Former U.S. Marine from the East End of Long Island, New York. I use a nom de guerre to maintain my anonymity in an area where everyone knows everybody else. I am a good faith debater and consider all points of view. I focus on NatSec issues.
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The thing is that more often than not they are successful. But that’s where command judgment really comes into play. North Korea is not the Middle East or Afghanistan. It’s potentially far more explosive. Missions of this kind should only take place as an absolute necessity and last resort.
I did read the article Having been in the military, I can tell you every unit and organization advocates for their own use. They always believe they’re the tip of the spear. They don’t get to write their own orders. That comes from the White House/DoD.
Mainly what the seals do is reconnaissance. They did not order themselves into North Korea. And from what I read, it doesn’t sound like they were acting like “Cowboys”. It does sound like they were given a very questionable mission. And I’d love to know who wrote the rules of engagement.
I can hardly think of a better PR move internationally than turning the Department of Defense into the Department of War.
Purposefully destabilizing the world we have helped build… and prospered in. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
But of course “he“ would order this. 🙄 Tough times after “he” leaves office. It will be a different and MUCH more dangerous world
Actually, it’s been suspected, but not really disclosed before. Now that it’s confirmed I’d be very concerned about maneuvering a sub that close to the shore of north Korea. Kim is likely to spaz. I wonder if he might actually retaliate with another commando mission into South Korea again?
Unfortunate that the method of entry has been disclosed. I’m sure the NK’s suspected… but didn’t *know*. Now they do.
Spending lots of time in Europe and engaging with the govts & armies of all 49 countries, ALL of them use the titles “Minister of Defense,” “Minister for Defense,” or “Minister of National Defense.” Netherland had the last “Minister of War” in 1948. So there’s that.
Nothing will nail down a Nobel like rebranding to the “Department of War.” Also sorta overrides the key military mission of deterrence, which is a piece of our national & defense security strategy.
😂 You should talk to him about his indiscretion over drinks.
Sending troops into cities when they don’t need troops is a tool Hitler used when seizing power. Also persistently telling the public they are in danger when they are not. Seizing people on the streets to cause intimidation & fear
What slippery little scumbag he is
www.bbc.com/news/article...
… a very dangerous thing to do. I hope they are safe.
Great movie.
A diplomatic catastrophe caused by DJT’s “America First” strategy and outlook. Decades of diplomacy with India (through both Denocratic and Republican administrations) thrown away in a fit of vanity and willful ignorance. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/w...
Can't believe that in 2025 we have to be telling people that vaccines are safe and slavery was bad.
It’s a very good idea actually. There’s an idea that could be implemented if it becomes known that active duty troops will be sent to the polls.
This is gold!
This administration has carefully and skillfully remove key personnel that would’ve put a stop to this. It’s a very troubling sign of things to come on far more important issues. Like sending troops to the polls for example.
“…I am infuriated that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt. She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it.” My latest in @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/honoring-a...
I wonder if he’s a diabetic and they’re hiding that?
What an absolute tool
NEW: Trump’s unprecedented weaponization of National Guard troops in recent months raises alarming concern that the administration might be laying the groundwork to deploy troops to the polls. And @pgeddington.com thinks it may just start with Virginia’s fast-approaching gubernatorial election.
Probably not an exercise.
Putin played them like a fiddle, when will these guys learn Trump’s pivot away from a ceasefire to a peace deal was triggered by Witkoff claiming Putin would make major territorial concessions. Witkoff reversed his position the next day. -Reuters
They do seem to have a personality. A very catty personality.
Action/reaction. I’m sure there’s someone in this corrupt admin trying to profit from this… aside from DJT of course.
… but perhaps a friend of hers in Moscow knew or suspected who the officer is and what he/she does. And perhaps Gabbard was asked to put that officer’s name on the clearance revocation list. So the words “didn’t know” are doing a lot of work.
