The Pentagon is Paying a Chinese Communist Party-Linked Venture Capital Firm for Tutoring Services

Chinese Students

The CEO of a Chinese venture capital firm that quietly bought up a U.S. education company holding a Pentagon contract has long-standing connections to multiple Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence units, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Primavera Capital, a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, was an early investor in TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and owns Princeton Review and Tutor.com. However, a review of the firm’s Chinese-language website found that CEO and founder Fred Hu has extensive ties to the Chinese government and belonged to organizations that the U.S. government has identified as part of the CCP’s “United Front” system.

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Commentary: Biden Staffer Who Mishandled China, Iran Secrets Retains High-Security Pentagon Job

While Special Counsel Robert K. Hur has raised the issue of mental deterioration in explaining why he declined to prosecute 81-year-old Joe Biden for illegal retention and sharing of classified documents, the president chose another rationale to declare himself not culpable: He shifted the blame to the staffers who boxed up his records as he left the vice president’s office in 2017.

At a press conference hastily assembled after the report’s release, Biden said he assumed his aides had shipped “all” the documents to the National Archives in College Park, Md. “I wish I had paid more attention to how the documents were being moved and where,” he said. “I thought they were being moved to the Archives. I thought all of it was being moved [there].”

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Army Struggles for White Recruits amid Recruiting Crisis and Diversity Push

Army

A precipitous drop in the number of white recruits into the U.S. Army over the past five years sheds a new light on the service’s ongoing recruiting crisis, Military.com reported, citing internal Army data viewed by the outlet.

The Army missed its 2023 recruiting target by 10,000 soldiers, falling short of its 65,000 goal, after hitting only three-quarters of its 2023 goal as the Pentagon doubled down on prioritizing racial and ethnic diversity in the ranks. Much of that decline is attributed to a dramatic decline in the total number of white recruits as the Army brought in roughly 20,000 fewer white soldiers in 2023 compared to 2018 , according to the data seen by Military.com.

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Only Three Percent of Soldiers Who Refused COVID Vaccine Rejoin Army

Vaccine Military

More and more Army soldiers are reenlisting after being discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, according to information shared exclusively with The Daily Signal.

The increase comes after Congress repealed the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate and conservative lawmakers applied pressure to Defense Department leaders to be more welcoming of 8,400 service members who were “fired” for their refusal to get the COVID-19 shot.

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Commentary: The U.S. Defense Industrial Base

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with increased tensions in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, has generated many debates. Debates about the stability of the international order, the cohesion of NATO, and many others. But for the United States, one significant debate regards the size and expansibility of the American defense industrial base. It’s a discussion that is well past due.

Last year, Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl testified to Congress that, “What the Ukraine conflict showed is that, frankly, our defense industrial base was not at the level that we needed it to be to generate munitions.” But the challenge with ammunition is more symptom than cause, in economic terms something of a “leading indicator.”

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Pentagon Falls 41,000 Short of Reduced Military Recruitment Goals

Military Boot Camp

The Pentagon came up short on its recruitment goals.

The Defense Department’s senior officials testified Wednesday about shortfalls in Army, Navy and Air Force recruiting in the fiscal year that ended in September at a hearing of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee. The Marine Corps and Space Force made their recruiting goals.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Discusses the Government’s Coverup of UAPs on Episode 42 of ‘Tucker on X’

In episode 42 of his newest production, “Tucker on X,” host Tucker Carlson interviewed Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) about the decades-long government coverup of UFOs, also known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

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Air Force Begs Troops Booted over COVID-19 Vax to Come Back

The U.S. Air Force sent out a letter telling an airman booted from the service over the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate of an opportunity to rejoin the service, mirroring similar letters sent to former Army service members, according to a copy of one Air Force letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A former Air Force service member who was separated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine received the letter Sunday addressed with the recipient’s name, according to a source familiar with the matter. The letter tells former airmen they can request to have their service records amended to show that they received honorable discharges and seek reentry into the service amidst the service’s failure to meet recruiting goals.

