The FBI accidentally revealed the identity of a Saudi government official who officials had suspected of helping direct support to two of the Al-Qaeda hijackers that carried out the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans.
Yahoo News <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/in-court-filing-fbi-accidentally-reveals-name-of-saudi-official-suspected-of-directing-support-for-911-hijackers-224555851.html">reported</a> late on Tuesday that the revelation was contained in court documents filed late last week, which have since been withdrawn, in response to a lawsuit from families of the 9/11 victims against the Saudi government.
Buried more than 850 words in Yahoo News&#8217; article, reporter Michael Isikoff wrote:
<blockquote>[The filing from Jill Sanborn, the assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division] says in one instance that it involves “any and all records referring to or relating to Jarrah.”
The reference is to Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah, a mid-level Saudi Foreign Ministry official who was assigned to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., in 1999 and 2000. His duties apparently included overseeing the activities of Ministry of Islamic Affairs employees at Saudi-funded mosques and Islamic centers within the United States.
Relatively little is known about Jarrah, but according to former embassy employees, he reported to the Saudi ambassador in the United States (at the time Prince Bandar), and that he was later reassigned to the Saudi mission in Morocco. His current whereabouts are unknown but he is believed to be in Saudi Arabia.</blockquote>
The report noted that the Jarrah&#8217;s name was released in a portion of the declaration where Sanborn referenced a partially declassified report on possible ties between the hijackers and the Saudi government.
Yahoo News added:
<blockquote>That probe, the existence of which has only become public in the past few years, initially focused on two individuals: Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi Islamic Affairs official and radical cleric who served as the imam of the King Fahd Mosque in Los Angeles and Omar al-Bayoumi, a suspected Saudi government agent who assisted two terrorists, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who participated in the hijacking of the American Airlines plane that flew into the Pentagon, killing 125. &#8230;
Elsewhere in her declaration, Sanborn asserts that the contention that Jarrah “tasked” Thumairy and Bayoumi with assisting the hijackers was more a “theory” of the agents working the case rather than a conclusion based on hard evidence.</blockquote>
Former President Barack Obama blocked a bill in 2016 that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government. Republican majorities in the House and Senate <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress-thwarts-obama-on-bill-allowing-911-lawsuits-against-saudi-arabia/2016/09/28/a93e31ba-859b-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html">overrode</a> Obama&#8217;s veto with a 97-to-1 vote in the Senate and 348-to-77 vote in the House.
The Yahoo report tried to make it seem like Attorney General William Barr and Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell were involved in a cover up because they did not want the information being made public.
Grenell and Barr said that the disclosure could cause “significant harm to the national security” because publicly disclosing FBI internal documents would reveal sensitive intelligence sources and methods that the U.S. government uses to collect classified information and would damage cooperation from foreign government in future sensitive investigations because they would not want any of their internal documents revealed in public court.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

World Trade Center Attacked

FBI Accidentally Releases Name Of Saudi Official Suspected Of Directing Support For 9/11 Attack

Saudi Arabia

Terrorism

Americans have had fairly stable energy prices for the past few years, and fairly low ones, in part due to the tremendous increase in energy production in the United States – both natural gas and oil. In 2018,  the U.S. produced <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/">95% of its domestic energy requirements</a>, the largest share since 1967. Stability is also owed to a mainly-steady oil supply emanating from OPEC countries and Russia, making up for decreased supplies from Iran and Venezuela. Gas prices, the marker Americans watch almost to the exclusion of everything else, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=42435">averaged $2.60/gal in 2019 </a>, 4% lower than in 2018.
But while much of American energy is domestic, oil is a commodity with a single world-wide market. The choices other countries make ultimately affect our industry. In December 2016, Russia concluded an agreement with OPEC to balance output and stabilize price at an agreed-upon level – then at about <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/russia-and-saudi-arabia-new-oil-bromance">$60/bbl</a>. As expected, everybody cheated a little bit, but by the end of 2017, stability emerged. Saudi King Salmon paid his first ever state visit to Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about major investments in the kingdom. In June of last year, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/30/russia-saudi-arabia-extend-deal-opec-oil-output">the deal was extended</a> for six to nine months. “Demand is softening a little bit, but I think it’s still healthy,” said Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih.
But then came coronavirus.
Saudi Arabia called an emergency meeting of OPEC and Russia, planning to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/9/21171406/coronavirus-saudi-arabia-russia-oil-war-explained">cut production to keep the price stable</a> as world economies faltered. But Russia, having a very large budgetary reserve, decided to keep pumping and let prices fall. For Americans, conditioned by the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74 and the 1980 Iranian Revolution embargo to think lower prices are good, the outcome of the meeting was something of a shock as we find ourselves in the middle of a Saudi-Russian energy war.
The Russians weren’t trying to help us with gasoline prices. Furious over American opposition to the Nord Stream II pipeline connecting Russian natural gas to European markets, Putin’s hope is to bankrupt the relatively new American oil industry and drive the U.S. from the market. Oh, and by the way, end up with more market share later. Putin is prepared to spend his reserve rubles propping up the Russian economy in the meantime.
Saudi Arabia’s fight is not with the United States, so the kingdom’s objective was not American industry. But the Sunni Saudis and the Iranian-supporting Russians are adversaries – over energy and more – so the Saudi government changed its mind and INCREASED production to FURTHER sink prices, hoping to damage the Russian economy more than Putting was prepared to tolerate.
And, indeed, there was a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/09/russia-saudi-arabia-squabble-over-oil-strategy-but-the-real-battle-is-with-the-us.html">massive price decline</a> last week – <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/03/14/the-oil-shock-of-2020-appears-to-be-here-and-the-pain-could-be-wide-and-deep_partner/">30% in less than a week and 50% since January</a>. It was, according to some experts, the worst week for the oil industry since 2008. Other analysts estimated that annual <a href="https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-To-Buy-77-Million-Barrels-Of-Crude-For-Strategic-Petroleum-Reserve.html">oil demand</a> could decline by more than the 2.65 million barrels per day recorded in 1980 after the Iranian revolution.
For the United States, the oil and natural gas industries are on the block. Not state-owned like those of Russia and Saudi Arabia, American energy producers are supposed to make their money on the market. But when the market rises or falls by collusion, where do they turn? CEO of Continental Resources, Harold Hamm, called the Saudi-Russian moves <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/oil-market-gets-white-knight-after-worst-week-since-2008">illegal</a>. But it isn’t clear that there is a legal remedy.
So, President Donald Trump <a href="https://link.axios.com/click/19735483.35298/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2hpdGVob3VzZS5nb3YvYnJpZWZpbmdzLXN0YXRlbWVudHMvcmVtYXJrcy1wcmVzaWRlbnQtdHJ1bXAtdmljZS1wcmVzaWRlbnQtcGVuY2UtbWVtYmVycy1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy10YXNrLWZvcmNlLXByZXNzLWNvbmZlcmVuY2UtMy8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1uZXdzbGV0dGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXJfYXhpb3NnZW5lcmF0ZSZzdHJlYW09dG9w/5d8a19e2fbd297461c3ce0b1B488ff973">announced</a> the government would purchase enough crude oil to fill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve &#8220;right up to the top.&#8221; The tab would be about <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-oil-purchase-strategic-petroleum-reserve-c6c016ba-2f20-4e55-89f3-4259d6a275a3.html">$2.6 billion</a> at last Friday’s prices for 77 million barrels of crude.
We still have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
Although there<a href="https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-Strategic-Petroleum-Reserve-Is-Slowly-Dying.html"> were discussions about dismantling it</a> a few years ago, the Reserve remains the largest emergency oil supply in the world. Designed to prevent the disruptions seen in the aftermath of the 1973-74 embargo, it has a capacity of 727 million barrels and presently holds about 635 million. It can be opened by the government to prevent economic dislocation in the face of overseas contingencies.
Within about two weeks, the President’s purchases may start showing up at the Reserve.
It may not work. Prices may rise and then fall again under longer-term economic pressures engendered by COVID-19. And there is still the question of paying for it – as Congress would have to appropriate the funds. &#8220;We continue to see political headwinds,&#8221; analysts with ClearView Energy Partners <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/031520-with-questionable-long-term-market-impact-trumps-spr-plan-faces-uncertain-path-in-congress?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosgenerate&amp;stream=top">said Saturday</a>, calling it &#8220;problematic&#8221; for the Democratic-led House to approve a plan the President has said will “save” an industry.
The President has other options for funding, but it would be a sorry day if the House of Representatives abetted Russia and Saudi Arabia in price fixing to cause long-term damage to the American oil industry.
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center and Editor of inFOCUS Quarterly

President Trump

BRYEN: Trump Fills The Reserve

Donald Trump

Oil and Gas

Russia

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia ratcheted up its oil war with Russia, announcing it would raise its crude supply to a record high in April. <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-russia-raise-stakes-123106547.html">Yahoo Finance</a> reported, “Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco said the oil giant would increase supply to 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in April for customers inside the kingdom and abroad. That&#8217;s 300,000 bpd above its maximum production capacity, indicating Aramco may also free up crude from storage.” The two countries had initiated a price war because of weak demand triggered by the impact of the coronavirus.
The 12.3 million bpd figure is a huge jump from previous months, in which the Saudis have pumped roughly 9.7 million bpd.
Russia has been trying to negotiate with the Saudis; Russian energy minister Alexander Novak indicated that Russia wanted to speak with OPEC but Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Reuters, &#8220;I fail to see the wisdom for holding meetings in May-June that would only demonstrate our failure in attending to what we should have done in a crisis like this and taking the necessary measures.”
OPEC and a group of oil producers headed by Russia had been in talks, but they collapsed; Yahoo Finance noted, “Three years of cooperation among OPEC+ producers ended in acrimony on Friday after Moscow refused to support deeper production cuts to support prices hit by the coronavirus outbreak.”
WorldOil.com <a href="https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/3/9/mnuchin-wants-orderly-oil-markets-in-talk-with-russian-ambassador">noted</a>, “Russia has sought to increase production to punish American shale drillers. Russia has sought to increase production to punish American shale drillers. Saudi Arabia’s state energy company Saudi Aramco responded by offering unprecedented discounts on Saturday to customers in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Rosneft plans to pump significantly more oil next month, when the OPEC+ arrangement formally ends, and Novak said the country’s share of oil export markets will be preserved.”
OPEC reacted to the collapse of talks by eliminating limits on oil production, which triggered the downward spiral of oil prices. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will start producing oil from the “Neutral Zone,” which would be in addition to the Saudis’ 12 million bpd.
On Monday, the Department of Energy issued a <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-responds-recent-oil-market-activity">statement</a> that read:
<blockquote>
The Trump Administration is closely monitoring the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), and the fallout from last week’s OPEC+ meeting on global oil markets. These attempts by state actors to manipulate and shock oil markets reinforce the importance of the role of the United States as a reliable energy supplier to partners and allies around the world. The United States, as the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, can and will withstand this volatility.
The growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry in the United States has led to a more secure, resilient and flexible market. Thanks to President Trump’s pro-growth policies, America will remain the number one energy producer in the world. By prioritizing pro-growth reforms to tax, labor, regulation, energy, and healthcare policy the U.S. economy is more resilient than ever.
</blockquote>
&nbsp;

Exclusive: Inside Look At The Saudi Aramco Oil Company

Saudi Arabia Throws Down Gauntlet To Russia. Raises Crude Oil Supply To Record High.

Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer, who frequently opines on issues pertaining to Israel and anti-Semitism, has the following piece at the <a href="https://jewishjournal.com/columnist/310128/saudi-arabia-is-more-pro-israel-than-the-democratic-party/">Jewish Journal</a>, the Los Angeles-based Jewish weekly. 
For decades, Saudi Arabia — a territorially expansive nation and home to Islamic holy cities Mecca and Medina — represented a symbolic epicenter of the Arab world’s systemic anti-Zionism. That anti-Zionism dates back to the Arab world’s fateful rejection of the U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine in November 1947, and reached its zenith with the vile Khartoum Resolution in September 1967, decreed in the aftermath of Israel’s Six-Day War victory: “No peace [with Israel],” “no recognition,” and “no negotiations.”
Yet in the year 2020, <a href="https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&amp;newsid=2027848#2027848" data-reader-unique-id="3">Saudi Arabia</a> — along with the <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenblattJD/status/1222227819033518083" data-reader-unique-id="4">United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman</a>, <a href="https://news.qna.org.qa/lang/en/w/article/1580250375011598800" data-reader-unique-id="5">Qatar</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1452664425061142/posts/2592875164373390/?d=n" data-reader-unique-id="6">Egypt</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1021964141227620/posts/2670012913089393/" data-reader-unique-id="7">Morocco</a> — seems to be more pro-Israel than the leading luminaries of the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/" data-reader-unique-id="8">Democratic Party</a>. We may come to this troublesome conclusion because of the various Democrat reactions to the Trump administration’s formal unveiling of its “<a href="https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/The-Deal-of-the-Century-What-are-its-key-points-615680" data-reader-unique-id="9">Deal of the Century” plan</a> for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Per the Saudi government’s <a href="https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&amp;newsid=2027848#2027848" data-reader-unique-id="11">official release</a>, the kingdom “appreciates the efforts of President Trump’s administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.”
By contrast, the 2020 Democrats were dismissive. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the purported “moderate” in the party’s presidential primary field, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/" data-reader-unique-id="13">decried</a> the President’s plan as a “political stunt that could … set back peace even more.” Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), borrowing the same talking point, <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/" data-reader-unique-id="14">lamented</a> that “Trump’s so-called ‘peace plan’ … will only perpetuate the conflict.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/" data-reader-unique-id="15">called</a> it a “rubber stamp for annexation” that “offers no chance for a real Palestinian state.” Former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/" data-reader-unique-id="16">dubbed</a> it a “political green light for … unilateral annexation.”
The 2020 Democrats were joined across the pond by the loathsome Jeremy Corbyn. The iconic leftist and proud <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/03/jeremy-corbyn-has-a-soft-spot-for-extremists-ira-hamas-hezbollah-britain-labour/" data-reader-unique-id="18">“friend”</a> of jihadist outfits Hamas and Hezbollah <a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1222303875593637891" data-reader-unique-id="19">excoriated</a> Trump’s plan as a “travesty” that “lock[s] in illegal Israeli colonisation.”
The reality is that in the post-Iran nuclear-deal era — where “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” logic reigns supreme — the Sunni stalwarts of the Islamic world have all but abandoned their traditional role as the patrons of and international community provocateurs on behalf of the Palestinian cause. The thawing of relations between Israel and the Sunni Arab world has seeped from the realm of the surreptitious into the realm of the highly visible.
“Realpolitik” now is the name of the game in the Middle East, and non-Islamist Arab rulers soberly recognize Israel’s utility in countering the Islamic Republic of Iran’s hegemonic ambitions and harrowing pursuit of a nuclear arsenal. The Palestinian cause — always just a hobbyhorse to which an Arab leader could point and distract his restive populace — necessarily takes a back seat to the more important goal of regime survival.
<a href="https://jewishjournal.com/columnist/310128/saudi-arabia-is-more-pro-israel-than-the-democratic-party/">Read the rest of the piece here</a>.

RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-stark-choice-facing-jewish-democrats-josh-hammer">The Stark Choice Facing Jewish Democrats</a>
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-us-must-side-saudi-arabia-against-iranian-josh-hammer">The U.S. Must Side With Saudi Arabia Against Iranian Aggression</a>

Middle East

Hammer at ‘Jewish Journal’: Saudi Arabia Is Now More Pro-Israel Than The Democratic Party

Democratic Party

Foreign Policy

Israel

Leftism

Palestinians

Progressivism

Trump Administration

When speaking with liberal-minded folks about solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the recently revealed &#8220;Deal of the Century,&#8221; inevitably the question of Arab buy-in arises. “Will the Palestinians accept it?” is the oft-heard refrain.
While this may seem to be a pretty reasonable question, it actually reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of the Middle East.
Here is a true story involving one of my mentors, Dr. Mordechai Kedar. It helpfully illustrates Middle East thinking.
Kedar has crafted an alternative vision to the &#8220;two-state solution&#8221; that is called the “<a href="http://www.palestinianemirates.com/contact.html">emirates plan</a>.” He presented it to a well-known sheikh in Judea and Samaria (i.e., the “West Bank”). The sheikh listened attentively to Kedar and in the end, announced: “I like it. It is good for us. Now you will have to force it upon me.”
Why did the sheikh, who liked the plan and thought it was good for his people, say this strange phrase, “now you will have to force it upon me?”
For a knower of the Middle Eastern mind, the answer is obvious. No self-respecting Arab can publicly proclaim support for a plan that recognizes Israel a regional sovereign. It’s simply against a basic tenet of Islamic law: No non-Islamic entity may exercise jurisdiction over a landmass once controlled by Islam.
Moreover, there is Islam’s corollary: Arab nationalism. The jingoistic Arab world has tried to defeat Israel in numerous wars and attacks. They lost, and they know it — but the dream of Arab nationalism lives on in their hearts.
So, what the sheikh was saying to Kedar was: While I like your plan, please respect my honor and my need to avoid looking weak to my nation or disloyal to my religion by publicly surrendering to your plan. Help me save face by forcing your plan on me — that way I maintain my dignity and we can move forward together.
Israel is a small Jewish enclave within the massive, and predominantly Arab, Middle East. It is therefore important to understand the regional mindset. While in the West, seeking consent and acquiescence is a sign of respect, equality, and moral uprightness, in the Middle East that same attitude may be insensitive. Trying to elicit public Arab buy-in can inadvertently put Arabs in the uncomfortable position of having to openly repudiate their religion and their nationalism — even if they like the plan.
Ironically, we have arrived at a time where much of the Arab world is looking for an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/historic-arab-states-welcome-trumps-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan">excuse to wind down</a> the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fleisher-end-100-year-arab-israeli-war-yishai-fleisher">100-year war</a> against Israel, which, they realize is fruitless and continues only to their own detriment. Moreover, there is real pressure. The Egyptians fear both the ISIS presence in the Sinai and the threat of homegrown Muslim Brotherhood jihadis overthrowing the Sisi government. Even more urgently, the threat of Iran is very real for the Saudis, who are facing Shiite incursions on all of their borders. As strange as it sounds, today both Egypt and Saudi Arabia desperately need Israel for their own security reasons.
However, while these Arab countries feel pressure to line up with Israel to defend their strategic positions, as leaders of Arab nationalism and authentic Islam, they still need to publicly save face.
That is why the Trump plan smartly kept the &#8220;two-state solution&#8221; on the table so that Arab states could pay lip service to the creation of a Palestine. This allowed Arab representatives to sit at the White House in their traditional robes as the deal was being unveiled. Yet the real effect of Arab states accepting the tenets of the deal was not the creation of an independent Palestine at all. Rather, it was the recognition of Israel as a legitimate Jewish entity in the Middle East — with its capital in Jerusalem and with rights in Judea and Samaria.
Shocking! And with regard to Palestine, the Arab states heard and acquiesced to the call on Palestinians to disarm, to stop paying for terror, to stop incitement — to basically give up the war with Israel. This was truly revolutionary. By agreeing to an Israel in the &#8220;West Bank&#8221; and also a defanged Palestine, the Arab states, quietly and without public pronouncement, essentially agreed to an end of hostilities with the Jewish state.
The Palestinian leadership, naturally, is up in arms. But it is not only their former Sunni Arab state allies who have turned their backs on them — it is also the proverbial Arab street. Many “West Bank” Arabs are tired of the pointless war with Israel and are tired of the corrupt Palestinian Authority. It is for this reason that there have barely been any protests against the &#8220;Deal of the Century&#8221; — just as there was a muted reaction to the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by the Trump administration.
Yet, while many Arabs want to end hostilities, it is a mistake to pine for public Arab buy-in. Israel is anathema to both their Arab nationalism and a core tenet of Islam — and if they must swallow the existence of Israel, they prefer it play out as coercion, or at least a gradual and quiet acceptance rather than voluntary proclamations of &#8220;peace in our time.&#8221; In the end, helping the Arab world transition from war to cooperation is a delicate task and it will surely benefit Israel. But the Muslim world, which is hungry for prosperity, modernity, and reform, stands to gain even more.
Yishai Fleisher is the International Spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron.

