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Taliban Responds To Trump Push To Reclaim Bagram Air Base

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By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54325633746/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159707159

The Taliban on Sunday responded to President Trump’s push to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, saying the U.S. should adopt “a policy of realism and rationality” while rejecting the move.

“It has been consistently communicated to the United States in all bilateral negotiations that, for the Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance,” Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said in an official statement posted on the social platform X.

Fitrat pointed to U.S. commitments under the Doha agreement — which Trump aides negotiated in his first term to end the U.S. presence in Afghanistan — not to “use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs.”

Trump in recent days has suggested the U.S. wants to wrest back control of Bagram Air Base.

“If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

During a joint press conference in Great Britain with that country’s prime minister, Trump said the U.S. was “trying to get it back” because the Taliban needed things from the United States.

He also highlighted the base’s proximity to China.

“We gave it to them for nothing,” Trump said, repeating a campaign message on the Biden-era unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan, during a joint news conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“We’re trying to get it back, by the way. OK, that could be a little breaking news. We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us.

“We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.

“So a lot of things are happening.”

Watch:

Bagram was once the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan during the U.S. war in that country, the longest conflict in American history. It was abandoned in 2021 when the Biden administration withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Trump Designates Iran-Backed Groups In Iraq Terrorist Organizations

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By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54581054338/, Public Domain,

In a decisive move to confront Iran’s destabilizing influence in the Middle East, the U.S. State Department on Wednesday officially designated four Iran-backed Iraqi militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The groups—Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali—have long served as armed proxies for Tehran, attacking U.S. and coalition forces and threatening American diplomats.

All four groups were previously sanctioned by the Treasury Department as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) in 2023, but the new designations escalate U.S. pressure by invoking additional legal penalties, travel bans, and asset freezes.

“Iran-aligned militia groups have conducted attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and bases hosting U.S. and Coalition forces, typically using front names or proxy groups to obfuscate their involvement,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the announcement.


Iran’s Proxy War Network: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq

According to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), these four militias form the backbone of a Tehran-controlled umbrella organization known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI). The IRI surged in prominence after Hamas launched its deadly October 7, 2023 assault on Israel.

Since then, the IRI has claimed or been linked to hundreds of rocket, drone, and IED attacks on U.S. and allied forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. U.S. officials say the network was responsible for the January 2024 drone attack in Jordan that killed three American service members, marking one of the deadliest assaults on U.S. troops in years.

“The Trump administration broke the taboo during term one when it proved it could name, shame, and punish Iran-backed militias in Iraq without the country devolving into civil war,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the FDD’s Iran program. “Now in term two the administration is upping the ante continuing a campaign of designations against the agents of influence and terror of Iran in Iraq.”


Popular Mobilization Forces: A Trojan Horse for Tehran

The four newly designated groups are also part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)—a nominally state-run coalition originally created to fight ISIS, but which has been heavily infiltrated and directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“Tehran relies on these militias to literally have a state within a state in Iraq,” Ben Taleblu warned. “Sandwiching these and other Iran-backed terror groups between Treasury Department [Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons] SDN listings and State Department [Foreign Terrorist Organizations] FTO listings, as the Trump administration previously did with their patron, the IRGC, in term one is the right approach.”


Trump’s Proven Record on Targeting Terror Groups

This new wave of designations continues the Trump administration’s aggressive posture against Iran and its terror proxies. In 2019, the administration made history by designating the IRGC itself as a Foreign Terrorist Organization—the first time the U.S. had ever used the FTO label on part of another nation’s military.

That same year, U.S. forces conducted a precision strike in Baghdad killing Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the PMF and leader of the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, another group long designated as an FTO.

Other Iran-backed entities targeted by the Trump administration included:

  • Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) — designated in 2020 for killing U.S. and coalition troops.
  • Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN) — sanctioned in 2019 for its role in attacks on American forces.
  • Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) — designated in 2009, but further sanctioned and struck by U.S. airpower under Trump following deadly rocket attacks.

These actions sent a clear message that attacks on Americans would carry severe consequences—a doctrine many national security analysts argue helped restore deterrence in the region.

Trump Claims U.S. Military Killed Three More ‘Confirmed Narcoterrorists from Venezuela’

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President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered a second military strike on a Venezuelan boat on Monday, claiming that the vessel was carrying “confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela.”

Regarding this new strike, Trump described the strike as targeting “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” the U.S. Southern Command responsible for the command and control of American military forces in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

According to Trump, the boat was traveling from Venezuela to the U.S., in international waters, was “transporting illegal narcotics,” and three male “terrorists” were killed in the strike. No U.S. service members were harmed.