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Videos of People Sympathizing with Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ Go Viral

Videos showing people reading Osama bin Laden’s 2002 letter justifying the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon went viral Wednesday evening, prompting a media outlet to delete its translation of the document.

The Guardian deleted the letter Wednesday after it had been active on the site since being published on Nov. 24, 2002, directing readers to an article from that date about the letter. Videos on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok showed users reading the letter, Rolling Stone reported.

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Pentagon Makes Plans for Nuclear Gravity Bomb with Bigger Bang

aerial view of The Pentagon

The Pentagon wants to build a bigger nuclear gravity bomb to provide the military with “more flexibility” in the nation’s nuclear stockpile. 

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced plans to pursue a modern variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, designated the B61-13. The move will require Congressional authorization and appropriation.

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Israel Agrees to Delay Invasion So Pentagon Can Rush Air Defense to the Middle East

Israel agreed to delay an invasion of Gaza until the Department of Defense completes plans to boost air defenses around U.S. troops in the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The Pentagon is sending nearly a dozen air defense systems to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to protect American service members from credible threats of attacks by Iran-backed militias. U.S. officials had asked Israel to create time to emplace the air defenses before launching operations that promise to trigger more bombardments on U.S. military positions, the WSJ reported, citing U.S. and Israeli officials.

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New Pentagon Memo Reveals Almost 300 Reports of Potential UFO Encounters Since August 2022

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Defense publicly released the 2023 report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)—colloquially known as UFOs—which revealed that there have been almost 300 reports of potential UAP observed, with some cases of UAP exhibiting “high-speed travel or unusual maneuverability.”

The report, titled “Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” was released by the Department of Defense for open publication along with charts detailing trends in UAP reporting which included the typically-reported characteristics of the objects as well as a heat map their locations.

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Pentagon: US Recorded Nearly 200 Risky Encounters with Chinese Aircraft over Last 2 Years

The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a statement revealing that American aircraft have had roughly 180 hostile encounters with Chinese aircraft over the last two years.

Fox News reports that Pentagon officials published evidence of this trend during a press conference on Tuesday, with Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner saying that “since the fall of 2021, we have seen more than 180 such incidents.”

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Pentagon Has Billions Left Over for Ukraine But Not to Replenish U.S. Stocks

The Pentagon still has billions remaining for military assistance to Ukraine after Congress’ stopgap government funding bill omitted any provisions for aid, but concerns remain about the Pentagon’s ability to replenish U.S. stocks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Pentagon officials.

Officials said they were not sure how much longer the funding would last, but that the $5.2 billion remaining for drawing down from U.S. weapons stockpiles loosely reflects the amount sent over the past six months, according to the WSJ. However, an account that provides for replenishment of U.S. stocks has just $1.6 billion left, and officials are concerned it will run out before Congress appropriates more funds.

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House GOP Leadership Sends Lawmakers Home After Spending Vote Fails

Republican leadership has told House lawmakers they can leave Washington, D.C., following a botched vote on a defense spending package that upended the legislative agenda that was set through Saturday.

The announcement follows a group of dissident House conservatives breaking ranks to stop a procedural vote on a Pentagon funding bill, preventing its consideration on the floor, The Hill reported. Conservatives did so on Tuesday as well in a bid to secure deeper spending cuts and to block additional aid to Ukraine.

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Kinder, Gentler Iowa Cattle Call of GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sees Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley Generate Most Buzz

The latest cattle call of GOP presidential contestants — sans former President Donald Trump — mainly maintained Iowa nice, a departure from last month’s first fiery primary debate and a similar Christian conservative event in July hosted by conservative talk show host lightning rod Tucker Carlson.

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Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson Leads Efforts to Seek Records on Saudi Arabia’s Role In 9/11 Attacks

On this 22nd anniversary of 9/11, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is demanding the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation turn over the complete, unredacted records of Saudi Arabia\’s role in the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

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U.S. Probing More Than 100 Incidents of Chinese Nationals Entering Military Bases and Weapons Sites

More than 100 incidents where Chinese nationals have accessed or neared U.S. military bases and other sensitive locations have sparked suspicions of a wider espionage campaign driven by Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.

