Earlier today Senator Mike “H1B” Lee called the national security briefing “lame” and “inadequate”, saying the military and intelligence leaders ran from hard questions at the briefing.  Well, Senator James Lankford calls those accusations by Senator Lee demonstrably false and untrue.
Senator Lankford noted the briefing included examples of 90 incidents of Iranian proxy attacks against the U.S. and coalition forces in the last month-and-a-half; ultimately leading to the killing of an American. It was after the final attack when POTUS Trump ordered the elimination of Qassim Soleimani.

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Earlier today President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania welcomed the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mrs. Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis to the White House.  Prior to their bilateral meeting the two leaders held a press availability in the oval office. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. On behalf of the First Lady and myself, it’s an honor to have the Prime Minister of Greece and First Lady of Greece with us. We really appreciate it. We have many things to discuss.

The relationship is extr- — really extraordinary, I would say. Right? It’s as good as it can get. We’re doing a lot of things together — military. We’re also doing big trade. A lot of trade. And Greece has made a tremendous comeback. We’ve worked with them very closely. And, really, the Prime Minister will have some interesting things to say. So you have to tell them one statistic, because it’s a great statistic. We’re very proud of Greece and the comeback that they’re making. And we will continue it forward. There’s no doubt about it. Thank you very much for being here.

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Earlier today Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a press briefing to discuss the ongoing issues with Iran and Iraq.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared on Fox News, CBS, NBC and ABC to discuss the killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani and the current status with Iran.  Here’s the roundup:
CBS Margaret Brennan clutches her pearls and sits aghast at the audacity of the United States to kill a terrorist on foreign soil: “what right do you have” she condescendingly snarls, positioning herself as more experienced in the world than Secretary Pompeo.  With dramatic flair and purposeful constitution, Brennan rises to protect the Iranian regime.

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ABC George Stephanopoulos is shocked, s.h.o.c.k.e.d, that U.S. policy would mean Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani could be killed.
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At the time of a Tuesday evening Fox News interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was affirming his trip to Ukraine was still planned.  However, by the time Pompeo woke up on Wednesday morning those plans were cancelled….  Perhaps someone told the secretary he needed to stay-attached to the crisis he helped inspire?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday postponed a trip to Ukraine so he could focus on the situation in Iraq after demonstrators attacked the U.S. embassy.
Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups stormed the U.S. embassy’s perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests. They withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran.

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President Trump responds to the domestic and foreign alignment of provocations.

President Trump doesn’t have too many options here.  However, he’s a much more cunning adversary than the Deep State has faced previously.  Strategically a good decision to head-off those carrying the banners in the war parade.  Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Asper, Joint Chiefs’ Milley have an alignment of domestic interests well organized.
Resounding applause will be heard from The State Department, the Pentagon, the CIA, Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John Bolton, Tom Cotton, Adam Kinzinger, Mark Levin, Mitt Romney and a host of well positioned senators, soon to be jurists….
The domestic warning was akin to ‘we can create a Benghazi, watch‘.  POTUS takes the energy from the threat, uses a little judo adding his own energy, and controls the outcome.
“Happy New Year” is akin to “Relax, I got this“…. So now we watch.

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If they think Iran is attempting to bait the U.S. into military action in Iraq that will facilitate the agenda of Iran… then why would Pompeo, Esper and Milley take the bait?
The most likely answer is because they (DoS/CIA) wanted to take the bait… then stage an overreaction (DoD)…. and call it “defensive” (DoS)… which makes matters worse…. and draws us in deeper (DoD/DoS)… which is the excuse for war with Iran…. which is ultimately the end goal.

Only this time it’s obvious…
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National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien appeared on ABC This Week with Jonathan Karl to discuss the ongoing issues with North Korea.  Karl attempted the oft familiar approach of pitting O’Brien against former advisor John Bolton, by highlighting Bolton’s always customary and short-sighted war mongering approach against the more pragmatic position of President Trump.   O’Brien did well to swat down that media tactic.
Jonathan Karl quickly shifts tactics by using North Korea’s Kim Jong Chol comments in an effort to undermine President Trump’s strategic policy with Kim Jong-un.  That too failed.
Taking a third swing at the administration Karl shifts narrative construction to the case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher by using leaked prosecution video in an effort to undermine the intervention of malicious prosecution through a pardon by President Trump.  O’Brien smartly deflects the side-snark by reminding the narrative engineer that President Trump not only has pardon authority but also delivered criminal justice reform which produced a similar outcome for many non-military Americans.  Good interview:

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Note FWIW: O’brien also said he doesn’t think Pompeo is going to run for Senate.
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Several news articles are speculating that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might run for the U.S. Senate Seat from Kansas [Here and Here].  If accurate, that move would seem to solve a few personnel issues in a rather diplomatic way.

Since the Sept./Oct. impeachment operation started there has been a considerable shift notable in the relationship between President Trump and Secretary Pompeo; especially after officials from within the Dept. of State came out strong against President Trump after CIA whistle-blower Eric Ciaramella lit the fuse…. and Pompeo was, well, essentially mute.
Getting rid of Pompeo for a Senate bid would be a win/win.
Absent the dangerous Siren voice from Nikki Haley :::spit-spit-spit::: moving Treasury Sec. Mnuchin (or similar) to State would be a good transition.  Mnuchin already knows the players and has contacts therein etc.  A Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation should be seamless, well, sans the predictable Mitt Romney grandstanding.
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Representative John Ratcliffe is one of only three republican members of congress [the only one remaining (Gowdy, Goodlate gone)] who has seen all of the classified material evidence behind the FISA application and the intelligence abuses in 2016.
In this interview Ratcliffe outlines the scale and scope of the abuses as well as what they mean in the context of corrupt and illegal DOJ and FBI activity. WATCH:

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The takeaway from this interview with Bartiromo is exactly why senators who participated with the intelligence operation to remove and eliminate President Trump blocked Ratcliffe’s nomination to the position of Director of National Intelligence.
The SSCI controls who is allowed to be CIA Director, NSA Director and Director of National Intelligence.  The nominees must pass through this committee.  Senator Burr and Senator Warner are the Chairman and Vice-Chair respectively.  Both blocked Ratcliffe.
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