"Gabbard didn’t know the CIA officer had been working undercover, according to a person familiar with the fallout from the list’s release. Three other people with knowledge of the situation said that Gabbard’s office didn’t meaningfully consult with the CIA before releasing the list."
These ships are the wrong tools for the mission. The U.S. Navy was already overstretched before this deployment. These ships are needed in the western Pacific and/or Red Sea/Persian Gulf shipping lanes. It will also disrupt deployment schedules and possibly refit/upgrades as well.
The difference between Trump and Greenland? Greenland is not for sale.
This is not only how dictators take power… this is how they hold on to it. Splitting coalitions in a time of crisis is not the way out of tyranny. Building coalitions is.
A threat.
… this is beyond cringe. Not to mention insane.
And we should stop pretending elections will see him gone. He’s not leaving unless forced out.
This only several days after SCOTUS essentially told/warned the lower federal courts to fall in line and let DJT do what he wants. Good for this judge!
At the end of the day Trump couldn’t do what he’s doing without the support of millions of ordinary (and radicalized) Americans. Therein lies the problem. And the responsibility. That’s the brutal truth. And when Trump goes? They’ll gravitate to the next authoritarian populist.
SCOTUS thought they could ride the tiger and get what they wanted ideologically. In exchange, they would give him everything he wanted except the Fed. Just leave the Fed alone and you can ignore all federal law. But it ended the same way it has for everyone who tried to ride the tiger since 2016.
That is an official US Gov. account? Unreal.
I remember playing Red Storm Rising on this machine. And it was surprisingly good for its time.
DJT may well use this case to attack the authority of the courts by ignoring the order.
All of these authoritarians were voted in. A better question is- why are voters around the world voting against democracy? Against their own rights and legal protections? What on Earth is happening?
He’s itching to be in the open about it. He’s almost there. Time is short. If anyone is going to do anything it had better be soon.
The beast is just below the surface now. He’s using the word dictator now. You can see he wants to be known as one…
I can’t. ✋ Please make it stop.
It takes 14 hours to fly from JFK to ICN. There are lots of good reasons to maintain our alliance with the ROK. Proximity isn’t one of them.
38 tons?!? Was it a ship?
This name change shows a doctrinal change is likely as well. Away from defensive alliances… and into wars of opportunity.
😂 or 30.
I read the piece and I understand the reasoning behind these actions. I don’t disagree that they’re necessary. But in the long run, the only thing that will work is to retain the unity of this country by restoring the constitutional rule of law.
While I understand the necessity and urgency of what Blue State governors are doing… I don’t like the idea of secession- hard of soft. In the long run it is cancerous to our country and WILL undermine the economic potential and wellbeing of every states citizens. The answer is to retake Washington.
I’ve been critical of some of these chyron‘s but when they get it right, they get it right
Hegseth fires head of Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse t.co/1avQmR0a6j
What did the Trumpers think was going happen? Duh
With what powers?
After a long time, I told my hot coworker how I felt. Turns out she felt the same way. So I turned on the air conditioning.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/u...
Private equity can only do what the law allows them to do. (An argument I’ve heard many times from folks in that field). So we must now change the law to stop this type of piracy and greed based pillaging.
Correct. And people making less than 150k as well. In fact- we would need to tax “regular people” at the same rate as citizens of other industrialized nations. And that would take a sense of civic duty- in return for a publicly funded safety net. We are a looong way away from that here.
I saw her for the first time in person at a community event in Montauk, New York. She was much more impressive in person than she is on TV. If she can even that out, she could have a national appeal.
Ooofff! Lolll
I’m a former military person. Opinion- What I see here is a military not really in control of its own people anymore. This is now an ethnic and religious war. And that’s what Netanyahu has knowingly released here. Pure evil. This is going be very difficult to stop… even when Israel decides to.
Winning the civil war before it starts. That’s the lesson secessionists took from the civil war. Nothing else.
Being kept at bay until Trump and Vance work Zelensky over.