The FBI, Department of Defense and other agencies have dubbed the situation, where Chinese nationals appear to feign accidentally approaching high-security U.S. military installations and other federal sites, “gate crashing,” and held a review in 2022 to figure out a way to tamp down on the incidents, the WSJ reported, citing the officials. The officials said the practice appears intended to stress-test security measures at the military sites as a form of low-effort reconnaissance or espionage.

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House Conservatives Say Any Spending Bill Must Address Border Security, DOJ Weaponization

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers in the House, outlined Monday what conditions would need to be met for them to vote for a new spending bill.

The group is calling for spending bills to include provisions on border security, the “unprecedented weaponization” of the Justice Department and FBI, and the Pentagon’s “cancerous woke polices.” The lawmakers also oppose “any blank check for Ukraine in any supplemental appropriations bill.”

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Pentagon Personnel Chief Behind Diversity and Abortion Policies Heading Out

Gilbert Cisneros, a Navy veteran and former Democratic California representative, announced Monday plans to retire as the Department of Defense (DOD) head for personnel policy, leaving a legacy of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies.

The Pentagon touted Cisneros’ record in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday, fueling the implementation of new policies developed under his watch to address sexual assault and suicide. Cisneros also presided over numerous social policies that became the subject of conservative ire, such as the DOD pandemic response, ensuringacceptance of the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccine and policies making it easier for female servicemembers to accesscontraceptives and abortion.

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Pro-Life Groups Demand Congress Halt Pentagon’s Abortion Travel Funding Policy

A group of pro-life groups have called on House Republicans to stop the Department of Defense policy allowing military servicemembers time off and reimbursement for travel to obtain abortions.

The Pentagon adopted the plan in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion and led to numerous states banning the procedure entirely or at least imposing restrictions.

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DOD ‘Bait and Switch’ with Emergency and Licensed COVID Vaccines Killed Student, Lawsuit Alleges

The Pentagon conducted “human experimentation without consent” by falsely advertising a COVID-19 vaccine under emergency use authorization as fully licensed, a “bait and switch” that killed a college student, according to a new lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin by the student’s estate.

George Watts was waiting for FDA approval of Pfizer’s Comirnaty to fulfill the COVID vaccine mandate at New York’s Corning Community College, which provided a 35-day grace period for compliance following Comirnaty’s Aug. 23, 2021, approval, the filing states.

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Pentagon to Buy $1.2 Billion in Weapons from Defense Contractors for Ukraine Aid

The Pentagon announced plans Tuesday to buy $1.2 billion in weapons as part of an ongoing program to build up Ukraine’s military over the long term while it continues to provide for immediate battlefield needs.

The weapons, drawn from an authority called the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) allows the Department of Defense (DOD) to buy weapons and military equipment directly from defense companies and partners rather than drawing from existing U.S. stocks, according to a press release. Tuesday’s package includes air defense systems, ammunition and “support to enable Ukraine to better maintain its on-hand systems and equipment.”

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U.S. to Begin Abrams Tank Training for Ukrainian Troops

The U.S. has made plans to begin training Ukrainian troops on how to use and maintain the M1 Abrams battle tank within weeks as the U.S. seeks to shorten the timeline in which U.S.-made tanks become operational on the battlefield, The Associated Press reported, citing U.S. officials.

In March, the Pentagon scrapped plans to send brand-new M1A2 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting instead to deliver a refurbished older version in an attempt to get U.S. tanks on the battlefield in eight to 10 months. Training will take place in Germany on 31 tanks scheduled to arrive at the Grafenwoehr Training Area by the end of May, with training to start shortly afterward and last about 10 weeks, the officials told the AP.

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Pentagon Document Leaker a 21-Year-Old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, Report

The person responsible for leaking sensitive Pentagon documents is reportedly a 21-year-old intelligence member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard named Jack Teixeira. 

Two U.S. officials confirmed to the New York Times on Thursday that investigators want to speak with Teixeira about the leak of documents that started appearing last year on a Discord online chat group called Thug Shaker Central.

