CURRENT EVENTS MARCH 24 - 29

[nycfan]

Trump chooses Fox News contributor Sara Carter as next drug czar​

Carter, who has reported on border policy, would direct Office of National Drug Control Policy​

Trump chooses Fox News contributor Sara Carter as next drug czar

President Trump again turns to Fox News talent, nominating reporter Sara Carter as the next 'drug czar.'

www.statnews.com

“… Carter’s selection comes as a surprise: Her background is not in drug policy, public health, or law enforcement, and she has never served in government. Her journalism in the past decade, however, has been staunchly pro-Trump, with a particular emphasis on border issues and former President Biden’s perceived failure to stem illegal immigration and the trafficking of illicit drugs.

…
More recently, her journalism has taken a distinctly rightward turn. Beyond her role with Fox News, she has spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference and is a close ally of Tom Homan, who is overseeing Trump’s efforts to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

Carter’s Fox News profile and other sources list her as a founder of Border911.com, a website associated with Homan’s nonprofit, which has sponsored numerous events about border security — including, notably, several focused on fentanyl trafficking.

… At the White House, Carter would lead an office with an uncertain future. ONDCP’s staff size has diminished significantly since Trump took office. Perhaps more importantly, Project 2025, a right-wing policy outline for Trump’s second term, proposes substantially reducing the office’s influence by eventually transferring two key grant programs it oversees to the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.

“It is vital that the ONDCP Director ensure in the immediate term that these grant programs are funding the President’s drug control priorities and not woke nonprofits with leftist policy agendas,” the document reads.

One of the authors of that section, former ONDCP official Art Kleinschmidt, was recently appointed principal deputy director at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, according to three sources familiar with the move. SAMHSA’s future, however, is also cloudy in light of the recently announced reorganization of HHS, its parent agency. …”

 

[nycfan]

Most Scientists Consider Leaving the U.S.

A new Nature poll found 75% of scientists are considering leaving the United States following the disruptions prompted by President Trump. Europe and Canada were among the top choices for relocation. The trend was particularly

politicalwire.com

“… The trend was particularly pronounced among early-career researchers.

John Ellis: “These are terrifying numbers, if true. Even if only 35% of the best young scientific minds in the United States are seriously considering living and working elsewhere, the numbers are still terrifying. Brain drain is always a disaster. Nothing good comes from it. The downside is enormous. And the more that leave, the more will follow.”

Washington Post: Trump promised scientific breakthroughs. Researchers say he’s breaking science.“

 

[nycfan]

“… In essence, these military headquarters are sentries on the far battlements of the U.S.-led, post-World War II international order. From their vantage point, Washington’s military and security forces already find themselves stretched thin by intense combat operations, hybrid and proxy warfare, and tense military standoffs with an increasingly cohesive “axis of autocracies” that is spread out over six time zones that span the globe.

Listen closely to the warnings from these outposts, and you can detect the sound of alarms clanging while the United States continues listing even as geopolitical storm clouds darken. [My Aside - imagine that sentence read in the voice of the VH-1 Behind the Music host]

… China’s massive defense manufacturing base now churns out weapons systems at a pace estimated at five to six times as fast as its anemic U.S. counterpart. Beijing already boasts not only the world’s largest navy, but also a shipbuilding capacity roughly 230 times that of the United States, according to Office of Naval Intelligence estimates.

Not coincidentally, in the past year alone, China’s armed forces have held live-fire exercisesbracketing Taiwan, a democratic country that the Chinese Communist Party considers a breakaway province. Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army also regularly attacks the ships of the Philippines—a U.S. treaty ally—near contested islands.

Accordingto the Pentagon, since the fall of 2021 there have been more than 180 incidents of Chinese warplanes performing “coercive and risky” maneuvers targeting U.S. military aircraft in international airspace.

In congressional testimony in May 2024, Aquilino, then the head of Indo-Pacific Command, said that “all indications point to” the Chinese military meeting leader Xi Jinping’s deadline of being ready for a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027. …”

 

[nycfan]

“… In essence, these military headquarters are sentries on the far battlements of the U.S.-led, post-World War II international order. From their vantage point, Washington’s military and security forces already find themselves stretched thin by intense combat operations, hybrid and proxy warfare, and tense military standoffs with an increasingly cohesive “axis of autocracies” that is spread out over six time zones that span the globe.

Listen closely to the warnings from these outposts, and you can detect the sound of alarms clanging while the United States continues listing even as geopolitical storm clouds darken. [My Aside - imagine that sentence read in the voice of the VH-1 Behind the Music host]

… China’s massive defense manufacturing base now churns out weapons systems at a pace estimated at five to six times as fast as its anemic U.S. counterpart. Beijing already boasts not only the world’s largest navy, but also a shipbuilding capacity roughly 230 times that of the United States, according to Office of Naval Intelligence estimates.

Not coincidentally, in the past year alone, China’s armed forces have held live-fire exercisesbracketing Taiwan, a democratic country that the Chinese Communist Party considers a breakaway province. Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army also regularly attacks the ships of the Philippines—a U.S. treaty ally—near contested islands.

