Crime Does Pay – FBI Hiding Dirty Cop Joe Pientka (Who Set Up General Flynn) and His Wife (Connected to Trump Tower Meeting) — BUT WE FOUND HIM

Dirty cop Joe Pientka whose is reportedly still at the FBI, and his wife, who we have uncovered is connected to the Trump Tower meeting, are living high on the hog with houses on both the East and West Coasts.

Joe was involved with everything corrupt involving the the Russia Collusion Hoax and his wife is an attorney for a company involved with Fusion GPS. The FBI is hiding them to this day.

The FBI has done all it can to hide Joe Pientka, the corrupt cop at the FBI involved most all the criminal activities involving the coup of candidate and President Trump. This corrupt cop was involved in everything and the FBI is hiding him. We have identified multiple reasons why.

Joe Pientka was a very key player in the Crossfire Hurrican and Mueller gangs created based on fraudulent information. We have pages on Pientka in a previous post: “The Many Corrupt and Criminal Actions FBI Agent Joe Pientka Involved in – Including Setting Up General Flynn – Yet Pientka Still Protected by FBI“.

Overall Pientka was:

Supervisor of Crossfire Hurricane.

The Crossfire Hurricane team members were selected by Peter Strzok, the Intel Section Chief, and Pientka.

The agents reported to Pientka.

Pientka reported operational activities to Strzok.

Pientka and Strzok entrapped General Flynn in the White House and lied about Flynn’s lying to the FBI

Pientka was a member of the Crossfire Hurricane gang that was running the sham Trump Russia collusion investigation. He shows in charts of the Crossfire Hurricane gang in 2016:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/exclusive-crime-does-pay-fbi-hiding-dirty-cop-joe-pientka-who-set-up-general-flynn-and-his-wife-connected-to-trump-tower-meeting-but-we-found-him/

"We Need A Full Investigation": Bannon Accuses Pelosi, Schiff And MSM Of Colluding On 11th Hour Impeachment Bombshells

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has called for a full investigation into coordination between Congressional Democrats and members of the media, after articles of impeachment against President Trump appear to have been deliberately 'slow walked' in order to coincide with two 'bombshell' developments in the Ukraine story.

"Why did they time this? Why did they wait?" asked Fox Business host Trish Regan.

"First off, Rachel Maddow should be a witness of fact now. She should be brought in," replied Bannon - referring to the seemingly coordinated media blitz surrounding Lev Parnas, an indicted former Rudy Goiliani associate whose undated, hand-written notes appear to support the claim that President Trump pressured Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden for corruption.

"We ought to have all the emails and all the text messages between Schiff, between Nancy Pelosi, Phil Griffin at MSNBC News. We ought to bring the whole thing out. How did this get dropped? Why have they been working on this for so long? How did this just come about at the last second? She admitted she's been working on this for months, and the House just got this. The Republicans didn't even see this when the vote when down," said Bannon, adding "This is now a complete farce."

"I think there was collusion between MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Lev Parnas's attorneys, and the entire process." -Steve Bannon

"So why did this not come forward earlier?" asks Regan.

"You know why, because they wanted to drop their "big reveal," this was going be such a big bombshell. This is all total hearsay from a guy trying to talk his way into a lesser sentence because he's already indicted. It's so obvious what he's trying to do."

Adding to the collusion / 'slow walk' theory is the completion of a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, which found that President Trump's pause of US aid to Ukraine violated the law. Of note, virtually every previous administration has received a similar nastygram from the GAO - just not the day after directly related impeachment articles were delivered to the Senate ahead of a trial.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/we-need-full-investigation-bannon-accuses-maddow-schiff-and-pelosi-colluding-11th-hour

Impeachment Goes from Sham to a Farce — Democrat Party’s Latest Great Hope to Take Down Trump Lev Parnas Wears Ankle Monitor to Interviews

On Monday Democrats released ‘notes’ by Lev Parnas that he claims show Rudy Giuliani ordered him to to call the President Zelensky of Ukraine and tell him aid would not be forthcoming if he didn’t agree to investigate the Bidens.

This Lev Parnas news was already reported in The New York Times back in November!

