The U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy</a> announced this week that it would be renaming a ship named for oceanographic pioneer Matthew Fontaine Maury because of Maury’s ties to the Confederacy during the later years of his life. 
Maury, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/cable-matthew-fontaine-maury-1806-1873/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">known</a> as the “Pathfinder of the Seas,” was a Navy officer and accomplished oceanographer who helped come up with the idea for a transatlantic cable. The USNS Maury will be renamed after Marie Tharp, an oceanographer cartographer and geologist who lived in the 20th century. 
“As the history of our great nation evolves, we must put forth the effort to recognize figures who positively influenced our society,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro <a href="https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2023/03/08/confederates-name-removed-from-navy-survey-ship/#:~:text=The%20Navy%20announced%20Wednesday%20that%20it%20was%20renaming%20an%20oceanographic,will%20be%20renamed%20Marie%20Tharp." target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “This renaming honors just one of the many historic women who have made a significant impact on not only our Navy, but our nation.”
The oceanographic survey ship was renamed as part of a congressionally mandated commission that recommended purging any names or entities associated with the Confederacy from military property, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/29/arlington-cemetery-confederate-memorial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> the historic Confederate Memorial which sits surrounded by the graves of Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. 
Maury was born in Virginia in 1806 before his family moved to Tennessee and he joined the U.S. Navy in 1825. During his time in the Navy, he was aboard the first Navy ship to circumnavigate the globe and released a book on navigation at the age of 30. 
After an injury rendered him unable to sail, Maury became heavily involved in charting the ocean for the Navy. He was placed in charge of the Navy’s Depot of Charts and Instruments before rising to lead the U.S. Naval Observatory from 1844-1861. 
He was an effective navigator and sailors were able to cut almost 50 days off of travel time for ships going from New York to San Francisco. His influential books on the ocean <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matthew-Fontaine-Maury" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> “The Physical Geography of the Sea,” and “Sailing Directions,” both originally published in 1855. 
When the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/american-civil-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Civil War</a> broke out, he chose to side with the Confederacy as he was from Virginia. During the war, he tried to create an electric torpedo and went to England as a Confederate agent. After the war, he worked for a short time with Mexico’s emperor to see if they could establish a Confederate colony before he became a meteorology professor at Virginia Military Institute. 
A monument of Maury, who died in 1873, was also removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, in 2020. 
Another Navy ship, a missile-guided cruiser named after the Civil War battle of Chancellorsville, was recently renamed. The Navy chose to the ship to be named in honor of Robert Smalls, a former slave who commandeered a Confederate ship during the war.

The Research Ship USNS Maury During Sea Trials

Navy Removes Name of Oceanographic Pioneer From Ship Over Confederate Ties

American Civil War

Confederacy

History

Military

U.S.

U.S. Navy

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who alleged last month that undercover U.S. Navy divers planted remotely triggered explosives on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, burst into laughter after hearing the New York Times claim that a &#8220;pro-Ukranian group&#8221; carried out the attack.
&#8220;What? That can&#8217;t be true,&#8221; Hersh said, according to a Disclose.tv <a href="https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1633510436095107087">tweet</a>. &#8220;They can&#8217;t be that stupid. Are they that stupid?&#8221;
According to the Times, U.S. intelligence officials suggested an unnamed &#8220;pro-Ukranian group&#8221; carried out last September&#8217;s attack on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea, which linked natural gas from Russia to Western Europe. Sweden and Denmark reported severe damage to the pipelines in September as natural gas spewed toward the surface.
Officials said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or the national government were not involved in the attack and declined to disclose additional information surrounding the new intelligence obtained. The anonymous officials cited by the Times offered no specifics on the shadowy group they said blew up the pipeline but insisted the attack did not involve the U.S. or United Kingdom.
&#8220;Oh my God — &#8216;Intelligence suggests Ukranian &#8230;,'&#8221; Hersh said before dissolving into laughter. &#8220;Oh, my God. Oh my God.&#8221;
Hersh published an extensive report on Substack alleging undercover U.S. Navy divers planted explosives on the pipeline during training exercises last summer.
Based on an unnamed source&#8217;s testimony, the report claimed that President Joe Biden viewed the pipelines as an avenue through which Russian President Vladimir Putin could weaponize his country&#8217;s natural gas supply for his territorial ambitions.
White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the notion that the United States destroyed the pipelines was “false and complete fiction,” while CIA spokesperson Tammy Thorp said the claim was “completely and utterly false” when asked for comment by Hersh.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Some European officials said Russia may have destroyed its own pipelines; others <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-carlson-fuels-suspicion-u-s-behind-nord-stream-sabotage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> the United States.
The twin Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of geopolitical strife since the Russia-Ukraine war began more than a year ago. Months into the conflict, Russia nixed shipments through Nord Stream 1 as a retaliatory measure against Western Europe, while Germany blocked the adjacent Nord Stream 2 from initiating shipments days before the war started.
Just before the war began, President Joe Biden warned &#8220;there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2&#8221; if Russia crossed the Ukrainian border and insisted to a journalist that &#8220;we will be able&#8221; to bring an &#8220;end&#8221; to the system.
The commander-in-chief initially waived sanctions against the Russian-owned company behind Nord Stream 2, although he reimposed sanctions shortly before the invasion started.
After Nord Stream 2 was destroyed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the phenomenon a &#8220;tremendous opportunity&#8221; to end European reliance on Russian energy supplies. Even though the pipelines were not pumping natural gas, protesters in Germany had been calling for the energy flow to resume as electricity prices increased more than twentyfold. Crippling the pipelines eliminated the possibility of Germany lifting sanctions in time to import natural gas for the winter.
Hersh, an investigative journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the clandestine My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, reportedly plans on publishing a new investigation about Nord Stream.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve written a couple of things about it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to write something next week about it, and that&#8217;s the way I do it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
UPDATE &#8211; U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh says, &quot;they can&#39;t be that stupid&quot; in reaction to NYT&#39;s article claiming a &quot;pro-Ukrainian group&quot; carried out the Nord Stream attacks. <a href="https://t.co/SB2RK9Xekk">pic.twitter.com/SB2RK9Xekk</a>
&mdash; Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) <a href="https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1633510436095107087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

