- Trump’s first budget will call for a $54 billion dollar increase in defense spending. This is roughly a 9% increase in the defense budget. [Link]
- A bar owner is facing $30,000 in fines and 18 months in prison for buying liquor from a retail store and not a wholesaler. [Link]
- Grant Neal was expelled from a Colorado college after the school’s administration pushed an investigation against him claiming he raped another student at the college. The student that the school alleges Neal raped never made a claim that Neal raped her and insisted that all sex between the two was consensual. The school ignored all evidence that suggested that Neal did nothing wrong. [Link]
- The City of Chicago is expanding surveillance on its citizens. Chicago is putting more cameras around the city, expanding the area covered by ShotSpotter to 13.5 sq miles, and will start using HunchLab to try to predict where crimes will happen. [Link]
- Gareth Porter writes this article on intelligence agencies pushing Trump to a more hawkish foreign policy on Russia. [Link]
- Israel carried out five airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas reportedly fired some rockets into Israel. Four people in Gaza were reported to be injured by the Israeli airstrikes. Isreal also carried out airstrikes in Syria against the Syrian army. The Syrian army troops that were targeted were moving weapons to Hezbollah. [Link]
- Iraqi forces are nearing the first of five bridges that cross from East to West Mosul. All five of the bridges have been destroyed by US airstrikes. Iraqi forces have taken several casualties in fighting so far. However, exact numbers are not known because they Iraqi government no longer releases that information. [Link]
- The Pentagon’s plan on how to defeat ISIS was delivered to the White House today. The plan was not revealed the public, but talking points from the plan suggest more US troops in Syria and increased airstrikes against ISIS worldwide. [Link]
- A documentary on the Syrian White Helmets won an Oscar. The documentary is supportive of the White Helmets who help turn public opinion in favor of al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups over the Syrian government. [Link]
- Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and the Syrian army started fighting South of al-Bab. The fighting was started by the rebels. Russia had worked out a deal between Turkey and Syria not to fight in this region. [Link]
On Foreign Policy Focus #7, I explain what Americans do not understand about our foreign policy. I go into detail about a father’s reaction to learning his son has been killed overseas and how people in other countries feel the same way when their family members are killed. I also give news updates on the Mosul invasion, the Iraqi Kurd’s plans for independence, Nikki Haley’s new sanctions proposal, ISIS actions in Syria, Famine in Yemen, Iran following the nuke deal, the Pentagon’s push for more war in Somalia, and Trump blocking the North Korean delegation from coming to the US. LISTEN HERE!!