And Rush Limbaugh called it — Predicting in November that Democrats would come back and use Lev Parnas in their attacks on President Trump.

The legendary conservative radio host predicted on November 11th that indicted Ukrainian Lev Parnas will be the Democrats’ Great Ukrainian Hope.

On Wednesday night Rachel Maddow invited Lev Parnas on to discuss his evidence that will finally take down the Orange Man and his evil pro-American regime!

During his MSNBC appearance Parnas indicted President Trump, Vice President Pence, Rudy Giuliani, AG Bill Barr, Joe di Genova, Victoria Toensing and Rep. Devin Nunes.

It didn’t take long for the Department of Justice to publish a response to Lev Parnas and his claims saying his comments about Bill Barr were “100% false.”

For the record, back in November the spokesman for the Ukrainian President said Les Parnas was lying on his so-called meeting with President Zelensky.

And on Thursday CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko who told her,

“It’s all over the Ukrainian media as well today and yesterday and strangely enough my name was not mentioned although I am Minister of Foreign Affairs. And frankly I never spoke with this individual. And again frankly I don’t trust any word again he’s now saying.”

And then there is this…

The slimy Democrats not only sat on their Parnas “evidence” for months but their latest great hope to take down President Trump wears an ankle monitor when he goes on interviews.

Via NBC from a December article:

Parnas, 47, had been seeking less restrictive terms of confinement and monitoring while he awaits trial.

Parnas was arrested in October along with Igor Fruman, another Giuliani associate, and pleaded not guilty to charges of funneling money from foreign entities to U.S. candidates in a scheme to buy political influence.

Both Parnas and Fruman are alleged to have started making illegal campaign contributions in March 2018. Parnas, who is Ukrainian, was originally released on a $1 million bond secured on $200,000 cash. He was eventually released to home confinement with electronic monitoring.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/breaking-impeachment-goes-from-sham-to-a-farce-democrat-partys-latest-great-hope-to-take-down-trump-lev-parnas-wears-ankle-monitor-to-interviews/

Zelensky Rejects Ukrainian PM's Resignation After Embarrassing 'Mystery' Audio Surfaces

At a sensitive moment that Trump-Ukraine dealings are being spotlighted in US politics and just before Senate impeachment proceedings move forward which the president has called a "hoax" — it just so happens that explosive wiretap recordings of top Ukrainian government officials are being mysteriously released to shake up the Zelensky administration.

No less than Ukraine's prime minister has resigned after he was caught on an audio recording allegedly making disparaging comments about Zelensky's ability to understand and form economic policy. According to the bombshell WSJ report Friday:

Ukraine’s prime minister tendered his resignation following the release of an audio recording in which he appeared to make disparaging comments about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s understanding of economics.

Mr. Zelensky’s office said the president is considering the resignation of Oleksiy Honcharuk, who has been in office since August.

Honcharuk is allegedly caught in the recording saying his boss President Zelensky “has a very primitive understanding of economic processes.” The alleged recording surfaced earlier this week and immediately sparked controversy; however, it remains unclear as to the ultimate source of the audio's creation and leak.

PM Honcharuk affirmed it is his voice on the audio, but suggested it was heavily edited to create a false impression. He said it was different dialogue from multiple government meetings strung together to present a falsehood, according to the WSJ.

“This content artificially creates the idea that my team and I do not respect the president,” Honcharuk explained in a statement on his Facebook page. “But this is not true.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-rejects-ukrainian-pms-resignation-after-embarrassing-mystery-audio-surfaces

40% Of Countries In The World To Experience Civil Unrest In 2020

Nearly 40% of countries across the globe will see some form of civil unrest or riots in 2020, according to a new study.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/40-countries-world-experience-civil-unrest-2020

Democratic senator asks DOJ and FBI to not cooperate with colleagues' Ukraine-Chalupa probe

'The FBI is not a political weapon'

The top Democrat on an important Senate committee is asking that the Trump administration not cooperate with an investigation into a Ukraine-related investigation being conducted by two of his Republican colleagues.

In a letter first reported by The Daily Beast on Thursday, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) urged Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Chris Wray not to comply with a November request from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for information about Alexandra Chalupa, the former Democratic National Committee contractor who has been accused of working with Ukrainian officials to dig up dirt on the 2016 Trump campaign.