USA – Journalism – Seymour Hersh

‘They Can’t Be That Stupid’: Journalist Slams NYT For Claiming U.S. Officials Suggested Pro-Ukraine Group Attacked Nord Stream Pipelines

Investigative Journalist Slams New York Times For Claiming U.S. Officials Suggested Pro-Ukraine Group Attacked Nord Stream Pipelines

New York Times

Nord Stream Pipeline

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

World

Hundreds of Americans swarmed the funeral of Herman Schmidt, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/veterans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">member</a> of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy</a> who was killed during the attack on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/world-war-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pearl Harbor</a> but whose remains were only recently identified, after some were concerned no one would appear to honor the deceased sailor.
Schmidt, who hailed from Sheridan, Wyoming, was killed at the age of 28 during the surprise Japanese assault on American forces in Hawaii. He served as a gunner on the USS Oklahoma, which sustained multiple torpedo hits and barrages from enemy aircraft that resulted in the deaths of 428 other crewmen. President Franklin D. Roosevelt subsequently called the Pearl Harbor attack a “date which will live in infamy” and asked Congress to declare war on Japan, officially entering the United States into World War II.
Navy officials recovered the remains from the deceased crew members between December 1941 and June 1944; they were initially able to identify only 35 men from the USS Oklahoma, but advances in DNA technology recently allowed officials to identify Schmidt’s remains, according to a <a href="https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/2725504/uss-oklahoma-sailor-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-schmidt-h/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from the Defense POW/MIA Agency.
Schmidt had left behind a wife and an infant son, Michael Schmidt, as he departed to serve his country in Hawaii. Now 82 years old and in poor health, Michael Schmidt indicated that he was unable to attend the February 23 funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., as the father he never knew would be buried with full military honors.
“I have mixed emotions,” Michael Schmidt said during an <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/feb/21/we-never-forget-navy-bury-sailor-killed-pearl-harb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with The Washington Times. “I thought it was fantastic that they did it.”
Andrea McCarren, a former journalist for WUSA-TV and the chief communications officer of PenFed Credit Union, shared on social media that there was concern no one would attend Herman Schmidt’s funeral. She announced on Thursday afternoon, however, that more than 500 strangers arrived at Arlington to pay their respects for the World War II hero. Schmidt was also <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorGordon/status/1628776549637066754" target="_blank" rel="noopener">honored</a> in his home state as Gov. Mark Gordon (R-WY) ordered flags to be flown at half staff on Thursday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ANYTHING is possible when people work together. More than 500 strangers attended funeral of WWII hero Herman Schmidt, whose only survivor is in poor health. There was fear that no one would show up. Schmidt left behind a wife &amp; newborn baby. His remains were recently identified. <a href="https://t.co/wMFeNgDplx">pic.twitter.com/wMFeNgDplx</a>
&mdash; Andrea McCarren (@AndreaMcCarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndreaMcCarren/status/1628865167252418560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Defense Department <a href="https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Experience/POW-MIA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> that the remains of more than 80,000 service personnel are missing from previous conflicts and that 38,000 are estimated to be recoverable. When officials from North Korea turned over 55 cases containing the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War in 2018, for instance, the cases were transported to a DNA analysis facility in Hawaii.
Some 99% of soldiers from the Korean War and earlier conflicts, however, do not have DNA on file, according to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/27/health/american-troops-remains-identification-process/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from CNN. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, therefore, <a href="https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2018/7/vfw-urges-mia-families-to-provide-dna-samples" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> families of Korean War veterans to submit DNA samples to the Defense Department.
The successful identification of missing service members’ remains can often serve as solace for family members. “From Belleau Wood to the Battle of the Bulge, Korea to Vietnam, Afghanistan to Iraq, and around the world, American patriots have dared all, risked all, and given all to defend our Nation and protect our liberties,” President Joe Biden remarked in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/09/15/a-proclamation-on-national-pow-mia-recognition-day/#:~:text=Now%20and%20always%2C%20we%20honor,members%20still%20missing%20in%20action." target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> ahead of the most recent National POW/MIA Recognition Day on September 16. “Now and always, we honor their service, valor, and sacrifice. We also continue the righteous work of bringing home our heroes who remain unaccounted for.”

Arlington National Cemetery

Hundreds Swarm World War II Navy Gunner’s Funeral After Some Worry No One Would Attend

