Rep. Rashida Tlaib and the Holocaust: Facts versus falsehoods

Commenting on the Holocaust, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who has already gotten into a heap of controversy over previous anti-Semitic remarks, claimed that her “Palestinian” ancestors helped create a “safe haven” for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.

“There’s always kind of a calming feeling when I think of the tragedy of the Holocaust, that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence, in many ways, has been wiped out … in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-Holocaust, post-tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time,” Tlaib said in an interview with Yahoo News. “And I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that in many ways.”

Tlaib’s ancestors were not at all welcoming to the Jews. In fact, they were openly hostile to the idea of Jews living alongside them. One of the clearest examples of that reality was the 1936-1939 Arab riots.

As persecuted European Jews were attempting to find safe haven from Nazi Germany in their ancestral homeland, the Arabs of British-controlled Mandatory Palestine launched riots with the explicit, stated goal to prevent further Jewish immigration to the land of Israel. The riots, from 1936 to1939, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Jews. And through violent force, the Arab riots convinced British authorities to curb Jewish immigration. In 1939, British authorities announced that only 15,000 Jews would be allowed to immigrate to the area per year for the next five years.

The Palestinians have consistently been on the wrong side of history

Many have rightly pointed out, in response to Rep. Tlaib’s comments, that Arab leadership in Mandatory Palestine sided with Nazi Germany during World War II, and the grand mufti of Jerusalem at the time was a trusted ally of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Siding with the enemies of America (and free countries everywhere) has been a common theme in the history of Arab leadership, which later came to identify as Palestinian, in the land of Israel. Being on the wrong side of World War II was not a one-off incident.

Palestinian national identity has roots in the Soviet Union. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), founded in 1967, was entirely controlled and funded by the USSR. And the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which spawned Palestinian identity, was largely propped up by the Soviets. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Palestinians were on the wrong side of the Cold War.

And of course, who could forget that Palestinians took to the streets after the 9/11 attacks to cheer the terrorist carnage.

"Palestinian" leadership were on the wrong side of World War II. They supported Nazis.

They were on the wrong side of the Cold War. They supported the USSR.

They were on the wrong side of 9/11. They cheered the attacks.

In contrast, Israel, since its founding in 1948, has been on America’s side, the right side of history.

Trade war continues: China raises tariffs on US imports

Beijing has responded to President Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Chinese goods. The government has decided to impose $60 billion of new tariffs on U.S. goods, which are expected to go into effect on June 1.

“Beijing will increase tariffs on more than 5,000 products to as high as 25%. Duties on some other goods will increase to 20%. Those rates will rise from either 10% or 5% previously,” CNBC reports.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf: Saudi, UAE ships ‘attacked’

Saudi Arabia’s news agencies have announced that two of its oil tankers were damaged in a “sabotage attack” while traveling around the Persian Gulf.

The Saudis have not announced who they believe is stirring up trouble in the strategically vital, energy-rich Gulf.

In addition to the attacks on the Saudi tankers, the United Arab Emirates has also reported trouble on the high seas. On Sunday, the UAE foreign ministry said four of its commercial ships were attacked in the same region.

The news comes amid heightened concerns about Iran’s efforts to disrupt or attempt to close off the vital shipping routes in the Gulf. The United States has deployed several warships and military assets into the region, citing terrorist threats from Iran and its proxy entities.

Venezuela’s Guaido government formally requests US military backing

The U.S.-endorsed opposition in Venezuela under Juan Guaido has formally asked the Pentagon for help in its efforts to overthrow socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro and expel foreign forces from Venezuela.

In a letter sent to U.S. Southern Command, which was shared on social media by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, Guaido’s U.S. envoy Carlos Vecchio writes: "We welcome strategic and operational planning so that we may fulfill our constitutional obligation to the Venezuelan people in order to alleviate their suffering and restore our democracy.”

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here.

The Trump-Russia investigation began with a false premise

Andy McCarthy of National Review breaks down how the James Comey-led FBI used a false premise to launch the Trump-Russia investigation, which concluded without finding a single piece of evidence to corroborate collusion with the Kremlin.