The request that Wyden is referring to was sent to the DOJ and FBI in November and was part of Grassley's and Johnson's committees' "ongoing investigation into collusive actions Chalupa and the DNC took to use foreign government sources to undermine the Trump campaign during the 2016 election." Grassley chairs the Senate Finance Committee while Johnson heads up the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

In the November letter, the two chairmen cited a Russian cyberattack that Chalupa reportedly experienced while working for the DNC during the 2016 campaign and subsequently reported to the feds. The letter contends that the attack happened while Chalupa was "reportedly trying to find dirt" on then-candidate Donald Trump and former campaign manager Paul Manafort "in order to undermine his presidential campaign" and in turn, asks for "all records relating to the DOJ's or FBI's interview of Chalupa" as well as "all records relating to the imaging of Chalupa's laptop and smartphone."

But Wyden wrote Thursday that the request was "outrageous" and warned that it would have negative consequences for national security and civil liberties, if fulfilled.

"The Senators' request will have a chilling effect on the victims of nation-state cyber-attacks and would discourage them from seeking law enforcement assistance, thereby jeopardizing our national security, limiting our ability to respond to sophisticated cyber-attacks, and undermining the civil liberties of American citizens," Wyden wrote.

Wyden also accused his two Republican colleagues of trying to "enlist the FBI and Department of Justice in their efforts to legitimize Russian propaganda" via their Ukraine probe.

"The FBI is not a political weapon and should be pressured into violating a citizen's civil liberties for political gain," he added.

In a statement to The Daily Beast, a Grassley staffer said, "Wyden's letter conflates Russian propaganda efforts with unrelated reports of potential election interference that have yet to be fully investigated. … It's disappointing that Sen. Wyden has decided to ignore legitimate questions about election security and instead regurgitate misleading liberal talking points to quash scrutiny of reported election tampering by a Democratic political operative."

https://www.theblaze.com/democratic-senator-asks-doj-and-fbi-to-not-cooperate-with-colleagues-ukraine-chalupa-probe

Angry 17-Year-Old Girl Threatens World Leaders In Davos: "You Haven't Seen Anything Yet"

Never one to miss an opportunity to grab some attention and tell grown-ups how mean they are, Great Thunberg - the 17-year-old figurehead of environmentalism - addressed a large crowd (organizers claimed 15,000) in Switzerland, warning world leaders ahead of next week's Davos meetings that "you haven't seen anything yet."

The so-called eco-warrior repeated her oft-heard comments that:

" So far during this decade we are seeing no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming.

That has to change. This is just the beginning. You haven't seen anything yet. We assure you of that."

Her fearmongering appears to be working as the young people in the crowd held up terrified-sounding signs including:

"Fear for our glaciers"

"HELP the Koalas"

"One, two, three degrees! It's a crime against humanity!"

"Let's Change The System, Not the Climate"

"There Is No Planet B"

"I Have a Green Dream"

"We Want A Cooler Planet"

Thunberg is due to address the summit in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos next week with a call on governments and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels.

She will reportedly tell her corporate audience that it is 'madness' to continue investing in fossil fuels as disasters such as the wave of wildfires in Australia focus new attention on the baleful effects of rising temperatures

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/angry-17-year-old-girl-threatens-world-leaders-davos-you-havent-seen-anything-yet

Cop Indicted After BB Gun Planted on Innocent Man to Justify Running Him Over with Cruiser

Baltimore, MD — The Baltimore police department is arguably one of the most corrupt and violent departments in the country. From planting guns and drugs to shooting innocent people, the BPD is constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. As the following case illustrates, these cops are so corrupt and arrogant, they thought they could get away with running over an innocent man and then planting a BB gun and drugs on him to justify it.

In a case that would make the perfect plot line for a Hollywood movie, a top Detective with the Baltimore Police Department was indicted this week for his role in framing an innocent man who’d been run over by another cop. Sadly, it was non-fiction, however, and this innocent man’s life was ruined.