Israel map

FLEISHER: The Myth Of Arab Buy-In

Egypt

Islam

Islamic State (ISIS)

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

Perhaps the sole silver lining of the otherwise-harrowing capitulation to fundamentalist jihadist evil that was President Barack Obama&#8217;s Iran nuclear deal was the fact that the leading Sunni Arab states — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt chief among them — began to warm up to the Jewish state of Israel. The enemy of my enemy, as the venerable maxim goes, is indeed my friend. And these Sunni stalwarts have found common cause with Israel in opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran&#8217;s decades-long hegemonic ambitions, which were only augmented by the capitulatory cash influxes provided by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
To date, however, the thawing of relations has generally taken a clandestine form — mostly on the intelligence and counterintelligence level. But the unveiling yesterday of President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Deal of the Century&#8221; peace proposal for Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs represents the clearest public sign yet of just how far this thawing has progressed.
It is nothing short of remarkable just how far we have come, when considering the &#8220;Three No&#8217;s&#8221; of the infamous 1967 Khartoum Resolution, decreed in the aftermath of Israel&#8217;s miraculous Six-Day War victory: &#8220;No peace [with Israel],&#8221; &#8220;no recognition [of Israel],&#8221; and &#8220;no negotiations [with Israel].&#8221;
For starters, as The Daily Wire&#8217;s Hank Berrien <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-deal-of-the-century-for-israel-palestinians-a-realistic-plan-with-arab-states-backing-it">reported</a> yesterday, &#8220;Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba of the UAE, Ambassador Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa of Bahrain, and the Ambassador Hunaina al-Mughairy of Oman <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Bahrain-UAE-envoys-come-to-White-House-for-Trump-Deal-of-the-Century-615706">were in the East Room</a> of the White House on Tuesday as Trump announced his plan.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Three great friends of peace &#8211; you, your countries &amp; your leaders are courageous. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being at the event at the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> today &amp; thank you for your encouragement &amp; support! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAE</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bahrain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bahrain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oman?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oman</a> <a href="https://t.co/N3LvtQufvz">pic.twitter.com/N3LvtQufvz</a>
&mdash; Jason D. Greenblatt (@GreenblattJD) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenblattJD/status/1222227819033518083?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It is unprecedented to have such leading representatives from Sunni Arab governments effectively recognizing Israel&#8217;s right, under U.N. Security Council <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-meaning-of-un-security-council-resolution-242">Resolution 242</a>, &#8220;to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.&#8221; It is even more unprecedented for such Arab governments to effectively recognize this international law right in the context of what is quite clearly, on the underlying merits, the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-Trump-Plan-How-Israel-Should-Respond-615681">most pro-Israel peace plan ever offered</a> by an American president — and one that is offered by a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-jerusalem-matters-ben-shapiro">historically pro-Israel American president</a> and a conservative Likud party Israeli prime minister, no less.
Numerous Arab governments, furthermore, have offered public endorsements of Trump&#8217;s plan that invariably refer to it as a welcoming or promising development.
From the <a href="https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&amp;newsid=2027848#2027848">Kingdom of Saudi Arabia</a>, home to the Islamic holy city of Mecca and the centuries-long epicenter of the Sunni Muslim world: &#8220;The kingdom appreciates the efforts of President Trump&#8217;s administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, under the auspices of the United States, and to resolve any disagreements with aspects of the plan through negotiations.&#8221;
From (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-al-jazeeras-disgraceful-holocaust-denying-josh-hammer">deeply problematic &#8220;ally&#8221;</a>) <a href="https://news.qna.org.qa/lang/en/w/article/1580250375011598800">Qatar</a>: &#8220;The State of Qatar welcomes all efforts aiming towards a longstanding and just peace in the occupied Palestinian territories. It also appreciates the endeavors of President Trump and the current U.S. administration to find solutions for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all solutions should be consistent with international law and the relevant U.N. resolutions.&#8221;
From <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1452664425061142/posts/2592875164373390/?d=n">Egypt</a>: &#8220;The Arab Republic of Egypt appreciates the continuous efforts exerted by the U.S. administration to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue, thereby contributing to the stability and security of the Middle East, ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.&#8221;
From the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1021964141227620/posts/2670012913089393/">Kingdom of Morocco</a>: &#8220;The Kingdom of Morocco expresses the wish that a constructive peace process be launched from now on, with a view to a realistic, applicable, equitable and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian question, satisfying the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, for an independent, viable and sovereign State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and enabling the peoples of the region to live in dignity, prosperity and stability.&#8221;
Contrast that with the leading 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidates, who have <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/democratic-candidates-censure-trump-peace-plan-warn-against-annexation/">all assailed</a> the plan. Or contrast it with Hamas/Hezbollah-loving Jeremy Corbyn of Britain, who calls it a &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/jeremycorbyn/status/1222303875593637891">travesty</a>.&#8221;
The Arab world is desperately trying to move on and finally resolve the Palestinian issue once and for all. But the American and European Left will not let them do so.
Kudos, nonetheless, to the Trump administration and the main actors/former actors there responsible for crafting the plan — including but hardly limited to Jason Greenblatt, Jared Kushner, and Avi Berkowitz — for their work in this very <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/eugene-kontorovich-trump-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan-is-fair-and-just-but-palestinians-wont-compromise">fair and thoughtfully devised</a> peace plan.

Donald Trump at White House with Benjamin Netanyahu

HISTORIC: Arab States Welcome Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan

Anti-Semitism

Barack Obama

Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Since <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/how-the-saudi-led-qatar-boycott-transformed-the-tiny-emirate-s-economy-1.7335205">2017</a>, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt have boycotted Qatar due to its overwhelming support for terrorism. While this multilateral call to action should have raised alarm, the American public remained largely silent, effectively condoning Qatar’s abuses — its overwhelming <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/15/qatar-state-sponsor-terrorism/">sponsorship</a> of terrorism, and its <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/world-cup-2022-qatars-workers-slaves-building-mausoleums-stadiums-modern-slavery-kafala-a7980816.html">slave-like</a> labor conditions that could kill <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fifa-world-cup-2022-a-worker-plummeted-to-his-death-2018-2">4,000</a> stadium workers before the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-qatar-paid-880-million-bribes-fifa-secure-josh-hammer">Qatar-hosted</a> 2022 World Cup’s opening whistle.
With the grace of relative impunity, Qatar has had the latitude to tailor its reputation, whitewash its vices, and advance its pro-terrorist agenda. Qatar has done so by infecting America’s minds and academia through propaganda and funding. It has done so three-fold, with the latter two methods being my primary focus here. First, Qatar has infiltrated American media, attracting 11+ million Facebook followers through <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/al-jazeera-promotes-terrorism-social-media-must-deplatform-aj-aj/">AJ+</a>, an ostensibly progressive channel that proxies for Al Jazeera, Qatar’s state-run network that is known to glorify terrorists as “<a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/al-jazeera-promotes-terrorism-social-media-must-deplatform-aj-aj/">martyrs</a>.” Second, Qatar has <a href="https://clarionproject.org/qatar-on-our-campuses/">donated</a> nearly $1.5 billion to U.S. primary schools and universities, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Is-Qatari-funding-influencing-BDS-on-US-college-campuses-587100">promoting</a> its image and radicalizing curricula. Lastly, Qatar has funded think tanks, thereby censoring criticism.
To preserve both academic freedom and morality, academia and think tanks must sever all future ties to and funding from the Qatari government. This would undermine Qatar’s grooming efforts while also raising the awareness of students — who are, by definition, America’s future — to Qatar’s abuses. It would also challenge Qatar to either reform or risk suffering the reputational harm that it so manifestly deserves.
Qatar’s extensive influence efforts whitewash and masquerade the terrorism that it champions. Qatar has funded <a href="https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/hamas">Hamas</a> — a terrorist organization <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-israel-must-destroy-hamas-once-and-all-josh-hammer">vowing</a> Israel’s destruction — with <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Qatars-break-with-Hamas-shakes-up-Mideast-politics-584379">$1.1 billion</a> since 2012 and formerly <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/fact-check-is-qatar-supporting-terrorism-1.5484124">provided</a> billions of dollars to Mohamed Morsi’s deposed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-designating-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-josh-hammer">Muslim Brotherhood</a> regime in Egypt. Qatar&#8217;s emir enables Hamas to convene in <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/hamas-chief-holds-press-conference-at-four-seasons-hotel/">Doha’s</a> <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/qatar-hosting-hamas-whitewashing-terror-606750">hotels</a>, and the emir openly celebrates the jihadist outfit. He <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/25/world/meast/qatar-emir/index.html">observed</a> that “Qatar supports ‘all Palestinian people. We believe Hamas is a very important part of the Palestinian people.” Qatar also harbors high-profile terrorists like <a href="https://www.counterextremism.com/countries/qatar">Khaled Meshaal</a>, who formerly headed Hamas’s political bureau, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23007401">20 high-profile members</a> of the Afghani Taliban, and key financiers of terror like <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11140190/Banker-who-financed-911-mastermind-now-funding-terrorists-in-Syria-and-Iraq.html">Khalifa Al Subaiy</a>, “the mastermind behind 9/11.” Not to mention infamous top Muslim Brotherhood cleric <a href="https://www.meforum.org/57690/ensconced-doha-islamists">Yusuf al-Qaradawi</a>. Between financing, harboring, and sponsoring terror, Qatar fuels essentially every step of militant jihad.
Through its funding, Qatar has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-many-cnns-national-security-experts-have-josh-hammer">sought to influence</a> the curricula of American primary schools and <a href="https://clarionproject.org/qatar-on-our-campuses/">universities</a>: Georgetown, Texas A&amp;M (TAMU), Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, and Virginia Commonwealth. Of the aforementioned, all enjoy campuses in Qatar at the annual estimated $<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/03/08/texas-university-gets-76-million-each-year-to-operate-in-qatar-contract-says/">404.8 million</a> expense of the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Is-Qatari-funding-influencing-BDS-on-US-college-campuses-587100">Qatar Foundation</a> (QF), “a state-supported <a href="https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Is-Qatari-funding-influencing-BDS-on-US-college-campuses-587100">NGO</a>” that is <a href="https://clarionproject.org/qatar-on-our-campuses/">controlled</a> by the Qatari government.
<a href="https://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/about-us/our-partners/qatar-foundation">Founded</a> by the former emir, the <a href="https://qatar-weill.cornell.edu/about-us/our-partners/qatar-foundation">QF</a> seeks the “development of [Qatar] that would provide Qatari citizens with a greater choice in education, health and social progress.” In other words, the QF furthers Qatari government interests with its anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and pro-terrorism sentiment. Hence, the Middle East Forum&#8217;s Sam Westrop (a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/sam-westrop">Daily Wire contributor</a>) <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/26000/qatari-foundation-influences-anti-israel">observes</a> that the QF “bestows awards upon Hamas leaders” and “works with charities … accused of funding terrorism.” Further, Americans for Peace and Tolerance notes that the <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/26000/qatari-foundation-influences-anti-israel">QF</a> has sponsored curricula “propagandized with materials that slander &#8230; the Jewish people.” The QF has also sought to forge American allegiance to the Qatari government. Hence, its flagship curriculum <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/26000/qatari-foundation-influences-anti-israel">project</a>, one “heavily promoted in American schools,” teaches a lesson entitled, “Express Your Loyalty to Qatar.” The QF endorses terror, anti-Semitism, and allegiance to Qatar — phenomena antithetical to morality and academic freedom. Think tanks and academia must thus reject all future funding from this troubled emirate.
Despite the QF’s explicit ties to Qatar, the largest foreign funder of American universities since <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/59321/clarion-exclusive-report-foreign-influence-ops-on">2012</a>, universities continue to embrace its beneficence. Two of the largest “benefactors” have been Georgetown and TAMU. Whereas in 2018, Georgetown <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/trump-administration-reviewing-foreign-funding-at-u-s-colleges">accepted</a> $33 million of its $36 million in foreign donations from the QF, TAMU pocketed $6.1 million, totaling all of its foreign funding. In 2018, nearly all of these universities’ foreign funding came from Qatar; and since 2012 and 2014, respectively, the two have respectively received <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/trump-administration-reviewing-foreign-funding-at-u-s-colleges">$415 million</a> and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/trump-administration-reviewing-foreign-funding-at-u-s-colleges">$285 million</a> in foreign funding, suggesting the overwhelming influence of Qatari funding in American education. Other <a href="https://clarionproject.org/qatar-on-our-campuses/">universities</a> that have <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/59321/clarion-exclusive-report-foreign-influence-ops-on">received</a> Qatari funding include Arizona State, Harvard, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/16/qatar-georgetown-texas-university/">Illinois</a>, Johns Hopkins, <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/16/qatar-georgetown-texas-university/">Michigan</a>, North Carolina, NYU, Oregon State, Purdue, Penn State, the University of Chicago, the University of Southern California, Washington, and Washington University in St. Louis. <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/59321/clarion-exclusive-report-foreign-influence-ops-on">Northwestern</a> also has a partnership with <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/al-jazeera-promotes-terrorism-social-media-must-deplatform-aj-aj/">Al Jazeera</a>, a Qatari television network that <a href="https://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/299328/david-reaboi-discusses-qatar-and-terrorism/">regularly promotes terror</a>.
Qatar’s efforts to groom also extend to U.S. primary schools. Between <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-schools-receive-aid-from-qatar-1503682830">2009 and 2017</a>, the QF donated $30.6 million to subsidize “teacher training, materials, and salaries,” while also “targeting K-12 public schools with lofty grants,” some of which have been used to send students to Qatar and on other “cultural trips” to “the Qatari embassy in D.C.” Thereby, Qatari money, while normalizing Qatar&#8217;s image, also effectively regulates primary school classroom curricula.
The QF has also coerced think tanks into submission — particularly the Brookings Institution and its center in Doha, to which it has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/how-qatar-is-buying-conservative-column-inches">given</a> tens of millions of dollars. As counter-Islamist activist David Reaboi has <a href="https://securitystudies.org/why-should-we-care-about-qatars-influence/">noted</a>, “spending a lot of money is the easiest way to change … a public policy narrative.” A former visiting fellow for Brooking, Saleem Ali, has <a href="https://securitystudies.org/why-should-we-care-about-qatars-influence/">confirmed</a> the extent of Qatar’s influence at its Doha office, acknowledging a “no-go zone when it came to criticizing the Qatari government.” Having effectively censored the Brookings Institution, the Qatari government also directly and indirectly <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/02/06/qatars-ramped-up-lobbying-efforts-find-success-in-washington/">funds</a> the Middle East Institute and the Gulf International Forum.
These efforts ultimately reflect Qatar’s will to regulate American thought through the media, classroom, and the think tank. To redeem academic integrity, and to reject Qatar’s terrorism, the supposed vanguard of American thought and values — academia and think tanks — must boycott the Qatari government. Such boycotts would captivate student bodies, raise large-scale attention to Qatar’s abuses, and shame Qatar into either reform or accountability.
&nbsp;
Jordan Cope is currently a law student at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also completed his undergraduate degree. Having graduated with a B.A. in international relations, Jordan also minored in Middle Eastern studies and can speak Arabic and Hebrew. He has also published research on the security implications of Palestinian foreign aid. He can be followed <a href="https://twitter.com/JordanCope12">@JordanCope12</a>.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-al-jazeeras-disgraceful-holocaust-denying-josh-hammer">Al Jazeera&#8217;s Disgraceful Holocaust-Denying Video Showcases Qatari Evil For All To See.</a>

