BREAKING: Residents are looting Yemeni presidential compound in Aden vacated hours earlier by President Hadi: witnesses

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 25, 2015

State Dept. confirms Yemen's president has left his house, but doesn't know where he is http://t.co/AKHz5Sgulq pic.twitter.com/jcAbABF9Bk

— Noema Magazine (@NoemaMag) March 25, 2015

ISIS is claiming victory in Yemen, the Yemeni President has fled, the U.S. air base has been abandoned, the U.S. embassy was evacuated.   However, despite these troubling facts and reports the White House is sticking by their former assertions that Yemen is a success story.  Watch Josh Earnest today: (more…)

BREAKING NEWS – It is being widely reported that at 3:30pm (EST) today at Fort Bragg North Carolina an announcement will be made as to the status of Bowe Bergdahl and what charges, if any, he will face.

UPDATE: BREAKING LEAK – Bergdahl will be charged with two criminal charges: #1 Desertion, #2 Misbehavior before the Enemy.

♦  The first charge “Desertion” is remarkably different from AWOL.  “Desertion” implies specific evidence to prove the soldier charged intended to stay with the enemy.

♦  The second charge “Misbehavior before the enemy” has several aspects:  • Running away • Abandoning or surrendering command • Putting safety of command in danger • Throwing down arms  • Conduct that is cowardly  (more here)

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An excellent article in the Washington Post today includes written Question and Answer exchange with General David Petraeus after a recent re-visit to Iraq and the region.

General Petraeus: […] I think Iraq and the coalition forces are making considerable progress against the Islamic State. In fact, I would argue that the foremost threat to Iraq’s long-term stability and the broader regional equilibrium is not the Islamic State; rather, it is Shiite militias, many backed by — and some guided by — Iran.

These militia returned to the streets of Iraq in response to a fatwa by Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Sistani at a moment of extreme danger. And they prevented the Islamic State from continuing its offensive into Baghdad. Nonetheless, they have, in some cases, cleared not only Sunni extremists but also Sunni civilians and committed atrocities against them.

Thus, they have, to a degree, been both part of Iraq’s salvation but also the most serious threat to the all-important effort of once again getting the Sunni Arab population in Iraq to feel that it has a stake in the success of Iraq rather than a stake in its failure. Longer term, Iranian-backed Shia militia could emerge as the preeminent power in the country, one that is outside the control of the government and instead answerable to Tehran. (more…)

(Via Fox News) US Army Reserve Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer (Ret.) said that the Army is pressuring Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s defense team “to basically cop a plea, to plead out to something, and that would avoid the embarrassment of the entire long-drawn out legal process” on Wednesday’s “O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel.

Shaffer, who previously reported that a decision and announcements on charges for Bergdahl would come in mid-March stated that he believes the White House and the Pentagon do not want Bergdahl’s trial going on at the same time the detainees swapped for him are released at the beginning of May. (link)

~  “We train in the same conditions we fight”  ~

NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. — Seven Marines and four crewmembers are missing and presumed dead Wednesday after an Army helicopter crashed during a training exercise off the Florida Panhandle.

The area was under a fog advisory when the crash occurred Tuesday night near Eglin Air Force Base about 50 miles east of Pensacola. The extreme fog still present Wednesday morning impeded the search, preventing a Coast Guard helicopter from going airborne until about 1 p.m. CT. (more…)

We have shared Jon McNaughton’s work before and his latest is right on target.

Interactive version HERE and Video Below (more…)

Apparently the Pentagon forgot to check with the White House for permission before they coordinated an offensive against ISIS…  This is what happens when the Pentagon doesn’t defer to the White House, and General John Allen remembers the blackmail files being maintained on him.  

(Via Daily Beast) Just days ago, the generals were trumpeting plans to knock ISIS out of its most important stronghold in Iraq. Now, those plans are on indefinite hold.

The U.S. military’s goal to retake Iraq’s second largest city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been pushed back several months at least, defense officials told The Daily Beast. That’s a major shift for the Pentagon, which recently announced that the first major ground offensive in the war against ISIS could come in the next few weeks.

Defense officials once hoped that Iraqi troops could move into Mosul by the Spring and reclaim the city from ISIS. Now, those officials say, Fall is more realistic. And even that date was tenuous. (more…)

The jury in the Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield capital murder trial has reached a verdict. Lawyers for defendant Eddie Routh have argued for a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity. The options are • Guilty • Not Guilty or • Not Guilty by reason for insanity.

UPDATE: The Verdict Is GUILTY

All of the attorneys and participants have been recalled back to the courtroom. We are awaiting the decision.

 UPDATE: – TEXAS A Texas jury has found a former Marine guilty of murdering famed Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield.

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Weird story and even more weird explanation/apology. Ego, I guess.

(Via The Hill) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald falsely claimed that he served in a military special forces unit, he admitted to the Huffington Post.

When a homeless veteran told McDonald in a conversation captured by CBS that he had served in special forces, the head of the VA replied that he had, too. The conversation aired during a CBS News story chronicling how the agency is working to house homeless veterans.

“I have no excuse,” McDonald told The Huffington Post. “I was not in special forces.”

He added that he “reacted spontaneously” and “wrongly [with] no intent in any way to describe my record as any different than it is.” (more…)

This argument was made by all reasonable people back when the White House decided it was more politically opportune to trade GITMO detainees for Bowe Bergdahl. The newsworthy aspect is the confirmation from the other hostage’s family.

WASHINGTON DC – The brother of an American woman who was killed after spending months as a hostage of Islamic State militants says Kayla Mueller’s situation worsened after the government [Obama] traded five Taliban commanders for a captive U.S. soldier.

The militants increased their demands after the May swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Eric Mueller told NBC’s “Today” in an interview that aired Monday.

“That made the whole situation worse because that’s when the demands got greater,” he said. “They got larger. They realized that they had something.”

Mueller’s death was confirmed Feb. 10 by her family and U.S. officials. The Islamic State group claimed she died in a Jordanian airstrike, but U.S. officials have not confirmed that. The Pentagon said it didn’t know how she was killed. (more…)