Monday, December 24, 2018
Rand Paul Defends Trump, Shreds Mattis And Media Over Syria Withdraw
The Kentucky senator appeared on CNN’s “Face The Nation” with Jake Tapper and he went to war for the president.
Host Jake Tapper asked the senator if he had spoken to President Trump about his decision to withdraw troops from Syria.
The senator said he did speak to him and that he supports the president’s decision.
“I’m very proud of the president. This is exactly what he promised. And I think the people agree with him, actually. I think people believe that we have been at war too long and too many places, and that we do need to turn attention to problems we have in home here, roads, bridges, schools,” he said.
“We have a lot of problems in our country. And I think people are tired of spending — you know, we have spent several trillion dollars on these wars everywhere. And I think the president promised that he’d be different,” the senator said.
“And it’s really one of the reasons he won, because he actually attracts independents, who aren’t beholden to either party, who say, you know what, why don’t we turn attention back to America,” Sen. Paul told Tapper.
Tapper said that the decision was one of the reasons Gen. Jim Mattis resigned as defense secretary and asked the senator what he thought of that.
“Well, even General Mattis has sort of admitted that there is no military solution to Syria and that there’s no military solution to Afghanistan,” he said.
“So, I think really it’s the opposite. I think the burden should be on General Mattis and those who want to stay forever in every war theater around the world, the burden is on them to say, if there’s no military solution, why are we still sending more military?
“Syria is an absolute mess. And the one lesson from Syria is that we need more diplomacy, and we actually need to have conversations with Russia. We have made it toxic for anybody to talk to Russia. But, if you’re not willing to talk to Russia, Russia is a big player in Syria, has been for decades, is not going anywhere, and if we don’t talk to Russia, we’re never going to find a peaceful solution to the Syria mess,” Paul said.
He also took aim at the generals, like Gen. Mattis, who he said want to...
Air Battle: What If an F-14 (That Iran Still Flies) Battled a Stealth F-22 Raptor?
Key point: Iran has upgraded its Tomcats with new avionics and potentially new weapons, but only a handful of Tehran’s F-14s are in flyable condition—perhaps as few as 20 aircraft.
With the United States withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran, a war with Tehran seems to be a distinct possibility. In the event of a military conflict between Washington and Tehran, there is also the ever growing possibility that the White House might seek regime change in Iran.
A full-scale military campaign against Iran would require the United States to destroy the Iranian air force—which to this day flies American-built warplanes. The best of Iran’s decrepit fighter aircraft fleet is the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. The Imperial Iranian Air Force purchased 80 of the powerful fourth generation fighters before the 1979 Islamic revolution, but deliveries were halted at 79 aircraft. Additionally, Iran had purchased 714 Hughes (now Raytheon) AIM-54A Phoenix long-range semi-active/active radar guided air-to-air missiles, which have a range of roughly 100 nautical miles.
When the F-14A was developed, it was amongst the most capable fighters developed by the United States during the late 1960s. The jet entered service with the U.S. Navy in 1974 equipped with the AWG-9 long-range pulse Doppler radar, which had a range of over 115 nautical miles and was the first American radar set to incorporate a track while scan mode to allow for a multiple shot capability. Coupled with the AIM-54, the AWG-9 could target six enemy bombers simultaneously. On paper, the Tomcat provided the fleet with a potent capability—though the reality did not quite meet the Navy’s public relations hype.
Iran has upgraded its Tomcats with new avionics and potentially new weapons, but only a handful of Tehran’s F-14s are in flyable condition—perhaps as few as 20 aircraft. However, other than perhaps 20 Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums, the venerable Tomcat is the Islamic Iranian Air Force’s most capable fighter. In the event of a war, the F-14 would be Iran’s first line of defense against an American onslaught.
The stealthy Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor air superiority fighter would almost certainly lead an American attack. Compared to the antiquated F-14, the Raptor is a technological marvel and is equipped with some of the most sophisticated sensors ever developed for a military aircraft.
The F-22 combines extreme stealth and sustained supersonic speed—it can cruise at just above Mach 1.8 without afterburners—with integrated avionics and extreme agility. The Raptor’s Northrop Grumman AN/APG-77 (V)1 active electronically scanned array radar and ALR-94 passive electronic support measures suite would spot an F-14 from many tens of nautical miles away before the Tomcat had any idea that an F-22 was in the vicinity.
The Raptor, having detected a flight of Iranian F-14s and given the go-ahead to engage, would likely turn toward the enemy and launch its Raytheon AIM-120D AMRAAM missile—which reported has a range of 96 nautical miles when launched from a conventional fighter—from high supersonic speeds exceeding Mach 1.5 and at altitudes well above 50,000ft. It would be all over for the Iranian F-14s before anyone in the enemy formation would have any idea they were under attack.
Even if the Raptors had run out of AMRAAMs and were forced to engage within visual range, the F-22s can use their stealth to close in unobserved to less than 1000ft to either kill the F-14s with Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinders or 20mm Vulcan cannon fire. Indeed, F-22 pilots flying during exercises such as Red Flag or Northern Edge will often sneak into guns range to make unobserved kills from very close distances by taking advantage of...
SUPREME COURT INTERVENES IN APPARENT MYSTERY MUELLER CASE
Roberts’ order could mark the first time that the Supreme Courthas intervened in the Mueller inquiry.
Very little is known of the case, which reached the justices on Saturday, because the matter has proceeded through the federal courts under seal, meaning strict confidentiality prevails over every detail.
The scant facts which are available about the case are these: a grand jury issued a subpoena to an unnamed company owned by a foreign government some time during the summer of 2018. That firm, referred to in court filings as “the corporation” has been fighting the subpoena in federal court since August.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit released one of the few public filings in the matter on Dec. 18. Since the entity is owned by a foreign government, it sought to quash the subpoena under the protections of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The D.C. Circuit rejected those arguments, and found that the corporation must comply with the subpoena.
The company appealed that decision to the Supreme Court Saturday. The corporation faces a fine for every day that it fails to abide by the subpoena.
Roberts’ Sunday night decision temporarily halts the non-compliance fines. The Department of Justice must submit a response to the foreign company’s application by...
Illegal Alien Crime Facts
Forget about the rhetoric. Here are some facts about illegal immigrant crime (as gathered during the Obama administration and reported by the GAO).
“Criminal aliens” — those who engage in other criminal acts — make up a disproportionate number of inmates in our prisons and jails. Seeing the numbers, one might fairly deduce that they commit serious crimes at a significantly higher rate than those in the U.S. legally.
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| Crimes committed by illegal immigrants known to be in US prison during the several years studied. |
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| The number of criminal illegal immigrants outweighs the US population. |
“Criminal aliens” — those who engage in other criminal acts — make up a disproportionate number of inmates in our prisons and jails. Seeing the numbers, one might fairly deduce that they commit serious crimes at a significantly higher rate than those in the U.S. legally.
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #480
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
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