Doha Qatar skyline

COPE: Academia And Think Tanks Must Boycott Qatar

Qatar

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

A Saudi national who opened fire in a classroom on a U.S. Navy base in Florida may have become &#8220;radicalized&#8221; before the attack, authorities say, though law enforcement officials are still searching for links to international terrorist organizations.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-detains-10-saudis-after-attack-searching-for-more-after-attacker-had-party-to-watch-mass-shooting-videos">The Daily Wire reported Saturday</a> that the Saudi national, who is accused of killing three U.S. soliders during a pre-dawn rampage at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday, held a &#8220;mass shooting&#8221; dinner party where he and three others watched footage of mass shootings uploaded to online platforms. While the shooter opened fire inside, one of those three associates filmed the attempted massacre from a vehicle located outside the building.
According to anonymous sources close to the investigation, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-shooting/saudi-suspect-in-u-s-navy-base-attack-linked-to-anti-u-s-twitter-screed-idUSKBN1YB0FK">per Reuters</a>, at least ten individuals are being held under suspicion that they contributed to or had some knowledge of the shooter&#8217;s plan, and that includes the individual who videotaped the incident. Officials are looking for at least ten more Saudi nationals and have asked members of the public to step forward with any information they may have related to the Pensacola shooting.
But while the existence of a videotape has some experts to connect Friday&#8217;s shooting to terrorism, the FBI appears to believe the Saudi national may have acted alone, if only because his methods don&#8217;t match those of any known terror group.
Counter-terrorism expert Rita Katz noted on Twitter that, &#8220;[t]he style of the <a class="PrettyLink hashtag customisable" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pensacolashooting?src=hash" rel="tag" data-query-source="hashtag_click" data-scribe="element:hashtag">#Pensacolashooting</a> doesn&#8217;t necessarily resemble one group over another. However, given that ISIS has very little to lose at this point, it wouldn&#8217;t be surprising if it claimed the attack, regardless of the attacker&#8217;s potential allegiances.&#8221;
On Sunday, Reuters and other outlets reported that the shooter posted &#8220;anti-American screeds&#8221; to his social media ahead of the shooting, and MEMRI, which tracks and documents under-reported information about terrorism and Middle East politics, appears to have tracked down and located the shooter&#8217;s social media profiles.
&#8220;The [shooter] appeared to have posted a justification of his planned attack in English on Twitter a few hours before it began, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online Islamist extremism,&#8221; Reuters reported Sunday. &#8220;He referred to U.S. wars in Muslim countries, writing that he hated the American people for &#8216;committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity,&#8217; and criticizing Washington’s support for Israel, SITE’s analysis said.&#8221;
The shooter also quoted notorious al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
President Donald Trump responded to the attack in a statement Friday, noting that he had spoken with Saudi Arabian leaders, who were also reportedly saddend by the incident.
“King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida,&#8221; the statement from Trump read. &#8220;The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.”

Shooting On Naval Air Station Pensacola Leaves Multiple Dead And Injured

Saudi Attacker ‘Radicalized’ Before Rampage, Posted Anti-American Screed To Social Media

Shooting

FBI officials have detained nearly a dozen Saudi nationals and are searching for several others after a member of the Saudi military opened fire on the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday killing three and wounding several others.
Sources told The Associated Press that three students attended the dinner party, and that one of those students recorded a video of the attacker committing the attack as it happened.
&#8220;Two other Saudi students watched from a car,&#8221; the AP reported. &#8220;Ten Saudi students were being held on the base Saturday while several others were unaccounted for, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity after being briefed by federal authorities.&#8221;
President Donald Trump responded to the attack, writing: &#8220;King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida. The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;.The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1203030941108711424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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CNN noted the gravity of the phone call that Trump had because it was with King Salman not his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
&#8220;Compared to Saudi Arabia&#8217;s often glacial standards, the 83-year-old monarch moved with remarkable speed to call Trump,&#8221; CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/07/world/us-saudi-relationship/index.html">reported</a>. &#8220;The king quickly instructed his own security services to cooperate fully with US investigators into the shooting in which three people were killed at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.&#8221;
The FBI requested more information from the public about the alleged attacker, tweeting: &#8220;The NAS Pensacola shooter is identified as Saudi national Mohammed Alshamrani. Anyone with information regarding his activites is encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. FBI Jacksonville is not aware of any credible threat toward the Pensacola community at this time.&#8221;
The Daily Wire normally does not publish names and photographs of alleged mass shooters but is doing so in this case since federal law enforcement officials are asking for the public&#8217;s assistance in gathering information about the attacker.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The NAS Pensacola shooter is identified as Saudi national Mohammed Alshamrani. Anyone with information regarding his activites is encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI. FBI Jacksonville is not aware of any credible threat toward the Pensacola community at this time. <a href="https://t.co/RNc8ZL89WS">pic.twitter.com/RNc8ZL89WS</a>
&mdash; FBI Jacksonville (@FBIJacksonville) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIJacksonville/status/1203502630531715076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-six-saudis-taken-into-custody-after-saudi-military-member-shoots-up-u-s-military-base">said</a> on Friday that the alleged Saudi military official who committed the attack had committed an act of terrorism.
“Major news organizations are now reporting the information that we began to learn earlier this morning that it was a Saudi Arabian military official in Pensacola, in our community for training, who committed these murderous acts and this terrible, terrible violence at NAS Pensacola,” Gaetz said. “I think it’s important for us to know a little bit about why Saudi Arabian officials are in our community.”
“This event represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people into our community,” Gaetz continued. “So today, as we learn more as the investigation continues to unfold … I’m going to be very active in working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.”
“If this were a murder, it would typically be investigated by NCIS … but this was not a murder,” Gaetz later added. “This was an act of terrorism and as we speak the investigation is being handed over from the NCIS to the FBI, that is the signal that this will now be treated by our government as an act of terrorism, not a murder.”

FBI Detains 10 Saudis After Attack, Searching For More After Attacker Had Party To Watch Mass Shooting Videos

Saudi

U.S. Navy

Multiples reports surfaced Friday night stating that six Saudi nationals have been detained for questioning near the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Pensacola, Florida, some who allegedly filmed an alleged member of Saudi military who went on shooting spree at the base earlier in the day.
&#8220;Six other Saudi nationals were detained for questioning near the scene of the shooting, including three who were seen filming the entire incident, according to a person briefed on the initial stages of the investigation,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/us/nas-pensacola-shooting.html">reported</a>.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/saudis-arrested-questioning-pensacola-shooting">reported</a> that, according to a senior U.S. official, &#8220;the suspects were taken into custody and are being questioned about the shooting.&#8221;
The attacker killed three other people and wounded several others, including two police officers, in what authorities are investigating as a potential act of terrorism. The attacker was killed at the scene.
&#8220;The Pentagon told CBS News that the shooter had been in the country since August 2017 pursuant to a U.S. Air Force Foreign Military Sales training case funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that he was scheduled to stay until August 2020,&#8221; CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pensacola-shooting-today-3-people-killed-shooter-dead-at-florida-navy-base-nas-pensacola-2019-12-06/">reported</a>. &#8220;He was enrolled in English, basic aviation, and initial pilot training at the station, the Pentagon added.&#8221;
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said on Friday that the alleged attacker did not commit murder, but an act of terrorism.
“Major news organizations are now reporting the information that we began to learn earlier this morning that it was a Saudi Arabian military official in Pensacola, in our community for training, who committed these murderous acts and this terrible, terrible violence at NAS Pensacola,” Gaetz said. “I think it’s important for us to know a little bit about why Saudi Arabian officials are in our community.”
“This event represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people into our community,” Gaetz continued. “So today, as we learn more as the investigation continues to unfold … I’m going to be very active in working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.”
&#8220;If this were a murder, it would typically be investigated by NCIS &#8230; but this was not a murder,&#8221; Gaetz later added. &#8220;This was an act of terrorism and as we speak the investigation is being handed over from the NCIS to the FBI, that is the signal that this will now be treated by our government as an act of terrorism, not a murder.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This was not a murder. This was an act of terrorism. <a href="https://t.co/AJfTQOOE68">pic.twitter.com/AJfTQOOE68</a>
&mdash; Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1203025382632546305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.

