Trump: “We need Greenland from a national security situation. It`s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not gonna be able to do it ... the EU needs us to have it“

READ: The Pentagon inspector general just released the 84-page report on Pete Hegseth`s use of Signal to discuss sensitive military strikes in Yemen.

The report found Hegseth`s actions risked putting troops in danger. www.dodig.mil/reports.html...
(dodig.mil)

Military leaders aghast as Meta founder Zuckerberg crashes classified Oval Office meeting on fighter jets: report

Facebook mogul’s sudden appearance is increasingly typical of freewheeling West Wing during Donald Trump’s second term, which president has reportedly nicknamed ‘Grand Central Terminal’


Air Force leaders learned that lesson earlier this year when they arrived for a top-secret briefing with Trump in the Oval Office, which according to NBC News was scheduled for them to discuss plans for America’s sixth-generation fighter aircraft, dubbed the F-47 in a nod to Trump’s status as the 47th President of the United States.

As the generals were going over the details of the super-stealthy plane, which Trump has called the most advanced, capable and lethal combat aircraft platform ever built, they were startled by the appearance of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg popping into the Oval Office.

According to NBC, White House officials became concerned that Zuckerberg, one of the wealthiest men in the world, lacked the security clearance required to be present for talks about such a sensitive national security matter. (independent.co.uk)

The communications app TeleMessage, which was spotted on former US national security adviser Mike Waltz's phone, has suspended “all services” as it investigates reports of at least one breach.
(wired.com)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the Signal app on a personal computer in his office that was connected to the internet on an unsecured commercial line, what's known as a "dirty line," two sources confirmed to ABC News Thursday.

A "dirty line" is the nickname given to a commercial internet line that is used to connect to websites that would not be available on the Pentagon's unclassified (NIPR) or classified (SIPR) lines.

This dirty line was installed at Hegseth's request so he could use the Signal app on the personal computer, the sources said.

A commercial internet line does not have any of the firewall protections that the Defense Department's unclassified system has, so that makes it potentially susceptible to being monitored particularly if sensitive information is being communicated.

The phone number used in the Signal chat could also be found in a variety of places, including on social media and a fantasy sports site.

NBC: “.. less than 10 minutes elapsed between Kurilla’s giving Hegseth the information and Hegseth’s sending it to the two group chats, one of which included .. Hegseth’s wife, his brother, his attorney and some of his aides.” @nbcnews.com

(nbcnews.com)

Men and women who have taken to the air on behalf of the United States expressed bewilderment after the leak of attack plans. “You’re going to kill somebody,” one pilot said.

On air bases, in aircraft carrier “ready rooms” and in communities near military bases this week, there was consternation. The news that senior officials in the Trump administration discussed plans on Signal, a commercial messaging app, for an impending attack angered and bewildered men and women who have taken to the air on behalf of the United States.

“We intentionally don’t share plans with people who don’t need to know,” said one Navy F/A-18 pilot, who has flown frequently in missions in the Middle East. “You don’t share what time we’re supposed to show up over a target. You don’t want to telegraph that we’re about to show up on someone’s doorstep; that’s putting your crew at risk.” He and several other current and former pilots spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals from the Pentagon and from allies of President Trump.

Breaking WaPo:

Members of Trump's National Security Council, including national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts, according to documents reviewed by WaPo and interviews with three U.S. officials.
(link)

The National Security Agency sent out an operational security special bulletin to its employees in February 2025 warning them of vulnerabilities in using the encrypted messaging application Signal, according to internal NSA documents obtained by CBS News.

The NSA is an arm of the Defense Department and specializes in signals intelligence — which is derived from electronic transmissions — and cybersecurity. The agency is responsible for monitoring, collecting and processing information and data for U.S. national security interests.

"A vulnerability has been identified in the Signal Messenger Application. The use of Signal by common targets of surveillance and espionage activity has made the application a high value target to intercept sensitive information," the internal bulletin begins.

Signalgate is just the start. In its first two months, the new Trump administration has made move after move that exposes the government to penetration by foreign intelligence services.

By me in @nytimes.com ...

