Category Archives: North Korea

DPRK, Iran, Media, Middle East, North Korea, Politics

How N. Korea & Iran Got Nuclear

And why we are where we are now.

Nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran is history. You might ask, how did that happen? Fair question, especially when you recall what President Clinton and President Obama told us about their “deals” with the respective countries. It will also give you an appreciation for the problem that President Trump inherited from his predecessors that has metastasized to where it is today, with North Korea threatening to attack the U.S. and its territories with nuclear weapons.

Here’s what President Clinton said about the deal he and Sec. of State Madelyn Albright crafted.

That turned out real well didn’t it.

Not to be outdone, another Democrat President, Barack Obama, crafted a deal with Iran thought to be impossible, getting Iran to back off of their nuclear weapons program. He wanted it so bad, for his (ostensibly good) legacy, that part of “the deal” was a prisoner swap three days before President-elect Trump was to be sworn in.

In his Sunday morning address to the American people, Obama portrayed the seven men he freed as “civilians.” The senior official described them as businessmen convicted of or awaiting trial for mere “sanctions-related offenses, violations of the trade embargo.”

In reality, some of them were accused by Obama’s own Justice Department of posing threats to national security. These civilians, that he called businessmen, were engaged in rather unique businesses. Most having to do with missile guidance and nuclear technology, weapons trafficking, and connections to Hezbollah, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Now you know how successful, or how bad, the “deal” President Obama made turned out. For all practical purposes, there is no deal, and everything Obama said about how dangerous Iran would be had he not done this deal are coming to fruition today with this deal.

He said “We do not have to accept an inevitable spiral into conflict, we certainly shouldn’t seek it.” What we have to deal with is North Korea and Iran (the largest State sponsor of terrorism) sharing their nuclear technology, making the world a far more dangerous place.

Thank you President Obama for making a bad situation worse, and leaving your successor with a more dangerous world and less options to avoid conflict.

In response to the ongoing threats and missile tests from the DPRK, President Trump calls them out to stop, or the regime will feel the “fire and fury” of the United States.  You could interpret that as the beginning of negotiations with someone who means business. What happens next is up to Kim Jong-un. Predictably, the media’s reaction to the president’s choice of words is that it is very different from the rhetoric of the last three presidents. Well, YEAH! Their rhetoric combined with the Clinton/Albright “deal” was so effective in ending DPRK’s nuke program. Wasn’t it?

It might help to bring some perspective to how President Trump views the belligerent and threatening behavior of North Korea today by seeing how he felt about it in 1999, the day before he left the Republican Party to register Independent.

You decide how in tune the President is to what is going on in the world, and consistent about it. He was right then, and he is right now.

The full 20 minute interview below

https://youtu.be/l_joQ1kxxZs

Links: Flashback: Here’s What Trump Told Tim Russert in 1999 About Launching a Preemptive Strike Against NK  |  Obama’s hidden Iran deal giveaway

2016 Election, Media, North Korea, Politics, Russia

Trump Nukes Media

The way the media is reacting to Pres-elect Trump’s reaction of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated goal for the coming year is something that could qualify for the M.R.I.O.T.D. award. Putin said he wants to make it a chief military objective to strengthen Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

So when Trump Tweets . . .

. . . he is basically stating his peace through strength agenda and rebuilding of the military that he’s been talking about for the last year and a half.

The media doesn’t know how to deal with someone who pretty much is his own media and speaks directly to the people, by-passing them and their bias. This has the media and jumping up and down with accusing Trump of causing “a sharp shift in U.S. national security policy. President Barack Obama has made nuclear nonproliferation a centerpiece of his agenda.” There’s the award-winning statement. Most ridiculous because it was President Obama who sanctioned real nuclear proliferation. Not only that, but for the world’s biggest State sponsor of terrorism, Iran. Not to mention the nutjob in North Korea who is already threatening to lob a nuke our way.

To the media, nuclear nonproliferation doesn’t mean not spawning nuclear capabilities to other countries. To them, and Obama, it means what we should let our own capabilities rot on the vine. There’s no outrage for the handing nuclear capabilities to Iran, with Russia’s support by the way. There’s no outrage at Putin’s goal to strengthen their nuclear capabilities, including developing a way to get past defensive shields.