Six Saudis Taken Into Custody After Saudi Military Member Shoots Up U.S. Military Base, Reports Say

Crime

Authorities say the man responsible for a mass shooting at a naval air station in Pensacola on Friday morning is a Saudi national who was attending flight school at the base. A few hours after the shooting, which officials say they are investigating as a potential terror attack, Saudi Arabia&#8217;s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud called President Trump to disavow the suspect&#8217;s &#8220;barbaric&#8221; actions.
Just before 7 a.m. on Friday morning, a gunman (whose name is here withheld according to Daily Wire policy on naming mass shooters) opened fire in a classroom in the center of the campus of Pensacola&#8217;s Naval Air Base. The suspect wounded ten people, three of whom died, before he was shot dead by sheriff&#8217;s deputies.
Amid reports that the shooter was a Saudi national, Trump tweeted out statements on the latest developments, including his conversations with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and with Saudi Arabia&#8217;s King Salman.
&#8220;Just received a full briefing on the tragic shooting at NAS Pensacola in Florida, and spoke to [Gov. DeSantis],&#8221; Trump tweeted a few hours after the attack Friday. &#8220;My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. We are continuing to monitor the situation as the investigation is ongoing.&#8221;
Trump then retweeted a post from Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz providing updates on the situation. Gaetz has been giving the public updates on the situation throughout the day, including reports that the suspect was allegedly a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">Saudi Arabian military official</a>.&#8221;
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NAS Pensacola is a huge source of pride for all of Northwest Florida. It is the home of naval aviation. It is the home of the Blue Angels. In our home, this is who we are.
Thank you for keeping Pensacola in your hearts and in your prayers as we deal with this difficult day. <a href="https://t.co/PcvS70GcQh">pic.twitter.com/PcvS70GcQh</a>
&mdash; Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1202987933130743814?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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About two hours later, Trump posted a pair of tweets summarizing his call with King Salman, who condemned the individual who committed the heinous crime and expressed his sympathy for the victims and their families.
&#8220;King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.&#8221;
Along with appearing on news outlets to discuss the shooting, Rep. Gaetz posted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">video message</a> Friday citing reports that the shooter was a Saudi Arabian military official and calling for a more thorough vetting process for officials from other countries that could similarly pose a risk to Americans.
&#8220;Major news organizations are now reporting the information that we began to learn earlier this morning that it was a Saudi Arabian military official in Pensacola, in our community for training, who committed these murderous acts and this terrible, terrible violence at NAS Pensacola,&#8221; says Gaetz in the video post (below). &#8220;I think it’s important for us to know a little bit about why Saudi Arabian officials are in our community.&#8221;
&#8220;Training is a critical part of the mission that we engage in in NAS Pensacola,&#8221; he continues. &#8220;One way that we leverage that training is to ensure that our allies around the world are capable and familiar with U.S. systems, that they’re comfortable working with U.S. officers, and that we have an interoperability in our lexicon and in the way we engage in battle.&#8221;
&#8220;This event represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people into our community,&#8221; he asserts. &#8220;So today, as we learn more as the investigation continues to unfold … I’m going to be very active in working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We&#39;re learning a Saudi Arabian military member in Pensacola committed these murders.
I&#39;m working with the <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofDefense</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StateDept</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> to ensure there&#39;s extreme vetting for people who come to our country and train on our bases. <a href="https://t.co/LUhSE6UAHO">pic.twitter.com/LUhSE6UAHO</a>
&mdash; Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1203019241626185730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Trump Salman

Trump Posts Update On Call With Saudi King After Saudi National Opens Fire At Pensacola Base

Florida

Top Democrats called for restricting Americans&#8217; constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights on Friday in response to an alleged Saudi Arabian military official opening fire and killing several people at a U.S. naval base in Florida.
Several of the 2020 Democrat presidential candidates, including a couple of the top-tier contenders, rushed to politicize the attack.
<ul>
<li>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1202980913296089090">tweeted</a>: &#8220;Pearl Harbor. Pensacola. Not even our military bases are safe from gun violence. I&#8217;m heartsick for the victims and their families. We must end this epidemic and protect the lives of our service members.&#8221;</li>
<li>South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1202991768700100608">tweeted</a>: &#8220;While we wait for more information, my thoughts are with the victims and their families. Service members and the dedicated civilians who support them deserve nothing less than safety on American soil and communities free from gun violence. Enough.&#8221;</li>
<li>Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1203010902536138752">tweeted</a>: &#8220;Not even our military bases are safe from mass shootings. From Pearl Harbor to Pensacola, gun violence is destroying our communities. My deepest condolences to the grieving families. This can&#8217;t be the world we want our kids to grow up in. We must act.&#8221;</li>
<li>Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) tweeted: &#8220;The shooting in Pensacola has wounded several people and taken the lives of at least three victims. This is the second shooting to happen this week at a Navy base. As we learn more about the situation, there’s one thing we know: Gun violence just has to stop.&#8221;</li>
<li>Marianne Williamson, who is surprisingly still in the race, <a href="https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1203003890804953088">tweeted</a>: &#8220;What will it take to wage peace? It will take outer work and it will also take inner work. It will take regulating our guns and it will also take regulating our hearts.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
In-depth profile pieces on the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates from Daily Wire Editor-at-Large Josh Hammer have previously highlighted the gun policies of the aforementioned candidates:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-elizabeth-warren-stand-issues-heres-josh-hammer">Warren</a>:  Warren has frequently supported gun control policies that would infringe upon Americans’ Second American rights. She supports expanded background checks, limitations or bans on certain weapons and magazines that are currently in wide distribution, and supports controversial “red flag” gun legislation. Warren supports a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer">lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-pete-buttigieg-stand-issues-heres-josh-hammer">Buttigieg</a>: Buttigieg supports “universal” background checks, thereby requiring a government intermediary for all private transfers of firearms. He is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a consortium of pro-gun control mayors. Buttigieg supports a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/buttigieg-endorses-nationwide-gun-licensing-system">national gun registry</a>, which is a longstanding policy nemesis of Second Amendment supporters. He supports banning the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer">lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-julian-castro-stand-issues-heres-josh-hammer">Castro</a>: Castro has frequently espoused support for gun control policies that would infringe upon Americans’ Second American rights. He supports expanded background checks and limitations or bans on certain weapons and magazines that are currently in wide distribution. Castro <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-does-julian-castro-believe-where-the-candidate-stands-on-8-issues">supports a ban</a> on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer">lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-amy-klobuchar-stand-issues-heres-josh-hammer">Klobuchar</a>: Despite her representation of a largely rural state, Klobuchar has a historically poor record on Second Amendment issues. Klobuchar supports “universal” background checks, which often serve as a rhetorical euphemism for the government serving as an intermediary in all private firearms transfers. She <a href="https://amyklobuchar.com/issues/a-safer-world/">supports</a> a ban on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, could lead to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer">banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/where-does-marianne-williamson-stand-issues-heres-josh-hammer">Williamson</a>: Williamson supports <a href="http://www.marianne2020.com/issues/gun-control">many policies</a> that would infringe upon Americans’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. She supports expanded background checks and limitations or bans on certain weapons and magazines that are currently in wide distribution. Williamson <a href="https://www.marianne2020.com/issues/gun-control">supports a ban</a> on the undefinable sub-class of firearms referred to as so-called “assault weapons” — a line of thought that, if taken to its logical conclusion, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/42837/hammer-kamala-harriss-flirtation-banning-all-semi-josh-hammer">could lead to the banning of all semi-automatic firearms in America</a>.</li>
</ul>
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said in response to the attack that the attack was not merely murder, but &#8220;an act of terrorism.&#8221;
“If this were a murder, it would typically be investigated by NCIS … but this was not a murder,” Gaetz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">said</a>. “This was an act of terrorism and as we speak the investigation is being handed over from the NCIS to the FBI, that is the signal that this will now be treated by our government as an act of terrorism, not a murder.”
“Major news organizations are now reporting the information that we began to learn earlier this morning that it was a Saudi Arabian military official in Pensacola, in our community for training, who committed these murderous acts and this terrible, terrible violence at NAS Pensacola,” Gaetz added. “This event represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people into our community. So today, as we learn more as the investigation continues to unfold … I’m going to be very active in working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.”

Elizabeth Warren

Democrats Call For Restricting Americans’ Freedoms After Saudi Military Official Attacks U.S. Military Base

2020 Election

Gun Control

Guns

Second Amendment

The news that the deceased suspect of this morning&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-active-shooter-at-pensacola-naval-air-base-at-least-5-rushed-to-hospital-shooter-confirmed-dead">horrific shooting spree</a> at Naval Air Station Pensacola was a Saudi aviation student here to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/authorities-identify-pensacola-naval-base-shooter-as-saudi-national">train with the Saudi military</a> ought to serve as a wakeup call for American elected officials.
The suspect appears to have been a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">student officer</a> with the Saudi Air Force and, while it is unclear right now which U.S. visa he obtained to arrive here, an <a href="https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/1203012127952449541">A-2 visa</a> — <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/other-visa-categories/visas-diplomats.html">described</a> by the U.S. State Department as appropriate for those &#8220;traveling to the United States on behalf of [his/her] national government to engage solely in official activities for that government&#8221; — is perhaps likely . As The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-active-shooter-at-pensacola-naval-air-base-at-least-5-rushed-to-hospital-shooter-confirmed-dead">reported</a>, there are at least ten victims injured, including three dead.
There is a lot to unpack and unravel here — especially for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-us-must-side-saudi-arabia-against-iranian-josh-hammer">those of us</a> who have generally encouraged closer U.S.-Saudi military ties in order to help deter the far greater Middle East terrorism threat, Iran. This developing story has many moving parts, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ought to be prepared for a Jamal Khashoggi-level public relations blowback when even a stalwart pro-Israel/anti-Iran conservative such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has an <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/1203029174753153025">immediate reaction</a> that the Saudi government &#8220;needs to [financially] make things better for these victims.&#8221; Indeed, it is hard to disagree with the governor.
But the focus here must be on immigration policy. As The Daily Wire&#8217;s Ryan Saavedra already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-attacker-at-florida-military-base-was-member-of-saudi-military-was-an-act-of-terrorism-congressman-says">reported</a>, hardline conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has opined that today&#8217;s naval base tragedy &#8220;represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite &#8230; people into our community.&#8221; Gaetz vowed to help &#8220;ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.&#8221;
This is obviously correct. And it is important that this, and not a short-sighted hard diplomatic pivot away from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at a time when the uniquely evil Iranian regime is yet again on the proverbial ropes and facing an increasingly restive population, become the preeminent takeaway from today&#8217;s horrific incident.
Why, as I <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-never-forget-911-we-need-rethink-how-we-josh-hammer">lamented</a> on the most recent anniversary of the 9/11 jihadist attacks, has the U.S. continued to implement an exceedingly generous and lax immigration policy for prospective immigrants from the broader Islamic world? While there will always be dispensations for legal immigration from the Islamic world, why are we not starting from a default baseline level of effectively zero? Our much-ballyhooed &#8220;vetting&#8221; procedures are oftentimes, as was tragically the case today, revealed to be exceedingly inadequate. But hey, in fairness, <a href="https://twitter.com/josh_hammer/status/1203010783958982657">how would we ever have known</a> to keep a close eye on Saudi aviation students? It&#8217;s not like we&#8217;ve had <a href="https://twitter.com/Sultanknish/status/1203014470525542400">previous noteworthy incidents</a>, right?
Policymakers ought to heed the unassailable wisdom of the <a href="https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1213676/m1/6/?q=cornerstone">9/11 Commission Report</a>: &#8220;It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country.&#8221; Heck, does anyone even remember that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, according to former CIA contractor James Mitchell, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/307362-9-11-mastermind-al-qaeda-to-use-immigration-to-end-us">allegedly believes</a> that &#8220;the &#8216;practical&#8217; way to defeat America [is] through immigration?&#8221;
Immigration policy is national security policy. And that extends to both illegal immigration and legal immigration. Our policymakers ought to not forget that.

