Dan Caine, Trump’s Joint Chiefs Pick, Had Unusual Path to Top Ranks NYTs of course

The general made an impression in 2018 when he said, according to the president, that the Islamic State could be defeated in a week. 2/21/251/2

In President Trump’s telling, Dan Caine, the retired Air Force lieutenant generalwhom he wants to be his next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made an impression on him when the two men first met in 2018.

The general told the president that the Islamic State was not so tough and could be defeated in a week, not two years as senior advisers predicted, Mr. Trump recounted in 2019.

And at a Conservative Political Action Conference meeting last year, Mr. Trump said that General Caine put on a Make America Great Again hat while meeting with him in Iraq. (General Caine has told aides he has never put on a MAGA hat.)

On Friday, Mr. Trump said he would nominate General Caine after firing Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot known as C.Q.

“Today, I am honored to announce that I am nominating Air Force Lieutenant General Dan ‘Razin’ Caine to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Mr. Trump said in a message on Truth Social. “General Caine is an accomplished pilot, national security expert, successful entrepreneur, and a ‘warfighter’ with significant interagency and special operations experience.”

General Caine is a 1990 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, where he received a degree in economics. He later got a master’s degree in air warfare at the American Military University.

An F-16 pilot with 150 combat flight hours, General Caine’s career took him on an unusual path for a future Air Force general.

He was a White House fellow at the Agriculture Department and a counterterrorism specialist on the White House’s Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush. He served in several highly secretive intelligence and special operations assignments, some in the United States and some overseas.

According to his military biography, General Caine was a part-time member of the Air National Guard from 2009 to 2016 and “a serial entrepreneur and investor.”

He was also an associate director for military affairs at the C.I.A. from 2021 to 2024, serving as the principal liaison to the Pentagon and working with the military on several highly classified programs and operations, former colleagues said.

Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., a former head of the military’s Central Command, described General Caine in an email as an “exceptionally talented officer.” General McKenzie said he worked closely with the general in his C.I.A. assignment, and that he was “very effective in that job.”

While at the C.I.A. in 2023, General Caine offered a reflection about his time as the chief of weapons and tactics attached to the 121st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, in Washington’s Maryland suburbs, on Sept. 11, 2001. After the terrorist attacks, fighter jets were deployed over Washington for the first time.

“We jumped in the airplanes and started them up,” General Caine recalled in a reflection on Sept. 11 posted by the C.I.A. “As my plane came to life, the generators came online, and the radios were going ballistic. People on the emergency channels were saying, ‘Anybody around Washington, D.C., will be shot down.’ I remembered thinking to myself: ‘Wait. That’s me that will be shooting.’”

“The weapons were loaded on my airplane so we’d have the 20-millimeter gun and two heat-seeking missiles,” he continued. “I was airborne for about 7.5 to 8 hours that day.”

Mr. Trump’s recounting of the time he met General Caine has changed over time. In his first known public telling of the story, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2019, he said the two met during his visit to Iraq.

“I said, ‘What’s your name?’” Mr. Trump recalled. “‘Sir, my name is Razin.’”

“‘Raisin, like the fruit?’” Mr. Trump said he asked. “‘What’s your last name?’”

“‘Caine,’” Mr. Trump said was the officer’s response. “‘Razin Caine.’”…

https://archive.is/504Gl

>>22636164

2/2

That was when Mr. Trump said the general then told him he could defeat the Islamic State in a week.

“‘One week?’” Mr. Trump said he asked incredulously. “‘I was told two years!’”

“‘We’re only hitting them from a temporary base in Syria, but if you gave us permission, we could hit them from the back, from the side, from all over, from the base you’re right on right now, sir,’” Mr. Trump quoted him as saying. “‘They won’t know what the hell hit them.’”

Mr. Trump also said that General Caine told him that his superiors came from Washington but did not listen to their commanders in the field, and that “you’re the first one to ask us our opinion.”

Five years later, Mr. Trump spoke about that interlude at another CPAC meeting. This time, Mr. Trump said General Caine promised that the Islamic State could be defeated in four weeks, not one.

The president also added a new detail, claiming that General Caine donned a MAGA hat, despite military guidelines that active-duty troops should not wear political paraphernalia.