Hundreds Swarm Veteran's Funeral After Some Worry No One Would Attend

Pearl Harbor

Veterans

World War II

Government spokespeople said on Wednesday that a bombshell report claiming that the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy</a> destroyed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nord-stream-pipeline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nord Stream</a> pipeline system is “utterly false.”
The pipelines, which carried <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natural gas</a> under the Baltic Sea from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia</a> to Germany, had been the center of geopolitical strife before and after the invasion of Ukraine. Russia nixed shipments through Nord Stream 1 months into the conflict as a retaliatory measure against Western Europe, while Germany blocked the adjacent Nord Stream 2 from initiating shipments days before the war started. Sweden and Denmark <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nord-stream-pipelines-see-unprecedented-damage-after-cia-warned-german-government-of-sabotage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> severe damage to the pipelines in September as natural gas spewed toward the surface of the Baltic Sea.
Seymour Hersh, an investigative journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the clandestine My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, said in an <a href="https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream?r=5mz1&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> published on Wednesday that Navy divers planted remotely triggered explosives on the Nord Stream pipelines during widely publicized training <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-navy-nato-recently-tested-underwater-technology-near-location-nord-stream-pipelines-were-damaged" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exercises</a> over the summer. The report, which was based on the testimony of an unnamed source, claimed that President Joe Biden viewed the pipelines as an avenue through which Russian President Vladimir Putin could weaponize his country’s natural gas supply for his territorial ambitions.
Biden <a href="https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1574685985115607040?s=20&amp;t=exDoFSWQyGXDG_Cpl8TgOQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> last year that “there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2” if Russia crossed the Ukrainian border and insisted to a journalist that “we will be able” to bring an “end” to the system. The commander-in-chief initially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-sanctions-russian-owned-company-behind-nord-stream-2-pipeline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waived</a> sanctions against the Russian-owned company behind Nord Stream 2, although he reimposed sanctions shortly before the invasion started.
White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the notion that the United States destroyed the pipelines was “false and complete fiction,” while CIA spokesperson Tammy Thorp said the claim was “completely and utterly false” when asked for comment by Hersh. Some European officials said Russia may have destroyed its own pipelines; others <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-carlson-fuels-suspicion-u-s-behind-nord-stream-sabotage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blamed</a> the United States.
Top national security officials and military brass had reportedly agreed that the United States should destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, but debated for months over the best method for accomplishing the objective, according to Hersh. Biden administration leadership eventually turned to Navy divers who had been trained at a school in Florida to use explosives while executing assignments such as clearing debris-filled harbors and destroying foreign oil rigs.
While officials in the Navy suggested assaulting the pipeline with a submarine and officials in the Air Force suggested dropping bombs with delayed remote control fuses, CIA officials emphasized that the action would have to be utterly covert. “This is not kiddie stuff,” the source told Hersh, noting that the attack would constitute “an act of war” if traced to the United States.
After the Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed last year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-and-canadian-foreign-minister-melanie-joly-at-a-joint-press-availability/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the phenomenon a “tremendous opportunity” to end European reliance on Russian energy supplies. Even though the pipelines were not pumping natural gas, protesters in Germany had been calling for the energy flow to resume as electricity prices <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-climate-bureaucrats-are-dooming-the-continent-to-a-very-dark-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> more than twentyfold. Crippling the pipelines eliminated the possibility of Germany lifting sanctions in time to import natural gas for the winter.

SWEDEN-US-NATO-DEFENCE-BALTOPS-TRAINING

Government Denies Bombshell Report Claiming United States Blew Up Nord Stream Pipelines

United States Destroyed Nord Stream Pipelines, Bombshell Report Claims

Biden Administration

Europe

Global Politics

Oil and Gas

An American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/navy-seal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy SEAL</a> who went AWOL nearly four years ago was killed earlier this week while fighting in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a>.
A U.S. Navy official told <a href="https://time.com/6248929/navy-seal-killed-fighting-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TIME</a> that Daniel Swift, a Navy Special Warfare Operator First Class, died from injuries he sustained when a Ukrainian unit he was a part of came under attack from Russian forces.
“We can confirm the recent death of a U.S. citizen fighting in Ukraine,” a U.S. State Department statement said without confirming Swift’s identity. “We are in touch with his family and providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”
Swift, listed as an active deserter since March 11, 2019, formerly deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and received three medals for his service, according to TIME. The AWOL Navy SEAL was most recently <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-seal-daniel-swift-killed-ukraine-official-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stationed</a> in Coronado, California.
Swift is among at least eight Americans who have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion last February, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-seal-daniel-swift-killed-ukraine-official-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Last summer, Americans Luke Lucyszyn and Bryan Young were killed while fighting the invading Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Last March, State Department spokesman Ned Price warned Americans about traveling to Ukraine or attempting to join the fight against Russia.
&#8220;U.S. citizens who travel to Ukraine — especially with the purpose of participating in fighting there — they face significant risks, including the very real risk of capture or death,&#8221; Price said. &#8220;The United States, as you know, is not able to provide assistance to evacuate U.S. citizens from Ukraine, including those Americans who may decide to travel to Ukraine to participate in the ongoing war.&#8221;
While President Joe Biden has made it clear that the United States will not send American troops into Ukraine, the administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-sending-zelensky-more-offensive-weapons-create-an-iron-fist-to-penetrate-russian-linear-defenses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boosted</a> its support for the European country earlier this month by sending President Volodymyr Zelensky more offensive weapons.
The Biden administration announced that the U.S. is sending Ukraine 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles along with long-range rocket systems. The administration’s announcement came less than one month after Zelensky visited the White House and begged Congress for more aid.

