AP Reports That Trump Had Been Briefed About Russian Bounties
[guest post by Dana]
Intelligence officials are contradicting the president’s claim that neither he nor the vice-president had been informed about Russia’s bounty plan:
The intelligence officials told the AP that Trump was briefed on the bounty matter earlier this year; Trump denied that, tweeting Sunday neither he nor Vice President Mike Pence had been briefed. Trump tweeted Sunday night he was just told intelligence officials didn’t report the information to him because they didn’t find it credible.
The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.
Here was Trump’s denial, posted yesterday:
Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or @VP. Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News @nytimesbooks, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!! https://t.co/cowOmP7T1S
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2020
From the AP report:
The intelligence assessments came amid Trump’s push to withdraw the U.S. from Afghanistan and suggested Russia was making overtures to militants as the U.S. and the Taliban held talks to end the long-running war. The assessment was first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and two others with knowledge of the matter.
In early 2020, members of the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known to the public as SEAL Team Six, raided a Taliban outpost and recovered roughly $500,000. The recovered funds further solidified the suspicions of the American intelligence community that the Russians had offered money to Taliban militants and linked associations.
One official said the administration discussed several potential responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step.
The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.
The White House National Security Council wouldn’t confirm the assessments but said the U.S. receives thousands of intelligence reports daily that are subject to strict scrutiny.
Both Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have directed Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and CIA Director Gina Haspel to provide a briefing to Congress. Pelosi claims that not even the “Gang of Eight” had been informed of the bounties, and said about Trump, “With him, all roads lead to Putin”:
“Congress and the country need answers now,” wrote Pelosi, a Democrat from California. “Congress needs to know what the intelligence community knows about this significant threat to American troops and our allies and what options are available to hold Russia accountable. The Administration’s disturbing silence and inaction endanger the lives of our troops and our coalition partners.”
Along with Lindsey Graham, Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted that the White House needs to inform Congress who in administration knew about Russian bounties on U.S. troops, and when they knew:
If reporting about Russian bounties on US forces is true, the White House must explain:
1. Why weren’t the president or vice president briefed? Was the info in the PDB?
2. Who did know and when?
3. What has been done in response to protect our forces & hold Putin accountable?— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) June 28, 2020
Senate Republicans are pushing for more information from the Trump administration, including Jim Inhofe, Senate Armed Services chairman:
“We’ve known for a long time that Putin is a thug and a murderer, and if the allegations reported in the New York Times are true, I will work with President Trump on a strong response. My number-one priority is the safety of our troops,” Inhofe tweeted Monday. “Right now, though, we need answers. I have asked the administration to share what it knows, and I expect to know more in the coming days.”
[Ed. While the vast majority of Americans recognize that Putin is indeed, both a thug and a murderer, it’s questionable if Trump sees Putin with any clarity, given his bromance with him.]
UPDATE: According to reports, there will be an Afghanistan briefing at the White House today – but only for House Republicans.
–Dana
Good morning.
Dana (25e0dc) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:45 amNATO allies are confirming that they were briefed by US intelligence on the matter.
Also, I can see a reason why you wouldn’t brief Trump, he’s a Russian asset, you wouldn’t tell the known Russian asset how and who knows about how we’re combatting Russian espionage efforts.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:51 amGood morning, Dana!
You want clarity? I’ll give ya clarity:
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:55 amIt is a moral certainty, beyond all reasonable doubt, that they tried to brief him and he started talking about toilets that need to be flushed 14-15 times, and it’s more likely than not that he is now telling the truth as he believes it to be, because the attempt at briefing him went in one ear and out the other without stopping anywhere in-between.
Most Worthless President Ever!
nk (1d9030) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:58 amGonna have dissent there, friend nk.
“Worthless” has the connotation of being without value but essentially benign.
Trump is not just worthless, he’s a crushing liability.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:02 am*have to
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:03 amTrump is worth a lot. It’s just that you have to measure his tremendous value in rubles.
Everything about him makes perfect sense, even the passive aggressive campaign slogan (MAGA) suggesting America is a declined nation lacking greatness. The constant poking at race. The absurd spending. Reagan got the Russians to spend themselves into losing. Putin did the same thing much more cleverly.
Trump deserves one of those red medals they gave to the guy that stole nuclear secrets way back when.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:07 amBenghaaaaaaaaaazzziiiii!
john (cd2753) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:09 amThe Taliban stopped attacking American troops in February, most likely because they didn’t want Trump to reverse his withdrawal decision, but they stepped up attacks on Afghan targets, like hospitals for pregnant women.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/politics/russian-bounties-warnings-trump.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/mothers-in-labour-pregnant-women-and-babies-were-kabul-gunmens-target-msf
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:11 amI think what sources seem to confirm is that this never got put into the president’s written daily briefing.
It seems like this was also discussed in the White House.
There may never have been a decision to mention this to the president, the vice president or the White House chief of staff. This could be because the attacks n American soldiers stopped. U.S. military officials meanwhile thought that the death of at least one american soldier cold be attributed to the Russian bounty payments, and they were re-examining all deatha in the 18 months before February, 2020 or perhaps that means before 2020, to see if they could be connected to the Russian bounty payments. (The Russians were probably doing this as a favor to Pakistan. You know the current Pakistani PM just called Osama bin Laden a shaheed?)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/world/asia/pakistan-imran-khan-bin-laden-martyr.html
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:20 amProbable answers:
1a. They weren’t briefed because some people in the U.S. intelligence community were fighting against that conclusion, and also because it had stopped.
1b. Probably not, although someone claimed to the NYT that it was in the PDB.
2. Everybody important in the national security area except the president, the vice president and the White House chief of staff.
3. Nothing. But Russia may have gotten wind of it and stopped. The Taliban have now switched to other targets like pregnant and nursing women who avail themselves of government affiliated hospitals. (The Taliban of course believe that women belong in the home and shouldn’t be seen by male doctors; nor should they be attended to by midwives since midwives would travel outside the home unaccompanied. But that’s not the real reason for these attacks.)
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:29 am“You want clarity? I’ll give ya clarity:”– here’s a ‘Stinger’ for’ya– Reaganoptics:
“Charlie Wilson.” A real ‘Gatesgusher.’