“‘I love you, sir. I think you’re great, sir. I’ll kill for you, sir,’” Mr. Trump said General Caine said. “Then he puts on a Make America Great Again hat,” Mr. Trump said, laughing. “You’re not allowed to do that, but they did it.” (This paragraph sounds like bullshit they made up, Trump never said anything about the MAGA hat, nor would Caine say he loved the PresidentTotally inappropriate. NYTS just tried to cause a feud)

https://archive.is/504Gl

22 Feb, 2025 21:47

NATO to expand military pipelines in Eastern Europe – Spiegel

The bloc supposedly plans to extend pipelines from Germany to Poland and the Czech Republic for rapid jet fuel supply in a potential war with Russia

NATO is supposedly set to extend its Cold War-era fuel pipeline system from western Germany into Poland and the Czech Republic, according to Der Spiegel citingan internal memo from the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. The move comes as the bloc makes “operational plans for a possible Russian attack on the eastern states”, the newspaper wrote on Friday.

NATO's Central European Pipeline System was built in the late 1950s and was designed “to meet operational needs in central Europe in times of peace, crisis and conflict.” It transported large volumes of kerosene, gasoline, and diesel fuel through Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and was also used by the United States.

The plans include “storing fuel as far east as possible near the potential area of ​​operations,”according to an internal memo. Now the fuel distribution is limited to NATO's eastern flank, the existing pipeline network currently ends in western Germany.

The project is to cost €21 billion ($22 billion) and is expected to be largely completed by 2035, according to the report. Germany is ready to contribute more than €3.5 billion ($3,7 billion) to the project, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Der Spiegel. “For our soldiers, a reliable fuel supply is one of the essential requirements for their operational readiness,” he added.

A senior NATO official told Der Spiegel that while ammunition and spare parts could be airlifted, fuel transport by plane would be nearly impossible due to “immense consumption”. He told Der Spiegel there are “significant problems in the sustainable supply of fuel to the forces that would have to be relocated to the eastern border if necessary”. “The demand is gigantic,”the official claimed.

However, some factors could delay construction and increase costs, Der Spiegel added. The pipeline is to be laid under several rivers, including the Weser and Elbe, that should be “protected from possible accidents”.

In addition, there might appear “land issues”with the authorities and land owners that should be “clarified”, the newspaper wrote.

Russia has repeatedly argued that the Ukraine conflict was provoked by NATO expansion towards its borders, Kiev’s aspirations to join the US-led military alliance, and Ukraine’s policies toward the Russian-speaking Donbass region. Western officials have suggested that Russia could pose a threat to NATO amid the Ukraine conflict, but Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed these claims as 'nonsense,' arguing they are used to justify Western military spending.

In December 2024, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated that Russia must be prepared for any scenario, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe within the next decade.

(NATO and EU will never stop poking the Bear,did they get the US approval to do this? They are intentionally try to sabotage peace talks.US should leave NATO and let them try to continue NATO and EU aggression towards Russia)

https://www.rt.com/news/613166-nato-to-expand-military-pipelines-eastwards/

22 Feb, 2025 21:10

Elon Musk says ‘Reuters is lying’

The billionaire has denied the agency’s report on plans to cut Ukraine off Starlink to pressure it into the rare earths deal

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has accused Reuters of “lying” as he denied the agency’s report on plans to threaten Ukraine with cutting it off Starlink internet access to gain leverage in the ongoing bargaining about natural resources.

The agency reported on the matter on Saturday, citing three US officials familiar with the plans.According to Reuters, the Ukrainians were threatened with an “imminent shutoff” of Musk’s Starlink satellite service during a meeting between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Trump’s envoy, Keith Kellogg, in Kiev this week, should they not sign the deal on rare earths with Washington.

Musk took to his social media platform X later in the day, denying the existence of such plans and accusing Reuters of “lying.”

“This is false. Reuters is lying. They are second only to AP (Associated Propaganda) as legacy news liars,” the billionaire wrote.

SpaceX has provided the Ukrainian military with Starlink internet since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, delivering more than 40,000 terminals over the course of the hostilities. The terminals have promptly become a key command and control tool for Kiev’s military. The deal..

Musk’s systems have also seen direct combat use, with satellite terminals repeatedly seen rigged to aerial and sea drones used by the Ukrainian military to provide them with a reliable and hard-to-jam control access.