(link)

Across the last 48 hours, “Signalgate” has morphed from one scandal into what I think is best thought of as five distinct overlapping scandals, as well as providing some fascinating political insight into who has power and how decisions get made in Trump II. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/the-five-s...
(link)

The reason that no one in that Signal group chat said “hey we probably shouldn’t use this” is because they are using it for everything. They don’t want us to see what they are doing or be able to FOIA records. Signal is how they are operating. It’s against the law but they don’t give a shit.
(link)

NPR: Trump says Mike Waltz will lead Signal chat probe, the same man who Atlantic editor Jeff Goldberg reported added him to the group.

"Excerpts of a Signal chat published Monday by The Atlantic provide a rare and revealing look at the private conversations of top Trump administration officials as they weighed plans for U.S. strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

[At the link] are excerpts from the chat."

there are like three overlapping scandals with signalgate — illegal distribution of sensitive government materials by top members of the administration, illegal attempt to circumvent records laws and possible unlawful use of military force — and democrats should be screaming about them all

Gravel Influencer (gravelinfluencer.bsky.social): The Signal story is really the perfect example of how Trump's litany of abuses have completely warped media coverage and the standard he is held to. It's being covered, but on the Trump curve, it's just another scandal, as opposed to a major national security threat that should lead to resignations. (link)

As I said in the thing I wrote yesterday, the way the chat begins makes it very, very clear this is a routine thing they do all the time. Nobody acts as though there’s anything remotely odd or new about convening a military planning session on a commercial app. Nobody so much as remarks on it.

Scott Shapiro (scottjshapiro.bsky.social): Everyone is blaming Waltz, but why did no one—not even the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—say that they should not be discussing classified information on Signal. (link)

As I explain here, security isn't even the biggest part of the Signal Scandal. This is to keep actions secret from the US government. It's how to do crimes, bribes and more.
(link)

In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
(theatlantic)

I am BEGGING people to frame this properly. The issue here is not one colossal blunder where a reporter got info. The issue is it’s clear these people are all routinely ignoring the most absolutely basic security protocols, and WE HAVE NO IDEA what breaches this has already enabled.

Mitchell Epner (mitchellepner.bsky.social): I am glad that Senators are grilling DNI Gabbard and CIA Director Ratcliffe today.
Today should be the start of a 4-year drum beat on Trump's team putting US troops in jeopardy by sharing operational war plans with a reporter before undertaking the operation.
Too much is not enough.

BREAKING: Iran Shoots Down F-15 Fighter Jet After Trump Bragged They Had No Capability

Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet as Trump threatened the country’s critical infrastructure and destroyed a bridge near Tehran.
(theintercept.com)

Trump: “Countries that can’t get fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like UK, which refused to get involved in decapitation of Iran: Number 1, buy from US, & 2, go to the Strait & just TAKE IT. The USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Go get your own oil!“

You may have missed some of Trump`s 20+ wars, covert ops, armed interventions, and proxy wars. We`re keeping track...

More than 100 International Law Experts Warn: U.S. Strikes on Iran Violate UN Charter and May Be War Crimes at www.justsecurity.org/135423/profe...

Over 100 International Law Experts Warn: U.S. Strikes on Iran Violate UN Charter and May Be War Crimes
Over 100 international law experts sign letter on Iran War, UN Charter, and international humanitarian law.

(justsecurity.org)

NBC: Under intl law, hitting civilian infrastructure is prohibited. Why is POTUS threatening war crimes?

LEAVITT: POTUS has made it quite clear to the Iranian regime their best move is to make a deal or else

N: Which objectives would destroying a desalination plant help?

LEAVITT: Haley, go ahead

Western civilization includes Just War Theory and the Laws of Armed Combat.

Those aren`t PC niceties, they`re the legacy of centuries of philosophy, religion, tradition, and the accumulated lessons of bloody experience.

Hegseth doesn`t champion Western civilization, he rejects the civilized part.

Greg Sargent(gregsargent.bsky.social): Hegseth imagines himself defending “Western civilization.“ But the West has also made important contributions to the idea that there are moral limits on what we can do in war, from Cicero through Augustine, Grotius, Kant and more. He discards this inheritance. 6/

newrepublic.com/article/2083...

New: The White House is signaling that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not a must-have to end the Iran War, potentially setting the stage for Iran to continue to flex its strategic position over one of the world`s busiest oil shipping channels for the foreseeable future

White House: Reopening Strait of Hormuz Not Vital to Ending Iran War
Karoline Leavitt said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was not a “core objective“ of winning the Iran War for President Trump.