“There are lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent?” – President Donald Trump
He’s right.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:40 am@7. Everything about him makes perfect sense, even the passive aggressive campaign slogan (MAGA) suggesting America is a declined nation lacking greatness.
Less an issue of decline, more the inevitable metrics of fresh generations in a 21st century, post WW2/Cold War world catching up– and passing by.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:47 amUpdate added: According to reports, there will be an Afghanistan briefing at the White House today – but only for House Republicans.
Dana (25e0dc) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:56 amNo, in the context of US vs Russia, we are not innocent, but we can expect our president to take our side. I would love to hear Biden’s plan for this because merely being better than Trump is not good enough.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:00 amSomewhere in this discussion the question of whether or not Trump is a liar has come up. That question deserves the comment that, whether or not he lies is really irrelevant. What is important is whether or not what he says is true. Fortunately, that is much easier to resolve than dealing with the pejorative term “liar.”
John A. Broussard (f30f93) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:01 amIf a person flatly contradicts themselves….over and over again. Than there is something radically wrong with that person. No moral judgement need be made.
If that person happens to be the President of the United States, then those flat-out contradictions have significant consequences for this country, and for the whole world. That person cannot be trusted. But trust, alone, is not the issue. The question really is, “What should be done about this extremely dangerous person?”
The incompetence of this administration is amazing. Just completely amazing.
Time123 (7507a9) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:09 am@15. Nah. Not w/these cloak and dagger, Spy vs. Spy guys and gals- on either side.
“Plausible deniability” works both ways.
See where JoeyBee stood on Charlie Wilson’s antics back in the day; croaking outrage today from the safety of a basement bunker won’t cut it.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:14 amThe intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.
Schumer must not have found them credible, otherwise he’d be coaching them by now.
But, I’m impressed by the book deal money being left on the table here, though that didn’t stop Anonymous.
beer ‘n pretzels (206766) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:19 amInitially, I didn’t rule out the possibility that Trump had been informed of the situation earlier this year. Given his short attention span and inability to remain focused on an issue if it isn’t about him, and his rejection of reports that contradict his positions, possibly he was briefed but forgot about it. Or maybe he did not even absorb the info. I say that because I was reminded of the complaints made by intelligence officials about the president’s resistance to pay close attention during briefings:
But we now have several sources confirming to the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the AP, three of the biggest media outlets, that Trump was informed of the situation. No benefit of the doubt is deserved.
Dana (25e0dc) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:19 amthe people who bought the story about the steele dossier, wholesale, who bought crowdstrike’s bogus attributions, admitted to by sean henry, who assured kim jom un, was dead,
narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:34 amLots of salts needed Dana…
“The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter” should be your red flag.
Frankly how incestuous the media are with the IC community, if true, we’d see some sort of evidence by now. (ie, strategic leaks).
whembly (c30c83) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:34 amand we go back to fusions trickbag, and their european counterpart, bellingthecat, who finds keystone operatives who miss the target again and again, like the missile crew in tadjikistan in spies like us,
narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:39 amso you need to pay taliban to kill americans, they’ve only been doing this for 19 years now chechens, who hate the russians, but have been directed toward syria for instance could masquerade as europeans on nato facilities, that’s more plausible as a story,
narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:43 amDana (25e0dc) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:19 am
No, the voce president also appears to deny being informed.
I think what these sources mean, and all they could know, is that Trump was supposed to be informed of this. (of course it could be one of the briefers is the source and is saying different tings to different people, and telling Trump that the newspapers made up their sources.)
Now the White House says they can’t find it in the written briefings, but they are still looking, but that means it wasn’t mentioned where you would expect it to be mentioned if it was.
So this would be oral. The people who might have told it orally to Trump seem to be denying it.
It percolated up to the White House level in March.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:48 amOne, this is too big a story for it not to reach the president, which means…
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:56 amTwo, Trump is lying and gaslighting, denying that he was ever briefed.
Three, the CIA had enough level of confidence to take it to the White House, which means…
Four, Trump is lying and gaslighting, claiming that the intelligence was sketchy.
Five, Trump ignored taking any action against Putin for over three months, despite the fact Putin indirectly murdered one or more Americans who pledged an oath to fight and possibly die for these United States.
Six, Trump probably dithered because he didn’t want to risk blowing up the craptastic “peace deal” with the Taliban. That, and he’s a huge Putin suck-up.
Seven, the so-called peace deal is a terrible goddawful agreement, made with bad actors. Obama and Trump have failed to learn the basic lesson that there are no good Taliban. Never seen a one.
24. narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:43 am
It’s risky. And they are probably in it only for the money (and lifestyle) anyway. Pakistan has been forced to kill numerous Taliban commanders who were no longer interested in fighting, many times getting the United Sates to do it for them.
I find this idea plausible. I don’t find it plausible that Russia would do this on its own initiative – it must have been worked out with Pakistan. A form of foreign aid.
I also find it plausible that the captured Taliban preferred to give away this secret before others, since Russian involvement was probably limited. Perhaps not all of the Taliban’s American dollars came from Russia.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:56 amHe’s not, DCSCA, because you and Trump are trafficking in the same phoney baloney moral equivalence.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:59 amIt’s really unclear to me why you such a jones against Reagan.
One, this is too big a story for it not to reach the president, which means…
Apparently, it’s not too big a story to reveal at the time, as opposed to waiting three months.
And, it’s not too big a story to put a name to the allegation, as opposed to hiding in anonymity.
beer ‘n pretzels (b27f61) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:06 pmPaul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:56 am
But the time this percolated up to the White House the Taliban had stopped attacking American troops, probably believing that that would only keep U.S. troops there longer – that the U.S. was not going to retreat under fire because it wasn’t safe for the troops, not if the U.S. didn’t want to abandon too much equipment and leave improvements of military value to the Taliban, and Trump wouldn’t do that because it would, by his calculations, leave him worse off in the election than just staying put.
Who knew about this bounty system and when?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/28/us/politics/russian-bounties-warnings-trump.html
If the leak happened now, t wold most likely come from someone who was just recently informed, and if that is the case. that person would now know if Trump and Pence were informed about this in March, or could have been misinformed about that. Unless someone intending to leak was biding his time till more people knew.
Since Biden is probably now getting briefings, how do we know that the leak didn’t come from his people??