What Trump did was call out Putin in terms of, you really don’t want to go there. But if you do, we’ll beat you just like the last time. The last time is when President Reagan hastened the end of the Soviet Union when they couldn’t keep up with the U.S. nuclear and defense posture. It drove them to bankruptcy. Russia’s economy is not in any shape to compete with what we could do if we wanted to.  It is all predicated on nuclear powers coming to their senses, “until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

The political Left simply can not deal with the notion of peace through strength. The reason to have the best is so we won’t have to use them. The strength is the deterrence. But in their world, they believe that the world would be safer if we were weaker. The media still doesn’t understand why Trump won.

Link: Trump: US must ‘greatly strengthen’ nuclear capability  |  Putin: Russia’s Nukes Can Pierce Any Defense Missile Defense System

2016 Election, Immigration, Middle East, North Korea, Obamacare, Politics, War On Terror

What Homeland Security?

You can’t convince me that the GOP is the party of national security. That was the old GOP. Not after this common sense piece of legislation was voted down 10-89 in the Senate last Thursday.

Only 10 senators voted YES to a bill, sponsored by presidential candidate Rand Paul (R-KY) dubbed the “Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry (SECURE) Act, that would temporarily ban refugees from 32 Muslim-majority countries, as well as the Palestinian territories and North Korea, from entering the US. It was attached as an amendment to the Obamacare funding bill.

The amendment wasn’t based on a religious test, it was based on geography. The moratorium on accepting refugees from the “high-risk countries” listed in the bill would end once the Department of Homeland Security demonstrates compliance with six stipulations intended to weed out potential terrorists posing as refugees.

These are the countries and territories covered in the amendment, also known as the SECURE Act.

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, The Palestinian Territories.

These are the only YES votes for the amendment. Good for them. They are the only senators that hold national security as a priority. Not one Democrat voted for it.
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE STATE
Yea   R   Sessions, Jeff AL
Yea   R   Shelby, Richard AL
Yea   R   Kirk, Mark IL
Yea   R   Moran, Jerry KS
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE STATE
Yea   R   Paul, Rand KY
Yea   R   Vitter, David LA
Yea   R   Cruz, Ted TX
Yea   R   Lee, Mike UT
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE STATE
Yea   R   Barrasso, John WY
Yea   R   Enzi, Michael WY

Senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined with the Democrats and voted NO.

Link: Text of amendment to H.R.3762 
Media, North Korea, Politics

Kim Jong Un BOOM!

So North Korea’s cyber warfare against the United States is on. And it isn’t just against Sony Pictures for their movie “The Interview.” The company that does security checks for the Department of Homeland Security was also hacked, and data of over 48,000 employees have been compromised too. Feeling more secure or safe now?

That Sony Pictures didn’t just tell North Korea to ‘stick it’ is one thing. Ditto for the movie theater industry. But this incident is more than Sony’s reputation. It is what wars are made of. And, it is about standing up for what Americans believe in, and what our government is supposed to protect. Not only is it supposed to protect us, and Sony, from attack from a hostile nation, but it is supposed to stand up for our rights under the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Like the first one.

So, in solidarity with our rights as Americans, and because our president hasn’t the balls to address it directly, here is my contribution to standing up to that dirty little dictator and his communist ilk.

 

China, Egypt, Europe, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Religion, Russia, War On Terror

Surrender-in-Chief

President Obama, our elected Commander-in-Chief, has demonstrated over and over his naiveté in foreign policy. If you can point to one successful, tactical foreign policy decision, then you’re a magician because there isn’t one. North Korea, China, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Eastern Europe’s missile defense shield, Israel, Lebanon, Arab Spring, Red Lines.

Likewise, his military acumen as a warrior is totally laughable. Except for the fact that he is responsible for our sons and daughters in harm’s way. He fights wars based on timetables instead of results. And he announces them, not just to his political hacks but, to the enemy. He creates a false narrative about the Benghazi attack, and broadcasts apologies to the Islamist goons in Pakistan about a movie that they likely never saw. As if they will do anything other than laugh at his amateur hour.