Accordingto the Pentagon, since the fall of 2021 there have been more than 180 incidents of Chinese warplanes performing “coercive and risky” maneuvers targeting U.S. military aircraft in international airspace.

In congressional testimony in May 2024, Aquilino, then the head of Indo-Pacific Command, said that “all indications point to” the Chinese military meeting leader Xi Jinping’s deadline of being ready for a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027. …”

“…In response to Western support for Ukraine, Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency has also greatly intensified its hybrid war against Europe, resulting in what Western intelligence officials characterize as a “an unprecedented rise” in acts of sabotage, arson, cyberattacks and attempted assassinations on NATO soil. In an article in Financial Times, the heads of the CIA and Britain’s MI6 described Russian intelligence activity as a “reckless campaign of sabotage across Europe.”

Western efforts to keep Ukraine supplied, even with fundamental war materials such as standard munitions and low-tech drones, have also revealed glaring deficiencies in industrial capacity in the once-vaunted U.S. “arsenal of democracy.”

According to NATO intelligence estimates, Russia is on track to annually produce nearly three times as many artillery shells as the United States and its European allies combined (with 3 million shells versus 1.2 million, respectively). Russia has also dramatically increased its production of relatively cheap drones.

Its close ally Beijing already dominates the worldwide market for commercial drones, with just one Chinese company accounting for approximately 70 percent of global production.

… While Iran and its axis of resistance have been seriously weakened by the conflict, the intense strains of recent combat deployments on a historically small and overstretched U.S. military have been exposed for all to see.

Defense Department officials have admitted struggling to find sufficient air defense systems to protect their allies in both the Middle East and Europe, and they are running short of key munitions such as surface-to-air missiles.

In late 2024, the Pentagon also announced the withdrawal of the last U.S. aircraft carrier deployed in the region. Asked about the redeployments and the gaps in presence they represent, Gen. Charles Brown Jr., the recently sacked chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that the Defense Department had no choice but to “step back and take a look” at spiking demand and the impact of extended deployments on U.S. forces, “not just in the Middle East, but really around the world.” …”

 

[nycfan]

Secret Pentagon memo on China, homeland has Heritage fingerprints​

An internal guidance memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth focuses on deterring China’s seizure of Taiwan and shoring up homeland defense. In some instances, the document is nearly a word-for-word facsimile of a report from the conservative think tank behind Project 2025.

GIFT LINK —> https://wapo.st/3Y3I0sf

“… The document, known as the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance and marked “secret/no foreign national” in most passages, was distributed throughout the Defense Department in mid-March and signed by Hegseth. It outlines, in broad and sometimes partisan detail, the execution of President Donald Trump’s vision to prepare for and win a potential war against Beijing and defend the United States from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama Canal.

The document — setting out a prioritization framework for senior defense officials and a vision to execute that work — also instructs the military to take a more direct role in countering illegal migration and drug trafficking.

… Hegseth’s guidance is extraordinary in its description of the potential invasion of Taiwan as the exclusive animating scenario that must be prioritized over other potential dangers — reorienting the vast U.S. military architecture toward the Indo-Pacific region beyond its homeland defense mission. …”

 

[nycfan]

Secret Pentagon memo on China, homeland has Heritage fingerprints​

An internal guidance memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth focuses on deterring China’s seizure of Taiwan and shoring up homeland defense. In some instances, the document is nearly a word-for-word facsimile of a report from the conservative think tank behind Project 2025.

GIFT LINK —> https://wapo.st/3Y3I0sf

“… The document, known as the Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance and marked “secret/no foreign national” in most passages, was distributed throughout the Defense Department in mid-March and signed by Hegseth. It outlines, in broad and sometimes partisan detail, the execution of President Donald Trump’s vision to prepare for and win a potential war against Beijing and defend the United States from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama Canal.

The document — setting out a prioritization framework for senior defense officials and a vision to execute that work — also instructs the military to take a more direct role in countering illegal migration and drug trafficking.

… Hegseth’s guidance is extraordinary in its description of the potential invasion of Taiwan as the exclusive animating scenario that must be prioritized over other potential dangers — reorienting the vast U.S. military architecture toward the Indo-Pacific region beyond its homeland defense mission. …”

“…
“China is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese fait accompli seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario,” Hegseth wrote.

Its force planning construct — a concept of how the Pentagon will build and resource the armed services to take on perceived threats — will consider conflict only with Beijing when planning contingencies for a major power war, it says, leaving the threat from Moscow largely attended by European allies.

Where the Biden administration’s 2022 National Defense Strategy emphasized alliances in countering Russia’s aggression, calling “mutually-beneficial Alliances and allies … our greatest global strategic advantage,” the Hegseth interim guidance says NATO must take on “far greater” burden sharing because the U.S. will be reluctant to provide forces with its priorities focused elsewhere.

… The guidance was provided to congressional national security committees, where Republicans and Democrats have described it as confusing, according to a congressional aide who reviewed the document.