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:13 pm* If the leak happened now, it would most likely come from one of those people who was just recently informed, and if that is the case. that person would NOT know if Trump and Pence were informed about this in March, or could have been misinformed about that point.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:15 pmBut wait, Sammy, if Trump didn’t get any briefings, why did Biden get them?
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:20 pmThe leak may have come from the UK when they were informed a week ago about Putin’s cash-for-dead-Americans scheme. But the leak doesn’t really matter. What matters is that Trump did nothing for months despite being informed about Putin’s efforts to one-degree-removed kill Americans dead. And yes, I don’t believe for a second Trump’s non-believable denials.
I agree in this case, it won’t cut it. We need a leader, since we know Trump is not the leader we need and President Biden will have to face Russia, we need some kind of general idea of what that means.
Biden has obviously won. Trump retweeting White Power videos, fighting horrible accounts of his character from his family and administration, being caught cheating at the election with Ukraine, China, Russia, etc, and now caught covering this up… it’s too much even if Biden weren’t leading in Texas already. Trump’s tactic of grabbing attention will only serve Biden’s strategy of hiding and letting the election be a referendum on Trump.
We should all hope for Biden’s success in a very dangerous world, with some of the greatest challenges to face a leader in his prime (which Biden sure ain’t). The fact is, Russia wants to hurt you and your family. Putin’s life work has been plotting against the west. Russia is the ultimate paper tiger and will respond to deterrence if Biden competently offers it.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:21 pmPer Catherine Herridge….
Again… sounds like some disgruntled, ax-ti-grind leaks that most of the anti-Trump media ran with because it sounds too good.
whembly (c30c83) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:44 pmI think Herridge is being fed a line of BS from Trump’s sniffiest of Trump sniffers. There are too many other news outlets saying otherwise.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:47 pmAccording to The New York Times, four Americans were killed in combat in early 2020, that four being the total for the year so far, but the Taliban have not attacked American positions since a February agreement to end the long-running war in Afghanistan.
If the evil Vladimir Vladimirovich offered the Taliban a bounty for killing American soldiers, it doesn’t seem to have been a particularly successful program. Might that explain why it wasn’t brought up to President Trump, or, if it was raised, the President didn’t take serious note of it?
So, why would the
The Dana in Kentucky (a56b03) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:55 pmSovietsRussians offer such a bounty? The only thing that the Taliban killing more Americans could achieve is to delay President Trump’s planned withdrawal. Does President Putin want us to stay there even longer?Too many other news sources bought hook-line-sinker on the Moscow Pee-Pee tape in 2016.
Herridge is one of those rare journalists having one of the best sources.
whembly (c30c83) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:55 pmThe only thing that the Taliban killing more Americans could achieve is to delay President Trump’s planned withdrawal
Rip Murdock (cbe514) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:04 pmI think Trump will withdraw even if Americans were under fire.
“If the evil Vladimir Vladimirovich offered the Taliban a bounty for killing American soldiers, it doesn’t seem to have been a particularly successful program.”
Attempted Murder? Now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for Attempted Chemistry?
Davethulhu (7d96ba) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:08 pmMaybe you’re reading the wrong sources. The ones I read all said that the pee episode was unverified.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:08 pmMaybe you’re reading the wrong sources. The ones I read all said that the pee episode was unverified.
What sources were the FBI reading? I see, unverified means it makes it into a surveillance warrant.
beer ‘n pretzels (1d265b) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:12 pmYou mean the story the White House confirmed today, that one?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:23 pmSF: Since Biden is probably now getting briefings, how do we know that the leak didn’t come from his people??
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:20 pm
Different people. Stranger things have happened. It could be that somebody decided that it was time that Biden be brought up to date on important background information. The person(s) charged with briefing Biden, and possibly, maybe somebody else with high security clearances, would have assumed that, of course, Trump and Pence were told this.
But, according to Trump, (back in March) U.S. intelligence agencies weren’t so sure they had it right, and didn’t tell him. [Trump tweeted: “Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or @VP…”]
Let’s say that when Trump says “they did not find this info credible” it really was “they did not find this info credible enough to pass on as plain fact to the president, and the president is not normally given raw intelligence.”
By June, their assessment had changed, or the affirmative case had won the argument, so it was passed on to Biden..
There could have been more than one leaker. That is, one person initially tells it to a reporter and then the reporter or news rganization goes to someone, more of a U.S. official official, who confirms it in order to clarify the story or to ask them not to include certain details as to how they knew..
First, they probably didn’t tell Trump. Second, by the time this got to the National Security Council, the killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan by the Taliban had stopped. Not so other Taliban targets, like women getting help giving birth)
It’s quite believable. There must have been a dispute since maybe a few weeks passed between the discovery of the money and this story getting to the NSC. It’s very plausible there was a dispute about whether they were certain about this. If there was a dispute till then, it could even have continued in the NSC and the decision was made not to tell the president this allegation.
And remember, Mike Pence seems to be denying this too, and we already had a situation where Mike Pence was suspected of maybe not telling the truth about what he was told, but he was.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:26 pmSo the thing that was happening at least in 2019 and early 2020 is…wrong, or what? If it was only 4, if it was only 1, if it was only the attempt, it’s OK, what is your point exactly?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:27 pmAnd the rosneft deal and a host of other charges that turned out to be bogus.
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:28 pmReading doesn’t mean verified, please find a single instance that the FBI said the peepee tape was verified. One, just one.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:28 pm36. The Dana in Kentucky (a56b03) — 6/29/2020 @ 12:55 pm
It was an arrangement with Pakistan, obviously.
There would be no audit trial showing that Pakistan’s rogue military intelligence agency was offering a bounty for killing Americans.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:29 pmBut the Russian’s were OK with themselves being outed? That only makes sense if they had an asset that would minimize the impact on them versus Pakistan.
So, yeah, maybe.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:31 pm@33. We need a leader, since we know Trump is not the leader we need and President Biden will have to face Russia, we need some kind of general idea of what that means.
Only followers need leaders. In an era when Americans don’t want to be governed but wish to be entertained, Trump is perfect casting. The lesson of a reality TeeVee victory is a POTUS really isn’t all that important beyond the bounds of daily entertainment; Congress is.
