A heavily-redacted Epstein document dump revives questions about his associates, including former President Bill Clinton; the United States wallops ISIS targets in Syria while the Venezuelan oil blockade continues; and Turning Point USA&#8217;s AmericaFest wraps up with fireworks.
It’s Monday, December 22, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the video version can be seen on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251222-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Epstein Files Released</h2>
The Justice Department has begun publishing thousands of pages of material tied to its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. But the rollout has sparked immediate controversy with claims of heavy redactions and missing files. Because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed last month, the DOJ released an initial batch of over 13,000 files. These include investigative materials, grand jury transcripts from cases adjudicated in the early 2000s, police reports, flight logs, handwritten phone messages, and dozens of photographs. Though some of the material is new, none of it is blockbuster news. There are still hundreds of thousands of records under review that will be released on a rolling basis in the coming weeks, however.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.S. Hits ISIS</h2>
President Trump has followed through on his promise to avenge three Americans killed in Syria last week, carrying out dozens of strikes against ISIS in Syria. On Friday, the U.S. military, with some help from Jordan, hit 70+ ISIS targets across Syria. An early report from a Syria monitoring group said that at least five ISIS terrorists were killed. Most of the destruction was of ISIS infrastructure, including munitions, supplies, and hideouts. War Secretary Pete Hegseth tamped down fears that this could lead to a wider conflict. Hegseth <a href="https://x.com/SecWar/status/2002140737060692098">said</a>, “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">TPUSA’s AmFest Wraps Up</h2>
Turning Point USA’s big annual conference, AmericaFest, had more eyes than ever on it this year as organizers set out to honor its founder Charlie Kirk and give the stage to the most influential voices in the conservative movement. The event wrapped with some surprises–the major one coming on Sunday when Ericka Kirk walked rapper Nicki Minaj out on the main stage to talk about her respect for President Trump. The event was also full of fiery speeches that generated many headlines across the media. But while the media and the internet were full of controversy, the feeling on the floor of the conference felt communal and high-energy, according to Daily Wire reporters at the event.

MRN_251222_V2 (1)

Morning Brief: Epstein Files Released, U.S. Hits ISIS In Syria, And AmFest Comes To A Close

AMFEST

Department of Defense

Department of Justice

Jeffrey Epstein

Morning Wire

Pete Hegseth

Syria

Turning Point USA

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the United States had conducted strikes against ISIS targets in Syria in response to an attack last weekend that left two American troops dead. 
Hegseth said that the strikes were not about starting a new war, but enacting “vengeance” for an ISIS attack targeting American forces last Saturday. 
“Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria,” Hegseth posted on X. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
“As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” he added. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”
Citing an American official, the New York Times said that the strikes targeted dozens of ISIS sites throughout central Syria. The operation is set to be a “a massive attack,” the official said. 
A later post from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) showed video of multiple strikes carried out in Syria.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Tonight, U.S. and Jordanian forces struck 70+ ISIS targets in Syria with 100+ precision munitions. Peace through strength. <a href="https://t.co/XWWvfqBBFT">pic.twitter.com/XWWvfqBBFT</a>
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/2002197399935103333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The attacks last week killed two troops identified as 29-year-old Nate Howard and 25-year-old Edgar Torres. An American interpreter named Ayad Mansoor Sakat was also killed in the attack. Both Howard and Torres were members of the Iowa National Guard. 
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and Hegseth attended a dignified transfer of the soldier’s remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
After the attacks last weekend, Trump said that the United States would retaliate. 
“I can tell you in Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it, that they got the person, the individual person, but there’ll be big damage done,” Trump said on Sunday.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Hegseth Launches Strikes Of ‘Vengeance’ In Syria After American Troops Killed By ISIS

ISIS

Two American soldiers who were killed by a member of the Syrian security forces on Saturday were identified as Iowa National Guardsmen Nate Howard and Edgar Torres.
Howard&#8217;s stepfather, the chief of the Meskwaki Nation Police Department in Iowa, revealed on Saturday night that Howard was one of the soldiers killed when a terrorist believed to have been affiliated with ISIS ambushed U.S. and Syrian troops who were meeting together in the Syrian desert. The gunman also killed Torres and American interpreter Ayad Sakat.
&#8220;My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer,&#8221; Chief Jeffrey Bunn <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MeskwakiPD/posts/pfbid0R214oWppns4jJKemUmotn6tuf4cQAUe9kZ6X6tgTcZBWtEj8rrtjRbXv5jTTiyncl?rdid=dRE9E1jYYNafIxUD#">said</a>. &#8220;He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind.&#8221;
&#8220;Nate was a loving husband to his wife Arianna Howard, a great son, an amazing man of faith and is with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven,&#8221; Bunn added. &#8220;Nate was also a big brother to Staff Sgt James Roelsgard, also deployed through the Iowa National Guard. His little brother will be escorting Nate home. His other Soldiers and the Interpreter were heroes doing what they loved for our Country.&#8221;
Torres was <a href="https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/2-iowa-national-guard-soldiers-killed-syria-attack-loved-ones-friends-remember/524-d3ad46ad-d715-4160-943c-b3ab1efe203c?_ga=2.192374562.928628011.1765810290-1205996525.1765810290">described</a> by his fellow soldiers as a family man and a &#8220;very positive soldier.&#8221; The Iowa National Guard troops were &#8220;conducting a key leader engagement as part of their assigned mission in the ongoing counter-ISIS and counter-terrorism efforts in the region,&#8221; <a href="https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-12-13/two-iowa-guard-soldiers-killed-attack-syria-three-others-wounded">according</a> to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
“Our hearts are heavy today, and our prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of our soldiers killed in action,” Reynolds said.
The attacker clashed with security guards and then opened fire after making his way into a building where American and Syrian troops were eating lunch. The gunman, who has not been identified, was killed by return fire. Syrian officials said that the attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, but he was about to be dismissed over his &#8220;extremist&#8221; views, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/world/middleeast/syria-isis-attack.html">reported</a>.
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Syria&#8217;s government is led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once led a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, but is now working with U.S. forces to establish control over the country and push out ISIS. The man who killed U.S. troops on Saturday joined the Syrian security forces as a security guard earlier this year, but was transferred to a different unit two months ago over suspicions that he was leaking information to ISIS, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/syria-islamic-state-attack-security-forces-cc45fd7a00c06f8c1426ac589753f961">Associated Press</a>. The gunman was slated to be officially dismissed from his position in the Syrian security forces on Sunday, just one day after he opened fire on American soldiers.
President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-to-retaliate-after-u-s-troops-killed-by-isis-in-syria">said</a> on Saturday that the shooting &#8220;was an ISIS attack against the U.S.&#8221; and vowed to retaliate.
“We mourn the loss of three great patriots in Syria — you know how it happened, an ambush,” Trump said. “Terrible. We still have three wounded that seem to be doing pretty well. But we mourn the loss, these are great — these are three great people, and just a terrible thing.”
“Syria, by the way, was fighting along with us. The president, the new president of Syria, as they told me … is devastated by what happened. This was an ISIS attack on us and Syria,” he added. “We pray for them, and their parents, and their loved ones, very, very sad … and we WILL retaliate.”
Trump met with Syria&#8217;s president in the Oval Office last month for a discussion that focused on rebuilding Syria and keeping terrorists at bay following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad. Trump&#8217;s meeting with al-Sharaa sparked controversy since the Syrian president once led a terrorist organization and had been on the U.S. terror watch list.