US visa, vintage map and passport background

HAMMER: REMINDER: Immigration Policy IS National Security Policy

Immigration

Matt Gaetz

Muslim Immigration

National Security

Ron DeSantis

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said on Friday that the individual who opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola was a member of the Saudi military and that the attack &#8220;was an act of terrorism.&#8221;
The foreign national attacker killed at least <a href="https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/12/06/breaking-active-shooter-reported-base-nas-pensacola/4351773002/">three</a> people and injured several others who were sent to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Gaetz responded to the attack by calling for &#8220;extreme vetting&#8221; of those who are allowed into the United States and who train at U.S. military bases.
&#8220;Major news organizations are now reporting the information that we began to learn earlier this morning that it was a Saudi Arabian military official in Pensacola, in our community for training, who committed these murderous acts and this terrible, terrible violence at NAS Pensacola,&#8221; Gaetz said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s important for us to know a little bit about why Saudi Arabian officials are in our community.&#8221;
&#8220;Training is a critical part of the mission that we engage in in NAS Pensacola,&#8221; Gaetz continued. &#8220;One way that we leverage that training is to ensure that our allies around the world are capable and familiar with U.S. systems, that they&#8217;re comfortable working with U.S. officers, and that we have an interoperability in our lexicon and in the way we engage in battle.&#8221;
&#8220;This event represents a serious failure in the vetting process and in the way in which we invite these people into our community,&#8221; Gaetz continued. &#8220;So today, as we learn more as the investigation continues to unfold &#8230; I&#8217;m going to be very active in working with the Department of Defense and the Department of State to ensure that we have extreme vetting for the people that come into our country on our bases and in our communities.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We&#39;re learning a Saudi Arabian military member in Pensacola committed these murders.
I&#39;m working with the <a href="https://twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeptofDefense</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StateDept</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DHSgov</a> to ensure there&#39;s extreme vetting for people who come to our country and train on our bases. <a href="https://t.co/LUhSE6UAHO">pic.twitter.com/LUhSE6UAHO</a>
&mdash; Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1203019241626185730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In a subsequent tweet that featured a video of Gaetz appearing on CNN, Gaetz wrote: &#8220;This was not a murder. This was an act of terrorism.&#8221;
&#8220;If this were a murder, it would typically be investigated by NCIS &#8230; but this was not a murder,&#8221; Gaetz said. &#8220;This was an act of terrorism and as we speak the investigation is being handed over from the NCIS to the FBI, that is the signal that this will now be treated by our government as an act of terrorism, not a murder.&#8221;
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This was not a murder. This was an act of terrorism. <a href="https://t.co/AJfTQOOE68">pic.twitter.com/AJfTQOOE68</a>
&mdash; Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1203025382632546305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Navy confirmed on Twitter that the attacker, who was an aviation student, is dead.
Heavy.com <a href="https://heavy.com/news/2019/12/mohammed-saeed-alshamrani/">noted</a> some of the history surrounding the military base, with respect to past incidents involving terrorism:
<blockquote>In the aftermath of the attacks on 9/11, Newsweek reported that three of the hijackers had the addresses on their driver’s licenses listed as being at NAS Pensacola. The article notes that Naval Air Station Pensacola is known as the “Cradle of U.S. Navy Aviation.”
The Navy Times reported in February 2016 that NAS Pensacola officials had increased security measures at the base, after the base had been known was “unusually open” for years.
The Pensacola News Journal reported in September 2019 the “new, top-secret classrooms” had been built on the base to counteract the threat caused by cyber terrorism.</blockquote>
UPDATE: This report has been updated to accurately state that the alleged attacker killed three individuals, not four. The fourth person who was killed was the alleged attacker.

Attacker At Florida Military Base Was Member Of Saudi Military, ‘Was An Act Of Terrorism,’ Congressman Says

The enigmatic Gulf emirate of Qatar, which is obscenely wealthy due to its fortuitous location above the world&#8217;s largest natural gas field, has a longstanding problem with Sunni jihadism. The wealthy petrochemical sheikh minority of the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/03/qatar-travel-ban-billionaires-slaves-trapped-middle-east/">majority slave state</a> Qatari populace is, along with Recep Tayyip Erdogan&#8217;s Turkey, disproportionately responsible for funding and exporting more radical Sunni Islamism than any other cloistered clerisy the world over. The Qatari ruling class <a href="https://www.meforum.org/57690/ensconced-doha-islamists">proudly hosts</a> Islamist cleric Yusuf Al Qaradawi, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-designating-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-josh-hammer">Muslim Brotherhood</a>&#8216;s de facto global caliph, and has long been the preeminent state <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-hamas-officials-expect-30-million-transfer-from-qatar-within-several-days-1.7222696">bankroller</a> of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Pro-terror network <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-al-jazeeras-disgraceful-holocaust-denying-josh-hammer">Al Jazeera</a> also serves as a state-run Qatari propaganda outfit, and it is the evil bile spewing from Al Jazeera&#8217;s airwaves that led more moderate Sunni Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to boycott and embargo Qatar in 2017. Counter-jihadist activist David Reaboi <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/17/qatar-a-hospitable-base-for-the-muslim-130932598/">put it well</a> at The Washington Times in February:
<blockquote>Al Jazeera is the world’s most successful, sophisticated and influential state-directed information operation.
It is remarkably aggressive in service of Qatar’s foreign policy interests, which include four key elements: (1) undermining the stability of its neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; (2) promoting Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood in vulnerable, Western open societies; (3) financially and diplomatically supporting violent terrorist groups like Hamas, al Qaeda and the Taliban; and (4) assisting the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, in evading US sanctions as it seeks to develop nuclear weapons.</blockquote>
Now, according to an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/qatar-iran-attack-vessels-intelligence-allies">exclusive Fox News report</a> from this past weekend, Qatar — which, despite alienating its fellow Sunni Gulf states, maintains a cozy relationship with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-iranian-revolution-forty-years-old-stand-josh-hammer">terror-supporting</a> Iranian mullahs — has once again revealed its true colors for the world to see. As reported by Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News obtained a report alleging that &#8220;Qatar had advance knowledge on an Iranian attack on four commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman in May and may have failed to warn its U.S., French, and British allies.&#8221; In other words, Qatar duplicitously sided with the world&#8217;s number one state sponsor of terrorism over its purported Western &#8220;allies.&#8221;
The only thing that is surprising about such Qatari duplicity is that anyone in the West is still surprised by it. Qatar has long been the proverbial <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/04/qatar-is-the-weakest-link-in-an-arab-nato/">&#8220;weakest link&#8221;</a> of the Sunni world, utilizing aggressive governmental lobbying, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/fashion/qatar-luxury-fashion-national-museum-blockade.html">outlandish flaunting</a> of its petro-infused wealth to sic more A-list politicos onto its dole, and intensive funding of American <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/center/brookings-doha-center/">think tank</a> and higher education institutions to inculcate an insidious pro-Qatar message. As reported by the <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/16/qatar-georgetown-texas-university/">Daily Caller</a>, Qatar was the number one foreign state funder of U.S. institutions of higher education from 2011 t0 2016 — surpassing some states even hundreds of times its size, such as China.
Weinthal&#8217;s report ought to serve as a much-needed wakeup call for the more sclerotic elements of our bipartisan foreign policy ruling class. That ruling class is oftentimes overly deterred from meaningfully cracking down on Qatar by the U.S. military presence at Qatar&#8217;s Al Udeid Air Base. But it is ultimately myopic to permit our military&#8217;s presence at Al Udeid to pose an impregnable barrier to attempt to rein in this tiny but destructive nation. It is long past time for policymakers and the chattering class alike to arrive at the conclusion that Qatar is not our friend — at all.

