“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” – Ken Kesey

(Via Foreign Policy) Donald Trump has spent much of his campaign deriding NATO allies for “ripping off” the American taxpayer and failing to contribute to the world’s most powerful military alliance. But on Wednesday, his fellow Republicans joined the chorus during a closed-door meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Capitol Hill, according to sources inside the room.
For under an hour, senators grilled Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, about why only five members of the 28-nation club spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, the official amount NATO recommends each nation set aside. Some expressed particular dissatisfaction with Germany, the fourth largest economy in the world, which does not meet the 2 percent threshold.
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Donald Trump “Fox & Friends” FULL interview discussing Belgium, Terrorism, Safety and Security, World View, The National Enquirer and presidential opponent Senator Ted Cruz:

How dare he.  Just, well, how dare he.  That’s the takeaway sense you get when you review the New York Times framing of a two hour ‘on-the-record’ interview with Donald Trump referencing a world-view and foreign policy outlook.
It is refreshing, and it is bizarre we can even use the word “refreshing“, to see an American candidate for the American Presidency, say their goal is to actually put America-first in all policy decisions.
It’s not protectionism, it’s patriotism.
It’s not isolationism, it’s common sense.
Almost all of Europe and most of Asia are capable of spending Trillions of dollars on their infrastructure, Airports, bullet-trains, high-speed rail, bridges, ‘Chunnels’, and the list goes on…. quite simply because they don’t spend much on their own national defense, and prefer to hide behind our military apron when needed.
To pay for this enomorus international military/police force, and overly generous commitment, we, in turn, put ourselves into debt and can’t spend on our own domestic needs.   This is not international economic theory, it’s a reality – and for the first time in decades a politician is saying enough is enough.   Charity begins at home!
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This is just unreal. Absolutely unreal.

This absolute MUST WATCH video was recorded a little over a week ago as a message to presidential candidate Donald Trump from Brussels Belgium.

Stunning in its prescience.  Jaw dropping, and simultaneously heartbreaking, message in hindsight.

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Belgium Terrorist Attack 

• Authorities confirm suicide attack at airport
• ISIS Has claimed responsibility
• Belgian officials: 30 dead — 10 at airport, 20 at Maalbeek metro
• Airport, public transport closed in Brussels

Investigators have a “working assumption” that the group that launched Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels belongs to the same network that conducted the November terror attacks in Paris. – LINK –

A surveillance photo of possible suspects in the Brussels attacks has been passed to the U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force by Belgian authorities, a U.S. law enforcement official says.  (more…)

One of the best outcomes from ‘Trump-Goes-To-Washington‘ today was candidate Donald Trump being the leader who finally brings the U.S. – NATO relationship to the discussion table.

The subject was relayed by the Washington Post who also had an hour-long editorial board sit down with Mr. Trump as he visited various DC-based influence agents:

[…]   [Trump] questioned the United States’ continued involvement in NATO and, on the subject of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, said America’s allies are “not doing anything.”

“Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in NATO, and yet we’re doing all of the lifting,” Trump said. “They’re not doing anything. And I say: ‘Why is it that Germany’s not dealing with NATO on Ukraine? Why is it that other countries that are in the vicinity of Ukraine, why aren’t they dealing? Why are we always the one that’s leading, potentially the third world war with Russia.’ “

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The U.S. State Department released more of Hillary Clinton’s emails today.  One of those emails is noted as originating on March 22nd 2011, the exact day President Obama launched the attacks on Libya.

The newly released email confirms what many already knew – it was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice and Samantha Power who convinced President Obama to go to war in Libya:

“Turning POTUS around on this is a major win for everything we worked for”..

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Let us all hope the good people of New Hampshire spot the insufferable and poorly briefed politicians who want to lead the nation.

In a recent South Carolina GOP debate Jeb Bush talked about trade with China and showed how much he relies on briefings by his team to create his talking points. Bush did not realize Boeing was moving a manufacturing plant to China, and with it American Jobs – SEE HERE

Similarly, last night in New Hampshire, to bolster his propositions about eminent domain, Governor Jeb Bush made the gobsmacking assertion the Keystone Pipeline project was a “public use” project.

It isn’t.

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There’s no way these media reports are accidental or not directly connected.  And none of this looks the least bit good against the larger dynamic of the Syrian crisis and President Stompy Feet’s prior position on ISIS.

Yesterday, well, actually Friday, the release of the information was yesterday, Vice-President Joe Biden met in Turkey with President Recep Erdogan.  They met for several hours as reported in The Hill and the topic was an escalated U.S./Turkish military footprint against ISIS :

Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said the U.S. and regional ally Turkey are prepared to seek a military solution in Syria to try to solve the nation’s five-year-long civil war.

Speaking after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Biden stressed that a political solution to the problem would still be preferable.

“But we are prepared if that’s not possible to having a military solution to this operation and taking out Daesh,” he said, according to AFP, using another name for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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The story of CENTCOM analysts accusing commanders of manipulating intelligence reports on ISIS to appease the White House is a story that has some interest in the mainstream media – but what if it is actually connected to a larger issue?

Washington DC -Allegations are mounting that senior intelligence officials at Central Command not only skewed findings on the ISIS war to please D.C., but tried to hide what they did.

In July, a group of intelligence analysts at the U.S. military’s Central Command accused their bosses of distorting and selectively editing intelligence reports about the fight against ISIS in order to portray that campaign as more successful than it really was. As a result of those complaints, the Pentagon’s inspector general opened an investigation.

Now, the allegations of misconduct have extended to a possible cover-up, with some analysts accusing the senior intelligence officials at CENTCOM, Maj. Gen. Steven Grove and his civilian deputy, Gregory Ryckman, of deleting emails and files from computer systems before the inspector general could examine them, three individuals familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.

One U.S. official said the alleged activity could amount to obstruction and interference with the inspector general’s investigation, which began last summer.  (read more)

The presumption within the controversy (as it is generally discussed by the media) is that CENTCOM bosses changed the intel to give the impression of success to please the White House.  But what if that wasn’t the reason?

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