Azov Regiment Forces Train In Kharkiv Region

AWOL Navy SEAL Killed Fighting Russian Forces In Ukraine

AWOL Navy SEAL Killed In Ukraine While Fighting Russian Forces

Navy SEAL

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Navy</a> Secretary Carlos Del Toro <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/01/navy-secretary-warns-if-defense-industry-cant-boost-production-arming-both-ukraine-and-us-may-become-challenging/381722/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> to reporters Wednesday at the 2023 Surface Navy Association National Symposium in Arlington, Virginia, that the military may face a &#8220;challenging&#8221; decision within the next six months to either continue arming itself or aid Ukraine amid a weapon production shortage.
Del Toro&#8217;s remarks came after reporters asked him for a response to comments made at the conference by Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, who said that the Navy may be faced with a decision halfway through the year regarding whether it needs to arm itself or arm Ukraine.
“With regards to deliveries of weapons systems for the fight in Ukraine … yeah, that&#8217;s always a concern for us,&#8221; Del Toro said. “And we monitor that very, very closely.”
Del Toro later said on Twitter that he doesn&#8217;t believe the U.S. has reached that point yet, &#8220;but if the conflict does go on for another six months, for another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging.”
Del Toro joined dozens of military members, defense industry officials, and members of Congress at the conference held January 10 to 12, which focused on discussions about national defense and security, Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-run-out-weapons-ukraine-navy-secretary-1773120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Pentagon officials report that the United States has funded Ukraine with more than $24.2 billion in security assistance since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022.
Officials said that such aid had funded ammunition, vehicles, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, radar systems, small arms, artillery, air defense systems, anti-aircraft, and anti-armor systems.
Defense One <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/01/navy-secretary-warns-if-defense-industry-cant-boost-production-arming-both-ukraine-and-us-may-become-challenging/381722/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> most of the U.S. weapons sent to Ukraine came from Army stockpiles. However, U.S. officials said they would begin sending RIM-7 Sea Sparrow anti-air missiles to Ukraine, which come as part of a $2.85 billion presidential drawdown <a href="https://news.usni.org/2023/01/06/u-s-sending-ukraine-sea-sparrow-missiles-in-latest-aid-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last week.
&#8220;The DOD and particularly [United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks] has been working very, very closely with industry, to motivate them to find out what their challenges or obstacles are, to be able to increase their own production rates,&#8221; Del Toro said.
The secretary noted that Hicks has worked alongside other officials who have started making progress.
&#8220;It&#8217;s obvious that these companies have a substantial pipeline for the future,&#8221; Del Toro wrote. &#8220;They now need to invest in their people, again, their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they have to make within their own companies to get their production rates up.”
&#8220;So when that occurs, we&#8217;ll be in a better place,&#8221; he added. &#8220;How long that takes varies often weapon system to weapon system.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
(1/5) To clarify earlier comments from the Secretary:
&quot;If the conflict does go on for another six months to another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging.
&mdash; Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro (@SECNAV) <a href="https://twitter.com/SECNAV/status/1613263073120231437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
During the conference, Adam. Caudle blamed weapons production delays on supply chain issues and labor shortages over the last three years caused by the pandemic, Defense One reported.
However, Caudle still accused weapon makers of using the pandemic as an excuse for missing deadlines to deliver more weapons.
&#8220;All this stuff about COVID this, parts, supply chain this, I just don’t really care,&#8221; Caudle said. &#8220;We’ve all got tough jobs.”
“We’re talking about war fighting and nation security and going against a competitor here and a potential adversary that is like nothing we’ve ever seen and we keep dilly dallying around with these deliveries,” the admiral added. “I don&#8217;t see good accountability and I don&#8217;t get to see good return on investment from the government [side], I really don&#8217;t.”
Pentagon officials <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3264235/ukrainian-troops-headed-to-us-for-patriot-missile-training/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> yesterday that approximately 100 Ukrainian soldiers would begin training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma on the Patriot Air Defense System as soon as next week amid ongoing aerial attacks from Russian forces.
Officials said the training with Ukrainian soldiers would last several months before delivering the Patriot system overseas.

US-politics-BIDEN-MILITARY

U.S. Navy Secretary Suggests Branch May Face Challenges Arming Itself And Ukraine Within Six Months Amid Weapons-Production Shortage: Report

Conflicts

Pentagon

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Navy</a> stopped a fishing boat attempting to smuggle over 2,000 AK-47s from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/yemen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yemen</a>, according to the Navy Forces Central Command.
The Friday incident occurred in the international waters of the Gulf of Oman when the patrol coastal ship USS Chinook boarded and seized the weapons with the assistance of other naval vessels.
“This shipment is part of a continued pattern of destabilizing activity from Iran,” <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/436495/us-navy-intercepts-more-than-2000-assault-rifles-shipped-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.
“These threats have our attention. We remain vigilant in detecting any maritime activity that impedes freedom of navigation or compromises regional security,&#8221; he added.
The transfer of weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law, the Navy reported. The transfer of the vessel and six crew members is in progress.
The apprehension marks the third recent fishing vessel intercepted attempting to provide lethal aid from Iran to Yemen through the Gulf of Oman, according to the Navy.
On December 1, naval forces seized more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds, fuses, and propellants for rockets. On November 8, naval forces and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel stopped a boat carrying over 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a substance the Navy called &#8220;a powerful oxidizer commonly used to make rocket and missile fuel,&#8221; seized alongside 100 tons of urea fertilizer.
The Houthis are a rebel group fighting a long-time civil war against Yemen&#8217;s recognized government. It has also been called a <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/01/10/us-navy-ships-caught-fishing-boat-smuggling-over-2000-ak-47-rifles-iran.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proxy war</a> between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as the Saudis support the national government.
Iran has long supported the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite movement in conflict with Yemen&#8217;s government since 2004. The group <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/who-are-yemens-houthis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began</a> in the 1990s in north Yemen as a reaction to Saudi financial influence. The group seized Yemen&#8217;s capital Sanaa in 2014 and parts of northern Yemen in 2016.
Saudi Arabia has opposed the group, with Houthi forces initiating attacks on Saudi soil on numerous occasions. The tensions are also religiously motivated, as the Houthis and Iran&#8217;s government are Shiite Muslims in conflict with Saudi Arabia’s Sunni Muslim majority.
A six-month ceasefire in the Yemen war concluded in October 2022. More than 150,000 people have been <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-navy-says-iranian-assault-rifles-seized-from-yemen-bound-boat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a> in the longtime conflict, including 14,500 civilians.
Last month, the European Union challenged the Houthis to end its armed conflict and work with the U.N. to resolve the crisis.
&#8220;The EU urges the Houthis to abandon maximalist positions and engage constructively with the UNSE Grundberg,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221213-eu-calls-on-yemens-houthis-to-abandon-their-extremist-positions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> said. &#8220;The Council also stresses the utmost importance of reinstating and further extending the truce.&#8221;
The EU &#8220;commends the constructive approach of the Yemeni government during the truce and ongoing efforts by regional actors, notably by Saudi Arabia and also Oman, on the extension of the truce,&#8221; the statement added.