Doha, Qatar

HAMMER: Terror-Funding Qatar Once Again Proves It Is Not America’s Friend

Al Jazeera

Hamas

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Since December 2017, a sort of “rolling rebellion” has been occurring across Iran. It is bigger, deeper and stronger than the Green Revolution of 2009 and taking place in great measure outside Tehran, <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2017/01/04/non-persian-iran/">where the population is more diverse</a>. There have been strikes of truckers, bazaar shopkeepers, teachers, farmers, and students. See #WhiteWednesday on Twitter to watch brave Iranian women go into the streets and take off their head coverings. Sometimes they dance. Sometimes their husbands, fathers, and brothers go with them. Sometimes they are arrested and sometimes they go to jail. Unfortunately, it took the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-10-04/death-of-irans-blue-girl-casts-spotlight-on-iranian-women-and-a-growing-movement-for-equality">suicide of a young woman</a> facing seven years in prison for attending a soccer match to get the attention of the Western press.
In May of this year, <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2019/05/03/the-iranian-mullahs-are-nervous/">widespread upheaval</a> convulsed the country and thousands were arrested. This weekend, news of increasing protest in Iran comes from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) — an organization with a mixed record of acceptance by the U.S. government, but with indisputable reach inside the country. According to NCRI’s Washington office, at least 65 cities have seen violent demonstrations, with people killed and injured by authorities. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Mojahedineng/videos">Videos, presumably from cell phones</a>, show that pictures of the Ayatollah Khameini have been set on fire and demonstrators are chanting “Death to the Dictator” and “Death to Rouhani.” You can follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AlirezaNader">@AlirezaNader</a> for more.
As Iran spreads its tentacles abroad and builds its illegal nuclear capability, it is clear that the regime cannot fund domestic priorities and international revolution on the same budget — especially as that budget contracts.
Imperial overreach was the ruin of the Roman Empire, the Byzantines, Egyptians, Ottomans, Nazis, and Soviets. Could it be catching up with Iran? Wait, you say, Iran isn’t an empire. Not in the traditional sense. But it was always the belief of the hegemonic mullahs that instability across large regions, managed with a relatively small group of well-trained Iranian professionals and a lot of proxy fighters, would create a world in which Shiite supremacism held sway.
And it was working.
The Shiite Crescent — from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean — was a “lid” over Iran’s Sunni enemies Saudi Arabia and Jordan, plus Israel. It was also a wedge between Sunni Turkey and the Sunni countries below — Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the Gulf states. Most of the proxy soldiers were Iraqi militias, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Pakistanis and Afghans brought to Syria under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The result was millions of Sunni Syrian refugees in the Middle East and Europe.
Sunni Hamas and Shiite Palestinian Islamic Jihad were both recipients of Iranian funds, weapons, and training to harass Israel.
There is also an underside Crescent, which is less well understood. It encircles the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia in the Gulf of Aden with a base in Yemen and a Houthi proxy at the bottom of the Red Sea, threatening the Bab el Mandeb Straits and the exit of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. And the American base in Djibouti.
And Africa. Iran incubated Sunni jihadists in the poor, corrupt, and vulnerable states of the second tier — Sudan, Chad, Niger, and Mali. The result was waves of migrants headed north. The North African countries — Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria — were all in the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue group that helped control safety and security in the sea until the Obama administration toppled the Libyan government in 2011. Libya, no longer a member of the Dialogue, has become a hole in the dam through which hundreds of thousands of African migrants reached Europe.
But has the empire reached too far?
American-led sanctions have been an enormous financial blow to the mullahs, but sanctions are misunderstood. Not a mechanism for toppling a government, they are a means of forcing a government to make choices — between, revolution and agriculture, between weapons and water and sewer systems, between Palestinian jihadists and schools, and so forth. That is what Iran faced in 2011 and that is what led to the Iran/P5+1 negotiations. The fact that President Obama collapsed and paid off the mullahs allowed them to avoid those very choices and set back the operation by years and millions of deaths in the Middle East and Africa.
The restoration of sanctions means Iran has less to pay off its proxies — as well as less for its own people. European businesses, and even China, are leaving Iran and taking their money. Iran tried to compensate by stealing Iraqi oil.
And that’s where empire begins to break down.
There are explicitly anti-Iranian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bryen-missing-the-point-of-the-latest-middle-east-protests">riots in Lebanon and Iraq</a>. Hezbollah fighters have announced they will <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2019/1112/Inside-Hezbollah-How-Lebanon-protests-are-breaking-fear-barrier">refuse to return to Syria</a> for Iran. Iraqis have <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2019/10/29/missing-the-point-of-the-latest-middle-east-protests/">attacked Iranian bases and depots</a>. Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi">@HeshmatAlavi</a> for the latest Iraqi moves and Iranian counter-moves. But most of the mainstream press isn’t there.
But the biggest changes may be coming in Iran itself.
&nbsp;
Shoshana Bryen is senior director of <a href="https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/">The Jewish Policy Center</a>. Portions of this article appeared in the Jewish Policy Center magazine, inFOCUS Quarterly.

Iranian flag on conference table

BRYEN: Has The Iranian Empire Overreached?

Iraq

Lebanon

Nuclear Weapons

On Thursday, outgoing U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt posted a video indicative of how much has changed in the Middle East in recent years, with a Saudi citizen singing the moving Jewish prayer “Avinu Malkeinu,” which is sung frequently during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah, which marks the Jewish New Year and was celebrated at the beginning of this week, and Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, in which Jews ask God for forgiveness for their sins.
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Inspiring to see <a href="https://twitter.com/mohsaud08?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mohsaud08</a> sing these words during the Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The times are changing indeed! Let’s all keep moving in a positive direction&#8230;. <a href="https://t.co/yEL1s0G2B6">https://t.co/yEL1s0G2B6</a>
&mdash; Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45) <a href="https://twitter.com/jdgreenblatt45/status/1179793394215915520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Mohammed Saud was singing the version of “Avinu Malkeinu” written by the composer Max Janowski.
According to Jewish belief, on Rosh Hashanah God opens the book of life and death to decide who will live or die in the coming year; he closes the book on Yom Kippur, making the ten days noteworthy for serious introspection. On Yom Kippur, Jews are permitted to ask for forgiveness for their sins against God and sins they are unaware they have committed, but any sins against their fellow man must be dealt with by having apologized to the person who was hurt in the process and asking for their forgiveness personally.
The text of the prayer begins: “Our Father, our King, we have sinned before You. Our Father our King, we have no King except You. Our Father, our King, deal with us kindly for the sake of Your Name. Our Father, our King, bless us with a good year. Our Father, our King, annul all harsh decrees concerning us.”
In an astonishing historical turn of events, the machinations of the Obama Administration as former President Barack Obama seemingly supported Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, triggered a massive shift in the alliances of the Middle East, as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, traditionally enemies of Israel, tacitly joined Israel out of common concern regarding Iran.
Those alliances have created an opportunity for dialogues to take place that once would have been considered unthinkable. As <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-crown-prince-recognizes-israels-right-to-exist-talks-up-future-ties/">The Times of Israel</a> reported in April 2018. &#8220;Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in an interview published Monday, recognized Israel’s right to exist and extolled the prospect of future diplomatic relations between his kingdom and the Jewish state.” Bin Salman stated, “Our country doesn’t have a problem with Jews. Our Prophet Muhammad married a Jewish woman. Not just a friend — he married her. Our prophet, his neighbors were Jewish. You will find a lot of Jews in Saudi Arabia coming from America, coming from Europe. There are no problems between Christian and Muslims and Jews. We have problems like you would find anywhere in the world, among some people. But the normal sort of problems.”
Bin Salman said of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
<blockquote>Hitler didn’t do what the supreme leader is trying to do. Hitler tried to conquer Europe. This is bad. But the supreme leader is trying to conquer the world. He believes he owns the world. They are both evil guys. He is the Hitler of the Middle East. In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened.</blockquote>
For the full version of the Janowski Avinu Malkeinu as sung by the legendary tenor Jan Peerce, see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5x5UuIFjE">here</a>.

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur series

Times Are A Changin’: Saudi Citizen Sings Jewish Prayer Marking Jewish New Year

Judaism

The recent attack on Saudi Arabian oil is a watershed moment in the Middle East balance of power. It is also an opportunity.
It is yet unclear what exactly happened. A combination of drones and missiles coming directly from Iran or from their associates — the Houth rebels in Yemen — struck at the Khurais oil field and the al-Abqaiq facility, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil processing plant. The strike may have knocked out potentially half of the Saudi oil production, and has already affected global crude oil prices.
Sword Dancing is Not Enough
The danger of the Persian war machine, about which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton have repeatedly warned, is once again rearing its ugly head. No longer content with small attacks against Israel from proxies in Gaza and Southern Lebanon, Iran is now brazenly striking the strategic installations of its most hated foe — Saudi Arabia.
The greatest ire of Iran’s Shiite leaders is not reserved for the Jewish state. Rather, the mullahs crave control of the Arabian peninsula&#8217;s Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in order to prove that their interpretation of Islam has Allah’s mandate. The Sunni House of Saud is thus the Iranian mullahs&#8217; ultimate target.
Indeed, the Saudis know all too well how serious the Iranian threat is — and they understand the brilliant way in which Iran has learned to use proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel. Now, with the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula being infiltrated by the Houthis, the Saudis feel the Iranian noose tightening around their necks. And while the Saudis are the world’s third largest military spenders and are pretty good at doing the proverbial sword dance with dignitaries, the truth is that the Kingdom is just not that good at actually fighting.
Filling the American Power Vacuum
For years, the American defense umbrella has been the real protection of the Saudi kingdom. The deal was straightforward: The Saudis provide steady oil and buy expensive military hardware and America provides defense. But now things are changing. America’s shale oil revolution has transformed the U.S. into a leading oil producer and, consequently, Saudi oil reserves are simply less critical to the U.S. than they have been in the past. Coupled with the Trump administration’s &#8220;America First&#8221; mantra and a concomitant disinclination to be the world’s police force, a reality has emerged in which U.S. forces may be less likely to come to Saudi aid.
For the Saudis, Kuwaitis, Emiratis, and denizens of other smaller Sunni states, the Iranian attack on the Saudi oil installations — and the thus-far weak American response — is a harbinger of a horrific and not-so-distant future. If left unchecked, it could mean a historic change in the regional balance of power with the aggressive Shiite movement overshadowing historic Sunni regional domination.
The West, the Sunni Arab states, and Israel cannot allow Iran to fill the regional power vacuum that may be left in America’s wake. The solution to the crisis may be an Israeli defense umbrella.
Israel is the natural candidate to become the regional power broker, peacekeeper, and defense provider for Saudi Arabia and the Sunni states. Israel has the intelligence capability, the firepower, the air force, and even the naval capacity to contain the Iranian regime and help maintain a healthy regional balance.
Instead of the U.S. global policing model, Israel would take its place locally as a regional power that is closely allied with the U.S.
A Change in Arab Thinking
To achieve an Israeli defense umbrella, the Saudis are going to have to swallow their religious and nationalistic pride and accept the Jews as, well, their de facto saviors.
This is not such a stretch, since the House of Saud was able to stomach American (Christian) military defense. Israeli (Jewish) power may therefore not be all that different. Moreover, Israel is a better bet for Saudi defense, considering that it is closer and more nimble in dealing with Iran.
The change in Saudi attitudes toward Israel, furthermore, is already taking place with bloggers and broadcasters making overt comments of acceptance towards the Jewish state.
A Change in Jewish Thinking
Israel has long self-identified as a small, defensive minority in the Middle East. The Jewish state would have to mentally adjust to a more robust and muscular disposition in order for regional realignment to work.
Israel possesses the military might and has already engaged Iran in various ways, including bombings of secret Iranian weapons shipments to Syria. However, the mindset of the big boy on the block — the regional leader, the keeper of the peace — is not yet fully developed in Israel.
The Cost of Israeli Protection
Israel has a self-interest in pushing Iran back. But still, saving the House of Saud is not a foregone conclusion. If Israel is to spread its defense umbrella over the Sunni states, it should demand payment in kind.
The price for Israeli protection? Getting rid of the Palestinian-Arab problem.
The Saudis must commit to ending support for the &#8220;two-state solution,&#8221; which calls for an independent Palestinian-Arab state on Jewish land. Among other alternatives, the Saudis can force their own Jordanian Hashemite family to give back to Palestinians the Jordanian citizenship that was taken away from them in 1988 by Jordan&#8217;s King Abdullah. Under this approach, Palestinians can continue to live in the Israeli territories as Israeli residents, but would exercise their right to vote in the nearby Jordanian kingdom.
And obviously, if the Saudis want Israeli defense, they must dry up all remaining funding for jihadist education throughout the Arab world and abroad.
In the end, an Israeli defense umbrella would allow for steady oil flow, would mitigate the Iranian threat, and would lead to a Middle East that is more stable, more prosperous, and more cooperative. However, the Arabs, the Jews, and the Americans alike would have to break out of calcified notions of the past in order to make room for an advantageous regional realignment of the future.
Yishai Fleisher is the International Spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron.

