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Is it possible for there to be YET. MORE. CHAOS.  Nikki, Nikki, Nikki what the hell are you thinking?  What the actual fuck are you thinking? 

And maybe Trump is starting to think that John Kelly is looking better and better.  Mulvaney isn't going to make it, I don't think. 

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More Trump shitter twitter - he announced via Twitter this morning (Sunday) that SecDef Mattis is out as of January 1, instead of Feb 28; Deputy Shanahan takes over. I'm sure Mattis was not forewarned. 

It probably took about 48 hours before Trump understood heard on TV that the Mattis resignation letter was a diplomatically phrased rebuke to all things Trump. Guessing that Mattis isn't taking any Christmas vacation.

Edited by Howl
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Yes, some sources are reporting that Mattis is fired and out as of now.  Other reports say Jan 1.  Besides Fox, I suspect some West Wingers weaponized Mattis' letter of resignation and whispered in Trump's ear -- perhaps an evil Greek chorus of Miller and Bolton, one for each ear.

Something to keep in mind.  Do you recall when Bolton's NatSec #2, Mira Ricardel, was fired because of a dust up with Melania? 

Ricardel (Trump campaign transition coordinator) clashed big time with Mattis, because some of Mattis' personnel picks didn't pass Ricardel's Trump-loyalty-purity test.  Mattis in turn blocked her from a Pentagon position. 

Wrapping this around, Ricardel and Shanahan (now acting SecDef) were tight when both worked at Boeing.  We'll see what happens.  DC palace intrigue continues. 

Edited by Howl
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Well, at least we know Steve Mnuchin had to get up early.  That tweet is time marked 6:35 am, Christmas Eve.  And all these people, who are on vacation in places like Aspen, the Caribbean, their private estate and other uber-exclusive enclaves, are going to have to take a damn conference call ON CHRISTMAS DAY.  No, no worries, just wanted to get everybody on the same page (parenthetically: before the entire US economy hits a fucking iceberg and goes down like the damn Titanic).

Note this from Mnuchin's statement: "These key regulators will discuss coordination efforts to assure normal market operations."  ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

No reason to panic.  Nothing to see here.  Move along.  When the US stock market gets nervous, the global market gets nervous and we just don't want anybody getting nervous, OK?  OK? 

Anybody else smell notes of eau d' flop sweat and desperation?

Now I'm nervous.  Wonder what kind of day my stock broker friend is having? He's been doing this a hella long time, through at least two stock market crashes, but he has to spend a lot of time calming nervous investors. 

Edited by Howl
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And Mnuchin is in Cabo San Lucas (Mexico, tip of Baja Peninsula) right now, enjoying sun, surf and seafood.  And by the way,

 

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One of the reasons the banks have "ample liquidity" is that a certain previous administration worked hard to restore sanity after the last uber-corrupt boom and bust cycle.  Sometimes I am truly awestruck over the machinations of Trump and his cronies. 

I foresee a few more dollars tucked beneath mattresses after this nonsense.

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On 12/27/2018 at 4:11 PM, fraurosena said:

WUT?!

I Wiki'd Pompeo, who is pro-Heritage Foundation, life begins at conception, staunchly anti abortion: 

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Mike and Susan Pompeo are affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Pompeo serves as a local church deacon and teaches Sunday school.  In 2014, Pompeo told a church group that Christians needed to "know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world".

The Rapture dealio is not new. He's been saying this since at least 2015

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In 2015 in a talk at a church, Pompeo said that "politics is a never-ending struggle ... until the Rapture."

And in other executive department news, Mattis will verbally 'hand off' SecDef duties to Stranahan  at 11:59 pm on Jan 1 via phone call. 

Trump is apparently in no hurry to name a permanent replacement, meaning things could flail along for many, many months.  This could also mean that no one, and I mean NO ONE,  is interested in stepping into the mutant ant bed that is the Trump administration's foreign and border policies.  

Edited by Howl
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On 12/29/2018 at 8:05 AM, Howl said:

Trump is apparently in no hurry to name a permanent replacement, meaning things could flail along for many, many months.  This could also mean that no one, and I mean NO ONE,  is interested in stepping into the mutant ant bed that is the Trump administration's foreign and border policies.  

I think it's a combination of things. First, if he doesn't nominate a replacement, his "acting" person can do lots of damage under the radar without the bother of going through the scrutiny of a senate confirmation. Second, the pool of available people who are even semi-qualified who would consider working for the shitshow is probably shrinking daily.

