail. “The clip, which appeared to be part of footage being broadcast on a Polish television network, has been viewed nearly half a million times.”

Yikes! But the word is that the woman’s backpack cushioned her fall, sparing her serious injury. Phew!

Related: Podcaster Says What Many of Us Think in Magnificent Rant Against Biden’s Ukraine Adventure

After Biden wrapped up his visit to Poland, the exhausted octogenarian was barely able to make his way up the long, steep stairs into Air Force One. Just past the halfway point, he stumbled and fell:

Luckily, Biden was able to recover much more quickly than he did after his humiliating triple-wipeout in 2021 as he attempted to board Air Force One for a trip to Atlanta. And since we’re here, let’s review that oldie-but-goodie, too. Enjoy!

Iran Will Be Getting 24 Top-of-the-Line Russian Fighter Jets

IRAN SU-35S ACQUISITION MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE WEST PERCEIVES

Shocking! Iran able to house advanced Russian jets in an underground base

Su-35 of Russian Air Force

sukhoi_su-35

BY HUGH FITZGERALD

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/02/iran-will-be-getting-24-top-of-the-line-russian-fighter-jets;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Grateful to Iran for supplying it with 1,450 armed drones, Russia has returned the favor. Iran has announced that Moscow intends to supply Iran with 24 Su-35s, which is one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets. Until now, Iran has had to make do with the American planes left over from the Shah’s reign, an aging fleet, difficult to keep flying because it is hard for Iran to get spare parts, or to cannibalize them from the planes it has. These planes and their pilots t would be no match for the planes flown by Israeli pilots. More on these Russian jets and Iran’s underground airbase can be found here: “Iran Set to Upgrade Fighter Fleet with ‘State-of-Art’ Russian Jet,” i24 News, February 18, 2023:

Iran appears assured of soon receiving a shipment of one of Russia’s most advanced fighter jets, which would mark the most significant upgrade in decades to the Islamic Republic’s aging fleet, the New York Times reported on Saturday {Feb. 18].

In the past few months, Iranian officials publicly touted the purchase of 24 Su-35s, a state-of-the-art military jet produced by Russia, including in propaganda materials showcasing a new underground Air Force base called “Eagle 44.” The NYT report was based on digital analysis of one such propaganda video by a former US government imagery analyst, as well as on analysis of satellite imagery.

It’s quite a feat to build an underground air base. Iran has plenty of experience in building facilities deep underground. It was forced to do so because of Israel’s highly successful campaign at destroying above-ground nuclear facilities, including those where centrifuges were built to enrich uranium to close to weapons-grade purity. The Iranians built their most recent nuclear facilities deep underground at Natanz, and deep inside a mountain at Fordow. But an air base capable of holding two dozen large fighter jets, with enough space for them to safely maneuver without hitting other planes, must be enormous.

The report concluded that the base had a mockup of the Su-35 jet, apparently to make sure that the base is ready for the reception of the real artifact. “These are likely being used in assessing clearances for maneuvering the aircraft throughout the underground facility and could suggest they’ll be based here,” according to the analyst cited by NYT.

Regime media said the Eagle 44 base was one of the country’s most important military facilities, and would soon be home to fighter jets equipped with long-range cruise missiles.

This comes amid heightened western and Israeli concerns over the deepening two-way military cooperation between Iran and Russia, and its implications for the security and stability of eastern Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. Another area of concern is Iran’s nuclear escalation and Tehran’s lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The cooperation included Iranian manufacturers supplying Russia with drones used to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure.

The Iranian drones are used by the Russians primarily to hit civilian targets in Ukrainian cities. The Ukrainians were naturally grateful when the Israelis destroyed an Iranian drone manufacturing plant near Isfahan in January. And the Israelis were glad to take out a plant making weapons that have been so effective against Ukraine. For many months, the Ukrainians have been imploring Israel to send them its anti-missile defense systems, including the incredibly successful Iron Dome. Israel has been unwilling to comply because Russia has made clear that if Israel were to supply such weapons to Kyiv, Moscow’s “deconfliction” agreement with Israel in Syria, whereby Russia has been allowing Israeli pilots the freedom to attack Iranian and Hezbollah bases at will, would come to an end. Though the Israelis have sent hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid, as well as set up and staffed a field hospital, they have made clear that while they support Ukraine, they cannot supply the kind of weaponry Ukraine has requested, including all offensive weapons as well as the Iron Dome anti-missile system. Supplying Ukraine with such weapons, Israel fears, would trigger Russian reprisals in the Syrian theatre. The Russians would no longer allow Israeli planes the freedom to bomb Iranian and Hezbollah sites at will.