The president added a warning to those who are “TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS,” writing “WE ARE HUNTING YOU!”

Trump’s post read:

This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S. These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests. The Strike resulted in 3 male terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this Strike. BE WARNED — IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU! The illicit activities by these cartels have wrought DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. NO LONGER. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Report: John Bolton Probe Focused On Classified Emails Obtained By Foreign Spies

The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Biden administration’s Justice Department has launched an aggressive investigation into former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, accusing him of mishandling classified information. According to an explosive New York Times report, the probe escalated dramatically last week when FBI agents raided Bolton’s Bethesda, Maryland residence and his Washington, D.C. office.

Sources told the Times that investigators claim Bolton sent emails containing “sensitive information” over an unclassified system while drafting his 2020 book, The Room Where It Happened. The emails, allegedly shared with friends and associates assisting him with the manuscript, reportedly contained material that appeared to be drawn from classified documents Bolton had seen during his time in the White House.

Even more startling, U.S. officials say a foreign intelligence service later obtained those emails. At this point, it remains unclear which country’s spies were in possession of the material.

A Raided Home, No Arrest

Bolton, who has been a vocal critic of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, was at home during the FBI raid. Despite the dramatic nature of the search, he was not arrested. That fact alone has fueled speculation that the raid was more about spectacle than substance—an attempt to send a political message rather than to secure an immediate prosecution.

A Familiar Pattern of Double Standards

Republicans have already begun to highlight what they see as yet another glaring double standard. While the Biden DOJ aggressively pursues Bolton, questions linger about how the administration handled President Biden’s own mishandling of classified documents, discovered in multiple unsecured locations, including his Delaware garage. Unlike Bolton—or former President Trump, who continues to face relentless investigations—Biden has faced little in the way of raids or public spectacle.

This latest move against Bolton follows a broader pattern where the DOJ appears far more eager to go after figures associated with the Trump years while showing restraint when it comes to Democrats.

What’s Next

At this point, Bolton has not been charged with any crime. Legal experts note that the government would face serious hurdles in proving that Bolton knowingly mishandled classified material or intended to expose it to foreign governments.

Trump Mulls Renaming Department Of Defense

Big things are happening…

On Monday, President Trump announced he plans to restore the Department of Defense to its original title: The Department of War.

The president said at the White House that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth “has been incredible with the, as I call it, the Department of War.”

“You know we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re going to change the name. You want to know the truth? I think we’re going to have some information on that, maybe soon,” Trump added. 

“But I think because, you know, Department of Defense, we won the World War One, World War Two. It was called the Department of War. And to me that’s really what it is. Defense is a part of that. But I have a feeling we’re going to be changing,” Trump continued. “I’m talking to the people. Everybody likes that. We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense. 

Later on, NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer asked, “And on the Department of War, how do you plan to do that? It requires an act of Congress to rename the Defense Department–”

Trump then said, “It’s something that I think you’re going to be hearing about or seeing about over the next couple of weeks,” and “probably that change is going to be made over the next week or so.” 

When asked about the name change at another White House event Monday, Trump told a reporter “We’re just going to do it.”

“I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that. But, if we need that, I’m sure Congress will go along,” Trump also said. You know, that was the name when we won World War One. We won World War Two. We won everything. And, just to me, seems like just a much more appropriate. The other is, defense is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too, if we have to be. So it just sounded to me like a better name.” 

The Department of Defense says on its website that the Department of War was established by Congress in August 1789 “at the cabinet level to oversee the operation and maintenance of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.” 

Following the conclusion of World War II, in July 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act which, the site says, merged “the Navy and War Departments and the newly independent Air Force into a single organization called the National Military Establishment led by a civilian secretary of defense who also oversees the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Two years later in August 1949, the National Security Act was amended, renaming the National Military Establishment as the Department of Defense.

Tulsi Gabbard Revokes Security Clearance From 37 Intelligence Officials

This week, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard revoked security clearances for 37 current and former intelligence community officials, accusing them of politicizing and manipulating intelligence.

Fox News reports that a DNI memo sent out on Monday included the names of officials who worked at the CIA, NSA, State Department and National Security Council, including former Obama DNI James Clapper, who Gabbard claimed told officials to “compromise” normal procedures to rush a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment related to Russia’s influence in the 2016 election.

“Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” Gabbard wrote in an X post. “Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.”

Notable officials include:

Brett M. Holmgren

  • Former Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research

Richard H. Ledgett

  • Former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency (NSA)

Stephanie O’Sullivan

  • Former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence

Luke R. Hartig

  • Former Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council

Maher Bitar

  • Served on the National Security Council (NSC) under Biden

Emily Horne

  • Former NSC Spokesperson under Biden

Also included was Yael Eisenstat, a former CIA officer and White House advisor known for her involvement in the Facebook election integrity operation.