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire

Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, following a weekend of seemingly endless rocket fire from the jihadi group that rules the Gaza Strip. 

At least four Israelis were killed by the rocket fire. Israel responded to the Hamas civilian targeting campaign by launching massive air strikes at Hamas’ military facilities.

“In the last two days we renewed the policy of assassinating senior terror officials, killed dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists and destroyed terror towers,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented Monday. 

“However, this isn’t the end of the battle, and therefore I ordered [the army] to prepare for what comes next and leave armored and artillery forces around the Gaza Strip,” he added.

In a piece for the Washington Free Beacon, Matt Brodsky of the Security Studies Group explored how the regime that rules Iran played a large part in instigating the latest flare-up between the two sides.

It is unknown how long the ceasefire will hold up. As a jihadi terrorist group, Hamas does not often abide by international norms and has developed a reputation for disregarding agreed-upon ceasefires.

Pompeo warns China and Russia on Arctic expansion

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia and China Monday that the U.S. is monitoring their aggressive — and contested — claims and actions in Arctic territory. 

Given its geographic location, it’s harder to make the case that Russia should not be entitled to Arctic resources. However, China has also sought to make a play for the resource-rich area by proclaiming that it has a right to usurp energy in the region.

“Beijing claims to be a near-Arctic state, yet the shortest distance between China and the Arctic Circle is 900 miles,” Pompeo said in Finland Monday before a meeting of the Arctic Council. “There are only Arctic states and non-Arctic States. No third category exists — and claiming otherwise entitles China to exactly nothing.”

The move comes on the heels of President Trump threatening to impose massive tariffs on China, should Beijing not move forward with trade talks with the United States.

Trump admin sends aircraft carrier to Middle East following Iranian aggression

The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East following aggressive behavior from Iran and its terrorist proxies.

Late Sunday, national security adviser John Bolton announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber task force will deploy to the region.

The strike group will "send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force,” Bolton said in a statement. “The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces.”

The Persian Gulf is a likely destination for the task force. Iran has threatened to shut down the strategically essential Strait of Hormuz (the bottleneck access passage to the Persian Gulf), which one-fifth of the world’s consumed oil passes through.

In addition to the military deployment, the Trump administration will announce new sanctions against the Tehran regime this week.

Venezuela’s Guaido contemplates asking for US military assistance

Venezuela’s contested interim president Juan Guaido, whose legitimacy is backed by a large swath of the Western world, told the BBC Monday that he is considering asking for U.S. military support in his home country. 

While maintaining that he will “evaluate all options,” Guaido personally thanked President Trump for standing with the Venezuelan people. 

“I think President [Donald] Trump's position is very firm, which we appreciate, as does the entire world," Guaido said.

Americans are largely united against the rule of socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro. However, Republicans and Democrats are in many different camps on the question of whether or not to support American military intervention to help oust Maduro.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here.

The FBI sent at least two spies after Trump associates. How many more were there?

In a story for The Blaze Thursday, I discussed the latest report confirming that there were at least two undercover agents tasked with gathering information on Trump foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos.

Concerns remain that other figures central to the Trump-Russia campaign — such as Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud and Australian diplomat Alexander Downer — were also part of the clandestine operation.

The Department of Justice will soon release an inspector general report on the potential abuses committed during the “spygate” saga. It is expected to shed new light on the activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community under President Obama and actions it engaged in both before and after Donald Trump was elected president.

Biden-China connections deserve more scrutiny. They’re a national security threat

Now that Joe Biden has thrown his hat into the presidential contender ring (and he appears to be a favorite in early polls to secure the nomination), his record on U.S. relations with our greatest adversaries deserves more scrutiny.

In Conservative Review Thursday, I discussed Biden’s overly dovish stance on China. For the entirety of this political career, he has largely refused to condemn China for its malicious campaigns against U.S. sovereignty, which include intellectual property theft, hacking, and cyber warfare campaigns against American companies and our defense industry.