Nate Howard

U.S. Soldiers Killed In Syria Identified As Family Man And ‘Amazing Man Of Faith’

Family Man And 'Amazing Man Of Faith' Identified As U.S. Troops Killed In Syria

Terrorism

Terrorists

U.S. Military

Terrorists kill American soldiers in Syria and more than a dozen people at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia, a person of interest related to a deadly shooting at Brown University has been released, and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from ICE custody.
It’s Monday, December 15, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251215">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Terror Attacks Abroad: Australia And Syria</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1014665" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/From-Syria-To-Australia.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Fifteen people are dead and many more injured after a terror attack in Australia targeting a Hanukkah celebration. On Sunday, hundreds of people, mostly Jews, had gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney. That’s when two men, reportedly motivated by Islamic extremism, opened fire with rifles, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terror-attack-on-australian-hanukkah-celebration-leaves-11-dead-dozens-wounded">killing</a> at least fifteen, and wounding more than two dozen more in the largest attack on Jews since October 7, 2023. Witnesses said it was clear the men were not shooting at everyone, but specifically targeting beachgoers who appeared to be Jewish. As the gunmen poured shot after shot into the crowd, a heroic bystander took matters into his own hands. Stunning video from the scene <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-civilian-ambushes-terrorist-at-bondi-beach-wrestles-rifle-away">shows</a> an unarmed man creeping towards a gunman from behind a row of cars–he gets within a few feet and then leaps on the terrorist, wrestling the rifle away from him.
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On Saturday, a lone gunman ambushed a group of American service members engaged in counterterrorism operations in Syria. The gunman, whom the White House says was a member of ISIS, killed two American service members and their American translator, and wounded five others, including three more Americans. According to numerous reports, the gunman, who was killed at the scene, was a “ISIS infiltrator” who was working as part of a government security detail. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-to-retaliate-after-u-s-troops-killed-by-isis-in-syria">vowed</a> in a Truth Social post that “there will be very serious retaliation.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Two Dead After Mass Shooting At Brown University</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1014667" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Brown-Campus-Chaos.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Two Brown University students are dead after a gunman opened fire inside a classroom on Saturday. The shooting took place at around 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. The university went into lockdown until early the next morning. From the time of the shooting, police <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbis-patel-promises-all-out-24-7-campaign-to-deliver-justice-after-brown-university-shooting">searched</a> for about 12 hours before detaining a 24-year-old man who officials identified as a “person of interest,&#8221; but he was released from custody. Investigators <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/14/us-news/person-of-interest-in-brown-university-shooting-released/">said</a> they had the wrong person. In addition to the two students who were killed, nine others were wounded in the shooting. Officials have said the survivors are in stable condition.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Kilmar Abrego Garcia Is Back On The Streets</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1014669" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Abrego-Garcia-Home-Free.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia was released from ICE custody on Friday – and he’s now vowing to “fight” the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-orders-kilmar-abrego-garcia-freed-from-ice-custody">ordered</a> that Abrego Garcia be freed. This time, the judge ordered that he cannot be re-detained by ICE until the court conducts a hearing on the motion for the temporary restraining order.

MRN_251215_V1

Morning Brief: Islamic Terror Sends Shockwaves

Morning Brief: Terror Attacks Abroad, Brown University Shooting, And Kilmar Abrego Garcia Is Freed