A federal grand jury has indicted Robert Hankard, age 43, on federal charges related to allegations that he provided a BB gun that he knew would be planted on a suspect, that he falsified an application for a search warrant and an arrest report in a second incident where drugs were planted on a suspect, and that he falsely testified to a federal grand jury in a federal investigation.

According to the five-count indictment,

Hankard has been a member of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) since 2007 and was promoted to detective on March 20, 2014. In 2014 and 2015, Hankard served on a Special Enforcement Section (SES) unit assigned to the BPD’s Western District.

On the evening of March 26, 2014, Hankard, who was not on duty that day, received a call from his partner, who advised him that Sergeant W.J. had been “hemmed up” in something and asked Hankard if he had any “toys” or “replicas.” Hankard understood that his partner was asking for a BB gun or air soft gun so that it could be planted on a suspect.

Hankard advised that he did have a BB gun. Hankard’s partner came to Hankard’s house and Hankard provided him with the BB gun, which was subsequently planted at the scene of the arrest of D.S., whom Sergeant W.J. had run over after chasing D.S. No guns or drugs were recovered from D.S. at the time of his arrest, but drugs were recovered from D.S. at the hospital, where he had been taken in the custody of the Baltimore Police officers.

D.S. was charged with possession, use, and discharge of a gas or pellet gun, for the BB gun that was planted at the scene of D.S.’s arrest, and a number of drug offenses. D.S. was detained on those charges until at least April 2, 2014, and the charges were dismissed on January 16, 2015.

When the case previously went to a grand jury, Hankard allegedly falsely testified saying he provided no such BB gun. In response to yet another one of their officers getting caught framing innocent people, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said Hankard is on suspension with no pay.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/bb-gun-cop-framing-innocent/

The US Space Force Just Swore in Its First “Chief of Space Operations”

The U.S. Space Force is now a very real thing.

This week, Air Force Gen. John “Jay” Raymond was sworn in as the chief of Space Operations for the new United States Space Force. While it was initially reported as somewhat of a joke when Donald Trump first announced it, the U.S. Space Force is a very real thing and is now the seventh military branch of the Pentagon.

On Tuesday, Raymond was sworn in by Vice President Pence at his ceremonial office.

“It is President Trump’s belief that the United States must remain as dominant in space as we are on land and sea and the air. And your charge is to see to that mission with the United States Space Force,” Pence said during the ceremony.

Raymond responded by saying, “Mr. Vice President, we have our marching orders and we are moving out. We do not want a conflict to begin or extend into space, we want to deter that conflict from happening. The best way I know how to do that is to do so from a position of strength.”

The Space Force will be comprised of roughly 16,000 officers and other personnel from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Command. In fact Raymond is himself a commander of both the Air Force Space Command and the U.S. Space Command, possibly signaling that these agencies will be working very closely and consisting of many of the same members.

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In addition to the personnel from other agencies the Space Force was granted $40 million through the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Trump is expected to hold a meeting with Pentagon officials this week to discuss uniform and logo details for the new agency. The meeting will include Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, and the new chief of Space Operations Jay Raymond.

The Trump administration is also planning on sending a legislative proposal to Congress for the fiscal year of 2021 which would create National Guard and Reserve units for the Space Force. The proposal also seeks to consolidate other space-related organizations in the government under the Space Force banner including the Space Development Agency.

https://themindunleashed.com/2020/01/space-force-swore-first-chief-space-operations.html

Top Military Media Outlet Puts A 28-Year-Old Who’s Touted Her Hatred For Trump In Charge

The Army Times named a 28-year-old who has been vocal about hating President Donald Trump as its top editor Jan. 10.

Sarah Sicard previously worked as a spokeswoman for a New York councilman who describes himself as a “moderate Democrat.”

The Army Times is one of the oldest and largest papers catering to the military, which according to the publication’s own polling is overwhelmingly conservative.

The Army Times appointed as its top editor a 28-year-old feminist from Brooklyn who has repeatedly tweeted that she hates President Donald Trump and worked as a spokeswoman for a New York councilman who describes himself as a “moderate Democrat.”

After interning for several Democrats, graduating Hofstra University in 2014, and contemplating art school, Sarah Sicard wrote for a marijuana publication called the “Bluntness,” served as communications director for a New York city council member, and worked in corporate PR, according to her resume and online bios.

