Trump Gives Generals More Freedom on ISIS Fight

Pentagon brass take lead on decisions that were made by White House under Obama; ‘I authorize my military,’ Trump says.

U.S. military commanders are stepping up their fight against Islamist extremism as President Donald Trump’s administration urges them to make more battlefield decisions on their own.

As the White House works on a broad strategy, America’s top military commanders are implementing the vision articulated by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis: Decimate Islamic State’s Middle East strongholds and ensure that the militants don’t establish new beachheads in places such as Afghanistan.

“There’s nothing formal, but it is beginning to take shape,” a senior U.S. defense official said Friday. “There is a sense among these commanders that they are able to do a bit more—and so they are.”

While military commanders complained about White House micromanagement under former President Barack Obama, they are now being told they have more freedom to make decisions without consulting Mr. Trump. Military commanders around the world are being encouraged to stretch the limits of their existing authorities when needed, but to think seriously about the consequences of their decisions.

The more muscular military approach is expanding as the Trump administration debates a comprehensive new strategy to defeat Islamic State. Mr. Mattis has sketched out such a global plan, but the administration has yet to agree on it. While the political debate continues, the military is being encouraged to take more aggressive steps against Islamic extremists around the world.

The firmer military stance has fueled growing concerns among State Department officials working on Middle East policy that the Trump administration is giving short shrift to the diplomatic tools the Obama administration favored. Removing the carrot from the traditional carrot-and-stick approach, some State Department officials warn, could hamper the pursuit of long-term strategies needed to prevent volatile conflicts from reigniting once the shooting stops.

The new approach was on display this week in Afghanistan, where Gen. John Nicholson, head of the U.S.-led coalition there, decided to use one of the military’s biggest nonnuclear bombs—a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB—to hit a remote Islamic State underground network of tunnels and caves.

Gen. Nicholson said Friday it was too early to say how many militants had been killed in the previous day’s bombing. The Afghan Defense Ministry retracted an earlier statement that the strike had killed 36 militants, saying it was unable to provide precise figures yet.

A military official for the coalition who viewed footage of the bombing said it was difficult to make out details of its effects beyond a “mushroom cloud” of smoke rising into the sky. He added that a second MOAB was available for use in the country, but no decision had been made on whether it should be deployed.

Islamic State’s Amaq news agency posted a statement on Friday saying none of its fighters were killed or wounded in the strike, which took place in Nangarhar province, along the country’s mountainous border with Pakistan.

Gen. Nicholson indicated that he—not the White House—decided to drop the bomb. “The ammunition we used last night is designed to destroy caves and tunnels. This was the right weapon against the right target,” he told reporters Friday. “I am fortunate that my chain of command allows me the latitude to make assessments on the ground.”

A senior administration official said Mr. Trump didn’t know about the weapon’s use until it had been dropped.

Mr. Mattis “is telling them, ‘It’s not the same as it was, you don’t have to ask us before you drop a MOAB,’” the senior defense official said. “Technically there’s no piece of paper that says you have to ask the president to drop a MOAB. But last year this time, the way [things were] meant, ‘I’m going to drop a MOAB, better let the White House know.’”

Indeed, on Thursday Mr. Trump himself emphasized the free rein he gives the Pentagon. “I authorize my military,” Mr. Trump said. “We have given them total authorization.”

On Friday, the U.S. military said it has sent dozens of soldiers to Somalia, where Mr. Trump recently gave the head of the U.S. Africa Command more leeway to carry out counterterrorism operations against al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate in the area.

The more aggressive military approach comes as the long slog against Islamic State is bearing fruit. The group is on the back foot in its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, and is facing a hard battle to defend its de facto Syrian capital, Raqqa.

The U.S. has sent more forces into Iraq and Syria, stepped up support for Saudi Arabia’s fight against Houthi militants in Yemen, and dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Korean Peninsula amid growing evidence that North Korea is preparing for a new nuclear test.

Loren DeJonge Schulman, who served as senior adviser to Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, said a more assertive military campaign is destined to fail unless it is part of a broader strategy against Islamic State, also known by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL.

“It’s crazy that the Trump administration thinks that ‘taking the gloves off’ is either a winning strategy against ISIL or a useful narrative for the White House or the military,” said Ms. Schulman, now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Derek Chollet, a former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in the Obama administration, said giving the Pentagon more freedom is one of the most significant things Mr. Trump has done.