Australia

Brown University

Donald Trump

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

President Donald Trump praised a 43-year-old man who disarmed the gunman who opened fire at a Jewish event in Australia on Sunday, saying the man “saved a lot of lives.”
Trump made the unscheduled comments during a Christmas reception at the White House, where he commented on a number of deadly attacks domestically and internationally over the weekend. At least 15 people were killed Sunday as terrorists attacked a Hanukkah celebration being held at Australia’s Bondi Beach, a popular beach in Sydney. Dozens more have been hospitalized after the attack.
“In Australia, you probably read … a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives &#8230; very brave person who&#8217;s right now in the hospital. Pretty seriously wounded. So, I have great respect to that man that did that,” Trump said.
Trump was referring to the actions of a man identified as Ahmed al-Ahmad, a father of two and fruit shop owner, who can be seen on video charging one of the terrorists, tackling him to the ground, and ripping a weapon from his hands.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The man who bravely tackled one of the shooters has been identified as 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmad.
<a href="https://t.co/U5B1rH5HHx">pic.twitter.com/U5B1rH5HHx</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/2000225599487397966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“That was such a horrible attack. That was a purely antisemitic attack,” Trump said.
Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-to-retaliate-after-u-s-troops-killed-by-isis-in-syria?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Promises+To+Retaliate+After+U.S.+Troops+Killed+By+ISIS+In+Syria">discussed</a> an attack by ISIS in Syria that left two American soldiers and one interpreter dead and a mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island that left two dead and nine others injured.
“I just want to pay my respects to everybody,” Trump said. “We had an attack in Syria, and we had three great patriots terminated by bad people, and not the Syrian government, it was ISIS. The Syrian government fought by our side, the new president fought by our side, but I just want to pay my respects to the families.”
Trump said the United States would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-promises-to-retaliate-after-u-s-troops-killed-by-isis-in-syria">take action</a> to retaliate after the death of the American soldiers.
“I can tell you in Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it, that they got the person, the individual person, but there&#8217;ll be big damage done,” Trump said.
Trump also offered his condolences to the families of those injured in the shooting at Brown on Saturday. A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/officials-detain-person-of-interest-in-deadly-brown-university-shooting">person of interest</a> in that attack has been detained by police.
&#8220;I want to just pay my respects to the people — unfortunately, two are no longer with us — at Brown University. Nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven,&#8221; Trump said.

President Trump Hosts Congressional Ball

‘Saved A Lot of Lives’: Trump Praises Man Who Confronted Gunman During Australia Attack

President Donald Trump vowed that the United States would &#8220;retaliate&#8221; after news broke on Saturday that two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter — also American — had been killed in Syria by ISIS.
Trump responded to the news in a post first shared via his Truth Social platform, warning the perpetrators that the Syrian government shared the outrage felt by the United States.
&#8220;We mourn the loss of three Great American Patriots in Syria, two soldiers, and one Civilian Interpreter,&#8221; Trump posted. &#8220;Likewise, we pray for the three injured soldiers who, it has just been confirmed, are doing well.&#8221;
&#8220;This was an ISIS attack against the U.S., and Syria, in a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them. The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack. There will be very serious retaliation. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221; Trump continued.
Outside the White House, Trump promised retribution as he spoke with reporters before leaving for the annual Army-Navy football game.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump, while leaving the White House, PROMISES to avenge the deaths of U.S. forces in Syria
“We mourn the loss of 3 great patriots in Syria&#8230; we pray for them, and their parents, and their loved ones&#8230; and we WILL retaliate.” <a href="https://t.co/11Oh2Lyljj">pic.twitter.com/11Oh2Lyljj</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1999920500647272958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We mourn the loss of three great patriots in Syria — you know how it happened, an ambush,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Terrible. We still have three wounded that seem to be doing pretty well. But we mourn the loss, these are great — these are three great people, and just a terrible thing.&#8221;
&#8220;Syria, by the way, was fighting along with us. The president, the new president of Syria, as they told me &#8230; is devastated by what happened. This was an ISIS attack on us and Syria,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We pray for them, and their parents, and their loved ones, very, very sad &#8230; and we WILL retaliate.&#8221;
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The president&#8217;s response came after Pentagon spokesman and Army Ranger veteran Sean Parnell shared a few details about the attack — holding back the identities of those killed in order to allow for their loved ones to be notified.
&#8220;Today in Palmyra, Syria, two United States Army soldiers and one civilian U.S. interpreter were killed, and three were wounded. The attack occurred as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement,&#8221; Parnell posted via X. &#8220;Their mission was in support of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region.&#8221;
&#8220;The soldiers’ names, as well as identifying information about their units, are being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin notification. This attack is currently under active investigation,&#8221; he added.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth responded as well, warning as Trump had that the United States would ensure that the guilty party had already faced lethal consequences for the attack.
&#8220;The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces,&#8221; Hegseth declared in a follow-up post. &#8220;Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you.&#8221;