A look at how other democracy have ended shows this assessment is exactly correct. And participating in “elections“ that are not free and fear only legitimizes the regime. So in other words, the regime uses the opposition to consolidate/keep power. (See Turkey, Hungry)
They have to negate the 19th Amendment somehow. They’re looking for a method to do just that.
That should happen now. The sooner the better. This is going to be a very tough fight.
It is a paradigm that can only work through the threat of force. (Looks at Washington DC where the National guards from three red states are now deploying)
Yes. An attempt to cut out the NATO allied leaders who are there.
Oh boy… not good.
DJT is taking control of the ballot box. If you don’t see that then I would say you’re being naïve. And you’re right about the power at his disposal. It’s one hell of a situation. That’s why it will take a mass movement. A very, very large one.
Vance being there tells you what you need to know. This will be a VERY contentious meeting.
Yes… you’re right… because Trump has always only used one method to to achieve and consolidate power… 🙄
In fact- there is no movement that will stop this authoritarian from consolidating power. We need a mass movement to eject, or cause the ejection of, our new dictator. It’s unlikely it will happen by the ballot. Yes- this situation is “this bad”.
Honestly- I didn’t it would happen. But I am surprised they poured so many resources into a very old hull.
This could be a train wreck today. I’m concerned DJT might use the opportunity to have an open breach with NATO allies and make the case he should be allowed to withdraw the U.S. from NATO. This is his style- to use one crisis to start another… and then present a “fix”.
Welp… there it is. The “fix” is being presented to us. There also seems to be an implication that if DJT doesn’t get his way the 2026 elections may not happen… at least not on time.
I needed some comedy this morning. Thank you.
USAID funded roughly half the world’s supply of ready-to-use therapeutic food. The dismantling of the agency has disrupted the global supply chain that provides the packets, leaving thousands of malnourished children at risk of dying.
Here is our “Master Negotiator” giving away any leverage he has left. What an absolute munch.
Little Marco proving that his mentality, historical grasp and intellectual scope lives up to his nickname.
The implied threat of stopping equipment transfers if Zelensky doesn’t play ball. Disgusting.
For the record, our division commander BANNED things called “presence patrols” in Iraq. “If you don’t have a specific task & purpose, your ‘presence’ doesn’t do anything.” National Guard stating they are now doing presence patrols in DC. A complete waste of soldier’s time & effort.
Exactly right.
And this has been evident even when “he” was running for office last year. And I completely agree. They are not leaving at the end of the term. And people need to stop thinking about it that way. They are here to stay by any means available. And midterms next year? Not if they’re free and fair.
Putin and Trump need each other. Putin is a very important force on the US Right. I can guarantee you this meeting will produce a “peace plan” very much on Putin’s terms.
Prediction: Trump meeting with Putin will reveal yet again that our president is a Kremlin errand boy. All his tough talk will TACO into nothing. And he will come out offering a peace plan that was dictated by Vlad. You won’t have to wait long to see if I’m right.
It’s really an (continuing) assault on facts and truth.
Trump likes the cycle of escalation. It works for him domestically. In every sense. Everything is about consolidating power in the United States. The war gives him both an excuse and cover to do so.
The inference is that DJ T doesn’t even listen to our intelligence people. He literally ignores them.
So true. I hated doing parades. But even by those standards that was a pretty bad parade. You could see the troops simply were not into it. Not hard to imagine why.
That’s not a mistake. Lindsey still thinks he’ll get to the big chair.
This is a pro. Always keep your head.
NEW: First, diplomats warned what will happen if we halt aid to the rest of world. Now they are telling the Trump Administration what is actually happening: death, crime, sexual violence, trafficking. www.propublica.org/article/trum... @brettmurpsych.bsky.social & @annamaria.bsky.social:
Will stop invading Ukraine I get written assurance that NATO will not help Ukraine when I invade Ukraine again.
The Russian war aims essentially remain the same.
The country as a whole