Champion of Truth
Trump’s tariffs haven’t much limited goods coming from China to the US because China just ships them through third-party countries. The administration talked about cracking down on this, but haven’t really done it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6k7sQuNZfU
The MQ-9 Reaper drone was great when the enemy didn’t have anti-air capabilities, but when they do, the slow, loud, and radar-visible drone is easily shot down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPY7CFUNW5k
The US refines and uses heavy oil, but it produces light oil. It imports a lot of this heavy oil and exports the light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmt5D9vOoVU
The A-10 can do one thing really well–blowing up stuff on the ground. But, it can’t do much else, and is only brought in after the most threatening air-to-air threats are destroyed or suppressed. The military would prefer to have more general and advanced craft than one with such a narrow use. Congress has kept it alive because it is popular and gives their constituents jobs. A major advantage of the A-10 is its cheaper to fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHDWAeAxAYE
How Special Forces Actually Rescued the Pilot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4K8381dCBc
“While the expansive aboveground complex has drawn most of the attention, Trump revealed during a recent Cabinet meeting that there was another motivation for the construction.
He told Cabinet members there was a national security component to the project that was “supposed to be secret” and the military “wanted it more than anybody.”
“It was supposed to be secret, but it became unsecret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things,” he said.
Shuffling through renderings of the project, Trump described the underground facility as having bulletproof glass and “drone-proof” roofs and ceilings.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/know-white-house-ballroom-bunker-200546113.html
“About six months before the first U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Trump administration gutted the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR), an 80-person team within the State Department tasked with leading international energy diplomacy. The cuts were part of the then Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative to reduce the federal workforce, with the goal of slashing the federal budget.
More than a month into the conflict—with President Donald Trump indicating he will redouble attacks on Iran in the coming weeks—former ENR officials are warning DOGE eliminated key roles that would have helped the administration navigate and mitigate the energy chaos of the conflict and its impact on global oil markets, as well as foresee potential consequences of ongoing actions.
Fortune spoke with two former ENR officials—who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from the department—who are sounding the alarm on the insights and knowledge the federal government has lost as a result of the cuts, especially during a period of widespread oil and energy disruptions.
“It’s shocking how poorly prepared the administration is,” one former employee told Fortune. “You took away the people with the expertise and contacts who would be insanely useful in this context.””
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/shocking-poorly-prepared-administration-doge-082100372.html
Chinese citizens attempted to smuggle agro-terror weapons into the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrhwh8lUKS4
“In internal deliberations before the war’s launch, Hegseth had pointed to Iran’s muted reaction to Trump’s past attacks as evidence that calibrated force could impose costs on Tehran without triggering a broader war. Hegseth “was caught off guard. There’s no question,” says a person familiar with his thinking.”
If this is true, it is the height of incompetency. The US and Israeli attacks were not limited, they assassinated the leader of the country! The most likely response from Iran would be huge. Yet, the Trump administration seemed to have not expected this.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/inside-trumps-search-way-iran-162338760.html
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, some of whom are seen as having been targeted because of their race, gender or perceived affiliation with Biden administration policies or officials”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hegseth-intervened-military-promotions-more-004049123.html