Gabbard said the decision was made at President Donald Trump’s direction.

“Our Intelligence Community must be committed to upholding the values and principles enshrined in the US Constitution and maintain a laser-like focus on our mission of ensuring the safety, security and freedom of the American people,” Gabbard wrote on X.

The memo noted the revocation was effective immediately, and the officials’ access to classified systems, facilities, materials and information would be terminated.

Trump has revoked security clearances for a number of officials, including those who signed on to a letter saying the Hunter Biden laptop had the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Mexico Agrees To Extradite 26 Cartel Leaders To US

The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mexico reached a deal with the United States to hand over 26 top cartel leaders.

The cartel figures were scheduled to fly to the U.S. on Tuesday.

“Today is the latest example of the Trump administration’s historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News. “These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country. We are grateful to President Sheinbaum and the Mexican government for their collaboration in this matter.”

Abigael González Valencia, a leader of the “Los Cuinis,” cartel, which is aligned with the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) and Roberto Salazar, who is accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy, are among those being handed over to the U.S. 

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office and Security Ministry confirmed the men were being handed over, saying the deal was made after the U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn’t seek the death penalty.

President Donald Trump has also reportedly secretly authorized U.S. military force against cartels in Latin America designated by the U.S. as terrorist organizations, which would allow U.S. forces to engage with them.

The move, reported by the New York Times, would give U.S. forces permission to engage the cartels, which traffic drugs like fentanyl across the US-Mexico border,

“The president is determined to not just dismantle – but completely destroy – [Venezuelan dictator Nicolas] Maduro’s Cartel de Los Soles and obliterate their operations in the Western Hemisphere,” a source close to the White House said, the New York Post reported. 

The anti-cartel effort is being coordinated among several departments, including the Department of Defense, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Treasury, the source added.

“President Trump’s top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations,” deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News.

It also comes ahead of 25% tariffs on Mexican goods coming into the U.S. imposed by Trump. 

Mexico also extradited 29 cartel leaders in February, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who prosecutors say was behind the torture and murder of a DEA agent in 1985. 

“The previous Administration allowed these criminals to run free and commit crimes all over the world. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people,” the White House said at the time. 

Kash Patel’s Girlfriend Fires Back at Conspiracy Theories About Being an ‘Israeli Spy’ 

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Image via gage Skidmore Flickr

Alexis Wilkins, the 26-year-old girlfriend of 45-year-old FBI director Kash Patel, was asked by Megyn Kelly to address recent conspiracy theories that have accused her of being an “Israeli spy” and “honeypot.”

“You will, in 2025 America, be accused of being an Israeli spy, that you work for Mossad, and near as I can tell, this is only because you’re dating Kash Patel,” Kelly said during an interview with Wilkins on The Megyn Kelly Show. “That’s probably it, to be honest, but I guess if we have to go to a second criterion it would be that you’ve done work with PragerU, with our friend Dennis Prager, who is totally brilliant.”

Wilkins responded, “I think people see certain pieces, and I get it, they wanna connect things. They want to justify, you know, some of the pain that they’ve been through watching the last four years.”

“But I think that they’ve taken just these pieces of evidence that you’ve laid out and tied them together in all of the wrong ways. I think PragerU is a great institution that is, as you know Megyn, sets out to educate the youth,” she continued. “Seeing these things twisted is not only very confusing, very out of left field for me, but also incredibly disheartening.”

Kelly noted, “Among others who have come out of PragerU is Candace Owens and, last time I checked, she doesn’t really sound like she’s part of Mossad. So going through the PragerU process of becoming a star does not turn one into an Israeli spy, and you’ve never lived in Israel, you’re Christian as far as I can gleam.”

“Yes, I am Christian,” confirmed Wilkins. “That’s been the most interesting thing is you find out things about yourself that you’ve never put forth and have never, you know, believed in your life and you read them on the internet, but yes, I’m a Christian.”

Asked how she first met Patel, who has received heavy criticism recently over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files, Wilkins revealed they met several years prior during an event at a friend’s house in Nashville.

“People are accusing you of sort of being the ‘honeypot’ where, you know, like, they’ll send over a spy to sort of get one of our officials, like an Eric Swalwell type, to sleep with them, like China does this, and some of these dopes do it and before they know it they’ve been compromised,” said Kelly. “But boy, if you’re a spy trying to get in with the Trump administration officials, you were really playing a long game. Two-and-a-half years before Trump even got into office, picking some random associate of Trump’s and betting on him becoming our FBI chief.”