“What’s beginning to emerge is at least the beginnings of a full-fledged defense partnership between Russia and Iran, with the Iranians supplying drones to the Russians, which are killing Ukrainian civilians as we speak today, and the Russians beginning to look at ways in which, technologically or technically, they can support the Iranians,” CIA Director William Burns said in September.

What is not known is how deep underground the Eagle-44 air base has been built. If it is deep enough, Israel will be unable to destroy it with the ordnance that the IAF currently possesses. But just as Russia is helping its ally Iran by supplying it with SU-35 fighter jets, America should be helping its ally Israel by supplying the wherewithal for Israel to destroy that Eagle-44 underground airbase, along with those top-of-the-line Russian jets parked inside that base. That means the U.S. should be willing, after years of turning down requests from Jerusalem, to supply it with what will be for Israel the most important weapon in its arsenal. That weapon is the T GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), which is a precision-guided, 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) “bunker buster” bomb used by the United States Air Force. It is this bomb, or perhaps several of them, that will enable the Israelis to destroy Iran’s underground air base Eagle-44 and its fleet of two dozen Russian Su-35 fighter jets.

Israel will do the heavy lifting. It will carry out the attack on the underground airbase by itself. But it needs those 30,000 pound MOPs that only the Americans can supply. Don’t hold back, Washington. Do the right thing.

Biden Makes Military Plans with Ukraine & Poland | The New American TV

Why did President Joe Biden ditch the U.S. on Presidents’ Day? China is casting aspersions over its downed spy balloon. South Africa conducts military operations with Russia and China. In medical news, have scientists cracked the code for both autism and Alzheimer’s? And surprises are ahead for “woke” corporate America as well as for a Canadian voting machine manufacturer.

Later in the program, Zoe Warren of The New American’s “2A for Today” program brings us highlights from the “Rage Against the War Machine!” rally held this past weekend in Washington, DC.

The New American’s senior editor Bill Jasper highlights the importance of Bill Gates’ connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

And Robert Owens, Midwest Regional Field Coordinator for The John Birch Society, brings us great news from the frontlines in Michigan where patriots are taking charge at the local level to defend the U.S. Constitution.

THE NEW AMERICAN: “Rage Against the War Machine” Rally Held in D.C.

Ron Paul speaking at Rage Against the War Machine rally:

“Rage Against the War Machine” Rally Held in D.C.

BY VERONIKA KYRYLENKO

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/rage-against-the-war-machine-rally-held-in-d-c/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

Hours before Joe Biden sneaked out of the country to war-torn Kyiv hundreds of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. Sunday for the “Rage Against the War Machine” rally.

The anti-war event held at the Lincoln Memorial marked almost one year since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which quickly evolved into a proxy war between NATO and Russia. The speakers were represented by affluent public figures, journalists, artists, and former politicians, including a couple of presidential candidates.

Participants’ key demands included effectively ending military support for Ukraine, facilitating peace talks, reducing the Pentagon budget in favor of addressing numerous domestic issues, disbanding NATO, closing all foreign military bases, refusing interventionism, and dismantling the CIA and military-industrial deep state that thrives on war.

The event was largely perceived as pro-Russian. “A large anti-Ukraine war rally will take place in Washington, DC on Sunday,” posted Fox News, among others. To clarify that such labeling was incorrect, the Libertarian Party, one of the main organizers, had to put up a statement that it was not a pro-Russian event:

Let us be clear.
We oppose all wars.
We oppose all states who initiate them.
We are not pro-Putin. We are not pro-Russia.
We oppose Russia’s invasion and any initiation of force.

Speaking with The New American, Angela McArdle, the chairwoman of the Libertarian National Committee, stressed that they did not support Russian President Vladimir Putin but tried to educate people about the underlying causes of war and to build a powerful and unifying pro-peace movement.

Still, several attendees were waving Russian flags, and a couple brought red Soviet banners with hammers and sickles.

The sentiment toward Ukraine seemed to distinguish between the Zelensky administration and everyday Ukrainians. The first was accused of being “infiltrated by Nazis,” and the latter was correctly said to be the foremost victim of the ongoing war. Not a single Ukrainian flag was in sight. According to the Daily Beast, some Ukrainians saw the event as anti-Ukrainian and showed up for a five-person counter-protest.

