Experts dump cold water on 'massive' Trump attack rumors

Amid swirling rumors that President Donald Trump and his administration are plotting a "massive" renewed military assault on Iran, experts who spoke with The Hill dumped cold water on the idea, warning that such a thing likely would not be enough to subdue Iran.In a report published Saturday morning, The Hill cited conversations with various foreign affairs and defense experts who warned about the efficacy of "an intensified air strike campaign" against Iran, even one that might, as Trump has threatened repeatedly, target "bridges, water facilities and electricity plants." They warned that even this sort of plan would not be enough to extract major concessions from Iran in the ongoing peace talks.“I don’t think it will change Iran’s calculation in any way, because from Iran’s perspective, this is when they said it publicly, that this is a war of survival for them. So bombing from the air is not going to change Iran’s calculation, even if the U.S. intensifies it,” Sina Azodi, director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, told the outlet. “The only thing that will happen is that, first of all, the entire region is going to suffer more. The Iranians have made it very clear. I think it destroys any chance of diplomacy.” He added: "You can’t just do a ceasefire. You need a comprehensive agreement that it’s language is no longer open to interpretation. And quite frankly, U.S. has to, when it makes a commitment, it needs to abide by it."Another source, described as an anonymous "former senior U.S. defense official, told The Hill that airstrikes are unlikely to yield any meaningful progress, and argued that it would be impossible "without collectively enforcing the naval blockade, securing to some degree the traffic going through the Strait of Hormuz and absorbing some of the international economic cost as a long-term strategy.""But you’re not going to bomb yourself into a ceasefire," they said. "I think you’ve got to be able to put the economic instrument of power just as make it just as significant as what you’re doing [militarily]."Michael “Mick” Mulroy, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, also cast doubt on the efficacy of heavy airstrikes, but also noted that the options left to the U.S. at this point "aren’t good.""If we allow them to sell their oil, if we unfreeze assets, they’re going to use it to rebuild those capacities potentially faster than we really rebuild the precision munitions and interceptors that we use during a conflict, and we have to get into a new nuclear agreement," Mulroy explained. "If we don’t, then this, at least from the nuclear side, would be a perpetual conflict, because the other way of preventing them from ever getting a nuclear weapon is to periodically target the facilities that are making the potential nuclear weapon. So the options are not good.”

'Scared?' Furious Dem dares Trump admin to look victims' children 'in the eye'

An angry Democrat dared the Trump administration to look the children of men killed by immigration officers in the eye — but suggested they might be too scared. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) slammed the Trump administration for failing to attend a public hearing on deaths caused by its Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers — and called out his suspected reason why. "They're afraid, he said. "They are scared." Walkinshaw appeared on MS NOW Saturday morning to address what "The Weekend" host Eugene Daniels described as the "lying" and "untruths" about how two fatal ICE shootings "went down." Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was killed in Maine on July 13 — just days after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot dead in Texas, reports show. The Virginia Democrat had recently returned from Houston, where Araujo, 52, was killed by ICE and falsely accused by the FBI of possessing illegal drugs. As U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) confirmed Friday, the construction worker had electrolytes to help him keep hydrated. Walkinshaw felt compelled to go to Houston that same day, he said. "I wanted to... be able to look into their eyes and see and feel that that pain that they're experiencing," said Walkinshaw. "And bring it back with me to Washington and try to communicate it to my colleagues, especially our Republican colleagues."But Walkinshaw argued Republicans would rather "pour salt in the wounds" of families whose loved ones have died in ICE's hands, pointing to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens shot dead in protests, as proof. "It is disgusting what this administration is doing to families like this," he said. "It's character assassination." Walkinshaw then shared information from a closed-door briefing he held with ICE officials last week. Data show that out of 22,000 ICE officers, just one has faced disciplinary action. "There is no accountability in ICE right now," he said. "And it comes from the very top. In the Oval Office."This is why Walkinshaw professed himself outraged the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI "flat out refused" to send a representative to Friday's public hearing. Walkinshaw argued they didn't have the guts to face the children of the men ICE agents had killed. "They are afraid to to face communities like the community in Houston," he said. "After what has happened, I don't think they want to have to look Lorenzo and Ronaldo in the eye and see what they have done."

In 39 States, People Can Be Sentenced to Life for Murders They Did Not Commit

The Sentencing Project highlights the perverse consequences of the felony murder rule, a vestige of British law that still prevails in federal courts and all but two states.

Must-See Roadtrip Attraction Buc-ee's Salaries Will Make You Rethink Working at a 'Gas Station'

Donald Trump dons 'Trump 2028' hat and jokes about 'fourth term' – video

Donald Trump jokingly announced he was running for a fourth term, pulling out a red hat emblazoned with the words 'TRUMP 2028' during the White House correspondents’ dinner on Friday. He framed his remarks as a tongue-in-cheek appeal to journalists, calling the statement 'somewhat of a scoop'. Trump returned to the annual event celebrating press freedom after a shooting disrupted the original gathering in AprilTrump’s rambling gala address included insults, potshots and quip about a third presidential term Continue reading...

Trump orders signs outside Smithsonian museum amid row over its depiction of American history

Trump also directed the creation of a temporary exhibit intended to correct what his administration considers inaccurate historical information.

LOL! Trump Calls Iranian Leader Khamenei a “Gay Dictator” During White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (VIDEO)

President Trump took a moment during his White House Correspondents' Association Dinner speech on Friday to troll the Iranian Supreme Leader and highlight one of his accomplishments that "the media never talks about." Trump tossed the political correctness that the left-wing media complex is accustomed to out the window, telling them that Iran is "now being run by a gay dictator." As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is believed to be a gay man. The post LOL! Trump Calls Iranian Leader Khamenei a “Gay Dictator” During White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Trump’s address takes bitter turn after hailing ‘amazing job’ by reporters at gala

President took aim again at ‘fake media’ despite praising journalists and attacked opponents in rambling speech Donald Trump, who has regularly attacked the press over its coverage of him and his presidency, praised journalists for doing an “amazing job” as he addressed the White House correspondents’ dinner.A day after the Trump administration abandoned, for now, an extraordinary bid to subpoena reporters over their coverage, the US president attended the rescheduled White House correspondents’ dinner – an annual celebration of press freedom – in Washington on Friday evening. Continue reading...