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Pentagon’s ‘Strategic Management Plan’ Devotes Roughly One Out of Every Six Pages to Diversity, Climate Change

Nearly one of every six pages of a document detailing the Pentagon’s management strategy are devoted to combating climate change and fulfilling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

The Strategic Management Plan for 2022 to 2026, released Tuesday, covers 124 pages and underscores the actions the Department of Defense (DOD) is taking to fulfill the Biden administration’s broader national defense strategy. It lays out high-level, long term goals and steps the department will take to accomplish those objectives and overcome anticipated challenges, as well as performance metrics for so-called Agency Priority Goals (APGs) that include climate and diversity targets.

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Pentagon, FBI Collaborated on AI, Facial Recognition Tech for Federal Agencies, Documents Show

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI collaborated on an artificial intelligence-driven facial recognition technology program provided to at least six federal agencies and a Pentagon agency that supports civilian police forces, The Washington Post reported.

The facial recognition software could be used to identify individuals whose features were captured by drones and CCTV cameras, the Post reported, citing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request as part of an ongoing lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed against the FBI.  The documents reveal federal authorities were more deeply involved in development of the technology than was previously known, sparking concerns over Americans’ privacy rights.

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U.S. Weapons Aid for Ukraine Could Extend Years Beyond the War, Top Pentagon Official Says

The Biden administration plans to provide lethal assistance to Ukraine for years after the war to end Russia’s invasion reaches a conclusion, the Pentagon’s top official for policy and planning testified before Congress Tuesday.

The U.S. has provided more than $30 billion worth of weapons and equipment since the war in Ukraine began one year ago, including millions of artillery rounds and high-end equipment that requires years to produce and months during which to train Ukrainian troops. Regardless of how the war ends, the U.S. will need to continue providing Kyiv with weapons and military support for years to discourage Russia from making a subsequent attempt at conquering Kyiv, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl told the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing Tuesday.

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Pentagon Will Pay for Travel to Other States for Abortions

The Department of Defense (DOD) will pay for troops to travel to states that allow abortions and obtain so-called “reproductive health care” at non-military facilities, according to a new policy released Thursday evening.

The landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision gave states the authority to determine localized abortion policies. The Hyde amendment bars DOD from administering abortions at military medical facilities, the new policy carves out provisions for expanded leave times and set-aside funding for servicemembers stationed in states that restrict abortions to cross state boundaries to obtain the procedure.

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Pentagon Still Can’t Account for Roughly $220 Billion in Equipment, Gov’t Watchdog Says

The Department of Defense (DOD) has neglected to address its inability to keep track of at least $220 billion in equipment provided to government contractors, according to a Tuesday report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Auditors first reported the Pentagon’s failure to account for government-owned equipment or material offered up for use to contracting agencies, also called government furnished property, in 2001, according to the report. DOD has made little improvement since then, increasing the risk that the Pentagon could accidentally overlook errors in the books.

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Pentagon Officially Overturns Military Vaccine Mandate

The Department of Defense (DOD) officially scrapped the requirement that all members of the armed forces be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin introduced the mandate in August 2021 as Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines were expected to become available, citing the impact of rising case numbers on the military’s readiness. However, after more than a year of legal challenges to the mandate and at least 8,400 discharges for refusing the vaccine, Congress instructed Austin to reverse course in the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

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‘Twitter Files’ Expose Coordination with CIA, State Department, Pentagon

The latest installment of the “Twitter Files” revealed that the FBI acted “as a doorman” for the social media giant to other government agencies, including the CIA, the State Department and the Pentagon.

“Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track,” journalist Matt Taibbi wrote as he released the ninth batch of internal Twitter files on Saturday evening. “Is today the DOD, and tomorrow the FBI? Is it the weekly call, or the monthly meeting? It was dizzying.”

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‘Twitter Files’ Reveal Platform Aided Pentagon Propaganda Efforts Abroad

The most recent release of Twitter’s internal documents, dubbed the “Twitter Files,” details the platform’s cooperation with the Pentagon to promote propaganda materials in line with the military’s strategic geopolitical interests.