(time.com)

World War Trump

An analysis by The Intercept reveals that the “peace” president has embroiled the U.S. in more than 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars.
(theintercept.com)

Well alright then. He’s just admitting it.

Molly Ploofkins(mollyploofkins.bsky.social): Trump: I won`t use the word war because they say if you use the word war, that`s maybe not a good thing to do. They don`t like the word war because you are supposed to get approval. So I will use the word military operation.

Images show what experts say are U.S. land mines dispersed across a residential area in southern Iran.

Human rights groups have long called to ban land mines because of their propensity to harm or kill civilians, often years after conflicts have ended. https://wapo.st/4tf80OJ
(wapo.st)

in an administration defined by unforced errors, “accidentally giving Iran formal control of the Strait of Hormuz“ still might be a record-breaker

Shipwreck(shipwreck75.bsky.social): An attack by the US and Israel has targeted a major water source in the city of Haftgel, located in Iran’s western Khuzestan province, reports Iran’s Fars news agency, citing a local security official.

There`s a whole array of strategic bungles in this operation, it deserves a thread. 1/ below

Duncan Weldon(duncanweldon.bsky.social): A few weeks ago oil was about $70 a barrel and Iran was mostly selling at an often steep discount to China.
The US Treasury will now let them sell at $110 a barrel on the open market for a few weeks at least.
I’ve read quite a lot about the history of economic warfare. This is quite new.

Pay attention to Lebanon.

Trump and Netanyahu started a regional war in the Middle East, creating a humanitarian disaster.

And now, the Israeli army has killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon—about 20% of them are kids.

Congress should not bankroll this escalating war of choice.

We as Americans cannot fathom how profoundly destabilizing Trump’s insane Greenland saber-rattling was to European allies. It was a rupture that will never be fully repaired — and yet America has already forgotten it.

Finbarr Bermingham(fbermingham.bsky.social): Danish troops dispatched to Greenland in January took enough explosives to destroy the island’s main runways near the capital Nuuk and at a former fighter base, following Trump’s threat (9)

there’s probably not any universe where trump gets the big coalition of allies he wants to take military action in iran, but the fact that he demonstrably doesn’t even know who the president of ireland is, and doesn’t know that she’s a woman, tells you volumes about how hard he tried to enlist them

Aaron Rupar(atrupar.com): Q: The Irish president has said your war against Iran is illegal and an attack on international law


TRUMP: Who said that?

Q: The Irish president

TRUMP: Look, he`s lucky I exist. That`s all I can say.

There are some 3,000 patients on dialysis machines in Cuba who are at risk of dying from a prolonged blackout.

Problem: Team Trump shrugging with indifference as Russia provides Iran with intelligence that could put Americans at risk.

Bigger problem: Team Trump providing Russia with sanctions relief as it provides Iran with intelligence that could put Americans at risk.

Team Trump says (and does) all the wrong things as Russia helps Iran during the U.S. war

As Russia provides intelligence that could put Americans at risk, the White House responds by easing Russian oil sanctions.
(ms.now)

Great work by NYT showing Trump`s war is the most unpopular ever. Supports my argument (see below) that in some ways the public rejection of Trump across the board is a very heartening development:

Trump is in serious trouble. His war is deeply unpopular. He's now in the toilet on the economy, immigration, and national security. His public standing is getting close to being broken in an irreparable way, akin to Bush after Iraq and Katrina:
(newrepublic.com)

in retrospect, a poor choice.

Exclusive: U.S. dismissed Ukraine deal for anti-Iran drone tech last year
Snubbing Ukraine`s offer ranks as one of the U.S.`s biggest tactical miscalculations before the war, officials say. (axios.com)

New reporting reveals the US used more than $5 billion worth of munitions in the first 2 days of the Iran war.

Rogan: The Iran war just seems so insane considering what Trump ran on. This is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran on no more wars, and now we have one that we can`t even really clearly define why we did it.

Moscow is giving Iran specific advice on drone tactics to hit US and Gulf nation targets in the Middle East, source tells CNN. https://cnn.it/4sCIm64
(cnn.it)

BREAKING: Pentagon Report: U.S. Attcked Elementary School in Iran

Despite attempts by Trump to claim otherwise, the U.S. military was responsible for killing at least 175 in a strike on a school in Iran.
(theintercept.com)

BREAKING: Pentagon Report: U.S. Attacked Elementary School in Iran

Despite attempts by Trump to claim otherwise, the U.S. military was responsible for killing at least 175 in a strike on a school in Iran.