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1 hour ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I think it's a combination of things. First, if he doesn't nominate a replacement, his "acting" person can do lots of damage under the radar without the bother of going through the scrutiny of a senate confirmation. Second, the pool of available people who are even semi-qualified who would consider working for the shitshow is probably shrinking daily.

Shanahan was confirmed Deputy Secretary of Defense by a Senate vote; McCain was not happy about it.  Yes to "acting" person can do lots of damage under the radar. 

I was aware that Mattis called for a Yemen cease fire "within 30 days" back at the end of October and talks for a UN-brokered cease fire did begin in Noway (Sweden?) within that 30-day window.   WSJ reported on more background details here: 

Mattis, U.S. Commander Sought to Temper Saudi-Led War in Yemen    Backstage effort by defense secretary and Gen. Joseph Votel seen as helping bring about a fragile cease-fire

Spoiler

WASHINGTON—When the United Arab Emirates began drawing up new plans earlier this year to launch a risky operation to seize Yemen’s most-important port from Iran-aligned fighters, it turned to the U.S. military for help.

The response wasn’t what Emirati leaders were hoping for.

Emirati military officials detailed their plans for Gen. Joseph Votel‘s team at U.S. Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the talks.

Gen. Votel warned the Emiratis that they would have a hard time seizing the Yemeni port, according to these people. And he told them the U.S. wouldn’t provide them with the minesweepers, drone surveillance and intelligence they wanted for the fight over the port of Hodeidah, which serves as the country’s main gateway for humanitarian aid.

That U.S. pushback in June played a key role in forestalling the Emirati offensive—and helped create vital diplomatic space for a special United Nations envoy on Dec. 13 to broker a breakthrough cease-fire during talks in Sweden. In the midst of alleged truce violations on both sides, U.N. monitors arrived in Yemen in the past week to try to keep the deal in place before a new round of talks planned for January.

The behind-the-scenes role played by Gen. Votel was backed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Together, they have worked to temper Saudi and Emirati operations in Yemen, placing narrow limits on direct military support as they provided strategic advice to the Saudi-led coalition, according to Western and Middle Eastern officials.

Ultimately the efforts at restraint failed to assuage the U.S. Senate, which rebuffed Trump administration appeals and voted this month to cut off U.S. support for the war.

Both Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel will be leaving their posts soon. Mr. Mattis is leaving Tuesday amid a disagreement over President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. Gen. Votel is expected to retire early next year, after spending years in a key role on U.S. military strategy in the Middle East and South Asia.

Mr. Mattis has conferred regularly with Yusef Al Otaiba, the well-connected Emirati ambassador in Washington. He has held frequent talks with Martin Griffiths, the U.N. special envoy who brokered the recent peace deal. Mr. Mattis also spoke with Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed as negotiations gained momentum, according to people familiar with the call. The defense chief also made sure the U.S. military had an adviser on site for the talks in Sweden.

Gen. Votel also has played a key role, conferring with Saudi and Emirati military leaders about their battlefield plans, people familiar with the discussions said.

Their intervention, say key players in the conflict, was critical in moderating the Saudi-led coalition’s military moves in Yemen—and in pushing the U.S.’s Gulf allies into serious peace talks.

The Pentagon and Central Command both declined to comment on specific actions taken by Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel in the run-up to the cease-fire. One senior administration official said Mr. Mattis had been “personally involved in helping to bring the conflict to a peaceful resolution.” Others said their roles had been invaluable.

“What they have done is incredible,” said one Western official. “They’ve been there every step of the way, doing a lot of the heaviest lifting. They’ve made it clear to everyone who matters that a political solution is the only way out of this senseless, tragic war.”

The war in Yemen has proven to be an outsize problem for the Trump administration, which has provided Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. with advanced weapons, intelligence, military training and aerial refueling.

That support has done little to address systemic problems with the Saudi-led operation. Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel repeatedly have expressed frustration with the Saudi-led coalition’s inability to minimize the number of civilians killed by its airstrikes.

In August, a Saudi coalition jetfighter mistakenly targeted a school bus in Yemen, killing 40 children. When Saudi Arabia defended the strike, Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel warned their Gulf partners that they had to do something to avoid a cutoff in U.S. support, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Eventually, Saudi Arabia admitted it made a mistake and vowed to take steps to prevent another misguided airstrike.

