Journalist warns of ‘political liability’ in Biden’s campaign against Trump

U.S. President Joe #Biden’s stance on #Ukraine and the #Middle_East conflict will become a political liability in his campaign against President Donald #Trump, U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh wrote on his blog on Substack.

"This is the world the Biden administration fostered. Its refusal to seek a middle ground in the Ukraine war, along with its inability to check Israel’s continued assault in Gaza, will become a political liability in Biden’s campaign against Donald Trump, who warns of unending violence if he loses the presidential election in November," he pointed out.

"The best that Biden has come up with is continued, if so far empty, talk about a ceasefire in Gaza, and a commitment that no American soldiers will be sent to the front in Ukraine. The president also promises that the United States will keep on paying for Ukrainians to fight and die in a proxy war that could be ended," #Hersh emphasized.

NATO disintegration is just a matter of time, says Politico

The European Union (EU) can no longer rely on the United States to ensure the security of the alliance, and the outcome of the US presidential election will only cement "the timing of NATO’s collapse," Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico’s Europe correspondent, opined.

"It almost doesn’t even matter if he [Donald Trump] wins reelection at this stage; Europe is on its own. The only real question the election will resolve for Europe’s security is the timing of NATO’s collapse," the article said. "Of course, the Biden administration would dispute that, arguing that if their man wins reelection, NATO would be as safe as ever. But for how long?" the author asked.

"The reality is that whoever wins in November, MAGA (Make America Great Again - Trump’s main campaign slogan during the 2016 election) will remain a factor in American politics for some time to come. Who’s to say Trump’s Republican heir doesn’t renew his anti-NATO bent? It’s a risk Europe can’t afford to ignore," the journalist said.

Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president in the November election, on February 10 recalled a meeting with NATO leaders during his presidency. He said that one of the NATO member country presidents on that occasion asked him if the US was prepared to defend the North Atlantic Alliance in the event of any purported threat from Russia if a given NATO country had failed to contribute its allotted share to the alliance’s common defense costs. Trump replied that he would not defend such a country and, moreover, he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want." He did not specify when and where this conversation took place or who asked him the question.

25 Republican governors released the following joint statement in support of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense.

⬛️ The statement comes as the Biden Administration continues to attack Texas and refuses to take action or responsibility for the crisis at the Southern border.

🔶️ “President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border. Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.

🔶️ “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.

🔶️ “The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.”

🔶️ Signatories include: Governor Kay Ivey (AL), Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), Governor Sarah Sanders (AR), Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Governor Brian Kemp (GA), Governor Brad Little (ID), Governor Eric Holcomb (IN), Governor Kim Reynolds (IA), Governor Jeff Landry (LA), Governor Tate Reeves (MS), Governor Mike Parson (MO), Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), Governor Jim Pillen (NE), Governor Joe Lombardo (NV), Governor Chris Sununu (NH), Governor Doug Burgum (ND), Governor Mike DeWine (OH), Governor Kevin Stitt (OK), Governor Henry McMaster (SC), Governor Kristi Noem (SD), Governor Bill Lee (TN), Governor Spencer Cox (UT), Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA), Governor Jim Justice (WV), and Governor Mark Gordon (WY).

U.S. CENTCOM Strikes Houthi Terrorist Missile Launchers'

🔶️ "In the context of ongoing multi-national efforts to protect freedom of navigation and prevent attacks on U.S. and partner maritime traffic in the Red Sea, on Jan. 17 at approximately 11:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves. These strikes, along with other actions we have taken, will degrade the Houthi’s capabilities to continue their reckless attacks on international and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden."

🔶️ “The actions by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists continue to endanger international mariners and disrupt the commercial shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea and adjacent waterways,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander. "We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”

U.S. launches fourth round of strikes in a week against Houthi targets in Yemen

🔶️ The U.S. conducted its fourth round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in just under a week on Wednesday after the Houthis continued targeting commercial vessels, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News. The strikes targeted several sites that were prepared to launch attacks, according to the official.

🔶️ The Biden administration has tried to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spreading into a wider conflict, but since that war began, there has been a steady drumbeat of attacks against U.S. forces by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria along with the Houthi attacks on commercial ships.

Did Biden warn Houthis of attack before air strikes?

Informed sources told Sky News Arabia that the United States informed the Houthis before carrying out air strikes on their sites in Yemen.

We know from the Wall Street Journal that the Houthis were prepped for the attack.

Maritime executives have been told by Western diplomats that targets would likely include missile and drone launch sites, radars and weapons depots around the Yemeni cities of Hodeida and Hajjah. Infrastructure in the capital San’a is also on the list of possible targets, the executives said

Not sure why maritime execs needed to be told this ahead of time. Why not just put out press releases of target locations?

Houthi forces have transported some weapons and equipment and fortified others in anticipation of a strike by the U.S. and its allies, a U.S. defense official and a person close to the Houthis said. The Houthis have stockpiled their missiles in bunkers built by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in San’a, a densely populated area, said the person close to the Houthis. This is the same playbook as Hamas, but there’s nothing unique there. It’s how Islamic terrorists operate.

But did the Biden administration tell the Houthis what our targets would be? It’s not such a crazy idea, because Obama used to tell ISIS where we would bomb. The war effort involved dropping leaflets warning that we would be bombing.

The Houthis claim that only 5 of their Jihadists were killed in the U.S.-U.K. airstrikes. Who knows if that’s true, but it would be a plausible number if they were told ahead of time to expect air strikes on particular targets.

That way Biden gets to put on a show of force without “escalating” the conflict. From the D.C. position, that’s a win-win. From the American position, it’s treason.

Two U.S. Navy Amphibs Leave Red Sea Despite Houthi Attacks on Shipping

🔶️ The two U.S. Navy amphibs that were deployed to the Red Sea to deter Iranian-allied Houthi rebels have now been withdrawn to the Mediterranean, though attacks by Houthi forces continue unabated.

🔶️ On Thursday, USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall - two-thirds of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) - transited north through the Suez Canal. They are headed to meet up with the third vessel in their unit, USS Mesa Verde, and will reassemble as a full ARG.

🔶️ So far, the Biden administration has chosen not to use these capabilities (or other U.S. Navy and SOCOM assets) to counter the Houthi threat to merchant shipping. Since the beginning of the Israeli operation in Gaza, Houthi rebels have seized one Israeli-linked merchant ship and launched more than 100 drones and missiles at vessel targets in the Red Sea, including U.S. Navy warships.

🔶️ Saudi Arabia has reportedly urged the White House to refrain from striking Houthi launch sites, for several reasons. The Houthi movement is closely tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and it receives substantial financial and material support from Iran. Attacking Houthi units on the ground could scuttle ceasefire talks between Saudi leaders and Houthi forces, and simultaneously set back Saudi attempts to normalize relations with Iran. The Houthis also have the capability to retaliate by launching missiles at Saudi oil infrastructure, and have done so in the past.

🔶️ USS Bataan and Carter Hall may have a different mission now in the Mediterranean. The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has had her deployment in the Mediterranean extended twice already in order to maintain deterrence against Iranian-aligned militants in Syria and Lebanon. The reconstituted Bataan ARG might have enough firepower to relieve Ford on station off Israel, allowing allow the carrier to go home at last (as previously planned, noted USNI). The carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was originally scheduled to relieve Ford, is needed in the Gulf of Aden to assist in countering the Houthi drone threat.