U.S. Navy Photo

U.S. Navy Stops Fishing Boat Smuggling 2,000 AK-47s From Iran To Yemen

Iran

Yemen

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense">The Department of Defense</a> said last week that Pentagon officials began working on renaming military infrastructure tied to the Confederate States of America by the start of 2024.
Officials announced plans to rename nine U.S. Army bases, two U.S. Navy ships, and more than 1,000 items on American military installations.
&#8220;Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante, today directed all DOD organizations to begin full implementation of the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense, a.k.a. the Naming Commission and those recommendations,&#8221; Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday, according to <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/renaming-confederate-bases-ships-starts/">Task and Purpose</a>.
Crews have already begun disassembling the 108-year-old monument of Southern troops marching to war with enslaved people following along at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
&#8220;I think we are confident, you know, each of the services has clear instructions in terms of what it is that they need to focus on, and where the secretary is confident that the services are and will continue to take that seriously,&#8221; Ryder said as reported by <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/01/06/get-ready-fort-liberty-pentagon-begins-changing-confederate-base-names.html">Military.com</a>.
Ryder did not disclose the total cost of the project. However, the Naming Commission&#8217;s <a href="https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/report">final report</a> calculated the amount to be approximately $62.5 million.
About $21 million of the funding would be directed toward renaming the nine Army bases located in Southern states named after Confederate figures, including forts Benning, Gordon, Bragg, Hood, Rucker, Polk, A.P. Hill, Pickett, and Lee.
The commission will recommend new names for the bases, such as renaming Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty.
Commission officials have reportedly recommended Benning be renamed Fort Moore, after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, who served during the Vietnam War.
Although commission officials did not provide new names yet for the two Navy ships set to receive a new title, commission officials identified the USS Chancellorsville and the the USNS Maury.
The USS Chancellorsville received its name after the Confederate army won a Civil War battle, while the USNS Maury was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, who left the Navy to sail for the Confederacy, Military.com reported.
Approximately $41 million of the funding will be designated for various roads, signs, buildings, and street names.
The announcement comes after West Point Academy officials removed monuments and references last month that &#8220;commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy.&#8221;
The 220-year-old U.S. military academy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/west-point-begins-removing-confederate-monuments-from-campus-robert-e-lee-portrait-and-bust-cleared-out">said</a> it had begun a &#8220;multi-phase&#8221; process over the holiday break to remove all 13 references and monuments that West Point says honor the Confederacy, including a portrait and bust of former West Point Superintendent Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The removal is in response to an October order from the Department of Defense (DOD) mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act.
A massive outcry against Confederate monuments hit the nation following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, resulting in numerous statues being taken down. In September of 2021, the largest Confederate monument on display in the U.S., a statue of Lee, was taken down in Richmond, Virginia.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

Fort Bragg Home To U.S. Army Airborne

U.S. Military Begins Multi-Million Project Renaming Army Bases, Navy Ships Linked To Confederacy

