Mike Maharrey joins Tommy to discuss The Defend the Guard Act that is expected to be taken up in state legislatures in the 2020 session. They touch on the appropriate use of the National Guard and why states should demand congress declare war before being granted the power to deploy National Guard troops to combat zones.
Which they take at face value and also to be a horrible, cynical thing to do. Which, if it’s at all true, then it probably is for political reasons, but so what? Doesn’t that just mean that that’s what the American people — the right even — want to happen, and that he’d be carrying out their popular will? Heaven forfend.
“The Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan as early next week, according to three current and former U.S. officials. The withdrawal will leave between 8,000 and 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the officials said. …
“‘This takes us to the minimum that you have to keep in the country to remain credible negotiating with the Taliban,’ the former official said. …
“His advisers have over the past three years convinced him not to pull the plug on the Afghanistan mission, but the president showed a willingness to take such a step in October when he abruptly pulled U.S. troops out of Syria.
“Trump had made clear to his advisers earlier this year that he wanted to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the November 2020 election.
“‘It’s all about talking points in 2020,’ the former official said.”
Yeah, just terrible, huh?
NYT: At Least 23 Soldiers Killed in Insider Attack in Afghanistan
At least 23 [ANA] soldiers were killed while they were sleeping on Saturday in an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest episode of enemy infiltration that has raised concerns about a new local military force billed as the hope for holding territory recaptured from the Taliban.
The Taliban infiltrator, who was on duty at a military base in Ghazni Province, opened fire on his colleagues, wiping out almost the whole unit, officials said. The attacker then seized all weapons and equipment in the base and joined the insurgency.
Enter the prince of shady black ops for the highest bidder, per Bloomberg:
“Erik Prince, a private security mogul with ties to the Trump administration, held secret talks in Caracas last month with Venezuela’s vice president after briefing at least one senior U.S. official on his plans, according to people familiar with the situation.”
He met with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s outspoken number two, and who happens to be a sanctioned individual.
It appears a weird Trump admin “back-channel” situation of sorts, perhaps realizing the campaign to foist Juan Guaido on the population has failed.
Prince apparently pushed for the release of six imprisoned Citgo executives, which appears to have happened, according to the report (or at least they were put on “house arrest”).
Bloomberg speculates, “For the Maduro regime, holding talks with an arch-enemy like Prince makes sense because they could present an opportunity for a deal that would alleviate the financial pressure the oil-producing country is under. While Maduro has successfully managed to stave off Guaido’s bid to take control of the government, top officials have been hamstrung by crippling U.S. economic sanctions.”
As I detailed a while back for a UK media outlet, former Blackwater executives continue to be found all over the Trump administration, even if in an unofficial capacity, so it make sense that these would be the very ones doing the White House’s shady back dealings and “dirty work” even while official policy remains regime change.
The logic probably goes: if our efforts at supporting a couple recent military coup attempts failed so miserably, then why not pursue soft entrances with some possible “concessions” to get that oil flowing our way again? (Remember that Citgo is the US arm of Venezuela state oil, based in Houston and majority-owned by PDVSA).
The Federal Reserve recently injected billions into the repo market. But dude, what’s a repo? And how should you invest during an asset bubble?
In this episode we collaborated with the libertarian real estate investor George Gammon to explain how the repo market works and what it’s done to create a bubble in the financial markets.
You can find George Gammon’s Libertarian channel here:
In a sudden “about face,” the Trump Administration now claims that Iran is NOT behind the Houthis in Yemen. Has Washington suddenly decided to recognize reality? Not likely. More likely is that the US is trying to help the Saudis out of a lost war. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of innocents were killed in the Saudi war of aggression with US support. Will anyone answer for it? On today’s Ron Paul Liberty Report:
Cross-posted at Antiwar.com.