Plagiarist JoeyBee wil never be CIC; he excels at flaming out in the real world- especially as soon as he opens his mouth. Crashed and burned twice. Salvaged by a black man last round, but wept publicly far too long over Beau. Emotionally unstable. JoeyBee’s time came and went after Obama; he didn’t have the guts, the balls or the mental stability to challenge and overcome Hillary.
JoeyBee is the DNC’s McCain; a candidate by system default, not by accoladed choice; a desperate grab for a woman running mate and if she’s black, watch the NASCAR white male set along with the ‘silent majority’ lie to pollsters, peel off in droves and vote for Trump’s colorful, all-white ticket. JR Ewing beat George Wilson every time. And at Biden’s age, given his medical history, brain surgeries and such, there’s a significant probability of him becoming incapacitated– or croaking in office.No white guy is gonna chance having a black woman as the first female CIC– unless her name is Oprah.
“No wonder your president has to be an actor. He’s gotta look good on television.” – Dr. Emmett Brown [Christopher Lloyd] ‘Back To The Future’ 1985
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:31 pmCBS Bews:
If the British were told this recently, somebody won an argument not too long ago.
They still didn’t remember to tell Trump and Pence, though. By mid-June, of course, this was history. But relevant history.
Sammy Finkelman (3102d6) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:38 pm@28. Except he is; Reaganoptics: Charlie Wilson.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:39 pmLike strangelove
https://babalublog.com/2020/06/29/dem-senator-leahy-threattens-inter-american-development-bank-not-to-elect-cuban-american-as-president/
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:44 pmWell, Dana, this is a quagmire of contradictions. And good afternoon, by the way.
https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/06/29/ap-sources-yes-trump-briefed-russia-putting-bounties-u-s-troops-earlier-year/
According to Allahpundit, this intelligence gathering was initiated after Seal Team Six raided a Taliban hideout and recovered roughly $500,000. Several agencies investigated, but there was some disagreement over the conclusions. Hey, if you’re going to report to the President that Putin was putting bounties on US and allied soldiers in Afghanistan, you better be damn certain about the intel.
So, it’s possible that it wasn’t entered into a daily briefing. One investigative reporter who’s been reading over PDBs says he hasn’t seen it, yet.
Was Putin putting bounties on US and allied soldiers? That’s one way to interpret the intel. Another is that he was funding the Taliban resistance, because he wants to keep th US mired in the quicksand that is Afghanistan.
Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:46 pmThat’s macho nonsense. Good leaders are also at minimum competent followers.
And the USA needs leadership. That leadership will come from President Biden, DCSCA’s president.
He’s a republican who is losing in Texas. Because he is a poor leader. Because he didn’t understand that good leadership is a matter of teamwork and decision making.
So I agree with you to the extent that America needs to hear from soon to be DCSCA’s President, Joe Biden, what we plan to do about Russia.
LOL what’s with the macho stuff? All you’re doing is setting expectations so low for Biden that when he turns out to be even remotely normal, people will be relieved. I’m asking for a lot more than that. I want Biden’s general plan for how to deal with Russia. Being electable against Trump right now, as our cities burn and casket are sold out, simply isn’t going to cut it for me.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:48 pmThis is going to be a winning bumper sticker “Vote Biden, remotely normal”. That’s not even ironic, that’s just factual.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:52 pmNot even Oprah could get it, and . traditional Nascar is spoken for anyway.
It’s what’s left of office park dad and the personal injury atty types (like the cosplay gun couple in St. Louis) within whitedom that will form the defefectors. And I think that extends to the non-white but non-black males i.e. the newly christened “rooftop ______s” which may even include Somalis this time around.
urbanleftbehind (e0ae19) — 6/29/2020 @ 1:55 pmWithout evidence, the MSM continues to assert that Russians put bounties on American soldiers. SOrry, I’m not trusting the New York Times or the Wapo. They have lied about Trump again and again. The fact that they’ve continued to lie, doesn’t mean its the truth. Show us the EVIDENCE! Don’t tell me “Trust us, we’re journalists”. LOL!
rcocean (fcc23e) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:12 pmThe MSM all marches in lockstep and been lying about Trump for 4 years. Again and again they’ve had to issue correction and walk back stories. Or have simply been found out to be lying and refused to correct. Their whole Russia-Mueller-Trump story line was a LIE. I consider this story a LIE too, unless they produced evidence. Not just their Word (which is worth a picture of warm spit).
Just because news organization X has found “an additional anonymous source” means ZERO.
rcocean (fcc23e) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:15 pmLOL = picture should be bucket. I was thinking of Scarborough, not John Nance Garner.
rcocean (fcc23e) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:17 pmAh, the Russian propaganda ministry night shift has started.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:22 pmAlso, from Fox News
A stretch of lackluster polling for President Trump has some Republican operatives nervous about the president’s reelection prospects in November – with some even floating the possibility for the first time that Trump could drop out if his poll numbers don’t rebound.
“It’s too early, but if the polls continue to worsen, you can see a scenario where he drops out,” one GOP operative who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News.
“I’ve heard the talk but I doubt it’s true,” another said. “My bet is, he drops if he believes there’s no way to win.”
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:26 pm@54.That’s macho nonsense. Except it’s not. You can’t diss ‘macho’ then whine about standing up to Putin. Congress, not POTUS, is the key. POTUS is just the entertainment in this era. Reaganoptics: image over substance; Michael Deaver 101.
He’s [Trump] a Republican who is losing in Texas. Wet dreams. Texas has been trending toward ‘losing Republican’ for several cycles; that’s just a matter of shifting demographics; not Trump. But how’s that wall coming along?? 😉
I want Biden’s general plan for how to deal with Russia. Russia is a regional power. You want JoeyBee’s Russian menu, dust off Obama’s plans– or see if he still likes Chicken Kiev. More important is any plan for dealing w/t PRC.
That leadership will come from President Biden, DCSCA’s president. Actually, whether Trump or JoeyBee; as long as the modern ideological conservative movement is neutered, I can’t lose. But will never vote for a known plagiarist. Never. And will vote for Trump. Again. JR Ewing beats George Wilson every time.
Low expectations?? All JoeyBee has to do is open his mouth.