Released by The Intercept’s Lee Fang, the latest release detailed Pentagon requests that the platform either verify or “whitelist” a plethora of accounts it used to “amplify certain messages.” Whitelisting an account exempts it from spam and abuse flags while also making it more likely to trend.

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Woke Ideology Eroding War-Fighting Capability Inside Pentagon, New Congressional Report Warns

A report released Monday by two Republicans in Congress alleged the Biden administration’s injection of liberal ideologies like Critical Race Theory into the Pentagon is harming military readiness and the safety of troops.

“President Joe Biden and his administration are weakening America’s warfighters through a sustained assault fueled by woke virtue signaling,” Sen. Marco, Rubio, of Florida, and Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, wrote in the new report, titled “WOKE WARFIGHTERS: How Political Ideology is Weakening America’s Military.”

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Commentary: With Recruitments at Record Lows, Our Sons and Daughters May Soon Be Feeling the Draft

This year the U.S. Army missed its annual recruiting goal by 25 percent, or 20,000 soldiers. That’s more than an entire division, which includes 10,000-20,000 troops. The National Guard missed its target by 9,000 recruits and applications are down more than 20 percent at Annapolis and West Point. This has the Pentagon looking for new ways to fill the ranks, but an old one might get the nod.

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Pentagon Watchdog Flags Potentially Illegal Blanket Denials of COVID Vax Religious Exemptions

The Defense Department’s inspector general has alerted the secretary of defense to apparent blanket denials of religious accommodation requests (RAR) for exemptions from the military COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which would be a violation of federal law.

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Military Law Expert: Harsh Sanctions for the Military’s COVID-19 Vax Resisters

Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed Dwight Stirling, the CEO of The Center for Law and Military Policy, about the process of discharging unvaccinated servicemembers now that all the deadlines have passed for President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s military COVID-19 vaccine mandate has passed.

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U.S. Relies on Russia for Key Materials in Defense Production

The U.S. depends on Russia to supply key minerals used in technology and defense industries, but the Russia-Ukraine war and Western economic punishment of Russia have suppressed supply lines, according to a report from Defense News.

Russia and Ukraine supply a large percentage of minerals like neon and aluminum that the U.S. uses in civilian and military applications, Deborah Rosenblum, a Pentagon acting spokesperson who works on industrial base policy, told Defense News. Sanctions levied on Russian companies and a war-related drop in mineral production have put these supply chains in jeopardy, she said.

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Pentagon May Allow HIV-Positive Recruits, After Mass Firing of Unvaccinated

On Wednesday, he Department of Defense (DOD) announced recently that it had updated its guidelines regarding the recruitment of potentially HIV-positive individuals, now opening the door to letting people with the deadly disease serve in the military.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the DOD said that any members who test positive for the virus may continue to serve so long as they do not display any clear symptoms, according to a department memo that was recently made public.

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Biden Pentagon Let 50 Afghans Posing Serious Security Risks into the United States, Watchdog Finds

The Biden administration failed to use all available screening data to vet Afghan refugees brought to the United States last year, allowing at least 50 individuals posing “potentially significant security concerns” to make it inside America’s borders, the Pentagon’s chief watchdog is warning.

To make matters worse, the Defense Department inspector general reported to Congress this week that 28 of 31 Afghan evacuees with known “derogatory information” can no longer be located.

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Commentary: Can America Citizens Trust the U.S. Government?

aerial view of The Pentagon

Do you trust the U.S. government? I don’t recommend it.

Consider what John Kirby, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said a couple of days ago at a press briefing. “We believe,” Kirby said, that Russia is planning to stage a fake attack by Ukrainian military or intelligence forces against Russian sovereign territory, or against Russian speaking people,” in order to justify an invasion of Ukraine. Kirby had lots of details: “We believe that Russia would produce a very graphic propaganda video, which would include corpses and actors that would be depicting mourners, and images of destroyed locations, as well as military equipment, at the hands of Ukraine or the West.”

Gosh. Should we be worried? Yes. But not necessarily for the reasons that Kirby and his puppet masters want you to be worried. The United States is sending troops and arms to aid Ukraine, so of course there needs to be an emergency to justify that action. John Kirby just outlined a scary scenario. But inquiring minds want to know: What’s his evidence for this dramatic claim?