“It’s not clear to me that he’s making any tough decisions,” said Mr. Chollet, now executive vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “All that he’s essentially done is ceded decision authority down to protect himself from making tough calls.”

The flip side of the Trump administration’s emphasis on a more-free-wheeling military approach to Islamic State is an apparent reduction of the use of soft-power tools—economic development, diplomacy and democracy-building—favored by the Obama White House.

Some State Department officials describe being cut out from the White House’s counterterrorism strategy in the Mideast, with efforts to nurture democratic governments and push for more secular education systems carrying less weight in the White House’s evolving approach.

“State is being systematically sidelined,” said a State Department official who has worked on counterterrorism issues in Washington and abroad.

The official said the White House strategy of prioritizing military might over diplomacy makes it hard to persuade Mideast allies to relax their grip on power. Many of Washington’s closest Arab allies are autocratic regimes guilty of human-rights abuses that critics say fuel terrorism.

“The problem there is that in many of the places where you need carrots, those carrots are often seen as threats to local governments,” the official said, referring to democracy and society-building programs the State Department funds across the Mideast.

Egypt offers a prime example of the Trump administration’s leanings. When Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, a military strongman, visited the White House earlier this month, Mr. Trump gave him a warm welcome. Mr. Obama had refused to meet him because of his regime’s alleged human-rights abuses.

U.S. officials in the Mideast say a counterterror approach that focuses solely on military might without programs to fight the causes that feed extremism could backfire, leading groups like Islamic State to go underground and wait for future opportunities to re-emerge. They are particularly concerned about Raqqa, where a U.S.-led military coalition is closing in around the city but post-liberation stabilization plans aren’t finalized as State Department officials wait for White House guidance.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/t...sis-fight-1492218994

Trump to speak at NRA forum

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention on April 28, becoming the first U.S. president to address the gun-rights group since Ronald Reagan in 1983.

“The NRA is honored to have the president address our annual meeting at the leadership forum,” said Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for the NRA. “We’re excited to once again have a president who respects the Second Amendment.”

The NRA endorsed Trump’s bid for president last May, after the then-candidate addressed the group’s annual forum in Louisville, Ky. Trump pledged at the time to “save our Second Amendment” and appoint judges who would support expansive gun rights.

His return visit to speak to the group’s 2017 Leadership Forum in Atlanta is likely to appeal to Trump’s base at a time when he has received criticism for reversing himself on promises to his most ardent supporters. At the same time, Trump’s speech to the influential lobby could repel Democrats and moderates who have been chafing under his presidency and have blocked some of his proposals from advancing in Congress.

The visit is scheduled for April 28.....

While Trump has not yet signed significant legislation or executive orders on gun rights, his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court was hailed by the NRA. Gorsuch took the seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year and was part of a 5-4 majority in the pivotal D.C. v. Heller case. The ruling marked the first time the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protected an individual’s right to own a firearm for lawful purposes such as self-defense in the home.

The previous two Republican presidents — George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush — didn’t address the group during their presidencies. The younger Bush sent his vice president, Dick Cheney, to address the NRA’s convention in 2004 as he was seeking re-election. The elder Bush wrote a letter terminating his membership from the group in 1995 after an NRA fundraising letter described some federal agents as “jack-booted thugs.”

The White House confirmed Trump’s speaking plan, but didn’t offer additional comments.

http://www.theday.com/article/...0415/NWS13/170419567

Slowly but surely Trump's presidency is coming into focus. Despite the constant naysayers I really think he is winning over more and more of the American people. His common sense style is refreshing. As the next few years tick by and this country starts improving in all areas people will see he was the correct choice. Oh the left will keep whining but as successes mount they will drop deeper into obscurity. We will always have the loud left but they will be a minority. I was a kid during the Reagan years but I know what being proud felt like. Im getting that feeling more and more each day. I've always been proud of my country but finally I am proud of our leader again.

It's an amazing feeling.

I am beginning to like this guy.

I wonder if it's too late to vote for him.

He just might have a chance after all...

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
I am beginning to like this guy.

I wonder if it's too late to vote for him.

You may be he only member here who did not vote for him

I don't remember any of the O team and press secretaries having to report for their Military Reserve duty - but maybe I wasn't paying attention to them...
-----------------------------------------------------

Sean Spicer reports to Pentagon for Navy Reserve duty

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reported, in uniform, to the Pentagon Friday to fulfill his U.S. Navy Reserve duty, a White House official told Fox News.