Glorious. Welcome to 1964. 😉
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:32 pm@55. This is going to be a winning bumper sticker
This is: Nothing Doing. Biden 2020.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:35 pmThe fictional TV character who said “I Choose Not To Run” was also originally from Queens.
urbanleftbehind (e0ae19) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:39 pm@64. So was Archie. And there’s a lot of Bunkers across America.
_________
I’m not Reagan didn’t work for Mondale.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:43 pmI’m not Trump won’t work for JoeyBee either.
Every economic and prestige drain on the USA he can get.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:51 pmI think this is Biden’s strategy, so I guess we’ll see. Trump’s strategy appears to be to beg for Biden to stop making it hard and come on and make some mistakes.
Unfortunately, we get one of these not-good-enoughs. And it’s probably going to be Biden. I guess you never know, but if Trump is fighting for the lead in Texas…
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:54 pmwhat’s amazing to me is that a month ago I was on the fence. I’m a nevertrumper, but I really dislike biden.
The drip drip drip of scandal, the economic devastation, the hatred of cops, law, and order, it’s at least partly orchestrated and that has me more resentful of the left than usual.
But Trump cannot take a win. Any other president would have preserved or enjoyed a greater poll boost in a pandemic, but Trump has consistently made everything about him. Every death, every price, every bit of confusion, even whether I wear a stupid piece of paper on my face, it’s all something that happened to Trump.
And I believe Putin did this to us.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 2:58 pmThe problem with that illogic is that Reagan was a great president and your guy Trump is a terrible one.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 3:11 pm@69. Except he wasn’t. And lest you forget; Trump is you; he is your creation; your monster; the Frankenstein spawned and nourished in and by the Reaganomics of the go-go 80s who finally escaped from his gilded cage in Trump Tower and destroy the very party which created him.
He is your Picture of Dorian Gray. Its the ugly, ugly truth: he is you.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 3:20 pm@67. Hillary was ahead until she lost.
People lie to pollsters- especially in this era. Few of the ‘silent’ people openly admitted they’d vote for a louse like Trump. They just went to the poll and did it. He’s a better show– certainly bette than HRC would have been. And they’ll do it again- the day JoeyBee picks a black woman as a running mate is the day he seals his fate and guarantees a Trump reelection. This is still a country mostly full of white folk and the black box was checked in 2008 and again in 2012. But if you want to put chips on a woman of color, look to Nikki Haley, if she doesn’t go dated and stale by 2024.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 3:32 pmHer not, Indian Aunty can be a good thing…I think it will be her political cohort/brand, the Carolinian ideologues (Graham, Gowdy, Scott, Burr, Tillis, Meadows, Sanford), that will be stale by 24 with a bunch of young buck Trumpists closer to the Central time zone willing to take their place.
urbanleftbehind (e0ae19) — 6/29/2020 @ 3:44 pm@72. There’s something to that- four years is a dozen life times. Look at Christie’s fate; he blew his chance by not grabbing the brass ring when it came around. And that Karolina Klan will be long in the tooth by 24 for sure.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 3:50 pmCBS News reported that the CIA wanted to go with the intelligence about the Russian bounty payments, bu the NSA did not. Sometimes presidents are given possibilities, like with possible terrorist attacks but not in this case.
Sammy Finkelman (70b0bc) — 6/29/2020 @ 4:53 pmDon is not Ron, that’s for sure. But he is a fitting ending to the Reagan era of Republicanism. Ronnie started it with a smile and a shiv behind his back; Donnie ends it with a toothless snarl and devastated country.
john (cd2753) — 6/29/2020 @ 5:55 pmTrue. I mean she was ahead on election day and she literally won most of the votes and she lost. You never know!
and Trump is a cheater. He would kill you and me and everyone we love to move the polls half a point in his direction. He would bulldoze every place we’ve ever called a home to expand a parking lot. He really would do some terrible things to win re-election.
And Biden is 400 years old so you really never know. If tomorrow morning we learned that both candidates didn’t make it through the night, would it really be that shocking? Then we could have the Pence v Bernie election we really need to put this country on the right path.
Good point except the part where Trump did not win the actual popular vote.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 6:23 pmTrue. I mean she was ahead on election day and she literally won most of the votes and she lost. You never know!
As election evening progressed, the angst, discomfort and what appeared to be actual physical shock on the part of Clinton’s media cheerleaders and assorted NeverTrump mooks was amazingly gratifying to watch. I still feel no remorse for my schadenpenisaufrichten on that occasion.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/29/2020 @ 6:33 pmMissed it by this much
https://mobile.twitter.com/ChuckRossDC/status/1277741457319788544
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/29/2020 @ 6:33 pmThe national polls in 2016 were accurate to better than 2%.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 6:38 pmCool story bro.
Let’s not listen to the NYT quote an unnamed source about the Taliban being paid by the Russians to attack Americans. Let’s listen to a Daily Caller “news’ish type person” quoting an unnamed source saying what the NYT reported was true, it just might have leaked a secret…That the Taliban was attacking Americans for money, that the President has said he 1) didn’t know because no one told him, 2)He knew but it wasn’t finalized, 3) is a Russia Hoax story, …but he does admit was actually true. So, #1 he’s a liar, #2 he’s a liar, #3 he’s a liar, all three are mutually exclusive.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 6:46 pmRemember that private who got charged with terrorism a week ago today for giving up his own units deployment details. This is less less bad or something.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:05 pmAlso, would the R’s in Congress not have impeached GWB if the White House had sat on this for months? Not briefed them about it at all, until it was outed, then the White House lied about it, then lied with a different lie, then another different lie, then admitted it. Lindsey Graham et al would bounced the mommytrucker in a week.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:15 pmThe trust some Democrat yahoos put in the 1619 NYT is quite amusing after all the lies and half-truths.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:21 pmHow can it be all the lies and half-truths. That doesn’t appear to be possible.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:25 pmmr president donald sends our tranny tatters to defend statues of white insurrectionists and tear gas black ones
so if he let mr president putin send a few into early retirement you can be sure its all for the best
when last months job report came out i bet they were as happy as dead people can be
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:26 pmThat doesn’t appear to be possible.
In an amazing coinkydink, that is exactly what David Frum said at 11pm Eastern on November 8, 2016…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:34 pmTrump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say
American officials provided a written briefing in late February to President Trump laying out their conclusion that a Russian military intelligence unit offered and paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, two officials familiar with the matter said.