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U.S. to Send 3,000 Additional Troops to Europe Amid Tension at Ukraine Border

President Joe Biden plans to send another 3,000 troops to Europe amid continued tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Biden is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland and Germany this week. The president is also moving about 1,000 soldiers based in Germany to Romania, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing administration officials.

“They are trained and equipped for a variety of missions during this period of elevated risk,” a senior defense official told the Wall Street Journal.

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Pentagon Issues New Guidance on ‘Extremist Behavior’ Within Military Ranks

On Monday, the Department of Defense, in an effort to further crack down on political dissent, is revising its previous definitions of “extremist behavior” in order to deter uniformed members from certain political affiliations, CNN reports.

The Countering Extremism Working Group, a panel that was created for the purpose of ostensibly investigating “extremism” within military ranks, issued a report outlining its findings, claiming that there are indeed some “extremists” in the military. The report alleges that there were roughly 100 instances of uniformed members who either had “extremist” beliefs or joined “extremist” groups in 2021, which the report claims is an increase from previous years.

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Biden Says ‘Willing to Lose’ Presidency over Decisions Including Pandemic, Afghanistan, Middle Class

President Biden this past weekend suggested he would be willing to lose his presidency over his decisions on several key issues including his widely criticized withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In a CBS “Sunday Morning” interview in which he was asked whether he was discouraged by the criticism over his handling of the pandemic and other first-year challenges, Biden answered “No.”

“But look,” he continued. “One of the things we did decide, and I mean this, my word as a Biden, I know what I’m willing to lose over. If we walk away from the middle class, if we walk away from trying to unify people, if we start to engage in the same kind of politics that the last four years has done? I’m willing to lose over that.”

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Pentagon Didn’t Delay Sending Guardsmen to Capitol on January 6th, Report Conflicts with Pelosi Narrative

The Pentagon responded appropriately and in a timely fashion to urgent requests for National Guard assistance on the day of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, according to a Defense Department inspector general report released Wednesday.

“We also determined that DoD officials did not delay or obstruct the DoD’s response,” reads the report.

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Oklahoma National Guard Defies Pentagon, Won’t Impose COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

The newly installed head of the Oklahoma National Guard has ordered that troops under his command will not be forced to comply with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed forces.

“No Oklahoma Guardsman will be required to take the COVID-19 Vaccine,” Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino wrote in a Thursday memo. The memo was at odds with a Defense Department directive that the “total force” – including the National Guard – must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Commentary: The New Nuclear Arms Race

President Joe Biden and Personal Aide Stephen Goepfert walk through the Colonnade, Friday, August 6, 2021, on the way to the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

The Defense Department just released its annual report on China’s military power, and the report undermines those in the Biden administration who are promoting nuclear arms reductions with Russia and the adoption of a policy of “no first use” of nuclear weapons — a policy that is opposed by most of America’s allies.

The Pentagon’s report could not be clearer: “Over the next decade, the PRC aims to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces.” It is “expanding the number of its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this major expansion of its nuclear forces.” This includes the construction of “fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities” that will enable China to “produce and separate plutonium.”

The report projects that the PRC will have up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027, and perhaps 1,000 by 2030, significantly more than the Pentagon projected in last year’s report. China has what the report calls a “nascent ‘nuclear triad,’” with the capability to launch nuclear missiles from land, sea, and air platforms. It has expanded its silo-based force and moved to a “launch-on-warning” posture. Last year, the PLA “launched more than 250 ballistic missiles for testing and training,” a number greater then the rest of the world combined. It is growing its inventory of DF-26 intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and those missiles are capable of launching multiple independent warheads — known as MIRV capabilities. The CCP has ordered the construction of “hundreds of new ICBM silos” and is “doubling the number of launchers in some ICBM units.” China’s CSS-10 Mod 2 ICBM has a range of 11,000 kilometers, which makes it capable or reaching most targets within the continental United States. China is also investing in space and counterspace capabilities, including kinetic-kill missiles, orbiting space robots, and ground-based lasers.

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