Trump Promises To Retaliate After U.S. Troops Killed By ISIS In Syria

Global Politics

Military

terrorist attack

World

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump brushed off criticisms that he is too focused on foreign policy on Monday, arguing that the president of the United States has an obligation to &#8220;watch over the world&#8221; or risk being dragged into world wars.
&#8220;I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;We could have a world that&#8217;s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president. &#8220;When you&#8217;re president, you really have to watch over the world because you&#8217;re going to be dragged into it otherwise. You&#8217;re going to be dragged into a world war.&#8221;
Trump was responding to a question about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a longtime ally of Trump, who argued in a Monday morning Truth Social post that Trump should focus on domestic policy, rather than foreign policy.
&#8220;I would really like to see nonstop meetings at the WH on domestic policy not foreign policy and foreign country’s leaders,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Start by hauling in the health insurance company’s executives and let’s start formulating our Republican plan to save America from Obamacare and ACA tax credits that have skyrocketed the cost of health insurance!&#8221;
The president paused a moment before addressing Greene&#8217;s criticisms, as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump: &#8220;I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally. We could have a world that&#8217;s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president&#8230;when you&#8217;re president, you really have to watch over the world because you&#8217;re going… <a href="https://t.co/qDbqsFzSrC">pic.twitter.com/qDbqsFzSrC</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1987991495958310971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what happened to Marjorie,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She&#8217;s a nice woman, but I don&#8217;t know what happened, she&#8217;s lost her way, I think.&#8221;
He pointed out that he passed the &#8220;Great Big Beautiful Bill&#8221; that includes the &#8220;biggest tax cuts in the history of our country.&#8221;
The president suggested that Greene is &#8220;catering to the other side&#8221; with such remarks, saying, &#8220;I&#8217;m surprised at her&#8230; when somebody like Marjorie goes over and starts making statements like that, it shows she doesn&#8217;t know.&#8221;
If China had refused to give magnets, the president explained, there would not be a &#8220;car made in the entire world,&#8221; because magnets are so important. He suggested that most people don&#8217;t understand the immense importance of magnets to the economy, and pointed out that he had warned China he would impose a 158% tariff if they did not cooperate with the U.S.
&#8220;China called up immediately and said we will make peace,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We made peace. We made a great deal&#8230;China is paying tariffs to the United States, not the United States paying tariffs to China, which has always been the way it was&#8230; so when somebody makes a statement about &#8216;he&#8217;s devoting time to the world,&#8217; well, the world is the United States. Because if the world is in trouble, or if the world is ripping us off&#8230;our country is doing very poorly.&#8221;
&#8220;So you know, it&#8217;s easy to say don’t worry about the world, but the world is turning out to be our biggest customer,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;The world was on fire. And we could have been in that fire very easily if you didn’t have a president that knew what he was doing.&#8221;
Trump also shared that his Monday meeting with Syria&#8217;s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, which Greene specifically criticized, went well, calling the Syrian president a &#8220;very strong leader&#8221; who comes from a &#8220;very tough place.&#8221;
&#8220;Tough guy,&#8221; Trump said of al-Sharaa. &#8220;I like him&#8230; we&#8217;ll do everything we can to make Syria successful, because that&#8217;s part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East. First time that anyone can remember that ever… If you look back at Syria for years, they had the doctors, the lawyers, and they had so many of the great intellects, and it&#8217;s an amazing place with great people. And we want to see Syria be successful like the rest of the Middle East. So I have confidence that he&#8217;ll be able to do the job.”
He told reporters that they can expect to see an announcement on Syria.
&#8220;We want to see Syria become a country that&#8217;s very successful,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And I think this leader can do it. I really do. I think this leader can do it. And people said he&#8217;s had a rough past. We all have rough pasts, but he has had a rough past.&#8221;
&#8220;He gets along very well with Turkey, with President Erdogan he’s a great leader,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Erdogan is a great leader. And very much in favor of what&#8217;s happening in Syria. We have to make Syria work. Syria is a big part of the Middle East, and I will tell you, I think it is working really well. We&#8217;re working also with Israel on, you know, getting along with Syria, getting along with everybody, and that&#8217;s working amazingly.”
The White House didn&#8217;t immediately respond to the Daily Wire&#8217;s requests for comment on calls for Trump to pressure al-Sharaa to end the blockade on humanitarian aid to religious minorities in southern Syria. The Daily Wire first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ahead-of-meeting-with-syrias-al-shaara-faith-leaders-implore-trump-to-speak-out-for-persecuted-religious-groups?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ahead+Of+Meeting+With+Syria%E2%80%99s+Al-Shaara%2C+Faith+Leaders+Implore+Trump+To+Speak+Out+For+Persecuted+Religious+Groups">reported on Saturday</a> that dozens of American faith leaders were calling on Trump to &#8220;address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area.&#8221;
“These religious minorities face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists,&#8221; the faith leaders wrote.
Trump has been hailed for his successes in foreign policy, with many suggesting he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to negotiate peace deals around the world.

US-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-INDIA

Trump Responds To Critics Of Foreign Policy, Says He Must ‘Watch Over The World’