`Wes Bryant — who served until last year as the senior analyst and adviser on precision warfare, targeting, and civilian harm mitigation at the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence — called the attack on the…school a “failure in fundamental targeting doctrine and standards.

America, regardless of what so-called international institutions say, is unleashing the most lethal and precise air power campaign in history,” Hegseth said at a March 2 press conference. “No stupid rules of engagement.” (theintercept.com)

Trump Rewards Russia for Helping Iran Target US Service Members
(emptywheel.net)

Iranian Foreign Minister:

"We don't see any reason why we should negotiate with the US", he said. "When we negotiated with them twice, every time, they attacked us in the middle of negotiations."
(aljazeera.com)

White House`s “War Powers Report“ to Congress for attack on Iran.⬇️

Two conspicuous absences:

1. The word “imminent“ appears nowhere. There is thus no justification in the Report for proceeding without prior congressional authorization.

2. No reference to wellbeing/protection of Iranian people.

“U.S. officials and lawmakers with access to classified information ... say the administration’s assertions are incomplete, unsubstantiated, or flat-out wrong.“

- Wall Street Journal

Trump’s Case for War With Iran Faces Growing Scrutiny
U.S. intelligence showed threats from Iran loomed, as they had for years. But they were not imminent.

(wsj.com)

CNN put together a montage of the regime`s incoherent talking points about Trump`s war on Iran

This “it’s not a war but a special military operation” is very Kremlin March 2022. As is the propaganda that we are not starting a war but ending one. As is the confusion of oligarch media as it tries to be faithful in the confusion…

Aaron Rupar(atrupar.com): RAJU: You`ll concede this is war?

MARKWAYNE MULLIN: We haven`t declared war. They declared war on us

RAJU: The president called it war and Secretary Hegseth called it war

REPORTER: When you walked up just now, you called it war

MULLIN: Okay. That was a misspoke.

MS NOW airs compilation of JD Vance speaking out against war in the Middle East prior to becoming Vice President

I know that the people who need to read this aren’t here, but here goes:

Rules of engagement aren’t for the enemy. They’re for you.
They’re for your soldiers when they’re captured or wounded.
They’re for your civilians when they’re in range of the enemy.
They’re for your allies, to reassure.

Lastly, they are for the soul of your nation and your cause. Limits on war preserve humanity. Mercy transcends violence. After the fighting, there has to be something more. Rules of engagement and the laws of armed conflict protect you; abandoning them is dire.

At least in 2003, the GWB admin went to Congress & got approval, then went to the UNSC & lied before going to war.

Don Moynihan(donmoyn.bsky.social): The Free Press, a good indicator of Weiss`s editorial views, reads like neo-con celebration from the early days of the invasion of Iraq (while also reassuring readers this will not be an Iraq quagmire). They even have John Bolton (below the fold).

The thing is: surveys show that Mamdani's skepticism of attacking Iran is very much the mainstream view. Weiss complains about mainstream media elites not representing the broader public view, but she is clearly indicating she does not want all views represented.

(nytimes.com)

The WSJ reports that the Trump administration has massed “significant“ air power in striking distance of Iran, but hasn`t yet decided what the purpose of an attack would be.
(wsj.com)

Like I’ve been saying :

He really wanted to strike in January.

But Bibi convinced him to go bigger.

And as others have pointed out, we simply didn’t have the logistics in theater for anything meaningful in January.

CBS News: US preparing to attack Iran as soon as this weekend, but timeline may extend beyond that, and no final decision has been made.
(cbsnews.com)

Q: The president just said on Truth Social it would be a `big mistake` for UK to hold over control of Diego Garcia, but the State Dept said the US supports that handover

LEAVITT: The post should be taken as administration policy. When you see it on TS, you know it`s directly from President Trump.
()

U.S.-mediated talks between Moscow and Kyiv broke off without any significant progress or indication that Russia was ready to step back.

Analysts said Moscow’s demands encompassed wider issues than the territorial swaps proposed by President Trump.

Talks break in Geneva with no end to Russia’s war or hard-line demands
After two hours of talks in Geneva on Wednesday, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said negotiations had been “difficult but businesslike.”

(washingtonpost.com)

Top NATO allies don’t think the U.S. helps deter enemies anymore, a new POLITICO poll found.

