So all the big supporters of the military...

[Scooter]

...explain how you can defend this:

[rubato]

The faults are of Trump, not the military. The military is unlikely to fail to resent people killing our soldiers.


yrs,
rubato

[Scooter]

I don't believe I suggested otherwise. But those who support the military cannot avoid condemning Trump for this outrageous betrayal, yes?

[Bicycle Bill]

Most intelligent people have been condemning Trump for so many things for so long a time that this is just one more entry on an already-lengthy list.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

...explain how you can defend this:

One cannot defend an allegation portrayed so dishonestly. The meme is false.

The size of the bounties and any evidence that the Taliban carried out the GRU’s wishes in targeted attacks last year remain uncertain

The Times (the real one, not the fake USA one). Oh and also every other responsible journal, including the NY Times. There is - as yet - no proof that any bounties were paid by Russia for any of these 22 deaths, unless I'm missing the announcement.

[Bicycle Bill]

Here's a thread for anyone who's been conned into believing Donald Trump cares about the US military or our troops.

♦ Faked a disability 5 times to avoid a war he didn't oppose.
♦ 5 non-rich guys went to Vietnam in his place.
♦ Tried to kick homeless vets off 5th Avenue.
♦ Stole from vets via his fraud online University.
♦ Lied about donating $1 million to veterans' nonprofits.
♦ Said he'd make troops commit war crimes.
♦ Pardoned a guy who committed war crimes.
♦ Falsely claimed he signed Vets' Choice into law.
♦ Insulted POWs.
♦ Insulted Gold Star families.
♦ Fined for misusing funds from 2016 Vets fundraiser.
♦ Called Generals "dopes and babies".
♦ Falsely accused US service members of stealing funds for Iraqi reconstruction.
♦ Deployed 5,600 soldiers to the border in a midterm election stunt.
♦ Personally insulted Generals Allen, Mattis, Kelly, Powell, McChrystal; Purple Heart recipients Mueller & Vindman; and Admiral McRaven.
♦ Lied about donating $6 million to veterans groups in 2016.
♦ Sided with Putin against all branches of military intelligence.
♦ Blew off a Veterans Day cemetery ceremony in France because it was raining.
♦ What he said to Myeshia Johnson, widow of ambushed Sgt. La David Johnson.  Not gonna repeat it. (see below)
♦ He's trying to cut SNAP.  Do you understand how much that hurts military families and vets?
♦ His budget seeks to cut Medicaid.  Do you understand how much this hurts military families and vets?
♦ Froze pay for all Fed agencies via Executive Order.  Federal workforce is 31% veteran (approx 623k vets).
♦ Undid regulations on predatory lenders who target military members.
♦ He's trying to destroy the Post Office, which employs thousands of veterans.
♦ Declared a fake national emergency to divert billions from the Pentagon to fund a wall he lied that Mexico would pay for.
♦ Downplayed and trivialized troops with traumatic brain injuries in Jan 2020.
♦ Insulted troops with PTSD.
♦ Used the National Guard to tear-gas US protestors so he could be photographed with an upside-down Bible.
♦ Forced West Point cadets to travel back for graduation during a plague, endangering their health and the health of their families, for a photo-op.
♦ Said 26,000 military sexual assaults were to be 'expected' because America lets women serve.
♦ Announced via a tweet (and without informing the Pentagon) that transgender troops could no longer serve.
♦ Invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11.
♦ Claimed, stupidly, that his military budget made up for his lack of military experience.
♦ Told wife #2 he'd disown their daughter if she entered the service.
♦ Remember his fake 'veterans hotline'?
♦ Lied to US troops in Iraq that he'd given them their 1st pay raise in over a decade.
♦ Trump Institute fired a vet for 'absences' after he was deployed to Afghanistan.
♦ Claimed if an armored Humvee was hit by an IED, soldiers "go for a little ride upward and they come down."
♦ Blamed military leaders for the deadly failed Yemen mission he approved.
♦ He can't stop defending the Confederacy.
♦ Said his expensive prep school gave him “more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military.”

There's more. Read it all HERE.

Oh — and with regard to what he said to Myeshia Johnson?  The original writer of this stated "not gonna repeat it", but I think it deserves to be mentioned.  Not only did Trump not remember the deceased soldier's name when he spoke with his widow via phone, he had the unconscionable gall to say, "He knew what he signed up for."

-"BB"-

[Scooter]

[Scooter]

Where are wes and Darren to explain how having Russia put bounties on the head of U.S. troops is really a good thing?

[liberty]

Trump working for Russia, bull shit. Yea, I am sure Putin wanted the Ukrainians supplied with lethal weapons which Obama refused to do. So who was really working for the Russians, Trump or Obama?

You know truth does have some importance.

[Scooter]

The truth is that Putin put a bounty on the head of U.S. troops and Trump knows about it and does nothing. Oh yeah, except trying to get Russia back into the G7.

Do you support the Commander-in-Chief selling out the troops in that manner?

[Darren]

I don't believe I suggested otherwise. But those who support the military cannot avoid condemning Trump for this outrageous betrayal, yes?