A self-described “Marxist Leninist and American patriot,” anti-war activist and YouTube personality Jackson Hinkle accused the U.S. Congress of having the blood of young Ukrainian and Russian men dying in Ukraine on their hands. “The halls of Congress that they go to vote to send another ten billion dollars to Ukraine, their roofs are dripping with the blood of Ukrainian soldiers,” he said to the cheers of the crowd.

Almost every single speaker stated that the bloated defense budget diverts funds away from pressing domestic issues.

Diane Sare, backlisted by the Ukrainian government for “promoting narratives consonant with Russian propaganda,” along with keynote speakers of the rally Tulsi Gabbard and Ron Paul, said, “Millions are suffering in our own nation because of our foolish insistence on being a global hegemon.”

“Our nation used to lead the world in producing steel, cars, and ships,” said Dennis Kucinich, a former U.S. Congressman from Ohio who was a staunch opponent of the Iraq war. “Now, we lead the world in making enemies, confusing defense with offense. Arming ourselves to the teeth, spending trillions of dollars to advance an aggressive empire through the promotion of war. But the wars, my dear friends, have come home.”

The warning of a global war that would result in mutual nuclear annihilation was another theme of the speeches.

“The war machine of NATO will destroy life on the planet. It’s in the process of doing it right now,” said Dr. Jill Stain, the Green Party’s former nominee for president.

Describing the Ukrainian situation as a “catastrophe” that can “grow out of control,” Scott Horton, the editorial director of Antiwar.com, said that in a direct conflict between NATO and Russia, billions would be killed. Therefore, there’s an urgent need for a ceasefire and peace negotiations. Horton went on to describe how the expansion of NATO and American meddling in Russian domestic politics in the 1990s, along with regime changes, aka “color revolutions,” in the former Soviet republics orchestrated by the U.S. government were major driving forces feeding Russian militarism.

“The only thing we should be calling an enemy is the very idea that there can be a right side in the toxic tangle of organized mass murder that is every war,” said David Swanson of the World BEYOND War, saying that he’s not even demanding the government stop funding the Ukrainian war to redirect funds to Americans, but foremost to avoid a nuclear war that would “end us all.”

Tulsi Gabbard, a former U.S. Representative from Hawaii, also accused the military deep state and its government puppets of leading the country to a nuclear Holocaust with no regard for the lives of ordinary Americans. “This proxy war that we are fighting against Russia right now could turn at any moment into a direct conflict between the United States/NATO and Russia,” Gabbard said, warning that “anyone with a little bit of common sense knows that a cold war can at any moment turn into a hot war against a nuclear-armed country.” “Such wars can not be won,” she emphasized.

Ron Paul, a former U.S. Congressman from Texas and the nation’s most prominent libertarian, said that the solution to the war issue is “simple”: “End the Fed!” This statement was met with loud cheers and chants of “End the Fed!” Paul went on to describe how the federal government bankrupts Americans with taxes, money printing, and perpetual war. Ordinary citizens themselves would likely never go to war, so they are being lied to, frightened, and shamed into supporting the war machine.  

Speaking with The New American, Paul said that the key to ending the war is building a grass-roots anti-war movement and educating people to change their hearts and minds about the war machine.

Please stay tuned for the interviews.

China Strengthens Alliance with Iran, Challenging US Global Supremacy

Ebrahim Raisi and Xi Jinping:

China Strengthens Alliance With Iran, Challenging U.S. Global Supremacy

BY LUIS MIGUEL

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/china-strengthens-alliance-with-iran-challenging-u-s-global-supremacy/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

As tensions rise between China and the United States, Beijing continues to build a parallel international world order that challenges America’s increasingly tenuous hegemony.

Among the world powers with whom the CCP is forming ever-closer ties is Iran. China is strengthening its diplomatic ties with Tehran and moving forward with plans to integrate the two nations’ economies with a 25-year cooperation program.

As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi traveled to Beijing this week in what was the first visit by an Iranian head of state to China in 20 years.

During the visit, Raisi met with China’s president, Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader vowed that his country “will unswervingly maintain its friendship and cooperation with Iran and advance China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership.”

During Raisi’s trip, it is expected that China and Iran will finalize several bilateral cooperation agreements aimed at integrating the two nations’ economies to a historically unprecedented degree.

