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‘Steps Underway’: Mattis Is Developing Options For Trump To Strike Assad

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti The U.S. military is developing several proposals for President Donald Trump to strike Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in response to what U.S. officials believe was a chemical gas attack he carried out Wednesday. The U.S. already had plans to take out Assad’s chemical weapons arsenal in 2013, which…

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Nikki Haley Opens Door To US Action Against Assad For Chemical Weapons Attack

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley diplomatically indicated that the U.S. may take action against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for a chemical weapons attack Tuesday in an address she gave to the U.N. security council Wednesday. “When United Nations fails to act collectively, there are times in…

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Mattis Declares That ‘We’re Not In Iraq To Seize Anybody’s Oil’

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti Secretary of Defense James Mattis declared that the U.S. would not be taking any oil from Iraq prior to departing for Baghdad Monday, contrary to past statements by President Donald Trump. Trump reiterated his declaration that the U.S. should take Iraq’s oil on his first day as…

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Here Are The NATO Countries Mattis Challenged To Up Defense Spending

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Jacob Bojesson NATO figures show several countries are far below the 2 percent of GDP spending criteria as the Trump administration pushes for countries to increase spending under threat of a more “moderate” commitment from their strongest ally. Out of the alliance’s 28 members, just five meet the spending goal. U.S….

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Trump’s Anti-ISIS Plan Has One Problem, Its Probably Illegal

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Saagar Enjeti President Donald Trump’s repeated pledge to try and work with Russia to defeat the Islamic State in Syria may be dead on arrival due to a 2014 act of Congress. The 2014 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits coordination with the Russian government, as a response to Russia’s…

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Russian Forces To Stay In Syria For 50 Years Thanks To New Defense Deal

LISTEN TO TLR’S LATEST PODCAST: By Russ Read Russia signed a new defense agreement with Syria Friday, allowing Russian forces to stay in Syria for another 50 years. The new agreement will not only secure Russia’s newfound position in the Middle East, but it will also drastically expand Russian military capabilities in the region. Russia’s…

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Mattis May Have Had His First Break With Trump

By Saagar Enjeti Newly designated Secretary of Defense James Mattis reportedly assured U.S. senators of his commitment to move forward with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, which President-elect Donald Trump previously suggested had problems. Trump tweeted Dec. 22 that he was asking the Boeing corporation to offer a competitively priced alternative to the F-35…

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Mattis’s First Order Of Business In Central Command: Fire Mike Flynn

By Russ Read Future Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis removed former Army Lt. Gen. and future National Security Advisor Mike Flynn from his intelligence role in Afghanistan, according to Army documents obtained by the Washington Post. Mattis removed Flynn from his position in 2010 after Flynn was investigated by Central Command (CENTCOM) for sharing classified…