As of Jan. 10, she occupies the top editorial position of the Army Times, which has been published since 1940 and is one of the preeminent publications for military men and veterans.

That’s a jarring contrast with the audience that pays for subscriptions.

“Exit polling in the 2016 presidential election saw military members and veterans vote nearly two-to-one in favor of Republican candidates,” according to the Military Times, the Army Times’ parent publication.

“Does anyone else feel like Donald Trump’s endorsement of anything makes the rest of us immediate hate that thing?” Sicard tweeted in May 2019.

“Okay I hate @realDonaldTrump” she tweeted in September 2018.

“I mean, I hate Trump,” she tweeted in May 2017.

In January 2019, she tweeted she had lost followers because of “all my callouts of @POTUS.”

https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/16/army-times-editor-trump-hate/

Grooming Gangs Whistleblower: Police Who Turned Blind Eye to Abuse Must Be Prosecuted

Senior police officers who turned a blind eye to Muslim grooming gangs as working-class white girls were pimped and raped must be prosecuted for misconduct in public office, an ex-detective who blew the whistle on abuse in Manchester has said.

“These are not mistakes — I want to make it absolutely clear — these were deliberate acts to bury and ignore the abuse of many, many vulnerable children,” said Maggie Oliver, formerly of Greater Manchester, after yet another probe into the industrial-scale abuse of young, very often underage, and predominantly white girls by gangs of “predominantly Asian men” found that the authorities had been well aware of what was going on but did little or nothing to intervene, partly for fear they would be accused of racism.

One police source even told The Telegraph that officers were actually “told to try and get other ethnicities” while the abuse was going on — such was the force’s fear of racism accusations.

“My real anger about the whole of this 15-year journey is that the report makes it very clear that we had absolutely sufficient evidence to prosecute these serial paedophiles, and for that we need accountability,” insisted Oliver.

“This was gross criminal neglect at the top echelons of Greater Manchester Police. Covering up the truth,” she added.

“For me, accountability means taking those senior officers who made these decisions in front of a court. They should be charged with misconduct in a public office.”

Chief Constable Dave Thompson, who leads West Midlands Police, was a divisional commander in Greater Manchester Police at the time of the abuse, and identified in the probe as “Chief Superintendent A”.

Thompson claims to have “no recollection” of the events the probe describes, however, and insists that while “It is clear Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council should have done a better job [and as] a member of the force at that time, I am very sorry we did not do a better job”, he is “very clear I would not have closed an investigation”.

Multiple probes into grooming gang abuse have now deemed that law enforcement, council services, and other authorities failed in their duties with respect to the time being, but few — if any — of those involved have faced charges, dismissal, or loss of pensions etc.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/17/grooming-gangs-whistleblower-police-who-turned-blind-eye-abuse-must-prosecuted/

Virginia: Crisis “Actors” Sought Ahead Of Northam’s Lobby Day Trap

Without fail, as you look back at the false flag shootings in America or other mass shootings, there are scheduled “mass shooting training” that takes place either just prior to or on the very day of the attack. Additionally, many reports have documented where government has sought “crisis actors” in what it calls “training” ahead of these very attacks. With Lobby Day just days away in Virginia on Monday, January 20, Virginia is now seeking “actors” for an “ongoing live roleplaying project.”

First, the setup.

Governor Ralph Northam has issued an illegal state of emergency claiming the militia will storm the capitol, something that has zero evidence.

2A Group & Virginia Citizens Defense League File Emergency Injunction Against Governor: “Governor’s Action Is Illegitimate & Cannot Be Allowed To Stand”

GOA & VCDL File Suit To Strike Down Governor Northam’s Illegal Gun Ban

Virginia Governor Northam’s Lobby Day Gun Ban, Don’t Take The Bait

That “state of emergency” claim by Northam is being challenged by Gun Owners of America as well as the Virginia Civil Defense League (VCDL) by their filing of an emergency injunction against the governor.