Across countries polled, far more respondents described the U.S. as an unreliable ally than a reliable one, including 50% in Germany and 57% in Canada.

Read the story: politi.co/4aM7EIU

See the data👇
(politi.co)

So I just listened to @ariberman.bsky.social articulate the same theory @jvl.bsky.social has: that there’s a real chance the Trump admin is going to lean on Maduro or offer him some sort of deal to say Venezuela did interfere in the 2020 elections.

open.spotify.com/episode/1cPG...
(open.spotify.com)

As I suspected, Gabbard was at the FBI raid in her capacity to look into foreign election interference- something Giuliani told Trump he needs to prove in order to have the military seize voting machines. From Hugo Lowell:

Let me get this straight, Trump hangs a photo of him & Putin in the Palm Room of the White House - then 1 day later claims it's Obama's `manufactured evidence` that makes people think he colluded with Russia?

Bro - 🫩🫩🫩

He's your best friend and the CIA is NOT the reason the whole world knows it.

Ted Cruz in 2016, “We`re liable to wake up one morning and Donald Trump if he was President would have nuked Denmark“

“That`s not the temperament of a leader to keep this country safe“

This isn’t parody. It’s a message attributed to the sitting U.S. president arguing the world isn’t safe unless America has “complete and total control” of Greenland—because he didn’t get a Nobel Prize.
(open.substack.com)

Compare & contrast. This is Trump’s demand for Greenland. And this is Hitler’s for the Sudetenland.

There is no difference. The language. The unstoppable need to dominate. The megalomania. It’s the same.

And Keir Starmer’s response is appeasement. We are in that moment.
1/

US Dollar share of global foreign currency reserves have fallen to its lowest level this century as investors around the world aggressively dump the greenback following the Trump/Bessent show in Davos

“In some ways, the dissolution of the U.S.-led order that was patiently and assiduously built in the decades following World War II has already been swifter and more surprising, not to mention more gratuitous, than the fate that befell the Soviet empire.“

Howard French(hofrench.bsky.social): Tragic farce in the late-stage decay of a superpower. My column. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/t.. ()

Veteran Ken Harbaugh reports on-the-ground from Nuuk on how Trump`s fixation on “owning” Greenland has shattered decades of trust with one of America’s closest allies, and why this has nothing to do with security and everything to do with ego.
(meidasplus.com)

Their messaging is so fucking incoherent. Maduro was an illegitimate leader who lost in 2024, which is why we`re replacing him with his VP instead of the person who won in 2024. We did this to stop fentanyl, which is why he`s indicted for cocaine.

We`re also occupying Venezuela via Zoom call.

Rick Scott: “This is the start of changing Venezuela, then we`re gonna fix Cuba, Nicaragua will get fixed, next year we`ll get a new president in Colombia. Democracy is coming back to this hemisphere.“

The Trump administration has provided more than a half dozen explanations for its actions in Venezuela over the past two months.

My latest supercut for @washingtonpost.com

The Greenland fixation feels like a personal insult to anyone who`s spent more than about five minutes thinking about national security. “Hey, let`s demolish our most valuable alliance so we can get get access to arctic territory we already have access to!“

Trump in a single gaggle on Air Force One just threatened:

-- a second strike against Venezuela
-- Cuba
-- Mexico
-- Colombia
-- Iran
-- Greenland (which in turn would be an attack on the EU and Denmark)

TRUMP: Colombia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the US, and he`s not gonna be doing it very long

Q: So there`s will be an operation by the US in Colombia?

TRUMP: Sounds good to me

Before Trump regained office, the worst case being discussed re NATO was that he would undermine it and take Russia’s side re. Ukraine. Now, those things have happened and we’ve moved on to the likelihood he will actually attack a NATO country. Vlad must be so happy.

TAPPER: Can you rule out the US is going to take Greenland by force?

MILLER: Greenland should be part of the US. By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? The US is the power of NATO

T: So force is on the table?

M: Nobody is gonna fight the US militarily over future of Greenland

This admission alone would be sufficient for a war crimes conviction. He’s just openly bragging about launching a war of aggression and plunder. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar(atrupar.com): Trump: “We`re going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country. And we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.“

(bsky.app)

Kidnapping the leader of a foreign state without any declaration of war and announcing it via social media is full-on rogue state stuff. From the world’s number one superpower.