The investigation into the suspected Russian covert operation to incentivize such killings has focused in part on an April 2019 car bombing that killed three Marines as one such potential attack, according to multiple officials familiar with the matter.
…….
…….[T]he intelligence was included months ago in Mr. Trump’s President’s Daily Brief document — a compilation of the government’s latest secrets and best insights about foreign policy and national security that is prepared for him to read. One of the officials said the item appeared in Mr. Trump’s brief in late February; the other cited Feb. 27, specifically.
Moreover, a description of the intelligence assessment that the Russian unit had carried out the bounties plot was also seen as serious and solid enough to disseminate more broadly across the intelligence community in a May 4 article in the C.I.A.’s World Intelligence Review, a classified compendium commonly referred to as The Wire, two officials said.
Rip Murdock (cbe514) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:35 pm…….
Late Monday, John Ratcliffe, the recently confirmed director of national intelligence, issued a statement warning that leaks about the matter were a crime.
…….
some people are just bound and determined to never have a trump hotel and casino in moscow, mr. dave
it’s because they don’t love mr. trump, maybe
and after he made obamacare’s death panels come true in just four months, too
right in front of their own eyes
such ingratitude
nk (1d9030) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:37 pmI don’t know which scenario is more frightening, now that we know that the IC did have the intel, it was true and they at least told the White House.
1) They briefed him and he knew it and just didn’t do anything
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:40 pm2) They briefed him and and he forgot
3) They didn’t brief him because they didn’t think he’d want to hear it
4) They didn’t brief him because they thought he’d actually go tell Putin what we know and how we know it
5) They didn’t brief him because they thought he might nuke Buenos Aires because he’s a moron
6) They put it in the written PDB, specifically because if they put it in the Comic Book version then he’d do #4 or #5, so they covered themselves by including it in the non-moron version
Trump Got Written Briefing in February on Possible Russian Bounties, Officials Say
Well, there you have it. The intelligence community hid the information from Trump. If you don’t want Trump to know something, just put it in writing.
nk (1d9030) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:41 pmSo you believe it can be both all lies and half-truths. If it’s half a truth, it can’t also be all lies, those are mutually exclusive.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:42 pmAP sources: White House aware of Russian bounties in 2019
Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.
The assessment was included in at least one of President Donald Trump’s written daily intelligence briefings at the time, according to the officials. Then-national security adviser John Bolton also told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment in March 2019.
Rip Murdock (cbe514) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:43 pm……
……The officials with knowledge of Bolton’s apparent briefing for Trump said it contained no “actionable intelligence,” meaning the intelligence community did not have enough information to form a strategic plan or response. However, the classified assessment of Russian bounties was the sole purpose of the meeting.
…….
@90-
They should have used finger puppets.
Rip Murdock (cbe514) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:44 pm“…all the lies and half-truths…”
Your reading comprehension is not at an adult level.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:45 pmSo you’re saying it can be both all lies and half truths. Can you diagram that out please, you know, for those of us that aren’t at your exalted level of reading comprehension?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:47 pmGawd, what did I walk into… and neither produces a decent fried chicken or a hip swiveling rock n roller. /sarc
urbanleftbehind (f94962) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:50 pm#68. Yeah, you were on the fence. LOL! Gosh, you’re a life-long Republican too, right?
rcocean (fcc23e) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:50 pmPossibly related:
From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump’s phone calls alarm US officials
Read the whole thing.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:52 pmOh, and the Russian Bounty Program was published on May 4th on the C.I.A.’s World Intelligence Review newsletter called “The Wire”. Trump was briefed on Feb 27th, the NSC hosted a meeting to come up with options for a responses, and the White House actively chose to not respond.
Specifically, one of the incidences were three Marines killed in a truck bombing last year were paid for by the bounty program.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 7:55 pmSo, comrades, how many days (hours?) will it be before the new talking points go into effect, to wit:
“Sure Trump got the information months ago and did nothing. And then he lied about it, openly, for days. But it doesn’t matter because reasons.“
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:02 pmKlink, think of set theory. The set of all lies and the set of no lies do not intersect, but the set of all lies and the set of half lies do intersect. Just because the subset of half truths lies outside that area does not mean that the entire two sets are mutually exclusive. there’s your Ven diagram.
felipe (023cc9) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:07 pmAccording to his chief assistant liar, as of this afternoon, Trump has STILL not been briefed on the matter.
I guess he was too busy playing golf over the weekend, which is totally understandable.
And it’s certainly not Trump’s fault that Boris Johnson, who HAS been briefed, didn’t call to give him the 411, is it?
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:14 pmKayleigh: No because he has not been briefed.
Powdered and diapered?
nk (1d9030) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:16 pmSweet, thank you. Also, don’t half the half truths, also lie outside of all of the all lies?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:17 pmYes, by George, I think you’ve got it!
felipe (023cc9) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:22 pmIt’s confirmed, he was informed in a Presidential Daily Brief, but he was not told he was briefed in the Presidential Daily Brief, so he didn’t respond because he was briefed, but not briefed, about the non consensus consensus of the bounty program that both was and wasn’t happening early this year and last year.
With all of that being true, we should definitely re-elect Trump and impeach Trump and put him in prison for treason and give him the Medal of Freedom because he’s all in for the troops by that meaning support them by encouraging Russia to kill them so that we don’t have to go to war with Russia and have our troops killed in combat with Russia or Afghanistan. #Trump2020forMtRushmorePrison
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:24 pmKayleigh: Oh god *heavy breathing* yes – like you own me baby – yes! … just like that … YEEESSSS!
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:27 pmKayleigh: Next question?
Embarrassingly, I threw my hands up at the GOP when Romney was nominated. I saw embarrassingly because Romney turned out to be a real leader and I was hoping for that jackass idiot Rick Perry to be president. It’s not a big deal, and it’s amazing I made such a big deal out of it. I think a lot of somewhat smarter conservatives got frustrated with the GOP around then, which was one of the many factors that created the perfect storm of stupid that was the GOP 2016 primary, where no candidate but the white supremacist birther guy had a strong enough following.
By leaving the GOP, in small part I let dumb Trump fans take over. I think Beldar would be able to explain this better, but he doesn’t comment here anymore.