Thus far, Tehran and Beijing have signed at least 20 agreements and documents, which outline economic cooperation in the areas of intellectual property, information technology, health, and international trade.

This comes at a time when the United States, and in particular its national security establishment, is up in arms over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that managed to make its way across the continent before the Biden administration finally shot it down. Then, over the weekend, three further unidentified flying objects were shot down over the United States and Canada.

Iran has expressed interest in such spy technology, and China might oblige in teaching its ally how to build it.

Political observers believe the new agreements are bad for the United States. The partnership will certainly make it easier for Tehran and Beijing to evade the consequences of U.S. sanctions.

Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank, told the Free Beacon that the China-Iran agreements “will be one of the toughest for Washington to offset in the next decade, as both rogues tighten economic and security ties.”

“Tightening ties between Beijing and Tehran is more proof that the Biden administration cannot afford to treat the China and Iran challenge as regional or quarantined,” continued Taleblu, adding that China “remains Iran’s economic lifeline, and has been the largest illicit and licit importer of Iranian crude oil in the past decade.”

As the Free Beacon noted:

Iranian officials say the country’s exports to China topped $12 billion during the last 10 months and that China exported around $12.3 billion of goods into Iran.

The Chinese leader celebrated the alliance with Iran in comments during a joint appearance with Raisi. The Chinese Communist Party “supports Iran in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national dignity … and in resisting unilateralism and hegemonism,” Xi said in comments carried by Iran’s state-controlled press. “In the face of the current complex changes in the world, times, and history, China and Iran have supported each other and worked together in solidarity and cooperation.”

The United States isn’t the only country struggling to deal with China’s growing dominance on the world stage. British officials are reportedly wargaming an economic response in the event that China invades Taiwan, as Britain and the West’s manufacturing dependence on the two Asian nations means their economies would certainly be impacted by such a conflict.

British MP and former Prime Minster Liz Truss on Friday is calling on her country to be more hawkish on China, advocating for the defense of a free Taiwan and urging sanctions against Beijing if it escalates tensions with Taipei.

Among the actions Truss wants to see are the creation of an “economic NATO” and regular audits by the Western-aligned powers to lower dependence on China in major industries.

As The New American has previously reported, it isn’t just China that is forging closer relations with Tehran. Russia is also partnering closely with the Middle Eastern power and is now the largest foreign investor in Iran.

According to Iran’s deputy finance minister, Ali Fekri, Russia “had brought some $2.7 billion worth of investment to two petroleum projects in Iran’s Western province of Ilam in the past 15 months,” accounting for 45 percent of all foreign investment secured by Tehran within that time frame.

The other top foreign investors in Iran for that reporting period were China, Turkey, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The collaboration was punctuated by the signing in January of a free-trade memorandum between Iran and Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) — a move anticipated to grow the relationship between the two countries.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia’s State Duma, called the mutual trade “extremely important in the conditions of sanctions pressure on our countries.”

Praising the free-trade memorandum, Volodin asserted that Moscow and Tehran should work on improving collaboration in finance and banking and that they can achieve this, in part, by using national currencies more often in settlements.

U.S. hegemony has long rested on its economic dominance, military superiority, the reign of the dollar, and its ability to punish “disobedient” nations with crippling sanctions.

Now, all of this leverage is rapidly being challenged by a rising Russo-Sino order that is clearly playing for keeps while Washington clumsily plays catch-up.

Pentagon’s Anti-White Diversity Chief Comes up With a Novel Way to Excuse Her Own Racism

REP. Elise Stefanik Slams DoD Over Radical DEI Chief, Calls to ‘Realign’ Priorities ‘Away from Woke Ideologies’

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: House Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) speaks during a town hall event hosted by House Republicans ahead of President Joe Bidens first State of the Union address tonight on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

SEE: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/09/19/exclusive-elise-stefanik-slams-dod-over-radical-dei-chief-calls-to-realign-priorities-away-from-woke-ideologies/

Who is Kelisa Wing? Defense Dept equity officer and author of 'anti-racism' books mocks 'white folx' online

Kelisa Wing social justice DEI woke Department of Defense

Kelisa Wing, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer in the Department of Defense’s education branch, has put white people on blast in a series of tweets.