Marjorie Taylor Green

Oval Office

Amid a record-breaking shutdown, the Senate advances a deal to fund the government, a man opens fire on ICE agents in Chicago, and in a historic move, the President of Syria is set to visit the White House.
It’s Monday, November 10, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251110-member-exclusive">the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Dems Fracture Over Shutdown</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-998175" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Shutdown-Stalemate-Ends.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: With the record-breaking shutdown leading to thousands of cancelled flights and government employees missing paychecks, cracks began to form over the weekend among Senate Democrats.
On Sunday night, the Senate took a major step toward ending the government shutdown with a procedural vote. The vote was to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold to proceed to the legislation necessary to reopen the government until the end of January.
As it stands, the deal would allow a separate vote on Obamacare subsidies in December, which deviates from the original push by Democrats to pass a continuing resolution with a stipulation in the bill that the subsidies would continue.
Dems in turmoil: The vote set off fireworks within the Democratic Party, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and many other lawmakers sounded off against the move by moderate Democrats to make strides toward reopening without including the Obamacare subsidies in the spending bill. 
What’s next: The government is not reopened yet; the legislation still needs to make it through the Republican-majority House to reach President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump’s been leaning heavily into the issue, calling for the end of the filibuster as a nuclear option. 
View from the Oval: Trump has called on GOP lawmakers to abolish the Senate filibuster, which would allow them to pass a bill with a simple majority and end the shutdown themselves. 
“I am totally in favor of terminating the filibuster, and we would be back to work within 10 minutes after that vote took place, and lots of other good things would happen,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/NewsTreason/status/1986874156164476998">said</a> on Friday.
Trump went on to make clear that eliminating the filibuster is not just about forcing a budget vote and ending the shutdown. The president says it would also empower Republicans to codify his agenda, ensuring GOP success in the midterms next November. In a social media post over the weekend, he claimed Democrats were “cracking like dogs on the Shutdown because they are deathly afraid that I am making progress with the Republicans on TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER!” 
But at the moment, in a rare sign of pushback against the White House, plenty of Senate Republicans are standing firm in their refusal to kill the filibuster.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">ICE Targeted In Chicago</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-998173" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Agents-Under-Fire.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Border Patrol agents were fired upon in Chicago over the weekend as federal officers continue to be targeted for carrying out immigration enforcement operations.
The Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-violence-must-end-man-opens-fire-on-border-patrol-agents-in-chicago-chaos-erupts">said</a> Saturday that Border Patrol agents were working in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood “when an unknown male driving a black Jeep fired shots at agents and fled the scene.” Law enforcement has not yet nabbed a suspect.
The agents then had a run-in with agitators who “threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrol’s vehicles.” Reports and videos that circulated online showed people yelling obscenities at agents, walking around with whistles, and getting in their way. Chicago police were brought in to assist the agents and clear the scene. At least a few arrests were made during the chaos.
Chicago PD’s appearance is a change from last month, when ICE agents were surrounded by a hostile crowd and local officers were reportedly told to stand down. Those ICE agents were left to deal with the mob alone.
According to Homeland Security, “This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction.” The department further noted that threats have increased over the past two months.
National Guard: Citing violence like in Chicago, Trump has attempted to send National Guard troops into some jurisdictions, but has been blocked by the courts. Despite that, there have been some sightings of National Guardsmen around Chicago, however.
The situation is the same in Portland, where protests have happened regularly outside ICE facilities. The latest court ruling came on Friday, when a federal judge in Oregon permanently <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-permanently-bars-trump-deploying-national-guard-troops-portland-rcna236421" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> the president from stationing National Guard troops in Portland. That order could, however, be overturned by the Supreme Court.
Hawaii bust: Meanwhile, immigration agents have continued mass raids to sweep up illegal aliens. In Hawaii, immigration officers <a href="https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1987581709945340097">arrested</a> dozens, including two suspected Tren de Aragua members, in a raid on the island of Kauai, according to the Kauai County Facebook page. 
According to <a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/07/immigration-raid-targets-cleaning-company-employees-months-after-wage-settlement/">Hawaii News Now</a>, all those arrested were employees at Hawaii Care and Cleaning. The same company, back in January, agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the Department of Labor.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump To Meet with Syrian President</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-998183" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Trump-Al-Sharaa-Meeting.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: President Trump is set to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday. Ahead of the meeting, faith leaders sent a letter to Trump asking him to continue his defense of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities. 
Morning Wire spoke to Victoria Coates, former deputy national security advisor to Trump and a foreign policy expert at The Heritage Foundation, for more on the scheduled meeting between Syria’s leader and the U.S. president. (The following interview has been edited.)
Morning Wire: The visit comes just after the U.S. lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa and removed a global terror designation on him. Why did the Trump administration feel this was appropriate?
Coates: Well, while not really rising to the heights of a country like North Korea or Iran, Syria has been historically one of the most sanctioned countries on the planet for good reason. Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad committed egregious hostilities against his own people, which earned him the Caesar Act, an act of Congress that sanctions those things. Al-Sharaa was specifically sanctioned for his participation in ISIS, which remains, obviously, a special designated terrorist group and a foreign terrorist organization, as well as Al Qaeda, which remains in the same camp. Those designations remain on those groups, but they&#8217;re loosening the sanctions on [al-Sharaa] personally, which is why he could come to New York in September and Washington now.
Morning Wire: Do you see any progress on protecting Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and the Middle East more broadly?
Coates: Well, hopefully, yes. When I was in the Middle East, when this all went down in Syria a little more than a year ago, there was enormous concern from the Israelis about the Druze population in southern Syria, from the Emiratis and other Gulf allies about what might happen. And so Syria, a little bit like Lebanon, is kind of a made-up country – with apologies to any Syrians who may be listening – in that it is an amalgamation of these different groups. And you do have a dominant Muslim majority, but the others have been endangered historically. I think that is very well taken from the faith leaders and hopefully the president will be very strong on this and convince al-Sharaa this is a priority for the United States.

MRN_251110_V1

Morning Brief: Dems Crack Over Shutdown, ICE Attacked In Chicago, & Trump Set For Historic Sitdown

Morning Wire: Dems Fracture Over Shutdown, ICE Targeted In Chicago, And Trump Meets Syria Prez