I am not a life-long republican. Mitt Romney was in 2012, a large fraction of my life ago, as I consider myself young.
Before that, I worked on Capitol Hill for a short time, and actually got to see and learn a lot. I know a real leader from a fake one. Joe Biden is the most cynical kind. His election is hilarious from one perspective. Just sitting around, not taking risks, letting Trump self destruct, getting in Trump and Trump’s team’s heads… (the only thing Trump’s team can do is make everything about Trump, and Biden’s plan is to simply let them) From an American Patriot’s point of view, this is disgusting. Presumably, a lot of the people crowding around spreading COVID, burning up police cars, demanding the ruin of law and order, they are on Biden’s side of this election. It would be a risk for Biden to call them to account. It would also help a lot with healing and uniting this country, moving the conversation back a few steps. Biden won’t do it because that’s a risk, and he’s got it easy.
So no, I’m not particularly pleased with Biden or the segment of Team D that wants this situation to hurt until November.
If Trump could just not make it worse, every chance he gets… but then he wouldn’t be Trump.
I’m not crowing that Trump is going to lose. That’s nothing I had anything to do with. But he is going to be crushed. It’s not something you should take personally. The USA is a wonderful place despite the politicians, not because of them.
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/29/2020 @ 8:42 pmIn a bizarre interview with Fox News last night, President Trump stood next to a sculpture in the Oval Office that he said depicts former president Teddy Roosevelt, and explained that statues are vital to learning about history. Trump went on to complain that some people want to tear down statues of President Roosevelt, just like the art in his office. The only problem? The sculpture Trump was talking about isn’t Teddy Roosevelt. It’s an anonymous cowboy from the 1890s.
“Every president chooses what to put around them,” Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade said during the interview while pointing at the various pieces of art in the Oval Office. “You chose Lincoln as a bust and Lincoln as a picture. You chose Andrew Jackson, and is that Teddy Roosevelt?”
“Yes,” Trump says about the sculpture that is definitely not Teddy Roosevelt. “And by the way, they’re taking down the statue of…”
“Teddy Roosevelt,” Kilmeade says, helping to finish Trump’s sentence.
“Teddy Roosevelt,” Trump finally spits out. “So, explain that one.”
The sculpture in the Oval Office of the White House is called The Bronco Buster and was originally designed in 1895 by Frederic Remington.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:01 pmKnowing things, overrated. Talking about things, underrated, talking about things you know nothing about…rated.
Ted Roosyvelvet was a man, a big man, by that he means a small man, who carries a big di…stick, who was definitely a cowboy in England in 1850197020160’s. He was the bestest presimayorgumshoedaddyperson ever. Being a cow boy, he saddled up the biggest cows he could and rode them around the yardranch with his favorite puppycat named Oink.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:07 pmGood point except the part where Trump did not win the actual popular vote.
That’s the Hillary Excuse– thing is, he won where it counted- the EC tally.
We’ll be fine w/four more seasons of JR Ewing. The Right will get more SCOTUS judges who’ll disappoint them; the Left will flay itself -again- for failing to bring along fresh talent and clinging to the stink of a very old fart; the aging, ideological conservatives will wither away, white people will sigh with anxious relief and the mixed breeds will keep baying at the moon for justice over another four years.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:22 pmHe’s got to reopen the pancake houses in the swing states. Forget the taverns and singles bars, those people don’t vote. The Dennys’, the IHOPs — he’s got to fill those fat bellies! If he doesn’t fill those fat bellies, he’s toast.
nk (1d9030) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:31 pm@75. Yep.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/29/2020 @ 9:34 pmIs to remain calm, comrade.
Vladimir Vladimirovich no give up favorite asset so easy!
FSB is make Молчаливое большинство … how you say in English?
Dave (1bb933) — 6/29/2020 @ 10:02 pmWhat did the alleged pee tape have to do with Carter Page?
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:08 pmFalse moral equivalency, DCSCA. The USSR invaded and occupied Afghanistan, against international law, during the Cold War. The US took out an illegitimate Taliban regime that harbored militant Islamists that attacked us, and we helped establish an internationally recognized government. There’s no comparison.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/29/2020 @ 11:16 pmMore on the timing of the PDB and the level of confidence…
Emphasis mine. Trump was briefed, but he doesn’t read his briefs, or read in general, and his incuriosity is bad for America.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/30/2020 @ 5:51 amJohn Bolton briefed Trump on this matter in March 2019, yet I can see no adverse actions taken by Trump in response.
Well, he fired Bolton.
Problem solved.
Duh.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/30/2020 @ 6:23 amNote: For what it;s worth, Mike Pence has not personally denied being briefed.
Also, I think it is possible that people in the U.S. intelliggence community believe the bounty offer is ongoing. They would. They shouldn’t.
There;s a sophistical argument going around that because Trump said he was told that there matter is (or was) in dispute, that means he has now been briefed.
Sammy Finkelman (70b0bc) — 6/30/2020 @ 6:57 amIt’s amazing how the anti-war Democrats are so ready to believe allegations about Russia are true.
But they don’t want to credit accusations of evil about Iran or China or anybdy else, except possibly North Korea.
Example: The intelligence that Covid-19 was likely a biological Chernobyl and spread from a lab in Wuhan. (even if the exact story, told to some lower ranking officials in China, is not true.) There is no good official story and the government of China doesn’t want anybody to investigate and it was blamed on a place in Wuhan that sold seafood.
Sammy Finkelman (70b0bc) — 6/30/2020 @ 7:06 amWhat did the alleged pee tape have to do with Carter Page?
Montagu claims to have not been briefed on this.
beer ‘n pretzels (4d3c08) — 6/30/2020 @ 7:11 amNk, you called it, although I think of this demo as more of a big table in the back McDonalds breakfast crowd:
http://news.yahoo.com/trumps-lost-senior-advantage-could-104438826.html
urbanleftbehind (e80cfe) — 6/30/2020 @ 7:30 amRussia is what’s its been since the election, misdirection.
Educate America Initiative Flag of United States
@RichJaeger
·
#Democrats Last 48 hours ..
#Russia Unverified NYT Story. Investigate Trump.