Spicer reported to fulfill his duty at the Joint Chiefs of Staff offices, a White House official told Fox News. The well-known spokesman holds the rank of commander -- which sits just under the higher rank of captain in the Navy.

Spicer, who joined the Navy Reserve nearly 20 years ago while maintaining his primary work as a Republican media operative and strategist, also possesses a master's degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

According to the Military Times, Spicer has previously worked as a “media planner in joint exercises in Guam, Germany and Sweden, along with overseeing media coverage of Navy operations in at McMurdo Station in Antarctica.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politic...vy-reserve-duty.html

^^^^
Wow. I never knew that about him. Thanks!

Quick question. Does wine go bad? I bought a few bottles of Trump wine a month or so ago. Not being a wine guy I'll probably wait until his inauguration in 2020 to crack it. Will it be ok? (Serious question)

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
^^^^
Wow. I never knew that about him. Thanks!

Quick question. Does wine go bad? I bought a few bottles of Trump wine a month or so ago. Not being a wine guy I'll probably wait until his inauguration in 2020 to crack it. Will it be ok? (Serious question)

Store it properly, cool, dry, out of sunlight, slightly tilted so the cork stays wet, if there is a cork.

My father-in-law stored hundreds of bottles of his favorite vintages in the "cave" underneath the house, what we might call an unfinished basement, some bottles older than my wife. He would go down there, in the cool and dark, turn them now and then, add more, remove some for immediate use.

quote:

Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
Trump to speak at NRA forum

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention on April 28, becoming the first U.S. president to address the gun-rights group since Ronald Reagan in 1983.

That should cause some Liberal heads to explode.
Too bad, so sad.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Store it properly, cool, dry, out of sunlight, slightly tilted so the cork stays wet, if there is a cork.

My father-in-law stored hundreds of bottles of his favorite vintages in the "cave" underneath the house, what we might call an unfinished basement, some bottles older than my wife. He would go down there, in the cool and dark, turn them now and then, add more, remove some for immediate use.

Thank you JALLEN! It's been on top of the fridge but perhaps I will move it to an empty cabinet and lay it on a small piece of wood. It does have a cork.

Hey it's not a thousand dollar bottle but I hope to enjoy it at a later date when the occasion arises.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Store it properly, cool, dry, out of sunlight, slightly tilted so the cork stays wet, if there is a cork.

My father-in-law stored hundreds of bottles of his favorite vintages in the "cave" underneath the house, what we might call an unfinished basement, some bottles older than my wife. He would go down there, in the cool and dark, turn them now and then, add more, remove some for immediate use.

Thank you JALLEN! It's been on top of the fridge but perhaps I will move it to an empty cabinet and lay it on a small piece of wood. It does have a cork.

Hey it's not a thousand dollar bottle but I hope to enjoy it at a later date when the occasion arises.

If it's already in the fridge, best not to remove it.

Certain wines are meant to be stored for years and enjoyed after a proper aging. Others (namely cheaper wines) will no longer be good if stored too long. I don't know the quality of Trump wine, but I'm willing to bet that 2020 might be pushing it. Then again, who cares. If it wasn't overly expensive, I'd take the chance.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Store it properly, cool, dry, out of sunlight, slightly tilted so the cork stays wet, if there is a cork.

My father-in-law stored hundreds of bottles of his favorite vintages in the "cave" underneath the house, what we might call an unfinished basement, some bottles older than my wife. He would go down there, in the cool and dark, turn them now and then, add more, remove some for immediate use.

Thank you JALLEN! It's been on top of the fridge but perhaps I will move it to an empty cabinet and lay it on a small piece of wood. It does have a cork.

Hey it's not a thousand dollar bottle but I hope to enjoy it at a later date when the occasion arises.

Don't forget cool. It need not be chilled, but avoid heat. An air conditioned house is probably OK.

In Coronado we had a 60-70 bottle wine cooler built in, and a dark store room downstairs. Short of a special room with temperature and humidity controls, that is ideal. Here, our arrangements are more modest, and we have been steadily liquidating our reserves. Some of the bottles from my f-i-l's cave got moved here over the years. They're pleasant memories now. We are old people, entertain far less, drink less.