Pompeo: Biden's Pentagon only wants to focus on 'green energy and racism'

‘Woke’ Department of Defense Equity CHIEF Kelisa Wing has a History of ANTI-white Twitter posts

SEE: https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/agitate-agitate-agitate-militarys

"“Agitate, Agitate, Agitate”— Military's New Diversity Chief Hawks Books, Advocates “Revolution” In K-12 Schools"

"Kelisa Wing advocates a racial reckoning, a revolution in the Pentagon's K-12 schools. How’s that good for readiness?"

QUOTES FROM ABOVE LINK: "Despite the relatively recent publication dates, many DoDEA school libraries already carry the books. Our review of all 160 DoDEA school libraries showed that 11 of the schools collectively carried 45 copies of Wing’s books:"

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2023/02/14/pentagons-anti-white-diversity-chief-comes-up-with-a-novel-way-to-excuse-her-own-racism-n1670392;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The diversity, equity, and inclusion chief for the Defense Department’s schools is in hot water over what is being termed “racially disparaging” remarks, but Kelisa Wing is no Bull Connor. Wing, who actually describes herself as a “woke administrator,” has indulged in today’s most culturally acceptable form of racism: hatred of white people. She has belatedly drawn the attention of lawmakers for remarks she made back in 2020 and 2021 and is fighting back with an interview published Friday in Military Times. Her defense? She made her hate-filled and racist remarks as a private citizen, not as an employee of the Department of Defense. There, now, don’t you feel better?

Wing said flatly: “No, I did not make disparaging comments against white people. I would never categorize an entire group of people to disparage them.” Really? Let’s see. According to a Sept. 2022 Fox News report, Wing, who has since deleted her rancid Twitter feed, tweeted in June 2020: “I’m so exhausted at these white folx in these PD [professional development] sessions this lady actually had the CAUdacity to say that black people can be racist too … I had to stop the session and give Karen the BUSINESS … we are not the majority, we don’t have power.”

Wing was misusing the Left’s insane lexicon here, for “folx,” as Merriam-Webster, which is now as woke as everyone else, tells us is a spelling that is “used especially to explicitly signal the inclusion of groups commonly marginalized.” So the exhausting white people in Wing’s meetings couldn’t have been “folx,” but Wing had more than enough racist anti-white tweets to maintain her woke bona fides.

Wing frequently expressed exasperation with how insolently white people dared to behave in her presence. “If another Karen tells me about her feelings,” she exclaimed in one tweet, “I might lose it.” When a critic took issue with Wing’s claim that “racism is ingrained in the very fabric of our country,” the diversity, equity, and inclusion chief’s response was succinct: “Bye Karen.”

Now, however, Wing has tried to explain all this away by insisting that she was not speaking in her official capacity: “I’m speaking now as a private individual, about my private free speech from July of 2020.” She also attempted to justify her remarks by claiming privileged victimhood status:

I was in a space where I was the only person of color. The purpose of that was people wanted to reconcile what was happening at the present time. In the middle of that session, someone just called out, “Well, Black people are racist, too.” It didn’t have any context to what we were talking about, and I started to explain to her that yes, everybody can be racist. But we’re talking about systemic racism and how that impacts people and their ability for housing, their ability for a lot of things. That’s something that I thought we were there to discuss….I can’t advocate for equity and access and opportunity and then not be willing to advocate for myself when an injustice is happening for myself. I have to stand up at some point, and this is the right time.

Well, great. But she is supposed to be the “diversity, equity, and inclusion” supervisor for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), which, according to Fox, “provides K-12 education to the DoD community in the U.S. and all over the world.” How will Wing avoid bringing her own racism into her work?

Related: The Defense Department Has a ‘Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer.’ Here’s Why She Hates You.

With just that concern, according to Military Times, “20 Republican lawmakers, including members of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, demanding to know whether DoD officials were aware of Wing’s tweets before they placed her in her current position. Lawmakers also asked Austin whether DoDEA endorses ‘the ideology’ in those tweets and whether it’s been incorporated into the curriculum proposed by DoDEA.” These are important questions. Yet the lawmakers sent Austin two letters about this in January and have received no response. The ostensibly marginalized and oppressed, you see, don’t think they have any obligation to address the concerns of their putative oppressors.

In reality, of course, Austin and Wing are cosseted elitists, not oppressed at all. Austin apparently doesn’t deign to answer questions from those who have no power to cause him any professional difficulty. And if they get too close, he, like Wing, can just cry “racism.” Works like a charm.

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