Trending: 2A Group & Virginia Citizens Defense League File Emergency Injunction Against Governor: "Governor’s Action Is Illegitimate & Cannot Be Allowed To Stand"

Clearly, those who will be attending the annual Lobby Day on Monday have done so annually for years without incident, although at this point, one wonders what lobbying does when you have representatives and a governor who are traitors to the Constitution and the people of Virginia in imposing their lawless tyranny.

So, we get this ad at Film.Virginia.org for “actors.”

Here’s the description:

Description: HEAT courses are designed to prepare NGO staff for operating in challenging international environments through in-person simulations. Actors take on varying roles (terrorist, IED victim, hostage, rescue team) throughout each workshop. The work can be intense (both physically and mentally) but also very rewarding.

https://sonsoflibertymedia.com/virginia-crisis-actors-sought-ahead-of-northams-lobby-day-trap/

Group of 40 Cartel Gunmen Ambush Mexican Army near Texas Border

Mexican soldiers killed 11 cartel gunmen in a shootout immediately south of the Texas border. Local intelligence reports obtained by Breitbart Texas reveal the soldiers faced a group of approximately 40 attackers.

The shootout took place on Thursday afternoon within the municipality of Miguel Aleman, opposite Roma, Texas. The intelligence report said that soldiers patrolling the region encountered a group of approximately 40, who began firing. In response, the troops carried out a series of security maneuvers and killed 11 gunmen. No soldiers were hurt in the clash.

A prepared statement from the 8th Military Zone in Tamaulipas noted the attack took place at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time. The soldiers seized 11 rifles and an explosive device.

Miguel Aleman was the scene of numerous battles in recent days as members of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) faction of Los Zetas try to take the region from the Gulf Cartel. Numerous shootouts featured armored vehicles, .50 caliber rifles, and explosives.

The clash comes days after four soldiers drowned in an irrigation canal during a skirmish in the border city of Reynosa, immediately south of McAllen, Texas. During a chase, one Humvee rolled into water near the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. Some of the soldiers managed to escape, but four died after getting tangled in underwater plant growth.

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/01/17/group-of-40-cartel-gunmen-ambush-mexican-army-near-texas-border/

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/01/17/group-of-40-cartel-gunmen-ambush-mexican-army-near-texas-border/

Most Afghan troops and police are ‘a hopeless nightmare and a disaster,’ special inspector general tells Congress

The U.S.-led effort to train Afghan troops and police over the past two decades has been an abysmal failure for the most part, said John Sopko, the exceptionally frank special inspector general for reconstruction in Afghanistan.

"The Afghan military – and particularly the Afghan police – has been a hopeless nightmare and a disaster," Sopko told lawmakers on Wednesday. "And part of it is because we rotate units through that aren't trained to do the work, and they're gone in six-to-nine months. I don't blame the military, but you can't bring in a Black Hawk pilot to train an Afghan policeman on how to do police work. And that's what we were doing — we're still doing."

Sopko testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday following the Washington Post's publication of the "Afghanistan Papers," a series of interviews that SIGAR has conducted in which top U.S. officials have privately conceded that the war in Afghanistan has provided few — if any — tangible successes.

Many lawmakers were absent from the hearing as the big news of the day was the House of Representatives voting sending articles of impeachment to the Senate. Once again, the war in Afghanistan was drowned out by domestic politics and an American public with a short attention span.

While U.S. service members are trying to train Afghan troops and police to fight the Taliban, ISIS, and other terrorist groups, the Afghan security forces are undermined by extensive corruption that limits their effectiveness, Sopko said.

It has only been in the past year that Afghanistan has retired old Soviet-trained senior officers in order to allow a new generation of leaders to take over, so it is too soon to say whether that move has shown any success, he added.

"The problem is that below that corps level, below that officer level, you have a lot of corruption, a lot of incompetence and it's seriously hurting the Afghan military," Sopko. "The biggest problem is not casualties; it's desertion – people disappearing. Or, it's people who never existed who we're paying their salaries."

Many Afghan troops are not being paid or fed, he said.

"They have to buy their own food from their officers, who steal it from them," Sopko said.

But not all of the news about training Afghan security forces has been bad, Sopko pointed out on Wednesday. Two success stories have been Afghanistan's special operations forces and the Afghan air force.