Border Patrol

Chuck Schumer

Department of Homeland Security

Government Shutdown

Media

Politics

White House

WASHINGTON — Ahead of President Donald Trump&#8217;s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, dozens of American faith leaders are urging the president to pressure Syria to end its blockade on humanitarian aid to religious minorities in southern Syria.
&#8220;We urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area,&#8221; the leaders wrote in a Friday letter first obtained by The Daily Wire. &#8220;These religious minorities face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists.&#8221;
The letter comes as the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-to-completely-wipe-out-the-islamic-terrorists-killing-nigerian-christians?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Threatens+To+%E2%80%98Completely+Wipe+Out+The+Islamic+Terrorists%E2%80%99+Killing+Nigerian+Christians">draws widespread praise</a> for speaking out in defense of persecuted Christians in Nigeria, earning accolades from even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nicki-minaj-gushes-over-trump-using-her-music-in-white-house-tiktok-pretty-incredible">singer Nicki Minaj</a> for his warnings to the Nigerian government and his vow to blow Islamic militants to pieces if they continue slaughtering Christians.
&#8220;President Trump&#8217;s bold actions have already saved countless lives, but the forgotten minorities of Syria cannot wait,&#8221; Dede Laugesen, the president of Save the Persecuted Christians, the group that organized the plea to Trump, told The Daily Wire. &#8220;This letter is a clarion call for immediate intervention to secure a humanitarian corridor that upholds the dignity and rights of the vulnerable. We stand with him in this fight, as he was ordained for such a time as this.&#8221;
Laugesen refers to the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria, where Islamic militants are targeting religious minorities, specifically Druze, Christians, and Alawites. Druze and Alawites are both monotheistic religious groups that branched off from Islam in the Middle East, and are considered heretics by Islamic militants. In Suwayda, which is currently blockaded by Syrian government security forces, the population is majority Druze with smaller groups of Christians.
<div id="attachment_997799" style="width: 872px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ahead-of-meeting-with-syrias-al-shaara-faith-leaders-implore-trump-to-speak-out-for-persecuted-religious-groups/sectarian-clashes-between-druze-and-tribes-in-sweida-syria-2" rel="attachment wp-att-997799"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997799" class="wp-image-997799 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2228625298-862x576.jpg" alt="" width="862" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2228625298-862x576.jpg 862w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2228625298-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2228625298-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2228625298.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px" /></a>Syrian security forces fighters deploy through the streets of Sweida, Syria, on July 20, 2025. (Photo by Mohammad Daher/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</div>
Skirmishes between the Sunni Muslim group, the Bedouins, and Druze militias have escalated into massive bloodshed. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/world/middleeast/syria-massacre-druse.html">Reporting from The New York Times found</a> that Sunni fighters are often working with government forces, and in a number of cases documented on video, government forces appear to be involved in horrific slaughter. Videos show the fighters and government forces forcing families to jump from balconies to their deaths, and executing groups of Druze men via firing squad.
The Supreme Druze Religious Council submitted a formal appeal to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-872074">according to the Jerusalem Post</a>, calling for an immediate investigation into the acts of violence committed against the Druze, citing acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, including torture, executions, sexual violence, and war crimes.
That appeal specifically names al-Sharaa and says he bears direct responsibility for overseeing and even condoning these attacks, hiding the government&#8217;s role in the violence through hybrid warfare tactics, disguising forces as jihadists, and misrepresenting operations as counterterrorism campaigns,&#8221; according to the Jerusalem Post.
The signers of Friday&#8217;s letter, including Dr. Ben Carson, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, senior advisor for religious freedom at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers Matthew Faraci, Laugesen, former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, and others, praise Trump for his leadership combatting Christian persecution in Nigeria and for designating Nigeria a &#8220;Country of Particular Concern,&#8221; writing: &#8220;You are the only major world leader fighting for religious freedom, and we need you once again to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.&#8221;
The faith leaders urge the president to &#8220;secure President al-Sharaa&#8217;s commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria,&#8221; particularly in light of the approaching winter season. They praise Trump for &#8220;urgently rushing humanitarian aid to southern Syria,&#8221; and they note that opening the corridor will &#8220;enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation, signaling the new government&#8217;s commitment to minority rights and stability.&#8221;
&#8220;Your advocacy for the persecuted inspires us,&#8221; they conclude. &#8220;We stand ready to support your efforts and pray for fruitful discussions. As Ambassador Mike Huckabee once wrote to you, &#8216;You were ordained for such a time as this.'&#8221;
Suwayda, filled with Christians and Druze who reportedly lack water, food, and medicine, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-872279">has been partially blockaded</a> by Syrian government security forces since July.
The Treasury Department removed Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations on al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the United Nations removed sanctions on him, and just days before Trump will meet with al-Sharaa this week, as the United States seeks to help al-Sharaa rebuild Syria.
&#8220;These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime,&#8221; State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a Friday statement, adding that Syria&#8217;s regime has been working to &#8220;fulfill its commitments on countering terrorism and narcotics, eliminating any remnants of chemical weapons, and promoting regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_997791" style="width: 881px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ahead-of-meeting-with-syrias-al-shaara-faith-leaders-implore-trump-to-speak-out-for-persecuted-religious-groups/donald-trump-ahmed-al-shara-meeting-in-riyadh-4" rel="attachment wp-att-997791"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997791" class="wp-image-997791 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2214391060-871x576.jpg" alt="" width="871" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2214391060-871x576.jpg 871w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2214391060-300x198.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2214391060-768x508.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2214391060.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 871px) 100vw, 871px" /></a>US President Donald Trump (C) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara (L) along with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) during the first leg of his three-country Middle East tour in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025. (Photo by Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Court/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
The United States formerly viewed al-Sharaa as a terrorist and had placed a $10 million bounty on him, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-lifts-sanctions-syrian-leader-ahead-meeting-trump/story?id=127314383">ABC News reports</a>. The Syrian president was also under UN sanctions as the leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly linked to al-Qaeda, which the United States <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/revoking-the-foreign-terrorist-organization-designation-of-hayat-tahrir-al-sham">removed from its list of foreign terror groups in July</a>. At the time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was &#8220;an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria.&#8221;
Matthew Faraci stresses that while President Trump is giving Syria the opportunity for a fresh start, he&#8217;s also &#8220;made it clear that such a fresh start must include religious freedom protections.&#8221;
&#8220;So far, President al-Shaara has not kept his end of that deal, and Syria’s human rights catastrophe is getting worse,&#8221; Faraci warned. &#8220;The faith leaders joining this letter know that Trump is brilliant at playing peacemaker, and are absolutely confident in his ability to get this fixed and get Syria on track.”