It calls for withdrawing from a presence in most of the world, including the Middle East, but the administration has focused on demonstrating firepower and deterrence against the Houthis in Yemen and pressuring Iran, the aide noted.

“There’s tension between ‘We want American strength and military dominance in the world, and we want to be everywhere, but also nowhere,’” the aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive documents.

“And that’s inconsistent and going to be difficult for them to design a strategy around.” …”

 

[nycfan]

“…
“China is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese fait accompli seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario,” Hegseth wrote.

Its force planning construct — a concept of how the Pentagon will build and resource the armed services to take on perceived threats — will consider conflict only with Beijing when planning contingencies for a major power war, it says, leaving the threat from Moscow largely attended by European allies.

Where the Biden administration’s 2022 National Defense Strategy emphasized alliances in countering Russia’s aggression, calling “mutually-beneficial Alliances and allies … our greatest global strategic advantage,” the Hegseth interim guidance says NATO must take on “far greater” burden sharing because the U.S. will be reluctant to provide forces with its priorities focused elsewhere.

… The guidance was provided to congressional national security committees, where Republicans and Democrats have described it as confusing, according to a congressional aide who reviewed the document.

It calls for withdrawing from a presence in most of the world, including the Middle East, but the administration has focused on demonstrating firepower and deterrence against the Houthis in Yemen and pressuring Iran, the aide noted.

“There’s tension between ‘We want American strength and military dominance in the world, and we want to be everywhere, but also nowhere,’” the aide said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive documents.

“And that’s inconsistent and going to be difficult for them to design a strategy around.” …”

“… Senior U.S. military officials have directly tied Heritage’s vision [Project 2025] to Hegseth’s guidance.

. Gen. Garrick Harmon, the head of strategy and plans at Africa Command, recommended to staff that they read the Heritage report as part of a discussion of how to align their priorities with the new Pentagon guidance, according to a command staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Another official within the command distributed a copy of the Heritage report, the staff member said.

The recommendation did not appear partisan in nature, the staff member said, adding that the similarities suggest the Pentagon’s document was partly inspired by the Heritage report and that the information could be complementary to understanding Hegseth’s guidance. …”

 

[nycfan]

“… Senior U.S. military officials have directly tied Heritage’s vision [Project 2025] to Hegseth’s guidance.

. Gen. Garrick Harmon, the head of strategy and plans at Africa Command, recommended to staff that they read the Heritage report as part of a discussion of how to align their priorities with the new Pentagon guidance, according to a command staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Another official within the command distributed a copy of the Heritage report, the staff member said.

The recommendation did not appear partisan in nature, the staff member said, adding that the similarities suggest the Pentagon’s document was partly inspired by the Heritage report and that the information could be complementary to understanding Hegseth’s guidance. …”

BUT

“… Two people familiar with Taiwan’s official discussions said the government in Taipei has struggled to make inroads with the new U.S. administration, amid growing doubts about Washington’s support — concerns that intensified after February’s disastrous Oval Office meeting of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a message of reassurance to Washington, President Lai Ching-te said last week that Taiwan will boost its defense spending to over 3 percent of its GDP — up from around 2.5 percent — as part of an ongoing overhaul of its military infrastructure. China responded by launching a wave of fighter jets and ships near the island, warning that “those who play with fire will get burned.” …”

——
There are plenty of signs that Trump intends to sell out Taiwan much like Ukraine … it is confusing.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

BUT

“… Two people familiar with Taiwan’s official discussions said the government in Taipei has struggled to make inroads with the new U.S. administration, amid growing doubts about Washington’s support — concerns that intensified after February’s disastrous Oval Office meeting of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a message of reassurance to Washington, President Lai Ching-te said last week that Taiwan will boost its defense spending to over 3 percent of its GDP — up from around 2.5 percent — as part of an ongoing overhaul of its military infrastructure. China responded by launching a wave of fighter jets and ships near the island, warning that “those who play with fire will get burned.” …”

——
There are plenty of signs that Trump intends to sell out Taiwan much like Ukraine … it is confusing.

Probably because while Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation has a long-term plan, Trump never does. It's all impulse and feeding his ego 24/7, just like a spoiled child. He's gone along with Project 2025 because much of it coincides with what he believes and wants, and because they no doubt are taking care of all the grubby details that he doesn't care about. But I have no doubt that Trump on many things tends to verbally waver back on forth depending upon his mood of the moment and whatever rambling thoughts are passing through his addled brain at the time. Whether he would actually defend Taiwan if it was attacked by China is anybody's guess.

 

[nycfan]

Probably because while Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation has a long-term plan, Trump never does. It's all impulse and feeding his ego 24/7, just like a spoiled child. He's gone along with Project 2025 because much of it coincides with what he believes and wants, and because they no doubt are taking care of all the grubby details that he doesn't care about. But I have no doubt that Trump on many things tends to verbally waver back on forth depending upon his mood of the moment and whatever rambling thoughts are passing through his addled brain at the time. Whether he would actually defend Taiwan if it was attacked by China is anybody's guess.

Excellent point.