Update to Donald Trump’s ‘GOPstapo’ agents in Portland a preview of things to come? It appears the answer is “yes.” The Washington Post reports Federal officials dismiss Portland leaders’ calls to leave city as clashes with protesters continue: A top Homeland Security official on Sunday said the agency will maintain a heavy presence in Portland … Read more
Douglas London was a senior operations officer in the C.I.A. Clandestine Service for over 34 years, assigned to the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Central Eurasia, several times as a chief of station. In an op-ed at the New York Times he writes, I Was a Counterterrorism Chief. Trump Knew What Russia Was Doing. … Read more
Why would the Russian government think it could get away with paying bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers? Ryan Goodman at Just Security blog has an answer. Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin, While Taking No Action Against Russia Arming Taliban: One answer to that question may be the extraordinary response … Read more
Donald Trump emerged from the fever swamps of right-wing conspiracy theory mongering. He was the leader of the racist “Obama Birther” conspiracy theory. Trump was also an anti-vaxxer from way back. “In public statements going back more than a decade, Trump has alleged a connection — for which no evidence exists — between childhood vaccines … Read more
The New York Times followed-up on its earlier reporting last week on following the money, Afghan Contractor Handed Out Russian Cash to Kill Americans, Officials Say (excerpt): Rahmatullah Azizi stands as a central piece of a puzzle rocking Washington, named in American intelligence reports and confirmed by Afghan officials as a key middleman who for … Read more