President Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence met earlier today with congressional leadership: House Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
[Video and Transcript of remarks below]  When Nancy Pelosi began talking the look on VP Pence’s face is, well, priceless. Additionally, anticipating Pelosi and Schumer are going to hold up the budget by threatening military spending, the ever-strategic Trump invited General Mattis into the discussion so the Democrat leadership could tell him to his face why they would be willing to put American military lives at risk.  Epic.

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[ Transcript] 3:08 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. We’re all here as a very friendly, well-unified group. It’s a well-knit-together group of people. And we hope that we’re going to make some great progress for our country. I think that will happen, and we appreciate it very much.
And, Chuck, Nancy, would you say anything — like to say anything? Chuck?
LEADER SCHUMER: Well, we hope we can come to an agreement. Funding the government is extremely important, helping our soldiers is very important, and helping average citizens is very important.
So we’re here in the spirit of: let’s get it done.
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Earlier this afternoon President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  Together with living survivors of Pearl Harbor, President Trump honored their legacy. Don’t miss the song at 06:10:

[Transcript] 2:15 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: These are great men. Thank you for being with us. On this day, 76 years ago, more than 2,000 Americans were killed in a surprise attack on our homeland; hundreds more were injured. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers in our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor suffered crippling losses. Everybody knows about it. America was at war. These folks know about it more than anybody.
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Swamp Guardian and Fox News primary Decepticon, Brett Baier, interviews former Obama CIA Director Leon Panetta and President Trump’s current CIA Director Mike Pompeo during a Reagan Defense Forum summit at the Reagan Library.
Leon Panetta and Hillary Clinton worked hand in hand over the horrific policy execution in Libya and Syria.  The joint CIA/DoS mission, Operation Zero Footprint, was an outcome of President Obama’s finding memo authorizing the covert mission in Libya.
Panetta is 100% full-on Deep State/Deep Swamp.  Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo is a bridge leading away from the larger Deep State apparatus. The distinction between the two comes out in buckets.

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For those who use Twitter DaveNYiii has a great thread on the discussion – SEE HERE
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During several months of discussions deep in the weeds of President Trump’s geopolitical strategy toward the North Korean nuclear missile crisis, CTH extensively outlined a particular economic approach that would likely surface ONLY AFTER President Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley walked methodically through the sequential elements needed.
The most important part of that sequence involved getting China and Russia to accept the cornerstone of a denuclearized DPRK.  They did.  The “Unanimous” U.N. Security Council resolution against the DPRK was passed.

The next phase was to get the international community to agree to the strongest ever massive economic sanctions. They also did.  As this was occurring, Defense Secretary James Mattis positioned U.S. Navy assets forward into the region, and close-quarter drills began in South-East Asia ocean trade routes near merchant vessels.
Evolutionary talks between President Trump and the newly empowered Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping established the framework for President Trump’s zero-sum economic position; both President Trump and Chairman Xi were clear on the possibility.  Following their meeting, China sent an emissary to the DPRK and the U.S. State Dept. labeled North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism.
As anticipated, in the State Department response to the latest ICBM test, we now see the elements of a pending U.S. naval blockade.   [Paragraph #2, Sentence #3]

[…]  In addition to implementing all existing UN sanctions, the international community must take additional measures to enhance maritime security, including the right to interdict maritime traffic transporting goods to and from the D.P.R.K.…

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Defense detected and tracked a single North Korea missile launch today at about 1:17 p.m. EST. Initial assessment indicates that this missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The missile was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, and traveled about 1000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies.
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Earlier today President Trump held a White House Event honoring Native American Code Talkers and their historic contributions to U.S. military efforts.

[TRANSCRIPT] 2:27 P.M. EST – MR. MACDONALD: Thank you, Honorable President of this great United States of America, President Trump. Thank you for inviting us, Navajo Code Talkers, to the Capitol and to the White House of this great nation we call the United States.
Today, we have with us three of the thirteen surviving Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. First, we have Fleming Begaye. Fleming Begaye is 97 years old, the oldest veteran of World War II. He survived the Battle of Tarawa. His landing craft was blown up and he literally had to swim to the beach to survive. Also, on Saipan, he also landed on Tinian where he got shot up real badly, survived one year in naval hospital.
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Earlier today President Donald Trump sat at a desk with large computer screen and a phone as he teleconferenced with troos stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey Bahrain and aboard the U.S.S. Monterey.
♦Army: 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan; ♦Marines: Direct Support Team Golf (2ndMarine Raider Battalion) in Iraq;  ♦Navy: The USS Monterey 5th Fleet at sea;  ♦Air Force: 74th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in Incirlik Turkey; and ♦Coast Guard*: USCG Wrangell at Kuwait Navy Base.
President Trump thanked all of the troops as a group and then addressed each group individually.  The media were then excused from the room as the president began to take questions from the troops:

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According to officials who are familiar with the characteristics of the missing submarine, if submerged, there is approximately a seven day supply of oxygen.  The vessel has been missing since November 15th….  President Trump tweeted about it today:

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The search for an Argentine navy submarine missing in the South Atlantic for one week reached a “critical phase” on Wednesday as the 44 crew on board could be running low on oxygen, a navy spokesman said.

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The Argentine military submarine ARA San Juan has been missing for approximately three days.  Today there were reports of seven attempted transmissions from frequencies that appear to emanate from the sub.  However, they were only a few seconds in duration and no direct communication was possible.
The Argentine’s are asking for help.  The U.S. Navy has dispatched a P8-A Poseidon search aircraft and NASA has changed mission for a close proximity P-3 Orion aircraft that was already in the vicinity.

(CNN) The crew of a missing Argentine military submarine tried contacting naval bases seven times, Argentina’s Defense Ministry said. The calls were made on Saturday to different bases between 10:52 a.m. and 3:42 p.m. and ranged from four to 36 seconds long, the ministry said in a statement to CNN en Español. No communication connection was made.
The navy said the military is working with a US-based company that specializes in satellite communication to determine the location of the submarine, which has been missing for more than three days.

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