SpaceX reportedly secured a new Pentagon contract to expand Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite network late last year. According to a Bloomberg report, a total of 3,000 Starlink terminals in Ukraine were granted access to Starshield, a more secure and militarized version of the system, under the deal.

https://www.rt.com/news/613164-elon-musk-lying-reuters/

(The EU hates Trump, they will try anything to discredit a peace deal.)

22 Feb, 2025 23:20

Trump wants US to ‘get back’ money spent on Ukraine

Kiev should compensate Washington with rare-earth minerals and oil, the president said

Ukraine must compensate the US for all the assistance provided to Kiev during its conflict with Moscow, President Donald Trump has said. His comments add to the public spat between him and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky over the issue of aid and negotiations with Russia.

“Europe has given $100 billion. The United States has given $350 billion because we had a stupid, incompetent president and administration,” he told the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on Saturday.

“I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. So, we’re asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get,” he added. “So, we’re getting our money back. We’re going to get our money back because it’s not fair. It’s just not fair.”

Since February 2022, the US Congress has appropriated $183 billion for Ukraine, including more than $66 billion in security assistance, according to the Pentagon and Ukraine Oversight, the interagency group tasked with presenting reports to Congress.

Trump has repeatedly stressed that Kiev and its European backers must provide an account about all the funds and has insisted that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky was on a “gravy train” with American money during the Biden administration.

Zelensky, who stated recently that Ukraine would have a “low chance” without American help, has refused to sign a deal that would have granted US companies 50% ownership of the country’s mineral resources. He later argued that any deal must also include concrete security guarantees for Kiev. Trump, for his part, told reporters at the White House that, if signed, the minerals agreement could bring up to $500 billion to the US.

Trump has ramped up his criticism of Zelensky this week, branding him “a dictator without elections” and accusing him of squandering an opportunity to make peace with Russia. He insisted that Ukraine was in no position to complain about being sidelined during the US-Russian talks, which took place in Riyadh on Tuesday.

(https://www.rt.com/news/613167-trump-ukraine-compensation-aid/

(I don’t think really he wants the money back if it means being tied to Ukraine forever,Anons any ideas on what he’s trying to expose? Did Z share US money with EU leaders?Personally I wish the US could just walk away from that shithole.)

22 Feb, 2025 20:16

Ex-Zelensky aide threatens to jail him for life

Aleksey Arestovich, should he become Ukraine’s president, has claimed he will jail his former boss, Vladimir Zelensky, and his “ (One thug for another thug. They are all corrupt)

Former aide to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky Aleksey Arestovich has pledged to jail the incumbent Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the entirety of his “gang” in case he becomes the country’s new president.

Arestovich, once Ukraine’s top spin (propaganda) doctor, made the remarks on Friday while speaking to journalist Aleksandr Shelest. Asked whether he would arrest Zelensky should he get elected, Arestovich pledged to detain the country’s incumbent leader and his whole “gang,” adding that it was up to a court to ultimately decide their fate.

“I will give the order to detain him. And no foreign power will save him and his gang. We will catch everyone, no matter where they are hiding, we will get them out from under the ground, bring them in and we will deliver the verdict live on air. No, not even a hair will fall from his head. He will get jailed - and I believe - for life,” Arestovich stated.

The ex-aide accused his former boss of killing off Ukrainians “by the tens of thousands” just for the sake of keeping his “beloved” power, which he has been ultimately using to “kill and rob.”Arestovich also pledged to reshape the Ukrainian governing model and make the state “face the people,” adding he will use force if necessary to reach the goal.

Arestovich was a long-time associate of Zelensky, with theties between the two going back to their time in show business. During Zelensky’s presidency, Arestovich became his informal adviser and a top propagandist, heralding a purportedly imminent victory in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He left the role in early 2023 after contradicting the official narrative around a deadly missile incident. Arestovich has grown increasingly critical of his former bossand has since moved to the US, claiming that Kiev wants him jailed on politically-motivated charges.

Earlier this month, Arestovich said Ukraine has already “lost the war due to our own stupidity, pride, and stubbornness,” warning that Kiev’s denial of reality would ultimately exclude it from having a say in the conflict’s outcome altogether.

“We have created a society of mutual hatred and intolerance, in which every individual is right and everyone collectively is to blame,” he said.

(https://www.rt.com/russia/613156-zelensky-aide-jail-threat/

(This guy has known Zelensky for a long time and knew how corrupt and evil he is, like himself, none of them are convincing that they have mercy or feelings.The US DS trying to find another puppet!)