MBS Saudi Arabia

FLEISHER: The Much-Needed Israeli Defense Umbrella

Speaking on CNN on Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) argued that the United States was the cause of the attack on the Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia which the United States has said was launched by Iran. Referring to the tough sanctions placed on Iran by the United States, Gabbard stated, &#8220;This latest attack on Saudi Arabia is a retaliatory attack because of all the sanctions in place that are essentially blocking Iran from selling their oil on the market.”
Gabbard, whose history includes support for the Syrian regime that is allied with Iran, also attacked President Trump, claiming, “He is treating our troops as though we are something that can be pawned off or prostituted off to the highest bidder.”
The exchange prompting Gabbard’s claim that the U.S. caused Iran to launch their attack started with the CNN host asking, “You’re running for president. If you were president right now, how would you deal with Iran?&#8221;
Gabbard answered:
<blockquote>I would see the situation for what it is, which is this latest attack on Saudi Arabia is a retaliatory attack because of all the sanctions in place that are essentially blocking Iran from selling their oil on the market. So by recognizing this is a retaliatory attack, that we cannot continue this cycle of retaliation that can only lead to an all-out inferno of a war, both in Iran and across the region that would be so costly and devastating that would make the war we served in in Iraq look like a picnic in comparison in lost American lives, trillions of taxpayer dollars, exacerbating already a terrible refugee crisis. This is not serving the interests of our people nor is it serving the interests of our national security. As president right now what I would do is re-enter the Iran nuclear agreement, take away those &#8212; those sanctions that have been put in place so that Iran is brought back into an agreement where they are complying. We have inspectors going in — because every single day this doesn’t happen, Iran is moving forward towards developing a nuclear weapon.&#8221;</blockquote>
The CNN host then referred to Gabbard’s remarks on September 16 in which she tweeted at Trump, “Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp.”
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country—Saudi Arabia—is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp. <a href="https://t.co/Cu1OewEMOC">pic.twitter.com/Cu1OewEMOC</a>
&mdash; Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1173723701373591552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The CNN host asked,  “Do you regret the “Pence and prostitute language?”
Gabbard boasted:
<blockquote>Not at all. That is exactly what Trump is doing. He is treating our troops as though we are something that can be pawned off or prostituted off to the highest bidder. Our troops deploying now to Saudi Arabia at his direction are not there serving the interests of the American people or our own national security. In  his administration’s own words they are going to protect Saudi Arabia’s oil, Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure protecting them, which undermines the whole reason why we take this oath willing to lay our lives down for our country and he is sending them to protect a country that is allied with our enemy, Al Qaeda.</blockquote>
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Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard Visits &#8220;FOX &amp; Friends&#8221;

WATCH: Gabbard Blames United States For Suspected Iranian Attack On Saudi Oil Facility

Tulsi Gabbard

On Thursday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Andrew Klavan Show,&#8221; Klavan talks about President Trump&#8217;s response to Iranian agression and Tim Kaine&#8217;s accusation that Trump is lying about Iran. Video and partial transcript below: 
Donald Trump has a tendency, as we all know, to react big. The first thing out of his mouth when this bombing took place in Saudi Arabia is, &#8220;We&#8217;re locked and loaded.&#8221; Then he starts to [think], &#8220;Wait a minute, ehhh I don’t know.&#8221;
He&#8217;s not a war guy. He doesn&#8217;t want to go to war and who can blame him? Who does? &#8230; John Bolton has been talking behind closed doors and saying how dumb Trump is about not standing up to Iran, and if we don&#8217;t stand up to them, they just get worse. There&#8217;s some wisdom to that. But Trump tries to figure this out, and what&#8217;s interesting about Trump, and what gives him such problems, is that he thinks out loud.
He doesn&#8217;t go into his room and stroke his chin and consider — as you&#8217;ve got the microphone in his face, you&#8217;re listening to the guy&#8217;s mind work. So here he is talking about why he appointed O&#8217;Brien.
<blockquote>REPORTER: [Unintelligible].
TRUMP: No, I actually think it&#8217;s a sign of strength. We have the strongest military in the world now, and I think it&#8217;s a great sign of strength. It&#8217;s very easy to attack, but if you ask Lindsey [Graham], ask him, &#8220;How did going into the Middle East, how did that work out? And how did going into Iraq work out?&#8221; So we have a disagreement on that and you know, there&#8217;s plenty of time to do some dastardly things. It&#8217;s very easy to start, and we&#8217;ll see what happens. We&#8217;ll see what happens. I think we have a lot of good capital. If we have to do something, we&#8217;ll do it without hesitation.</blockquote>
&#8230; You know he&#8217;s thinking out loud, which is always kind of unnerving with Trump. He&#8217;s always kind of going back and forth and we hear him going back and forth, and again, that&#8217;s unnerving. It&#8217;s unsettling. But basically what he&#8217;s saying, Mike Pompeo, the secretary state behind the scenes, is trying to build a coalition with the U.N. trying to work with our allies to get some help on this. The Israelis are starting to say, you know, Iran is a real threat to us and we may have to go in and Pompeo is telegraphing, saying out loud that we will support the Israelis, they have a right to defend themselves, we&#8217;re on their team no matter who wins the election over there; no matter who builds the coalition, we&#8217;re going to be with Israel. Trump said we&#8217;re with Israel, not with Netanyahu — we support Israel. He&#8217;s going to stick with that, obviously.
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Big choices. It&#8217;s never cut and dry, it&#8217;s never black and white, you never know when to go in and when not to. We certainly should not be on the ground at war with Iran, but whether we punish them, whether we start to get a little tough with them, is an open question, especially if we can get allies involved on a strike. Again, there&#8217;s absolutely no way we want to be invading Iran — that would be a terrible, stupid thing to do. But still, you know, some targeted airstrikes might not be a bad idea.
But compare all that [with] Democrats. Compare this to Tim Kaine? This guy came within an ounce of being Vice President of the United States of America, all right. Listen to whose fault he thinks it is.
<blockquote>KAINE: They&#8217;re going around saying the attack was unprovoked. The U.S. is provoking Iran. We were in a diplomatic deal with them that allowed them to sell their oil. We pulled out of the deal, the U.S. pulled out, and we&#8217;ve punished their oil economy and so Iran — again, Iran’s not a good actor. You don&#8217;t have to like this, but we are provoking Iran every day with the sanctions and with military action, and they&#8217;re responding. We need to stop the provocation and the United States needs to return to trying to be a diplomatic broker.
INTERVIEWER: Are you suggesting that Iran had to do this attack, when you&#8217;re saying the attack was somehow provoked, do you somehow victim blame for this?
KAINE: No, what I&#8217;m saying is — I have voted for sanctions on Iran in the past and they&#8217;re a bad actor. But when the administration says the attack was unprovoked, that&#8217;s what LBJ said about the Gulf of Tonkin back in Vietnam, and it was a lie. And the administration is lying to the American public by saying this was an unprovoked attack.</blockquote>
The guy reminds me of Alvin the Chipmunk, except without the testicles. I mean, the guy is really, you know, he uses this opportunity to attack the president, who is certainly the one person who is not to blame here. I don&#8217;t know what he&#8217;s trying to get across there, that we&#8217;re not supposed to put sanctions on Iran? That we&#8217;re supposed to follow through with Obama&#8217;s plan to give them a path to nuclear weapons? That we&#8217;re just supposed to be resigned to that and let that go and not try to bring them into line by force because they&#8217;re not going to understand it?
Let&#8217;s take a look at the Iranians, for a minute. Let&#8217;s take a look at Iran&#8217;s foreign minister Mohammad Zarif, he was asked — this is a CNN exclusive. He was asked how he would respond to an attack, and just listen. I mean, when you look at this guy — and again remember, Yemen is a proxy war — when you look at this guy, is this the sort of guy that we want to make excuses for?
<blockquote>REPORTER: What would be the consequence of an American or a Saudi military strike on Iran now?
ZARIF: An all-out war.
REPORTER: You make a very serious statement there, sir.
ZARIF: Well, I make a very serious statement about defending our country. I&#8217;m making a very serious statement that we don&#8217;t want war, we don&#8217;t want to engage in a military confrontation. We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful. We&#8217;ll have a lot of casualties, but we won&#8217;t blink to defend our territory.
REPORTER: Put yourself in Saudi Arabia&#8217;s shoes. If there was an attack on Iranian sovereign territory, with cruise missiles launched from Saudi Arabia, what would Iran&#8217;s response be?
ZARIF: Well, they&#8217;re making that up. Why do they want to make that up that it was from Iranian territory? The Yemenis have announced responsibility for that, they have provided information about that. They have answered all the Saudi disinformation campaign about the fact that they launched this attack against Saudi Arabia in self-defense.</blockquote>
I always wonder why these guys don’t just burst into flame. You know, just look at that man with his dead eyes saying, &#8220;We will kill everyone and it&#8217;s a lie.&#8221; And we never do anything but we, yes well we fired off, &#8220;Why would they make that up?&#8221; That we fired the rockets from our territory, just because we fired the rockets from our territory?
I mean these guys are like almost like some kind of cartoon villain, and Tim Kaine is blaming Donald Trump, who he just hates, using this for political capital. It really is awful &#8230;
Trump speaks out loud, and thinks out loud, and it is very unnerving to watch him do it — it creates a lot of uncertainty, and it creates a lot of trouble. He&#8217;s actually doing the right thing. You do not want to strike until it&#8217;s absolutely necessary. It’s still an open question whether it&#8217;s absolutely necessary. Obviously, Iran wants us to hit them and wants to draw us into this fight, so I don&#8217;t think that that&#8217;s necessarily the right thing to do. If you do finally decide you gotta pull your gun: Pull [it] and kill him, and get out and walk away.
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-andrew-klavan-show/id1045171376?mt=2">Listen to full episodes of &#8220;The Andrew Klavan Show&#8221; on iTunes. </a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/andrew-klavan-show">Watch &#8220;The Andrew Klavan Show&#8221; on-demand!</a>

Tim Kaine

KLAVAN: Trump Thinks Out Loud, So Tim Kaine Stops Thinking

Conservatism

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