In both cases, U.S. troops have worked with their Afghan counterparts for longer than the standard rotation. Special Forces soldiers work with the same Afghan units over repeated deployments and the Air Force has a cadre of airmen that work with Afghan aviators for up to four years.

"You don't want to send somebody over there for 18 years," Sopko said. "That's impossible. My dad was drafted for World War II and he was there for the length of the war, however long it lasted. That's a little different. But there's a way to do that so you don't lose that connectivity; you don't lose that experience; you don't lose that connection with this Afghan unit; and you work together; and that Afghan feels closer to you, the American advisor, than he does to the Taliban."

https://taskandpurpose.com/afghan-troops-police-disaster-sopko

Iraq: Obese Daesh mufti who called for rape and genocide caught

A morbidly obese Daesh ‘mufti’ who advocated enslavement, rape, torture and ethnic cleansing was caught in a raid yesterday by an elite Iraqi SWAT team of the Nineveh regiment in the city of Mosul.

Shifa Al-Nima, also known as Abu Abdul-Bari, was too overweight (reportedly weighing over 135 kilograms) to be put in a police car and was instead, unceremoniously taken into custody on the back of a pick-up truck.

Al-Nima is considered to be one of the biggest captures among the Daesh leadership in recent months, due to his position as the terrorist organisation’s top religious authority in issuing fatwas (religious edicts).

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200117-iraq-obese-daesh-mufti-who-called-for-rape-and-genocide-caught/

Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Off Expelling US Troops

After repeated threats from President Trump to sanction Iraq, to seize its primary bank account, and cut all military aid, Iraqi PM Adel Abdul-Mahdi has backed away from calls to expel US troops from Iraq.

Iraq’s parliament voted 170-0 earlier this month on the ouster, though US officials have said they don’t intend to leave, and have denied actually being asked. Following the threats, Abdul-Mahdi now says he wants to leave the question up to the next government.

That could take some time. Abdul-Mahdi nominally resigned last month, and there is meant to be work on reforming election law and holding fresh elections, meant to placate the anti-government protesters. There is no timetable for any of this, however, and efforts seem to have all but stopped since the US attack on Baghdad Airport.

The US had cut joint operations with Iraq shortly thereafter, fearing they’d quickly get into fighting after that. The US has announced they are resuming cooperation starting Wednesday, however.

US sanctions could quickly bankrupt Iraq, especially if Trump seized the bank account holding all their oil revenue, which is 90% of their budget. At the same time, not expelling the US after parliament already voted to do so could have major consequences for Iraqi sovereignty, and will likely be addressed again.

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/01/iraqi-prime-minister-backs-off-expelling-us-troops.html

>>7839036

kek was considering adding a comment about that

Pompeo says he 'never heard' about any efforts to surveil Yovanovitch

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said he was not aware of any surveillance of Marie Yovanovitch during her time in Kyiv as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, his first public comments on allegations that associates of Rudy Giuliani surveilled the career diplomat as they pushed for her removal.

“I never heard about this at all,” Pompeo said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt when asked if he was aware that Yovanovitch was being surveilled.

Pompeo said he was only aware of the suggestion that the ambassador was being followed after the release of text messages describing the effort, released this week by the House Intelligence Committee as part of evidence in the impeachment trial against President Trump.

“Until the story broke ahead, to the best of my recollection I had never heard of this at all,” Pompeo said, adding that he intends to "evaluate, investigate" whether Yovanovitch was under surveillance.

"We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there," he said in a separate interview Friday with radio host Tony Katz.

"I suspect that much of what’s been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of State, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate," he said. "Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, we’ll obviously do that."

The text exchanges released this week were between Lev Parnas, an associate of Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, and Robert Hyde, a Trump campaign donor, former Marine and Connecticut congressional candidate.

Hyde suggested in the messages he had a connection inside the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and access to people willing to take action against the ambassador. Hyde suggested he was following Yovanovitch's movements and her electronic communication.

Pompeo also denied knowing Parnas, a key individual in the investigation surrounding Trump’s impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Senate Democrats have called for Parnas to testify in Trump's impeachment trial about what he knew of the alleged campaign to pressure Ukraine.