Watch:

Report: Obama Admin. ‘Manufactured’ Intelligence To Establish Russian Collusion Narrative

Gage Skidmore Flickr

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday released a cache of newly declassified documents that she says contain “overwhelming evidence” showing how the Obama administration laid the foundation for the yearslong investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia—despite intelligence assessments that contradicted key claims.

The declassified material includes a Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) prepared on December 8, 2016, by the Department of Homeland Security in coordination with the CIA, FBI, NSA, State Department, and others. That report stated explicitly: “Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure.”

The PDB also confirmed that although Russian-linked hackers likely compromised a voter registration database in Illinois and attempted similar efforts in other states, those actions were deemed “highly unlikely” to have changed any state’s official vote results. The assessment emphasized that the real aim appeared to be psychological—undermining confidence in the electoral system—rather than directly influencing the outcome.

Earlier intelligence assessments leading up to the 2016 election echoed this view, consistently stating that Russia was “probably not trying to influence the election by using cyber means.”

Internal FBI communications show that the bureau raised concerns about the December 8 PDB, drafting a formal dissent and urging the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to delay publication. The brief, originally scheduled for release on December 9, was held back following “new guidance,” according to redacted internal ODNI emails.

A White House Situation Room meeting convened that same day—December 9, 2016—brought together senior national security officials to address the sensitive issue. A source familiar with the meeting confirmed that the unpublished version of the PDB clearly stated there was no Russian impact on the election outcome through cyberattacks.

Despite these internal conclusions, top Obama-era officials allegedly leaked conflicting information to the press, suggesting Russia had interfered in the election and possibly swayed the outcome—a narrative that helped ignite the Trump-Russia investigation.

The declassified documents also point to the now-discredited Steele Dossier as a key influence in shaping the subsequent Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). Officials acknowledged that some of the information used in that assessment was “manufactured” or “deemed not credible” at the time it was circulated.

Further, sources told Fox News Digital that key agencies—such as the FBI and NSA—had expressed “low confidence” in attributing the Democratic National Committee (DNC) email leaks to the Russian government, even as the ICA concluded otherwise.

Gabbard characterized the entire episode as a “treasonous conspiracy,” accusing senior Obama-era officials of weaponizing intelligence and launching a coordinated campaign to delegitimize Donald Trump’s presidency

“This is not a partisan issue,” Gabbard told Fox News Digital. “The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government. Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup.”

She warned that the actions of these officials represent “an egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution,” which she believes undermines the integrity of the democratic system itself.

Gabbard and ODNI officials indicated that further investigation is ongoing and that more declassified materials may be released in the coming months.

Read:

Report: Marco Rubio Impostor Is Using AI Voice To Call High-level Officials

A disturbing new scam…

Someone posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been contacting U.S. officials using AI-generated voice and text.

The Washington Post’s John Hudson and Hannah Natanson reported this week, citing a State Department cable and a “senior U.S. official,” that the imposter Rubio contacted foreign ministers, a governor, and a member of Congress. The cable from Rubio’s office reportedly theorizes that the imposter is trying to gain “access to information or accounts.”

The impersonation campaign began in mid-June when the impostor created a Signal account using the display name “[email protected]” to contact unsuspecting foreign and domestic diplomats and politicians, said the cable. The display name is not his real email address.

“The actor left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals and in one instance, sent a text message inviting the individual to communicate on Signal,” said the cable. It also noted that other State Department personnel were impersonated using email.

When asked about the cable, the State Department responded that it would “carry out a thorough investigation and continue to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.” Officials declined to discuss the contents of the messages or the names of the diplomats and officials who were targeted.

This is not the first time someone has tried posing as a high-level official. President Donald Trump said in May that an imposter posed as White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in calls to other officials.

“I’ve heard they breached her phone and tried to impersonate her,” the president said at the time. “Nobody can impersonate Susie. There’s only one Susie.”

Signal was at the center of recent controversy with Mike Waltz leaving his post as White House National Security advisor after a reporter was accidentally invited into a group discussing attack plans. Waltz was then nominated to be the ambassador of the United Nations, while Rubio was appointed interim National Security advisor.

In May, the FBI issued a warning that “malicious actors” were impersonating senior U.S. officials in an “ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign” intended to target other senior government leaders and their contacts. The campaign relied on AI-generated voice messages, according to the FBI, and was likely meant to “elicit information or funds.”

“If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior U.S. official,” the FBI warned at the time, “do not assume it is authentic.”