If you believe bull shit, of course. Did you read what the ex-DNI said?

[Scooter]

You need to keep up. "It's all bullshit" was the first excuse in the ongoing series. The White House has had to move on to other rationalizations for doing nothing once that was blown out of the water.

[Darren]

You need to keep up. "It's all bullshit" was the first excuse in the ongoing series. The White House has had to move on to other rationalizations for doing nothing once that was blown out of the water.

I'll take Richard Grenell's statement as definitive. I left the NYT behind back in the 90's when I found errors of fact on the front page above the fold.

[Scooter]

Richard Grenell has a tell that shows he is lying. You want to know what it is? His lips move.

[Darren]

Richard Grenell has a tell that shows he is lying. You want to know what it is? His lips move.

I guess you missed the documents he made public. It's a new day, Scooter much as you'd prefer samo, samo.

The arrest of Maxwell and the clean up that will follow along with the results of other investigations will prove that slow and sure still works.

[Scooter]

Whatever you say, Ivan. I hope the Russian troll farm you work for is paying you well, because you are certainly earning your keep.

Taking the side of the Russians at the expense of your own military. I've never expected much of you, Darren, but not even I ever imagined you would sink that low.

[Darren]

If China, Russia and Iran along with you want Trump out of office who's the Russian patsy, Scooter?

[Scooter]

[wesw]

yeah, I m n0t big 0n swall0wing bullshit either.

lie 0f the week, right 0n schedule.

[Scooter]

Since Trump won’t act to protect American troops, Congress must

Leaks last month alleging President Trump had been briefed in March 2019 that Russian agents were offering bounties on US service members in Afghanistan should alarm every American. The bounties may have resulted in a Taliban attack that killed three US Marines near Bagram Airfield on April 8, 2019, when their vehicle was hit by an explosive. Yet news reports indicate the Trump administration “is not planning an immediate response” because Trump does not consider the intelligence “actionable” and, according to a recent presidential tweet, is a “Fake News tale.”

To be sure, parsing leaked intelligence for ground truth is no simple exercise. The interests of those who leak information, access to additional intelligence to contextualize the leaks, and possible administration preference not to disclose concurrent follow-up investigations are among myriad factors to consider before reaching any meaningful conclusions. However, of the many Trump administration failures on the bounties intelligence — ensuring the president reviewed his intelligence reports, failing to share the intelligence with members of Congress and allies, dedicating resources expeditiously to validate the intelligence, and acting to protect service members from on-the-ground threats — the most disturbing is the president’s abdication of his responsibility as commander in chief to the women and men of the US Armed Forces.

There is a special trust that exists between those who serve and the president — both swear a solemn oath to defend the Constitution. Those who serve do so trusting that the president will do everything in his or her power to bring them home to their families. The notion of anything to the contrary has been described by some fellow Iraq and Afghanistan veterans this week as outrageous. Each of the three young Marines killed near Bagram Airfield — Sergeant Benjamin Hines of York, Pa.; Staff Sergeant Christopher Slutman of Newark, Del.; Corporal Robert Hendricks of Locust Valley, N.Y. — was somebody’s son, brother, husband, or fiancé. Around our country, Gold Star families and Blue Star families have expressed disbelief and incredulity at the president’s handling of the Russian bounty situation.

In this context, the actionability of the intelligence, which the Trump administration repeatedly highlighted last week, matters little. In a functional administration, reports of bounties paid by a nation-state to nongovernment militants to kill US service members would prompt an immediate White House response to drive urgent executive action. It should be duly noted that these allegations shouldn’t take anything away from the myriad hard-working and dedicated public servants within the intelligence community. The failure here is one of leadership from the top.

On its own, the commander in chief’s sacred duty to protect our troops, like the additional bad behavior that the bounties may encourage if left unchecked, would be reason enough to act. Consider, for example, what lessons Iran Quds Force leaders and their Middle East proxies might glean from Trump’s failure to follow up here. And consider what immediate, chilling effects a White House-proclaimed intent to act might have on Russian intent to pay further bounties. That’s why the White House’s publicly proclaimed inaction is so startling.

Congress can hold President Vladimir Putin of Russia accountable and protect our troops where the president has not. First, Congress can hold hearings to investigate who knew what, when. Next, it can exercise its oversight authority to address closable gaps in intelligence community reporting, sharing, or briefing. Moreover, if the intelligence is sufficiently supported, Congress may pass a resolution condemning Putin and the Russian government for its bounty payments, an act likely to slow any administration efforts to readmit Russia to the Group of 7 summit. Finally, congressional leaders can tie passage of the defense budget to administration action that holds Russia accountable. For those who question whether a congressional investigation is warranted, consider the bar for a congressional investigation into the attack on the US mission in Benghazi, a bar that unaddressed intelligence about alleged Russian bounties on American troops comfortably clears.

Whatever comes next, the American people, and American service members and their families, deserve answers. The administration must immediately provide a full accounting to Congress and to the American public. Since the president refuses to protect America’s national interests, Congress must act swiftly to hold Russia accountable and protect our troops. Our citizens, as well as our service members, veterans, and their families, deserve nothing less.