Withholding judgment whether Bowe Bergdahl is a deserter (an investigation will tell), this latest prisoner swap (he does negotiate with terrorists) is yet another example of how far Barack Obama will go to 1) stick it to the military, 2) appease terrorists in hoping (“hope” is not a strategy) that they’ll like us, 3) let these 5 terrorist kingpins go free after one year (who were supposed to be detained until the cessation of hostilities, ie. indefinitely). That is, if Qatar doesn’t release them or allow them to escape beforehand, and 4) he finally has a chance to give preference or weight to an Islamist goon, over an American. When the era of slavery was coming to an end, there was a time when slaves counted as 3/5 of a person. But today, President Obama (who claims to be Black) has a chance to exercise a little payback. Bergdahl weighs in at 1/5. One American, in exchange for the 5 most dangerous terrorists on the planet.

And that makes sense to who? Makes one think that President Obama is on the wrong side in this war. Problem is, he thinks he’s on the right side.

Link: Obama defends operation to rescue U.S. soldier from Taliban

China, Media, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, War On Terror

Threat Assessment, In Case You Missed It

Here’s a minute and a half of how well things are going in the world. From our “greatest” Secretary of State to the current one, and five years of “leading from (his) behind.”

Can’t imagine why you aren’t seeing this on the major news networks. You?

Full transcript HERE.

Looking back over my now more than half a century in intelligence, I’ve not experienced a time when we’ve been beset by more crises and threats around the globe. My list is long. It includes the scourge and diversification of terrorism, loosely connected and globally dispersed, to include here at home, as exemplified by the Boston Marathon bombing and by the sectarian war in Syria, its attraction as a growing center of radical extremism and the potential threat this poses now to the homeland.

Let me briefly expand on this point. The strength of the insurgency is now estimated at somewhere between 75,000 to 80,000 on the low end and 110,000 to 115,000 on the high end, who are organized into more than 1,500 groups of widely varying political leanings. Three of the most effective are the Al- Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, as it’s known, whose numbers total more than 20,000. Complicating this further are the 7,500-plus foreign fighters from some 50 countries who have gravitated to Syria. Among them are a small group of Af/Pak al Qaida veterans who have aspirations for external attack in Europe, if not the homeland itself.

And there are many other crises and threats around the globe, to include the spillover of the Syrian conflict into neighboring Lebanon and Iraq, the destabilizing flood of refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon, now almost 2.5 million, a symptom of one of the largest humanitarian disasters in a decade.

The implications of the drawdown in Afghanistan: This year, as the chairman noted, is a crossroads, with the drawdown of ISAF, the presidential election, and whether the bilateral security agreement is signed. Key to sustaining the fragile gains we’ve made is sustained, external financial support.

The deteriorating internal security posture in Iraq, with AQI now in control of Fallujah, and violence across Iraq at very high levels. More than 5,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2013, which is a made — made that year Iraq’s deadliest since 2007.

The growth of foreign cyber-capabilities, both nation states, as well as non-nation states; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; aggressive nation state intelligence efforts against us; an assertive Russia; a competitive China; a dangerous, unpredictable North Korea; a challenging Iran, where the economic sanctions have had a profound impact on Iran’s economy and have contributed to the P5- plus-1 joint plan of action . . .

China, North Korea, Politics

North Korea Full Of Speed Freaks

Originally produced by the government as an export product to China, North Koreans have taken to the drug crystal meth, or methamphetamine. Estimates are between 40-50% of adults are addicted to crystal meth and are now making it in their homes.

That explains a lot when it comes to dealing with North Korea. A cash strapped drug dealer with nuclear capability. Make that, nuclear proliferation capability.

Link: North Korea Grapples With Crystal Meth Epidemic – Korea Real Time – WSJ.

2016 Election, Economy, Egypt, Media, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Religion, War On Terror

So Much To Celebrate?

The Media, President, and Sec. of State seen here 'playing the fiddle while Rome burns.'
The Media, President, and Sec. of State seen here ‘playing the fiddle while Rome burns.’