U.S. Army

In the mind’s eye, one can imagine a peaceful Sunday morning in Hawaii eighty-one years ago. Warm Pacific trade winds drift across the harbor, passing through the row of warships anchored bow-to-stern. Some crews laze in hammocks below decks while others sleepily emerge topside to perform mundane shipboard tasks.
It is the beginning of another day in the life of sailors who count themselves fortunate to be stationed with the U.S. Pacific Fleet currently at anchor in idyllic Pearl Harbor.
Just before 8:00 a.m., however, the tranquility is broken by the humming drone of radial engines echoing off the escarpments that corral the naval installation. Unsuspecting seamen cast their gazes skyward, trying to make sense of an inexplicable cloud of aircraft bearing down on them. Some fly high and level. Others descend to skim just 50 feet above the water.
As the men stand on the decks and scratch their heads wondering what planes with Japanese rising sun markings are doing here, the first torpedoes splash into the shallow water and propel towards the exposed ships. Then bombs start dropping.
Through the next hour and a half all eight battleships, the pride of the U.S. Navy, are enveloped in fireballs and waterspouts while sailors, many bleeding, broken, and burned, leap into the flaming water.
Meanwhile, farther inland, more Japanese bombers annihilate some 300 American warplanes parked wingtip-to-wingtip on the tarmacs of Hickam and Wheeler fields.
What began as just another dawn in paradise is transformed by two waves of 353 enemy planes into a hellscape. Fires rage and pillars of oily black smoke climb high into the otherwise clear sky. And with each of the 20 vessels hit and set ablaze, sunk, capsized, or run aground, and 2,335 U.S. military personnel and 68 civilians killed, the rest of the 20th Century and beyond is forever changed.
It is difficult for us to comprehend today, a full eight decades later, how truly galvanic the attack on Pearl Harbor was to a United States that just the day before had been fairly divided about the country’s role in the world. Especially considering that beyond our two shores, over each horizon, wars of conquest and annihilation were raging on three continents.
Japan’s rampage of gore had swept through China, capturing the capital of Nanking, murdering over 200,000 innocents. 
In Europe, Hitler’s victorious Wehrmacht lorded over a Third Reich stretching from the English Channel to North Africa to the gates of Moscow. 
Still embittered over the 116,000 young lives lost during America’s last foray into what was then the Great War of 1914-1918, many Americans wanted no part in this new conflagration. Pearl Harbor changed that. By the time President Roosevelt stood before Congress on December 8 to call for a declaration of war against Japan for its “dastardly” attack, the U.S. was united with a singular purpose: To avenge Pearl Harbor and wipe out the Japanese Empire.
Still, not every democratic world leader was so enraged as FDR. 
In London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was elated. The greatest power of the world, the United States, was now an overt ally. Churchill later recalled that upon hearing the news “I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved.” The Briton intuitively understood that with American industrial might and military potential now fully committed, the war was won.
Four days later, the dual thugs Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States, the former above the protests of his generals. 
German military men weren’t the only ones to recognize the true implications of what war with America really meant. Ironically, the man who masterminded the operation, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, was feeling as much a sense of foreboding as Churchill was salvation. Having lived in the States for several years, he, too, was well aware of America’s capacity for mass-production. Leading up to the attack, he <a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/pearl-harbor-in-context#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20first%20six%20to,quote%20commonly%20attributed%20to%20Yamamoto.)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grimly ascertained his country’s prospects</a> should they be drawn into a protracted war against the United States. “For the first six to twelve months … I will run wild, winning victory after victory. After that time, I have little hope of success.”
Indeed, the U.S. response in the months after Pearl Harbor demonstrated that resilience and adaptability are among our nation’s greatest strengths. 
Consider: of the eight battleships attacked, only three were total losses; Oklahoma and Utah capsized and Arizona exploded. But the others including the sunk California and West Virginia as well as the intentionally beached Nevada, were raised, repaired, and eventually sent back into action. 
Yes, bitter defeats for the Allies at Wake Island, the Philippines, and Singapore lay ahead in early 1942. But almost exactly six months to the day of the attack, Yamamoto’s dire prediction came true at Midway. In one day, American aviators — flying off carriers that luckily had been at sea on December 7 — sent four of Japan’s fleet carriers, along with thousands of trained crews, to the bottom. The rest, as they say, is history.
Speaking of history, particularly history classes, one must wonder how many young Americans today even know what happened on the morning of December 7, 1941. And if they do know, why does it matter on December 7, 2022? The broader answer is that they are part of this nation. They are members of a continuum that is the story of us. A story that begins well before the first shots at Lexington &amp; Concord, through Antietam and Gettysburg, and into the great battles of the last century. By remembering days like December 7th we remember who we are, where we come from, and, as with all such significant historical events, where it can lead us if we are not careful.
In my lifetime, the closest event to Pearl Harbor in shock and scope was 9/11. I can remember the emotions of that day … a bloodlust desire to kill anyone and everyone responsible for this brazen atrocity. For my generation, our version of FDR standing before Congress declaring a “date which will live in infamy” was George W. Bush perched atop the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center, bullhorn in hand, promising that those responsible “will hear all of us soon.”
In retrospect, the stories of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are deeper than one of sneak attacks on an unsuspecting U.S., and punishing the perpetrators. In many ways, they represent bookend moments. In between them we saw America roused like a “sleeping giant,” as Yamamoto called us, to meet the challenges of the shrinking world. We went on to dominate the globe, economically, militarily, and culturally. 
But then the U.S. influence began to recede as the new millennium dawned … a decline symbolized by the destruction of its biggest city’s most prominent edifices at the hands of an enemy with no capital, no borders, no central state upon which to set our vengeful sites. Within those brackets, the U.S. went from 50% to 20% of the world’s GDP, and a series of unnecessary and ill-conceived wars from Asia to the Middle East have sapped our strength. 
The 20th Century has been labeled “The American Century.” If so, then this period of dominance began at Pearl Harbor and came to an end in lower Manhattan.
As with 9/11, Pearl Harbor was a bolt from the blue. And yet, there were warning signs … there always are when you connect the dots backwards in such matters. The main warning should have been visible to those stepping back to see the big picture. 
Why did Japan attack? 
They did not attack in a vacuum or on a whim. The U.S. had imposed a crippling oil embargo in response to Japan’s aggression in China. This effectively cut the island nation off from 80% of its oil imports. As such, Yamamoto’s attack was a desperate gamble to take out the U.S. Pacific fleet and free Japan to wage wars of conquest into the oil and resource-rich European colonies of Southeast Asia unimpeded.
There is a relevant lesson to be learned here. When you flagrantly push totalitarian nations up against a wall, they might conclude they have little choice but to lash out and raise the stakes — even go to war — to protect their interests, which in the 20th and 21st Centuries means securing energy. Fossil fuels remain the lifeblood of nations. 
Aggressively impede a country’s ability to deal in these most valuable commodities and you risk waking up one morning into a changed world — and not for the better. 
The U.S. played a dangerous game with Japan, and paid for it at Pearl Harbor. We are playing just such a game today, goading a perhaps unstable Vladimir Putin through embargoes on his primary product, oil and natural gas, starving him not of energy, as in Japan’s case, but rather hard currency. But the response might be the same. 
The difference is that in December 1941 the atomic bomb was still years in the future. Today there are over 13,000 nukes dotting the globe, many in Russia, with whom we are engaged in a proxy war, blithely tossing matches at a gas can, over a far off country most Americans couldn’t have found on a map a year ago.
No matter. In 1941, most Americans couldn’t have found Pearl Harbor on a map either. Not so after the Japanese strike force winged away back to their carriers, leaving a burning U.S. Pacific Fleet and crippled air force behind it.
As the cliché goes, history doesn’t always repeat, but it sure can rhyme. And if it’s any guide, there is another Pearl Harbor waiting for us out there. One we cannot imagine in detail, but we just know is lurking somewhere in the murk of the remaining decades of the 21st Century. 
It would, therefore, behoove us to remember Pearl Harbor always. Not just because it tells us the story of who we were and are, but also what may lie ahead in a very dangerous world.
In the meantime, as another December 7 comes and goes, it reminds us that time moves inexorably forward.
In 2019, the last chapter Pearl Harbor Survivors Association officially disbanded. Sadly, as the last of our World War II veterans pass away, the lessons they learned die with them. Therefore, it is up to us to guard against falling into what historians call a collective amnesia of comfortable societies. 
If the Japanese surprise attack teaches us anything, it is that peace is often an illusion. If you need clarification, go to the Arizona Memorial. Eighty-one years later, the ghosts still call up to us from their watery grave: Cave Inopinatum.
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Books-Brad-Schaeffer/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ABrad+Schaeffer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">author of the best-selling novel</a> “The Extraordinary,” which deals with autism and PTSD and the critically acclaimed World War II novel, “Of Another Time And Place.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Explosions Along Battleship Row In Pearl Harbor