It sounds totally ridiculous to have to announce this

20 Feb, 2025 20:54

US declares ‘mother’ is female and ‘father’ is male

The new guidance unveiled by the Health Department is part of President Donald Trump’s “only two sexes” policy

US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has announced new guidance defining ‘mother’ as a female parent and ‘father’ as a male parent. The announcement comes aspart of President Donald Trump’s “only two sexes” federal policy.

Since taking office, Trump has issued multiple gender-related orders affirming that US government policy recognizes only two sexes – male and female. He has instructed the health department (HHS)to provide “clear guidance”within 30 days on how to interpret sex-based definitions.

The guidance issued by the HHS on Wednesday defines ‘sex’ as an immutable biological classification, designating individuals strictly as male or female. A ‘female’ is described as “a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs”. A ‘male’ has a reproductive system “with the biological function of producing sperm”. Consequently, a ‘mother’ is defined as a female parent, and a ‘father’ as a male parent.

“This administration is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government,” RFK Jr. was quoted as saying in the HHS statement. “The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over,” he argued.

For years, the US has moved away from traditional parental titles, replacing ‘mother’ and ‘father’ with ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two’. In 2011, theState Department justified the change, arguing that gender-specific parental terms were outdated. Furthermore, in August of last year, the Vermont Department of Health recommended using gender-neutral terms such as ‘child’ or ‘kid’ instead of ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ to promote inclusive language.

“It took many years of effort, but we are finally back to science and common sense,” Roger Severino, who served as director of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights during the first Trump administration, posted on X on Thursday, praising the announcement.

Trump has swiftly rolled back protections for transgender rights, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which the federal government had established during former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Trump ended federal support for medical procedures related to sex change procedures for minors, to protect them from “chemical and surgical mutilations.”

Last month,he signed an order barring “radical gender ideology” in the military, stating service should be limited to thosementally and physically fit. Another executive order banned trans women from female sports, with plans to block transgender athletes from competing in US-hosted events, including the 2028 Olympics and World Cup.

Several of Trump’s policies face legal challenges, with federal judges blocking some directives. His administration’s approach has drawn criticism from civil rights groups and LGBT advocates. (IOWs, NGO’s making a ton of money destroying lives of children and adults)

https://www.rt.com/news/613082-us-parents-new-guidance/

Tucker CarlsonRay Dalio: America’s Hidden Civil War, and the Race to Beat China in Tech, Economics, and Academia

Ray Dalio on AI, the debt crisis andwhat actually makes people happy.

42:38

https://youtu.be/0j1gcGD5DrA

>>22636613

This is somewhat scary but real. It’s all about what companies come up with the most money making endeavors, and let humankind be left behind. Only a quarter through but it’s obvious what the outcome will mean for the people of the world.

>>22636613

Ray DalioBrilliant Anons listen to this, you’ll understand the known and the absolute unknowable in five years to comeI’ve been very comfortable with change and challenges all my life, but as I age that flexibility is not as strong. And what Dalio says, AI will propel those changes, will be working at quantum speed. So very much so, we have no idea what it will be.

Better eat more clean fish for my brain to try to keep up. Kek

>>22636633

I have to agree

>>22636669

Cheyenne Mtn that Trump closed up on March 15, 2020 and never opened again to this day

Can we just ban perverts from our country, along with the radical destroyers?

Gaza captor told hostages that Hamas collaborates with US campus protesters, lawsuit alleges

Case filed by three former hostages against US nonprofit says member of terror group who held them claimed to be working with ‘allies’ at universities and in the media

By LUKE TRESS

22 Feb 2025, 10:12

A Hamas member who held Israelis hostage in Gaza told the captives that the terror group was coordinating with “allies” on college campuses and in the media, according to a lawsuit filed in US court on Friday.

The lawsuit was filed by former hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv. All three were taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.

They were held in Gaza by Abdallah Aljamal, according to the lawsuit and the IDF. Aljamal was a writer for the Palestine Chronicle, a news outlet run by the People Media Project, a US-based, tax-exempt nonprofit that is the focus of the lawsuit.

The hostages were rescued after 246 days in captivity in an IDF operation in June that also extracted hostage Noa Argamani, who was held separately nearby. Aljamal, his wife Fatima and his father Ahmad Aljamal were all killed during the hostage rescue mission. The family’s children survived.