If you watched at least five minutes of either the Senate or House hearings on Benghazi, you know that Sec. of State Hillary Clinton is the best Sec. of State that the United States has ever had. Which explains why we may never know why four Americans were left to die at the Libyan Consulate in Benghazi.

What’s not to celebrate? Beginning with the Arab Spring which quickly turned in to the Arab Winter, the President and Sec. Clinton rightfully deserve credit for dispatching Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak so that the Muslim Brotherhood could fill the power vacuum. Words like ‘democracy’ were thrown around like Egypt had their own Declaration of Independence. Two years later, Egyptians are still rioting in the streets over their new dictator President who is also head of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization. Now Egypt has a new opposition group called the ‘Black Bloc‘ who don’t like the lack of religious freedom, worsening economy from what started the protests two years ago, and the dictatorial leadership from President Mohammed Morsi.

Then there is continuing high unemployment, record national debt in proportions amounting to generational theft, and a stagnant economy here. High energy and food prices. High, and getting higher, health care costs. Record number of people receiving government help, and growing.

Then there is a worsening Middle East, Syria in flames and alQaeda moving in, Iran nuclear, Northern Africa being overrun by alQaeda, North Korea nuclear, our Ambassador and three other Americans murdered by terrorists in Benghazi.

So much here to celebrate that there is speculation that, just like President Obama, Hillary Clinton may get a Nobel Peace Prize too! The interview on 60 Minutes even hinted at Sec. Clinton running for President in 2016. And why not? It is easier to throw gasoline on the fire by blaming everyone and anyone else than it is to accept responsibility for it and put it out.

China, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Russia, War On Terror

Mr. President, What Are We Doing In Libya?

Peggy Noonan wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal that perfectly lays out what Americans are thinking.

I cannot for the life of me see how an American president can launch a serious military action without a full and formal national address in which he explains to the American people why he is doing what he is doing, why it is right, and why it is very much in the national interest.

The absence of such a statement from our President, the Commander In Chief, is especially puzzling when you consider his previous position on the use of our military.

“I don’t oppose all wars … what I am opposed to is a dumb war.” – Barack Obama, 2002

For the first time, Obama is the Commander-in-Chief of a war that he authored rather than inherited. And the man who a decade ago anointed himself the arbiter of intelligent warfare is leading the U.S. into a conflict that is questionable on its merits and incoherent in its execution.

The blatant in-over-his-head behavior of our president is embarrassing. Certainly causing belly laughs in Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia.

Links: The Speech Obama Hasn’t Given |  Libya: Confusion, by Committee

China, Immigration, Media, North Korea, Politics, Russia, Venezuela

Hugo Chavez, Dictator For A Year

In a lame duck session that upstaged (as in much worse) our lame duck session here in the United States, the Venezuelan lame duck session just gave Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (the hemisphere’s idiot) the power to make laws by decree for one year. As in, without the input from the legislature. This action totally undermines the newly elected legislature set to take over in three weeks. A legislature with enough power to put the brakes on some of Chavez’s socialist initiatives.

First on his agenda is to get control of the internet, having already taken over broadcast media. Saying that his government should protect citizens against online crimes. In his little communist mind, an online crime would be disagreeing with him and/or his policies. Like this blog post for example.

Chavez’s congressional allies are considering extending the “Social Responsibility Law” for broadcast media to the Internet, banning messages that “disrespect public authorities,” “incite or promote hatred” or crimes, or are aimed at creating “anxiety” in the population.

Whether or not they will admit it, the folks in Washington have a huge problem with Chavez and his band of gypsies and anti-capitalists. With his proclaimed disdain for the Unites States, supporting the world’s worst regimes and making way in Venezuela for a combination of a hostile Russia, Cuba, Iran, China, and North Korea in our own hemisphere does not portend for a peaceful (by any measure) future. Toss in an extra boost for the drug lords, al-Qaeda, and a lack of border security at home, and we are looking at a future of unrest and tumult.

Links: Venezuelan legislature grants Chavez decree powers | Chavez defends plan for Internet regulations