Pompeo dismissed the impeachment as “noise here in Washington” that “comes up from time to time” in foreign policy discussions.

“It comes up from time to time. We do our best to make sure that everyone is focused on the things that really matter,” the secretary said.

Parnas has said in media interviews that “President Trump knew exactly what was going on,” related to efforts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden in an effort to discredit him before the 2020 election.

Parnas has also detailed that he was part of the campaign to remove Yovanovitch from her post as ambassador, saying the plan to remove her was solely motivated to clear obstacles in the way of pressuring Zelensky over announcing investigations.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/478774-pompeo-says-he-never-heard-about-any-efforts-to-surveil-yovanovitch

PREAY FOR EACH OTHER

Dear Father in the name of Jesus Christ please bring forth now and manifest the endgame reality take down of the EVIL plague that has stricken our world. AMEN

Gantz says PM ‘unfit’ for office over attempt to bring Kahanists into Knesset

Blue and White’s Nissenkorn demands Knesset legal adviser intervene over House speaker’s failure to convene plenum to push forward on Netanyahu immunity request

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz on Friday assailed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reportedly threatening Defense Minister Naftali Bennett earlier this week that he could lose his job if he failed to unite his New Right party with other small right-wing factions — including the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.

“Anyone who is willing to use Israel’s security to bring Kahanists into the Knesset is not fit to be the prime minister of Israel,” Gantz wrote on Facebook. “Anyone who trades in national security for personal benefit and uses his leadership position [to advance] his personal fortunes cannot be prime minister.”

Members of Otzma Yehudit are often referred to as Kahanists over their support for late extremist rabbi Meir Kahane.

Gantz said the past week had put on display “everything that is ugly about our politics.”

Bennett eventually united his party with National Union and Jewish Home to once again form the Yamina alliance, but would not budge on Otzma Yehudit.

The latter party’s leader Itamar Ben Gvir was left in the cold Wednesday when Jewish Home broke its agreement with him in order to join Yamina. He has vowed to run alone, though the latest polls have shown the party’s odds of entering the legislature remain low.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/gantz-says-pm-unfit-for-office-over-attempt-to-bring-kahanists-into-knesset/

Desert Locusts Threatening East Africa, Worst Swarms In 25 Years

The plague is believed to have originated in Pakistan and crossed into India

The desert locust is the most destructive of nearly a dozen locust species

A square kilometer can contain 150 million insects that can consume as much food as 2,500 people

Swarms of desert locusts are ravaging Kenya and other parts of East Africa, threatening the food supply for millions of people in the worst invasion in a quarter century, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned this week.

The swarms of desert locusts, the most destructive of nearly a dozen locust species, are affecting parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. The report said South Sudan and Uganda could be affected next. The plague is believed to have originated in Pakistan and then spread into India. The insects normally are present in the desert areas of 20 countries, stretching across 6 million square miles.

“One immature swarm was 60 kilometers [37 miles] long by 40 km [24 miles] wide,” the FAO said, with each square kilometer containing as many as 150 million insects that can travel as much as 93 miles a day and consume as much food as 2,500 people.

The swarms are so thick, pilots preparing to land an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Djibouti to Dire Dawa Thursday were forced to divert to Addis Ababa, the BBC reported.

“There is an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods” across the Horn of Africa, the FAO said.

David Mwangi, head of plant protection services at Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture, told the Guardian planes are spraying pesticides to try to kill the insects that so far primarily have destroyed grazing lands in the northeast.

“So far, they have not gotten to the cropland,” Mwangi said. “We are working hard to prevent them from spreading to food production areas.”

Abdurahman Hussein Ismail, a migratory pest expert and director of the Somaliland environmental and agricultural protection institute, told the Guardian the swarms have laid eggs that already are hatching, setting up another wave that may prove even larger.

In western India, locusts have damaged three quarters of the crops on nearly 62,000 acres of wheat, rapeseed, cumin and potatoes in 285 villages, agriculture officials said. Agriculture Minister R.C. Faldu said farmers will be given compensation of $257 a hectare for the damage.

https://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-news-desert-locusts-threatening-east-africa-worst-swarms-25-years-2904674