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Moscow

Ahead Of Meeting With Syria’s Al-Shaara, Faith Leaders Implore Trump To Speak Out For Persecuted Religious Groups

Christians

Druze

It is, in fact, possible to win wars.
I have spent my entire life watching the United States and the West lose wars, or at least not win wars. Initial victory, followed by gradual defeat or bizarre interventionism without the full force, weight, and commitment necessary to carry it through.
What President Trump is demonstrating, however, along with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel, is that it is, in fact, possible to win wars.
Let’s recall the timeline here.
On October 7, 2023, the genocidal terror group Hamas invaded Israel&#8217;s borders and killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly Jewish, and abducted 250 Israelis and took them back to their terror tunnel hellholes. In those tunnels, Hamas amassed a vast arsenal of rockets, grenades, and small arms over the course of 20 years with the support and funding from nations in the region, including Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.
There was also a serious possibility that Hezbollah was going to enter the war on the same day. In fact, Hezbollah started attacking with small rockets in the beginning and then gradually escalated. And, according to the military experts, Hezbollah was similarly genocidal and was a far better armed Iranian terror proxy based in Lebanon.
Israel also faced down a continuing terror threat from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria, the so-called West Bank. Syria was being used as a thoroughfare for Iranian arms for Hezbollah. The Houthis in Yemen were another Iranian-backed terror threat. And, of course, the Iranian government wasn&#8217;t merely spreading terrorism, they were also fast-tracking a nuclear weapons program.
That&#8217;s where things stood two years ago.
Now, two years later, the Middle East has turned completely upside down.
Israel has completely decimated Hamas, killing its entire top leadership from Gaza all the way to Iran. Israel has destroyed Hezbollah&#8217;s efficacy and killed its terror master, Hassan Nasrallah. Its attacks on Hezbollah were so effective that the Assad regime in Syria completely collapsed.
Judea and Samaria have been quieted by the work of the IDF during this time. Iranian proxies in Iraq went silent as well thanks to the Israeli Air Force. The Houthis in Yemen are sort of the one remaining outstanding enemy, and they&#8217;ve been thoroughly bombed. They are a nuisance, but they&#8217;re not an existential threat to Israel. And Iran&#8217;s nuclear program, the greatest existential threat to Israel, has been set back years, if not decades, thanks to the courage of the Israeli Air Force, and, of course, a timely, brave intervention from President Trump that led to an amazing mission flown by the United States Air Force.
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And now President Trump has brokered an amazing deal, one that seemed unthinkable not long ago. The release of the final 20 live Israeli hostages all at once, along with all the remaining bodies released. Israel maintains a secure posture in the Gaza Strip itself as a transitional plan toward a future without Hamas, supported by regional allies, including countries that one moment ago were sending cash and weapons into for Hamas to use, like Qatar and Turkey.
The possibility of future Abraham Accords with countries like Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are now on the table.
So, here is the question for the West: How is it that this war was won?
Because it&#8217;s hard to win wars.
Well, the answer is the conventional wisdom was stupid — and it has been stupid for decades.
And the decision makers here are ”out-of-the-box” thinkers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is someone who truly understands the nature of the Middle East and Middle Eastern history. But President Trump is the real difference maker here, because President Trump decided that America would no longer just go along with the 80-year-old slogans promoted by the Arabists at the State Department. 
The conventional wisdom was that military action does not guarantee security in the Middle East. That is a lie. It was always a lie. It was always catastrophically wrong.
In fact, every time Israel has provided for its own security, it was not through a peace deal. It was a peace deal after a victory. 
Military action is the only guarantor of support and security in the Middle East. It was military action that removed every supporting pillar beneath Hamas&#8217;s feet.
The conventional wisdom said the United States ought to play a weird, neutral role between Israel and its genocidal enemies. You saw this from Joe Biden. Kamala Harris talks like this all the time. Bill Clinton tried it until he realized that Yasser Arafat was totally uninterested in peace. 
But this was the conventional wisdom. Was that, sure, Israel was a strong ally of the United States, but America had to play honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians. And it turns out that that was not just wrong, it was idiotically wrong.
The Trump administration openly supported the IDF.
They openly provided the weapons. 
They openly provided the rhetorical support for Israel to win. And it was that that led to Hamas giving up the ghost and to Hamas, his allies, realizing that actually Israel was not going to be forced to simply accept the risk of its own survival. 
The conventional wisdom said that if you threaten to kill terror leaders abroad, that&#8217;d be conflagrationist and terrible. That, too, was wrong. 
Israel killed terror masters in Iran itself. Israel killed Ismail Haniya, the political leader of Hamas. And of course, it was the strike in Qatar that actually led to Qatar and Turkey deciding to press for Hamas’s ouster. 
Israel then hit inside Qatar in an attempted strike on Hamas&#8217;s leadership. They missed, but the message was made clear: Israel would be willing to do it again. 
And then the president essentially said, “Okay, you know what? We&#8217;ll come in. We&#8217;ll give a security guarantee to Qatar so this doesn&#8217;t happen again. But we need you to end this war. We need you to work with Turkey to stop all of this.”
It was a carrots-and-sticks approach led by President Trump.
President Trump understands the Middle East better than all the so-called experts.
And, by the way, he understands the Middle East far better than the supposed neocons, the total interventionists pushing for ”Democracy in the Middle East.” Trump is not one of those.
He also understands it better than the isolationists in his own party who wanted to reject Trump&#8217;s tempered and rational ”Peace through Strength” in favor of what might be called “Cowardice through Catastrophism,” the idea that World War III is lurking behind every corner — despite the fact that President Trump is the most rational purveyor of American force in modern American history. There was no shot that World War III would break out over one B-2 sortie over Iran. That was not going to happen because Trump was backing the IDF&#8217;s capacity to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip. That was not going to happen. The catastrophism was nonsense and it was nonsense from the beginning.
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Prime Minister Netanyahu, who soldiered through withering criticism both at home and abroad, of course, for the great crime of seeking victory over those who would destroy his country, deserves credit here.
Huge credit, obviously, as Jared Kushner says, to the Israeli people who mobilized in an unprecedented way to defend their nation and their civilization, we&#8217;re talking about 45-year-old guys leaving four kids at home and their business to go fight in Gaza in the “Sherut Miluim,” the Israeli Army Reserve Service.
And of course, huge props to the American people who provided Israel the support it needed to win, both in terms of material and mostly by making the right decision and electing Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. So, thank you to all the voters of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
It turns out that victory over genocidal enemies is indeed possible. What it requires is a smart strategy that bucks the conventional wisdom, a desire and willingness to win, and the perspicacity to dismiss people who promote either a starry-eyed millenarianism, in which every nation is going to break out into democracy someday, or a benighted conventional wisdom that fails every single time it&#8217;s tried.