My class had wines bottled locally for a reunion in 2004. I bought the extra bottles and just finished the last ones Valentines Day, still very good. Even modest wines will keep if adequately stored.

quote:

“It’s crazy that the Trump administration thinks that ‘taking the gloves off’ is either a winning strategy against ISIL or a useful narrative for the White House or the military,” said Ms. Schulman, now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

I'm pretty sure killing the enemy until they are all dead or no longer have the will to fight has worked out pretty well throughout history. We tried Obummer's approach for 8 years.....how did that work out?, Lets give this one a try.

quote:

“It’s not clear to me that he’s making any tough decisions,” said Mr. Chollet, now executive vice president at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. “All that he’s essentially done is ceded decision authority down to protect himself from making tough calls.”

Ahh, another idiot academic with no real world experience heard from with more libtard bullshit. In the real world, you know the one that President Trump comes from, the one real generals come from; you can and should delegate authority to get things done but you can't delegate responsibility. It is one the first thing the military teaches young brand new NCOs and officers. I am pretty sure President Trump knows it too having been in the real world where decisions made him money or cost him time and/or money.

God, it is great the adults are in charge and letting the on scene commanders make a battlefield decision and carrying it out instead of a White House committee of idiots with absolutely no military experience thinking about it for days and then really screwing it up.

That dipshit talks about Trump delegating to give himself deniability because that is how they think. The left always thinks politically and with the protection of themselves first and foremost. Someone delegating to a person because they are the subject matter expert is completely foreign to them. It dosen't even enter their thought process. The left HATES this country and every move is calculated to preserve their own power at the expense of the nation as a whole.

You can delegate authority, but never responsibility. The CINC will always be responsible for whatever happens. Besides, he certainly made the Syria decision in a hands-on and decisive manner, and I bet the MOAB was at least run by him.

This is either the most hilarious thing I've ever heard, or the most pathetic, that this was the state of affairs:

quote:

Mr. Mattis “is telling them, ‘It’s not the same as it was, you don’t have to ask us before you drop a MOAB,’” the senior defense official said. “Technically there’s no piece of paper that says you have to ask the president to drop a MOAB. But last year this time, the way [things were] meant, ‘I’m going to drop a MOAB, better let the White House know.’”

I'm going to go with both.

Also, I am loving what I'm seeing so far. Keep the wins coming, we need them!

quote:

a useful narrative for the White House or the military,”

in warfare, the 'useful narrative' is as stated by Gen. Mattis: "Kill the bastards." End of narrative.

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
You can delegate authority, but never responsibility. The CINC will always be responsible for whatever happens. Besides, he certainly made the Syria decision in a hands-on and decisive manner, and I bet the MOAB was at least run by him.

According to news reports, it was not.

Remember the "Mother, may I?" drill the military was forced to use in Jimmy Carter's hostage rescue op? Constantly on sat phone, reporting, getting OK for the next step from the suits back in the WH. That wasn't the cause of the disaster of course, but it spoke volumes about the pussy footing attitude they lived under.

Contrast that with the Libyan MIG shoot down that didn't even wake Reagan. "They had their orders. Why wake me up?"

The GDCs want you to go raise all this hell, but don't make anybody mad.

Pro and anti Trump rallies in Berkley have turned violent, and from the videos I have seen the anti-Trump groups are well prepared with helmets and weapons, and the pro-Trump demonstrators are taking a beating.

In this video link, you will see that a pro-Trump supporter is isolated and they punch and kick the living shit out of him. The pro-Trump people in the background stay there-- in the background. Nobody comes to defend this guy.

Notice a whole bunch in all black, wearing helmets and backpacks. These are not random anti-Trump people.

There are other videos on Drudge that seem to show pro-Trump people getting beaten up--hit with skateboards and clubs.

http://www.theamericanmirror.c...tors-berkeley-rally/

It's stupid to go to an event like this-- full stop.

But if you do go, you need to be prepared for serious street fighting-- as these "antifa" black clad leftists and anarchists seem to be. The Trump people are just there in their MAGA hats and flag tee shirts.

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
... [snip] Quick question. Does wine go bad?[snip]...

It depends on the wine. Most Zinfandel is about a five year wine, starting to fade after that. Most Cabernets will cellar longer. This assumes proper (relatively cool, temperature stable, storage). If you have a contact number for the winery, I'd call them and ask how long you should expect to cellar them. Worst case, drink these bottles sooner and buy fresh ones closer to the date.