#Seattle CHOP 16YR old shot dead
harkin (5af287) — 6/30/2020 @ 8:00 am#Chicago 18 shooting deaths
#LA Spike in COVID-19 after riots
#NYC Police attacked by rioters. Shootings soar 358%
#Minneapolis Gang war shootings in streets; no cops
__ _
They want to pretend, harkin, whats really going on.
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/30/2020 @ 8:11 amThat terrorists who gamed the system, arent behind this, that bureaucrats in bed with china, arent directing our health policy
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/30/2020 @ 8:14 amDisingenuous answer. The IG report referenced Comey, who said it was “salacious and unverified”. Also, this: “Comey told the OIG that he informed President-elect Trump that the FBI did not know whether the allegations were true or false and that the FBI was not investigating them.”
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/30/2020 @ 8:57 amthat a piece of unvetted garbage could get into an intelligence document, shows how worthless the process was,
narciso (7404b5) — 6/30/2020 @ 9:04 amYou’d think that would’ve sunk in by now, narciso.
But you’d be wrong.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/30/2020 @ 9:06 amthat’s why general flynn had to be taken out of the loop,
narciso (7404b5) — 6/30/2020 @ 9:12 amDidn’t we bomb the an Iranian general in at the airport in an allied country for Iran funding attacks on US troops and supplying equipment to those attacking? You know, the exact same thing as Russia, but we’ve still heard not one whit from the White House on Russia, after a year of attacks.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/30/2020 @ 10:04 amA general who has claimed the lives of thousands of americans and we did nothing about for 16 years.
Narciso (7404b5) — 6/30/2020 @ 10:06 amHow many troops do you think have been killed in Iraq?
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/30/2020 @ 10:08 amIt takes a free press to glean what’s actually going on in this dysfunctional White House, and here’s an addition to that body of knowledge. The WSJ is reporting that the NSA dissented on the Putin cash-to-Taliban-to-kill Americans scheme…
The NSA doesn’t have spies on the ground. It’s all SIGINT. The WSJ is also noting that the DoD doesn’t have the intelligence to judge one way or the other. Nevertheless, there was enough level of confidence to call a meeting in the White House last March.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/30/2020 @ 11:01 amThe CIA financial hackers found the details, the NSA sigint guys didn’t. That feels more like organizational rivalry. And it was enough for the DoD and Intel briefed all of our allies, and you know, the president.
Intelligence will never be 100%, the Bin Laden raid only had 50% confidence.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/30/2020 @ 11:08 am@116. False moral equivalency, DCSCA.
Except it’s not.
“What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They’re not! They’re just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong?” Alec Leamas [Richard Burton] ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ 1965
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/30/2020 @ 11:27 amExcept it is, because you’re making the implicit contention that the US and USSR had the same moral standing in the world.
Paul Montagu (b04883) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:02 pmBecause that’s what his idol Trump says.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:10 pmTwo points about this latest NYT report. One, combined with detainee interrogations, the financial activity between Russian and Taliban actors made a serious and solid case that Putin was paying bounties to Taliban member for American military scalps.
Two, Ratcliffe, Meadows and O’Brien lied to selected Republican House members by omission, failing to mention the evidence of the financial activity.
Paul Montagu (b04883) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:13 pmThis blows my mind when you think about all the potential Jimmy Carter type problems that could have happened. In a lot of ways, Obama really has proven to be much manlier than Trump, who would have had to ask Putin permission to send an unmanned drone in. I still do not get why they handled OBL’s corpse the way they did.
I hope this isn’t the case. It may be that the CIA has more political room to betray the administration than the NSA, but both know the Russians are constantly trying to stir up conflict for American troops. I find it amazing people are acting like there’s some question they aren’t doing this stuff every day. Years of lumping Trump in with Putin has a lot of republicans unsure that Putin is bad!
Dustin (739c8b) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:16 pm@136. See 135. ‘Spy vs. Spy.’
“There are lot of killers. We have a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent?” – President Donald Trump
He’s right.
Get over it.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:20 pm@137.=yawn=
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:22 pm“What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They’re not! They’re just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong?” – Alec Leamas [Richard Burton] ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ 1965
Nah, nothing to see here, Trump is all in on Russian antics, as in he’s pro-Russia.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/30/2020 @ 3:17 pmAs if putting a lame argument in bold or in caps somehow improves it.
Paul Montagu (c8b54e) — 6/30/2020 @ 4:27 pm@143. Trump 101: it certainly drew your attention.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/30/2020 @ 4:34 pmIt’s the Trump hallmark!
Bonus points for trying to back it up with a banal quote from some movie you watched as a child…
Dave (1bb933) — 6/30/2020 @ 4:38 pm132. Dustin (739c8b) — 6/30/2020 @ 1:16 pm
They decided they would not bury him somewhere where it could be a pilgrimage site (but they could have put him in isolated spot in northern Alaska or, if they didn;t ant him in the United States, maybe in Greenland) and they wanted to do something that was acceptable to Muslims. Somewhere they read that burial at sea was OK.
They actually also didn’t have to kill him. which wold have left his rganization, and Pakistani intelligence worried that he was talking – and he might have. he FBI knows how to make it likely people talk – without torture.
Sammy Finkelman (70b0bc) — 6/30/2020 @ 4:47 pm@145. =yawn=
‘[John] Le Carré’s [D.J.M. Cornwell] third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), became an international best-seller and remains one of his best-known works; following its publication, he left MI6 to become a full-time writer. Although le Carré intended ‘Spy’ as an indictment of espionage as morally compromised, audiences widely viewed its protagonist, the alcoholic spy Alec Leamas, as a tragic hero; in response, le Carré’s next book, The Looking Glass War, was a satire about an increasingly deadly espionage mission which ultimately proves pointless.’
But what does an ex-MI6 man know, Davey.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/30/2020 @ 4:50 pmSome things are not apprearing. Title of the post and anything in italics maybe (titles of books)
Sammy Finkelman (70b0bc) — 6/30/2020 @ 5:04 pmI’d say it’s mostly the point that’s missing.
Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 6/30/2020 @ 5:06 pmRonaldus Magnus was occasionally accused of confusing Hollywood movie scenes with real-life events in his anecdotes.
Deezy-Eska’s posts, in which the boundary between childhood fiction and contemporary reality dissolves entirely, are best appreciated as flattery of our 40th president in its sincerest form.
Dave (1bb933) — 6/30/2020 @ 5:12 pm