U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee was not notified ahead of U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela, source tells CNN

President Trump said the United States would “run“ Venezuela. But interim President Delcy Rodríguez denounced the U.S. operation and rejected the idea of U.S. control.
(n.pr)

Himes: “If you were serious about stability in Venezuela, you wouldn`t have spent half your press conference talking about oil. What do Venezuelans hears when they hear Donald Trump talking about oil? That the Americans are here for our resources.“

It`s a plan for the end of the NATO alliance as we`ve known it.

It`s all there in a PDF, nowhere as detailed as Project 2025 but with the same undeniable lack of subtlety.

This regime sees Europe as a problem that can only be solved by handing it over to proxies of Vladimir Putin.

It sounds like the most deranged Latin American caricature of yankee imperialism come to life. It would be comical if it weren’t serious.

Aaron Rupar(atrupar.com): Trump: “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled ... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the USA all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.“

Not for nothing but federal law contains several statutory provisions that restrict, if not outright prohibit, this unilateral action by the senile dementia patient in the Oval.

War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act.

All still on the books.

Aaron Rupar(atrupar.com): Trump: “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled ... It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the USA all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.“

It is international law 101 that a military blockade is not just a violation of the UN Charter, but a crime of aggression.

Unless that blockade is in response to an `armed attack.`

None of President`s Trump`s list of complaints come close to an armed attack.

1/

Donald Trump has said, “One way or the other, we’re going to get“ Greenland.

Rolling Stone spoke with Greenlanders about their feelings regarding Trump’s threats, Denmark, and independence.

Read: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
(rollingstone.com)

First-ever US airstrikes in Nigeria put the second Trump admin’s 2025 combat actions at:

—Nigeria—tonight’s strikes
—Yemen—1,000+ strikes (Mar-Apr)
—Somalia—120 strikes, 1 ground raid
—Syria—78+ strikes, 3 ground raids
—Caribbean—11 strikes
—Eastern Pacific—20 strikes
—Iran—3 strikes
—Iraq—1 strike

Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.

Olga Nesterova(onestpress.onestnetwork.com): They’re again advocating against Denmark when it comes to Greenland

An attack in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and the Take Care Clause of the Constitution.

Seemingly conducted as covert action and then casually disclosed by POTUS while calling into a radio show.
(cnn.com)

“Over the long Christmas break, the president of the United States may have leaked classified information about a secret military operation targeting Venezuela, and did so while calling in to a New York radio show – hosted by a ‘Marty Supreme’ cast member – to brag…

Asawin Suebsaeng(swin24.bsky.social): 🤦 zeteo.com/p/did-trump-.. (a)

Sources tell Rolling Stone that unless Mexico gives Trump what he wants, he is serious about attacking.

And according to administration officials and others familiar with the Trump administration preparations, it’s not a bluff.

More: rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
(rollingstone.com)

The context: this ties to a Trump decision dating to the first 72 hours of his administration to stand down all cybersecurity operations targeting Russia, creating an open gap for Russian influence operations.

Fox News’ Chief National Security Correspondent. We are about to go to war for oil, while citing a lie as justification. Again.

I can’t imagine why Vladimir Putin would have interfered in an American election to help Donald Trump. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...
(nytimes.com)

1/ I worked at DoD. I literally cannot imagine lawyers coming up with a legal basis for lethal strike of suspected Venezuelan drug boat.

Hard to see how this would not be “murder“ or war crime under international law that DoD considers applicable.

Read expert analysis by @bcfinucane.bsky.social⤵️
(justsecurity.org)

Folks, please note this. The top military official overseeing Trump`s boat bombings recently resigned with no explanation, and now Republicans in Congress are refusing to press for his testimony even in a classified setting.

Lots of new behind-the-scenes reporting in this piece:

Greg Sargent(gregsargent.bsky.social): News on Trump boat bombings --> Rep Adam Smith, top Dem on Armed Services, tells me GOPers are failing to press for testimony from the top Pentagon official who recently resigned, potentially over the strikes.

Appallingly, we may never hear from him.

New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2025.. (s)

Reportedly a 6th lawless US strike in the Caribbean.

This time reportedly with survivors.

If true, will the US military rescue the survivors?

Will the US military seek to detain the survivors, and if so, on what legal basis?