The Attack On Pearl Harbor And The ‘Collective Amnesia Of Comfortable Societies’

Readers Pass

Retired Navy SEAL Chris Beck says CNN used him to promote transgenderism during a 2013 interview with host Anderson Cooper.
Beck, a decorated vet who served as a part of SEAL Team Six, told the world in 2013 on CNN airwaves that he identified as a woman named Kristin Beck.
&#8220;Everything you see on CNN with my face, do not even believe a word of it,&#8221; Beck <a href="https://rumble.com/v1y4nn2-1.-the-real-story-with-chris-beck.html">told</a> journalist Robby Starbuck during a two-hour sit-down interview.
&#8220;I take full responsibility,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I went on CNN and everything else, and that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m here right now, I&#8217;m trying to correct that.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-13520">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
The 56-year-old veteran conceded that his own mistakes and naïveté ultimately led to his personal struggle being used to help the so-called experts further a narrative.
&#8220;I think that, yeah, I was used … I was very naive, I was in a really bad way, and I got taken advantage of. I got propagandized. I got used badly by a lot of people who had knowledge way beyond me. They knew what they were doing. I didn&#8217;t.&#8221;
&#8220;But I take responsibility for that and that&#8217;s why I&#8217;m here now,&#8221; Beck added, explaining that he was speaking out in the hopes of preventing others from being used in the same way — and preventing the prevailing narrative from influencing more impressionable kids into irreversible actions. “I don&#8217;t want this to continue, and I don&#8217;t want these kids to get hurt.&#8221;
Beck revealed to Starbuck that after just one meeting at Veterans Affairs (VA) for no longer than an hour he was told he was transgender and offered hormones.
&#8220;I had so much going wrong in my system when I started taking those,&#8221; Beck explained, adding, &#8220;Some of that was paid for by the VA, and I&#8217;m sorry to the American people that I did that.&#8221;
Beck has been off these hormones for seven years now.
&#8220;They used me so well. I just wanna say I&#8217;m sorry. I didn&#8217;t know what I was doing, and the women out there and all these kids, I&#8217;m sorry,&#8221; a choked-up Beck later said in the interview. &#8220;If they could forgive me not knowing anything — and the experts that knew definitely used that.&#8221;
&#8220;I know God will forgive me,&#8221; Beck said, adding, &#8220;You don&#8217;t understand how bad this is. It&#8217;s the destruction of family, it&#8217;s killing these kids … I&#8217;m gonna live with this my whole life. I destroyed my life ten years ago.&#8221;
The veteran said he believes transgenderism is currently &#8220;feelings-based&#8221; and more about sexuality than it is gender. &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me this is not about sex,&#8221; he told Starbuck.
The retired SEAL also took issue with leading figures in the transgender movement, like controversial sex researcher Alfred Kinsey.
Several of Kinsey’s published works have been the subject of controversy decades after their release, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/statue-honoring-controversial-sex-researcher-alfred-kinsey-draws-criticism">The Daily Wire</a> has previously reported. Two books on human sexual behavior, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” (1948) and “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female” (1953), contain data on pre-adolescent orgasms from children as young as two months old. Tables 30 through 34 of the male volume, in particular, have drawn concerns of child abuse. Table 34, titled “Examples of multiple orgasms in pre-adolescent males,” includes the notation, “Duration of stimulation before climax; observations timed with a second hand or stop watch. Ages range from five months of age to adolescence.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Navy SEAL Chris Beck came out in 2013 as transgender. <a href="https://twitter.com/andersoncooper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@andersoncooper</a> did a special on <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cnn</a> about it. His story was used as propaganda to allow trans people in the military and to popularize the issue. Now Chris is ready to expose the truth. Watch here: <a href="https://t.co/ChbjE6Kgly">https://t.co/ChbjE6Kgly</a> <a href="https://t.co/wQbGPln9K3">pic.twitter.com/wQbGPln9K3</a>
&mdash; Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1598316779633262595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Christina Buttons contributed to this report 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/statue-honoring-controversial-sex-researcher-alfred-kinsey-draws-criticism">Statue Honoring Controversial Sex Researcher Alfred Kinsey Draws Criticism</a>

US-MILITARY-GENDER

‘Do Not Believe A Word Of It’: Detransitioned Navy SEAL Says CNN Used Him As Trans Propaganda

‘I Was Used’: DeTransitioned Navy SEAL Slams CNN For Using Him For Transgender Propaganda