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ATMEH, Syria (Reuters) -A pre-dawn U.S. military raid in northwestern Syria early on Wednesday targeted and killed a senior member of the Islamic State group, a U.S. official told Reuters.
It was the second known raid in northern Syria by U.S. troops since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. The Islamist-led government that replaced him has pledged to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State and is part of an anti-ISIS alliance that includes the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group.
The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the raid killed a senior ISIS member who was seen as a candidate to be the leader of ISIS in Syria.
No U.S. troops were killed or injured in the raid, the official added.
A Syrian security source and Syria&#8217;s state-owned Al-Ikhbariya said the target was killed as he tried to escape.
Another Syrian source said the target was an Iraqi national and was married to a French national. It was not immediately clear what happened to his wife.
The Pentagon did not immediately have any public comment on the reports.
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The operation began at around 2 a.m. (1100 GMT), according to the Syrian security sources and neighbours in the town of Atmeh, in Idlib province.
Helicopters and drones provided air cover, one Syrian security source and residents said. Local Syrian forces set up a cordon around the neighbourhood, but U.S. forces conducted the actual raid, the second security source said.
Abdelqader al-Sheikh, a neighbour, said he was up late with his son and heard a noise in the yard next door.
&#8220;I called out, &#8216;Who are you?&#8217; and they started speaking to me in English, telling me to put my hands up,&#8221; Sheikh told Reuters.
He said the armed forces stayed on the roofs of surrounding houses for the next two hours and that he could hear someone nearby speaking Arabic in an Iraqi accent.
In July, the Pentagon said its forces had conducted a raid in Aleppo province resulting in the death of a senior Islamic State leader and his two adult Islamic State-affiliated sons.
Idlib has been a hiding spot for senior Islamic State figures for years. U.S. forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the village of Barisha in Idlib province in 2019 and his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, in Atmeh in 2022.
(Reporting by Karam al-Masri in Atmeh, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman and Idrees AliWriting by Maya GebeilyEditing by Frances Kerry, Rod Nickel)

A building, where according to Syrian security forces and residents, U.S. forces took part in a pre-dawn raid that targeted a member of the Islamic State group, a U.S. official and a Syrian security source said, stands in Atmeh

U.S. Troops Take Down Senior ISIS Terrorist In Syria, Official Says

This month, I journeyed to the Middle East, where I met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif. I spoke with leaders about the importance of bringing peace to the troubled region.
In a region too often defined by conflict and mistrust, my mission overall was simple: listen, engage, and explore a path toward stability that protects all ethnicities and religions while advancing America’s security interests.
But the most important part of my trip came in Damascus, where I met with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
I have long advocated for a Syria that looks towards the future and not the past. For me, it’s personal.
When I took my oath of office, I did so using the family Bible of Kayla Mueller, who was abducted by terrorists in 2013 while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo. Kayla’s parents, Carl and Marsha Mueller, joined me and my family that day.
In recent months, I’ve coordinated with American partners to follow new intelligence about the possible location of Kayla’s remains. I won’t stop fighting until we bring her home — and I won’t stop fighting until we bring stability to Syria.
Lasting peace in the Middle East is possible, and I believe that peace between the region’s peoples is the ultimate safeguard for both American and global security.
We’ve made progress. Recently, American forces and local partners successfully targeted ISIS leadership in al-Bab.
But what Syria needs most is time, space, and a framework for peace that guarantees equal rights, fair representation, and a constitutional system that breaks from the failures of the past.
That is where President Donald Trump’s game-changing Abraham Accords come in. The first round of agreements reshaped the geopolitical map, bringing Israel together with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco in a coalition for peace, trade, and security.
Abraham Accords 2.0 is the natural next step, one that would expand this circle to include Arab nations, Israel, and potentially a post-conflict Syria, fostering an alliance that isolates Iran and its terror proxies, defeats ISIS, and opens the door to unprecedented regional cooperation.
The purpose of my meetings was not just fact-finding. With my military background and seat in Congress, I am uniquely positioned to bridge cultural divides, open dialogue with communities often overlooked in Washington, and help President Trump build the trust and political will necessary for these historic agreements.
Just as President Trump defied the skeptics with the original Abraham Accords, we can defy them again. We can bring in nations once considered impossible partners, tie security cooperation to economic growth, and create a durable framework for peace that ensures every community, Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Christians, and Muslims all have a place in the region’s future.
My office has always welcomed diverse voices and perspectives from across the Middle East. I didn’t visit the Middle East to dictate how people live or to push another era of nation-building. I went to offer support and foster hope, just as President Trump did with Kosovo-Serbia normalization, peace agreements in Africa and Asia, the first Abraham Accords, and the most recent peace signing between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
These successes prove that President Trump’s brand of diplomacy works.
This is only the beginning. Working alongside Ambassador Tom Barrack and other key partners, I will continue to advance a vision for the Levant and the broader Middle East that promotes stability for every community and strengthens America’s security posture.
The voters who sent me to Washington made it clear: they want an end to endless wars and a real strategy for peace. With America First diplomacy and the leadership of President Trump, Abraham Accords 2.0 can become a reality and with it, lasting peace in the Middle East.
If there was ever a moment to turn the page and secure a future where peace is possible for Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Christians, and Muslims alike, it is now.
America First diplomacy does not mean America Alone. We have a lot of work to do, and I look forward to seeing the day when lasting peace in the Middle East is achieved. By working together, we can make this dream a reality.
Abe Hamadeh represents Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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