A phony war with real violence.
(reuters.com)

Exclusive: European financial stability officials are debating whether to create an alternative to Federal Reserve funding backstops by pooling dollars held by non-US central banks in a bid to reduce their reliance on the US under the Trump administration, sources say reut.rs/47OPvJf
(reut.rs)

The Trump administration has drafted a peace plan calling for Ukraine to yield territory to Russia and drop demands for a peacekeeping force to deter future attacks by Moscow, U.S. officials said.
(on.wsj.com)

Stunning development: Senators now confirm the Trump admin’s 28-point “peace plan” for Ukraine wasn’t a U.S. plan at all. It was a Russian wish list. Follow along. This is crazy. 1/

Rep. Salazar on Venezuela: “We`re about to go in ... we need to go in ... Venezuela for the American oil companies will be a field day“

Three things about the Witkoff tapes:

1) It appears Western intelligence services have decided to let Witkoff (and Trump) know they have recordings of their traitorous conversations w/Russia.

2) This Ukraine “deal“ was all Witkoff`s idea.

3) Congressional leaders should demand he be fired.

Bloomberg News(bloomberg.com): EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomber (o)

It looks like Trump has backed off his Thanksgiving deadline for getting Ukraine to surrender but Democrats need to let Americans know the fix is in. Putin is calling in all his debts and Jared is there to pay him off. (archive.ph)

“In days after Alaska, a European intel agency distributed a hard-copy report in an envelope to some of the continent’s most senior national security officials, who were shocked by the contents: Inside were details of the commercial and economic plans the Trump admin had been pursuing with Russia.”
(wsj.com)

This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn`t and they weren`t.

It`s unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...

Ryan Goodman(rgoodlaw.bsky.social): Textbook (www.washingtonpost.com)

I assumed the NSS would just ignore/deprioritize Europe (It did that on defense/NATO).

But the actual message was: Europe matters to us, we must save it from itself, the EU and its wokeness. Thus, the USG is going all in on foreign interference to help the far-right win a civilizational war.
(media.tenor.com)

Denmark has labeled the United States as a potential security concern for the first time in an annual report released by one of its intelligence agencies, offering more evidence of the increasingly fraught transatlantic alliance between Europe and the US.
(cnn.it)

Pritzker: “No one in the administration -- the president or anybody under him -- has called anyone in my administration or me. It`s clear that in secret they`re are planning this invasion with US troops.“

The fighters led by the CIA found themselves spiraling into despair because of what they saw as bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. government.
(n.pr)

"The U.S. has never been closer to armed conflict with Venezuela."

Still flying under the radar--but maybe not for much longer.
(axios.com)

Lavrov showed up in Alaska wearing a USSR sweatshirt. Very reassuring to at least 14 of Russia’s neighbors.

The cut comes as members of President Trump's administration, as well as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, continue to say security and free navigation of the South China Sea — a busy shipping passage for global trade — remain a priority.

For years, China has been aggressively asserting its territorial claims, from building artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea, while also harassing fishing and oil exploration ships from the Philippines, Vietnam and other Pacific nations. And for years, the U.S. has worked with other countries in the region to push back.
(npr.org)

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and President Trump's efforts to change the U.S. relationship with Europe and NATO have caused some European countries to rethink their own defense. One example is Poland, which shares a 500-mile border with Russia and Russian ally Belarus. Poland is preparing to repel a Russian invasion, and this preparation includes a plan to train every adult male in the country to be ready for war. We go to Poland to see what the preparations look like.
(npr.org)

Darren Beattie - the State Dept official who dismantled the US government's main center for fighting Russian and Chinese propaganda around the world - turns out to have personal ties to the Russian elite.
(telegraph.co.uk)

Q: "Would you rule out military force to take Canada?"

Trump: "I think we're not going to ever get to that point. Something could happen with Greenland, I'll be honest."

Q: "You are not ruling out military force to take Greenland?"

Trump: "I don't rule it out."

NEW: Internal State Department records show that months of warnings have become a reality: The Trump administration’s sudden withdrawal of foreign humanitarian aid has brought about death, violence and unrest.

In Kenya, embassy officials said that news of funding cuts to refugee camps’ food programs led to violent demonstrations and refugees have died at food distribution centers, including a pregnant woman killed under a stampede.

