National Security
February 13, 2023 — Scott Johnson
No sooner had we noted the “Balloon war of the worlds” yesterday morning than we had a close encounter of the fourth kind over Lake Huron. NORAD posted this statement on it at 2:42 p.m. yesterday afternoon. This morning’s AP story is here. U.S. Air Force General Glen VanHerck is the commander of NORAD. He held a briefing following the shootdown (audio below). He professed not to know what’s going
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February 12, 2023 — John Hinderaker
The U.S. Air Force shot down its third balloon in as many days over Lake Huron: US fighter jets shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron on Sunday, marking the third time such action was taken in as many days and coming on the heels of last week’s Chinese spy balloon scandal. Sunday’s takedown is believed to have involved an object that was tracked by radar over Montana on
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November 1, 2022 — Scott Johnson
I started this series to document our movement toward the world of 1984. Big Tech has featured prominently in it. In Department of Homeland Security documents reviewed by the Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein and Lee Fang, we see the Biden administration going full Big Brother. Their story reporting on the DHS documents — some leaked, some obtained via Missouri v. Biden, some public — is “Truth Cops.” DHS has gone into
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April 5, 2022 — John Hinderaker
It is hard to think of a recent policy issue on which American public opinion has been so unified: just about everyone is pro-Ukraine, but hardly anyone wants American troops to fight on the ground. Despite this apparent consensus, various public figures, including Donald Trump, have been vilified as pro-Russia. It light of recent revelations about Russian atrocities, it is safe to assume that essentially no one–certainly no politician or
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October 29, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
China is developing a hypersonic missile designed to evade American nuclear defenses. This summer, it conducted two tests of that missile. The U.S. knew about the tests, but our military officials were silent on the subject until last week. After the Financial Times reported the Chinese tests, presumably based on a leak, our government finally discussed this development. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley called it “very close” to a “Sputnik
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September 12, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
David Von Drehle writes that most of the time the war on terror “has felt like war only to the few, the deployed: the special operators, the contractors, the diplomats, the spies, the data analysts. . .the drone pilots. “For the rest,” he complains, “it has felt like mom’s birthday, finals week, the playoffs, just another April.” But when the enemy’s short-term goal is to terrorize populations and its long-tern
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August 24, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
John Bolton calls attention to one aspect of Joe Biden’s decision to choose defeat in Afghanistan — the implications for Pakistan. Bolton argues that “the Taliban’s takeover next door immediately poses the sharply higher risk that Pakistani extremists will increase their already sizable influence in Islamabad, threatening at some point to seize full control.” By the way, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. According to Bolton, the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, is
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January 29, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote about how, at the urging of Nancy ( “the enemy is within”) Pelosi and Adam Schiff, the Biden administration placed Michael Ellis, the National Security Administration General Counsel, on administrative leave. I showed that Ellis, a family friend, is superbly qualified for the position; that there is nothing exceptional about the NSA GC having served in government in political roles prior to his appointment; and that there
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January 28, 2021 — Paul Mirengoff
Michael Ellis is a highly experienced, superbly qualified intelligence professional. He has a strong record of accomplishment in all three branches of government. Last year, Ellis, a family friend, was selected to be the general counsel at the National Security Agency (NSA). But now, after Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff demanded that he be removed, the Biden administration has placed him on administrative leave. The Washington Post and other left-liberal
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November 25, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Alejandro Mayorkas is Joe Biden’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security. His nomination was expected to be confirmed. However, the nomination might already be in jeopardy. Sen. Tom Cotton tweets: Alejandro Mayorkas was found by Barack Obama’s Inspector General to be guilty of selling Green Cards to Chinese nationals on behalf of rich, democratic donors. He is disqualified from leading the Department of Homeland Security. Mayorka should, indeed,
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August 18, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Over the weekend, President Trump said he will “take a look” at granting a pardon to Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor. Snowden was charged with espionage in 2013 after disclosing a trove of highly confidential documents about U.S. surveillance programs. He fled the country and now lives in Russia. Trump explained: I’m not that aware of the Snowden situation, but I’m going to start looking at it. It seems
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June 20, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Judge Royce Lamberth, a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., has denied the Trump administration’s request to block publication of John Bolton’s book. Judge Lamberth, a conservative appointed by Ronald Reagan, found that publication risks U.S. national security by disclosing classified information. However, he concluded that, as he said at oral argument, “the horse is already out of the barn.” Lamberth explained that the book’s details are now publicly
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June 16, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Here’s the left’s line on John Bolton and his forthcoming book: Despise Bolton, but Read His Book Anyway.” President Trump concurs with the first part, but dissents from the second. And, he would add, if you do read his book, don’t believe what he writes. My line on Bolton and his book can’t be summarized as easily. However, it includes the following thoughts: First, if the book contains classified information,
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March 15, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Three provisions of the Patriot Act will expire unless they are reauthorized tomorrow. As described by Andy McCarthy, they involve: (a) roving wiretaps, which allow agents to continue monitoring, say, a terrorist who uses burner phones to try to defeat surveillance; (b) “lone wolf” authority, which allows agents to monitor a foreigner who appears to be involved in terrorism without evidence tying him to a known terrorist organization; and (c)
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January 3, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Nancy Pelosi fancies herself a foreign policy expert who not only must be consulted by the president’s foreign policy team, but who can set or manipulate American foreign policy. Recall her foray into Middle East policy a decade ago, when she defied the Bush State Department, met with Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and declared him the key to bringing peace to the Middle East. Here is what Shadow Secretary Pelosi
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January 2, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Fox News reports that Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani has been killed in a rocket attack at Baghdad International Airport. Soleimani was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force. President Trump ordered the attack and our military carried it out. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that Soleimani is as dangerous as the late ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed by a U.S. strike
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September 11, 2019 — Paul Mirengoff
To no one’s surprise, President Trump lashed out at John Bolton today. He said of Bolton: You know, John’s known as a tough guy. He’s so tough, he got us into Iraq. That’s tough. Actually, Bolton didn’t get the U.S. into Iraq. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rumsfeld did. It’s true that Bolton favored intervening in Iraq. But so did Trump, though he falsely claims he didn’t. In
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