Social Issues

Transgender

A federal judge sentenced a naval nuclear engineer and his wife to more than 19 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges of hawking nuclear-powered submarine secrets to an undisclosed foreign government in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.
Department of the Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison, and his wife, Diana Toebbe, was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Gina Groh of the Northern District of West Virginia.
Groh sentenced Mrs. Toebbe to a longer sentence after authorities intercepted two letters she gave her husband from jail asking him to lie about her involvement in the plan and flush the letters down the toilet.
&#8220;This is an exceptional story, right out of the movies,&#8221; Groh said, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/crime-maryland-sentencing-government-and-politics-0627f36aa603be1cf2d427bb74e8e734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>, during their sentencing on Wednesday, adding the former naval engineer&#8217;s &#8220;actions and greedy, self-serving intentions placed military service members at sea and every citizen of this country in a vulnerable position and at risk of harm from adversaries.&#8221;
Department of Justice authorities echoed the judge, saying the couples conspiracy to sell restricted defense information placed the U.S. military and the nation&#8217;s security at risk.
Toebbe and his wife, of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested by undercover federal agents in West Virginia last October after a series of &#8220;dead drops&#8221; in a conspiracy that began in April 2020 when the husband allegedly sent a package with military documents and contact information.
The apparent plot, however, fell apart almost immediately when Brazilian intelligence officials notified the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the couple&#8217;s activities. The couple later pleaded guilty in February to espionage charges.
Toebbe, who had been trained in nuclear propulsion and handling classified data, could have allowed foreign military powers to close the gap with the U.S. and would take extraordinary effort and resources to restore, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-tosses-weak-plea-deal-for-couple-who-allegedly-attempted-to-sell-nuclear-powered-submarine-secrets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a statement</a> submitted by U.S. Navy Vice Adm. William Houston.
Toebbe hid a memory card containing classified information inside a peanut butter sandwich during one of the exchanges. Other drops included memory cards hidden in gum wrappers and Band-Aid boxes.
The judge called Mrs. Toebbe, a private schoolteacher who lost her credentials, &#8220;a felon of the worst kind.&#8221;
&#8220;That is why the 36 months troubles me,&#8221; Groh said, according to The New York Times. &#8220;There are lower-level drug dealers that go to prison for way longer than 36 months.&#8221;
Mrs. Toebbe&#8217;s former students reportedly said the high school teacher had been openly critical of former President Donald Trump while jesting about leaving the United States.
Toebbe, who led the pair in the alleged national security crime, initially agreed to a 12-year sentencing plea deal, while his wife, who only acted as a lookout, agreed to serve three years.
Before authorities sentenced Toebbe, he argued taking on additional duties caused him stress, and he experienced warning signs of having a nervous breakdown.
&#8220;I believed that my family was in dire threat, that democracy itself was under collapse,&#8221; he said, which led him to take &#8220;precipitous action to try to save them from grave harm.&#8221;
Groh forced them to withdraw their deals, adding she would only accept a plea deal for both parties within the sentencing guidelines, which subjects both guilty parties to more than 15 years in prison.
The couple had allegedly asked the so-called foreign spies for assistance in escaping to another country after completing the espionage act.
Government officials have not disclosed which country the couple approached with the intent to sell confidential information.

Married Couple Sentenced Over 19 Years For Espionage-Related Offenses In Plot To Sell Nuclear-Powered Submarine Secrets

Crime

Espionage

Maryland

Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-navy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy</a> recently tested technology and completed training exercises near the portion of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nord-stream-pipeline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nord Stream</a> pipeline system that saw damage on Monday.
The pipelines, which carry <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natural gas</a> under the Baltic Sea from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia</a> to <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germany</a>, have been the center of geopolitical strife since the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invasion of Ukraine</a>. Russia severed shipments through Nord Stream 1 a month ago, while Germany blocked the adjacent Nord Stream 2 from beginning shipments immediately before the invasion. Sweden and Denmark <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nord-stream-pipelines-see-unprecedented-damage-after-cia-warned-german-government-of-sabotage">reported</a> two leaks in Nord Stream 1 and one leak in Nord Stream 2 on Monday, while the system’s operator confirmed that the destruction was “unprecedented.”
In June, the U.S. Navy <a href="https://sfn.nato.int/newsroom/news-archive/2022/baltops-22-a-perfect-opportunity-for-research-and-testing-new-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joined</a> other NATO members for BALTOPS 22, a series of maritime exercises in the Baltic Sea near the Danish island of Bornholm — the location of the Nord Stream pipeline leaks. Among other initiatives, scientists from five nations tested unmanned underwater mine hunting technology.
&#8220;BALTOPS, with the high degree of complexity, tested our collective readiness and adaptability, while also highlighting the strength of our Alliance and resolve in providing a maritime domain with freedom of navigation for all,&#8221; Vice Admiral Gene Black said in a <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3066830/baltops-22-the-premier-baltic-sea-maritime-exercise-concludes-in-kiel/">statement</a>.
While some European officials suspect Russia may have destroyed its own pipelines to increase gas prices, others have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-carlson-fuels-suspicion-u-s-behind-nord-stream-sabotage">blamed</a> the United States for the damage, which is causing natural gas to spew toward the surface. Disabling the pipelines would remove the possibility of Germany nixing sanctions against Russia in time to import energy for the winter.
Radoslaw Sikorski, a Polish member of European Parliament, commented on social media that the United States was responsible for the destruction — a claim that earned him <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poland-slams-politician-who-suggested-u-s-blew-up-pipelines-what-an-act-of-gross-irresponsibility">rebukes</a> from Polish Secretary of State Stanislaw Zaryn. “There’s no shortage of pipeline capacity for taking gas from Russia to Western Europe, including Germany,” Sikorski had claimed, adding that the “only logic” behind the pipeline system “was for Putin to be able to blackmail or wage war on Eastern Europe with impunity.”
Meanwhile, footage of President Joe Biden threatening to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline days before the beginning of the war <a href="https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1574685985115607040?s=20&amp;t=exDoFSWQyGXDG_Cpl8TgOQ">resurfaced</a> on social media. The commander-in-chief had initially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-sanctions-russian-owned-company-behind-nord-stream-2-pipeline">waived</a> sanctions against the Russian-owned company behind Nord Stream 2, although he reimposed sanctions shortly before the conflict began.
“If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said. “We will bring an end to it.”
After a reporter pressed him, Biden responded: “I promise you — we will be able to do it.”
When asked about the possibility of Russian sabotage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters “no option can be ruled out” at the moment. “This is a very concerning news. Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmark’s economic zone,” Peskov said. “This is an issue related to the energy security of the entire continent.”
A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/cia-warned-berlin-about-possible-attacks-gas-pipelines-summer-spiegel-2022-09-27/">report</a> from German news outlet Spiegel noted that the CIA had cautioned Germany about possible attacks on the pipelines weeks ago. Berlin is presently assuming the destruction emerged from intentional attacks.

SWEDEN-US-NATO-DEFENCE-MILITARY

U.S. Navy, NATO Recently Tested Underwater Technology Near Location Nord Stream Pipelines Were Damaged

American Military, Allies Tested Tech Near Location Nord Stream Pipelines Were Damaged

Germany

Menu