Aid workers told the State Department that they expect more people to get hurt “as vulnerable households become increasingly desperate.” We talked to the World Food Programme there who said this:

Likewise, in Malawi, U.S. funding cuts to the WFP have “yielded a sharp increase in criminality, sexual violence, and instances of human trafficking” at the Dzaleka refugee camp, U.S. embassy officials told the State Department in late April.

Since February, U.S. officials throughout the developing world have issued urgent warnings forecasting that the Trump administration’s decision to suddenly cut off help to desperate populations could exacerbate humanitarian crises and threaten U.S. national security interests.

In one cable, diplomats in the Middle East communicated concerns that stopping aid could empower groups like the Taliban and undermine efforts to address terrorism, the narcotics trade and illegal immigration.

The shift may also “significantly de-stabilize the transitioning” region and “only serve to benefit ISIS’ standing,” officials warned in other correspondence. “It could put US troops in the region at risk.”
...
(propublica.org)

When President Trump abruptly fired the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command on Thursday, it was the latest in a series of moves that have torn away at the country’s cyberdefenses just as they are confronting the most sophisticated and sustained attacks in the nation’s history.

His dismissal came after weeks in which the Trump administration swept away nearly all of the government’s election-related cyberdefenses beyond the secure N.S.A. command centers at Fort Meade, Md. At the same time, the administration has shrunk much of the nation’s complex early-warning system for cyberattacks, a web through which tech firms work with the F.B.I. and intelligence agencies to protect the power grid, pipelines and telecommunications networks.

The innovative Cyber Safety Review Board — based on the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates transportation accidents — was created by the Biden administration to extract critical lessons from major breaches. It was dismantled soon after Mr. Trump took office, even as it was in the midst of examining Salt Typhoon and trying to figure out how China’s intelligence agencies pierced deep into the American telecommunications system.

Al Schmidt, the Republican secretary of state in Pennsylvania, sent a letter last month to Kristi Noem, who as the homeland security secretary oversees CISA, listing four instances last year when federal cybersecurity programs currently being targeted helped his state hold fair elections.

Imagine you’re Timothy Haugh, a decorated general, confirmed unanimously by the Senate to head the NSA. And while you’re traveling abroad, you find out the President just fired you on the advice of a 9/11 truther whose bigotry once got her banned by Uber.

More deranged, dangerous threats. "We need Greenland for national security & international security...we'll go as far as we have to go. We need Greenland. And the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark. Denmark has to have us have Greenland" abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
(ABC News)

BREAKING: Trump tells NBC that he is committed to annexing Greenland and that a military option is not off the table.

“We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100%,” Trump said.

He added that there’s a “good possibility that we could do it without military force” but that “I don’t take anything off the table.”

Jeez. What an appalling thing to say

It is utterly fucking bonkers that the VP of the United States held a press conference on the soil of another country, declared his intent to take over that country, and implicitly threatened military force if that country didn’t comply.

Aaron Rupar (atrupar.com): JD Vance: "The president has said clearly he doesn't think that military force is going to be necessary, but he absolutely believes that Greenland is an important part of the security not just of the US but of the world and of course the people of Greenland too ... this has to happen."

Carney: The system of global trade anchored on the United States.. is over. Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States is over. The 80 year period when the United States embraced the mantle of economic leadership… is over.
[includes video]

From Fox’s Chief National Security reporter. Who can’t seem to get any airtime lately. For some reason.

Trump is completely oblivious that 4 US troops died in Lithuania
[includes video]

There was one singular person the Trump team wanted to kill. They thought they tracked him to his girlfriend’s place, presumably in a civilian apartment building in Sana’a. So they dropped bombs on the neighborhood and leveled the building. Reactions from the group:
“amazing job”
“Excellent”
“👊🇺🇸🔥”
Targeting an individual for assassination at a building known to be his romantic partner’s residence by collapsing the whole structure seems to me to fall squarely within the Geneva Convention’s prohibition on targeting civilian objects, and probably other defined war crimes as well

This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.

This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn't find it...so don't RT right now this very second.
[has video]

Russia has consistently attacked and compromised US computer networks. Stopping all Russian work is surrender to one of the most serious threats America faces in the cyber domain.
(link)

WATCH – Russian state media praises Kash Patel and other Trump picks: "They are so great! They will quickly dismantle America brick by brick."

(H/T @jimstewartson @JuliaDavisNews)
[Includes video]

Breaking news: President Donald Trump has decided to pause all future deliveries of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in an extraordinary move aimed at pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table with Russia.
(link)