Publicly, both Mr. Mattis and Gen. Votel have argued repeatedly that yanking U.S. military support would only make the problems worse.

But political opposition in Congress has grown. U.S. lawmakers from both parties were incensed by the Oct. 2 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

U.S. intelligence officials concluded that the killing likely was ordered by Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince. Mr. Trump has defended Prince Mohammed as an essential American ally.

As congressional opposition grew to Saudi Arabia and to the war in Yemen, Mr. Mattis moved in early November to scale back American military support, cutting off U.S. aerial refueling for Saudi and Emirati warplanes.

That wasn’t enough to address concerns among senators, who called for a funding cutoff, then unanimously approved a resolution blaming Prince Mohammed for Mr. Khashoggi’s death.

The shifting political winds have helped change the calculus for the U.S. and its allies.

“There has been a consensus for several months about the need to reach a political solution in order to end the conflict in Yemen,” said Mr. Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the U.S. “These discussions played an important role in reaching this point.”

Saudi embassy officials in Washington declined to comment.

Mr. Mattis began devoting more time to Yemen in recent months as he sought new ways to bring the conflict to an end. He has met repeatedly with Mr. Griffiths, the U.N.’s special envoy.

“I probably speak to him on average of once every two weeks, either face-to-face or by phone; sometimes it’s several times in a week,” Mr. Mattis told reporters in late November.

In the case of Hodeidah port, Emirati officials asked the U.S. for direct military support, but Gen. Votel and officers at Central Command warned that an amphibious assault was risky, according to people familiar with the discussions.

A full-scale siege likely would have triggered widespread famine, cholera and deaths, experts have said.

For now, the port has continued operating at reduced capacity, U.N. officials have said, continuing to serve as a gateway for humanitarian aid to nearly three quarters of the country’s 28 million people.

Mr. Mattis is being replaced on Tuesday by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive with minimal foreign policy or military expertise, who will serve as acting Pentagon chief until Mr. Trump appoints a replacement. It remains to be seen whether he will devote the same time and energy that Mr. Mattis did in trying to resolve the war in Yemen.

Compare the text of the Wall Street Journal article above with an item in The Guardian dated November 29, 2018:  

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Top story: UN resolution blocked after Saudi lobbying

United Nations diplomats say the US and other security council members have stalled a resolution calling for a halt to the fighting in Yemen, following lobbying by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Britain drafted the resolution, which demanded a ceasefire in the city of Hodeidah and the resumption of humanitarian deliveries through its port.

To sum, Mattis and Gen. Votel worked incredibly hard to bring about a Yemen cease fire and set up peace talks, but the US was lobbied AGAINST this in the UN.  For a sense of how difficult it was to set up peace talks, the Houthis refused to attend previously arranged peace talks -- they just didn't show up. Ahead of the current peace talks, a good will prisoner exchange took place as a confidence building measure. 

Note also that the work done by Mattis and Gen. Votel, as outlined in the WSJ article, should also have involved the State Department at some point, so where was Pompeo in all of this?  

Also, for those who looked at the WSJ article and decided TL;DR, this is the last and very depressing paragraph: 

Quote

Mr. Mattis is being replaced on Tuesday by Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive with minimal foreign policy or military expertise, who will serve as acting Pentagon chief until Mr. Trump appoints a replacement. It remains to be seen whether he will devote the same time and energy that Mr. Mattis did in trying to resolve the war in Yemen.

 

Edited by Howl
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I'm practically beyond shock at this point.  As I pointed out in another post, I do now think that Trump is a Russian asset on a variety of levels; it simply can't be denied.  Putin will continue to be more aggressive and provocative and capitalize on this in 2019.  

I'm still on facebook but I have to admit to myself that it's a global criminal enterprise when it comes to malign influence.  FB keeps saying it's "doing stuff" but nothing is really being done to stop Russian social media influence. 

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Mattis' farewell statement, starting with a quote of Lincoln's telegram to Grant.  This is an incredibly serious message, an elegant semaphore of sorts for all of us, really, warning that our country is in peril and to hew to the Constitution in these very, very dangerous times.

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EMPLOYEES

SUBJECT: Farewell Message

On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln sent to General Ulysses S. Grant a one sentence telegram. It read: "Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans."

Our Department's leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. I am confident that each of you remains undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life. Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes.

It has been my high honor to serve at your side. May God hold you safe in the air, on land, and at sea.

James N. Mattis

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