Jan initially filed the lawsuit last year. The judge in the case granted a motion to dismiss the case last month, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove the defendants were aware that Aljamal was a Hamas operative. The judge allowed Jan to refile an amended complaint, however.

The new complaint was filed on Friday, adding Kozlov and Ziv as plaintiffs. The lawsuit, backed by the National Jewish Advocacy Center, was filed in a federal court in Washington State, where the People Media Project is based.

The case argues that the Palestine Chronicle provided Aljamal with a platform to “disseminate Hamas propaganda,” providing material support to a US-designated terrorist organization, in violation of international law.

According to the amended complaint, Ziv said Aljamal “repeatedly expressed his hatred for the State of Israel and the United States,” and told the hostages that “Hamas was in contact and actively coordinating with its affiliates in the media and on college campuses.”

Aljamal told the hostages that “Hamas was going to ensure that the United States, as well as Jews and Israelis, are hated everywhere and that Hamas in Gaza was coordinating with its allies, including its allies in the media and on college campuses, to foment hatred against Israel and Jews,” the complaint said.

There were no further details about the cooperation between the terror group and campus protesters or the media.

The Palestine Chronicle was reporting about US campus protests around the same time, and in August 2024, published an article about Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urging university students to protest.

Aljamal was previously a spokesperson for the Hamas-run labor ministry in Gaza. He was open about his affiliation with the terror group, appearing publicly in Arabic media as a spokesperson and posting Hamas graphics and photos of his son wearing a Hamas headband on social media. He began writing for the Palestine Chronicle in 2019 while still serving as a spokesperson for Hamas’s labor ministry, according to the lawsuit.

Aljamal appears to have had foreknowledge of the Hamas attack. On October 7, at 5:43 a.m., immediately before the invasion, he posted a message on TikTok that said, “O God, guide us.. O God, grant us the victory that you promised.. O God, acceptance, acceptance, acceptance.. Your victory, O God,” followed by a heart emoji.

Later in the day, Aljamal praised the attack on Facebook.…

https://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-captor-told-hostages-that-hamas-collaborates-with-us-campus-protesters-lawsuit-alleges/

The industry hit hardest by DOGE cuts so far (hint: it's not the media)Yahoo tries to downplay DOGE

Sat, February 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM EST

Specific companies are already feeling the effects of cost cutting by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the first wave of publicly available datashowing a number of government consultants facing hundreds of millions of dollars in canceled or renegotiated contracts.

They include some prominent names, such as Deloitte.The ended contracts for that multinational London-based firm, DOGE claims, total more than $219 million in savings for taxpayers.

The effect on Deloitte's bottom line isn't clear but is a relatively small piece of Deloitte Worldwide'sreported 2024 revenue of $67.2 billion.

Other development and consulting firms— many such smaller businesses dot the Washington area and focus on US government contracts as their main source of revenue — could see much deeper relative cuts.

One recent lawsuit filed by a group of these companies —Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump— charged that "they have suffered and will continue to suffer enormous and concrete harm to their businesses" because of the administration's actions.

At least one plaintiff charged that actions by the White House and DOGE have also left open "months of unpaid invoices" for work already done.

An official at one firm told Yahoo Financethat 20 contracts had been terminatedin recent weeks and added that "the immediate issue is the federal government’s failure to pay for work it commissioned and approved — that’s fundamentally unfair."

Another — perhaps more prominent — group of companies also faces cuts but at a vastly smaller scale: media outlets. They are now selling fewer subscriptions to the government for their services after a wave of cancellations.Politico(NYTs has been bankrupt for years where are they in DOGE?)

Those savings add up to a bit more than $13 million in possible lost revenue, a Yahoo Finance analysis found, representing only about 0.18% of the overall claimed DOGE savings so far.

The top impacted firms

The final impact for all of these companies — and actual savings to taxpayers — remains far from clear as the DOGE team has repeatedly revised its claimed savings downward in recent days in response to errors being pointed out. The exact terms of the contracts also aren't known.

What is clear is that much of the early focus has been on consulting and development companies such as Deloitte, DAI Global, and International Development Group.

In one example — the largest cut claimed by Musk's team — the group says taxpayers have been saved $654,990,000 due to ending a contract with International Development Group Advisory Services.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-industry-hit-hardest-by-doge-cuts-so-far-hint-its-not-the-media-161053145.html