Even worse, Biden has a massive conflict of interest vis-a-vis China. His son Hunter has the government of China to thank for a recent $1.5 billion windfall for his business.

Read the rest in Conservative Review.

The case to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization

President Trump is once again considering the idea of designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

Writing for The Daily Wire, editor Josh Hammer argues the move is “long overdue.”

US to consider further sanctions on Iran regime

The Trump administration is considering additional economic sanctions against the pro-terrorist regime that rules Iran.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

“The Trump administration is considering a more-aggressive enforcement of its economic sanctions on Iran—targeting more companies and financial institutions that do business with the Islamic Republic in an attempt to cut off lucrative sources of U.S. dollar-denominated hard currency," U.S. officials said.

Chinese submarines’ Arctic activity raises alarm bells at Pentagon

The U.S. Department of Defense released a report Thursday raising awareness about China’s continuing military expansion and capacity.

The report, according to Reuters, warned that China is developing a “Polar Silk Road” that could operate in the Arctic as a nuclear deterrent system.

Reuters added:

“The Pentagon report noted that China’s military has made modernizing its submarine fleet a high priority. China’s navy operates four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 50 conventionally powered attack submarines, the report said.”

What to do in Venezuela

Conservatives are largely split over what to do about the chaos in Venezuela. There remains a fierce power struggle between socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro and the West-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who considers himself the true president of Venezuela.

Meanwhile, foreign nations such as Cuba, Russia, and Turkey have come to the defense of Maduro, with those nations appearing to send in military resources to bolster the authoritarian ruler’s seat at the helm of government.

My colleague Daniel Horowitz has released an hour-long podcast on what he thinks the United States should and should not do in Venezuela.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here.

Fox News gives platform to Iranian regime propagandist

Fox News held a controversial “interview” with Tehran regime foreign minister Javad Zarif, which aired over the weekend with host Chris Wallace.

The network’s decision to give a platform to the chief propagandist for the world’s foremost terrorist-supporting regime was reckless. It seemed that Fox News was offering Zarif a platform to appeal directly to President Trump and bypass his surrogates and cabinet officials.

In the interview, Zarif blamed national security adviser John Bolton, along with the governments of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, for current U.S. tensions with Iran.

Unfortunately, it appeared that at times, Fox News was offering an assist to the propaganda being spewed by the Iranian regime leader. One chyron falsely depicted a divide in the Islamic Republic as an ongoing tension between “hardliners” and “moderates.” That distinction is very deceptive. It all amounts to optics. Any individual running for seat in government in Iran is vetted by trusted elements of the regime. All “elected” officials in Iran are committed to the regime’s expansionist ideology. Only their tactical approach to pursuing that endgame is different.

The Zarif interview came on the heels of Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera snapping a selfie with the Iranian propagandist, then defended the regime in a since-deleted tweet.

The Chabad synagogue shooting and the dangers of media conspiracies

In April 2017, Politico ran a ridiculous piece on the supposed Chabad Jewish nexus connecting President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a time when so many false Trump-Russia collusion conspiracies were floating around the internet, the Politico piece, titled “The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin,” stood out for its seemingly overt anti-Semitic conspiracy-mongering. The piece circulated the internet widely, and it was promoted by the likes of top “journalists” at the New York Times and Washington Post. Rife with shoddy reporting, the Politico article claimed that a Chabad network connected Trump and Putin, who had never even met in person prior to the piece’s publication. The story claimed that Chabad provided “some of the shortest routes between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.”

The man who shot up a Chabad synagogue over the weekend had concocted similar conspiracy theories in an anti-Semitic manifesto citing supposed Jewish control over world affairs. Unfortunately, it appears that no one in the legacy media will hold themselves accountable for trafficking in dangerous conspiracies. So that leaves us to do the job for them.

Mnuchin: US-China mega trade deal ‘close to done’

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Monday that the U.S. and China are getting closer and closer to securing a major trade pact between the major world powers.

“We still have more work to do,” Mnuchin told Fox Business Monday. “I think there is a strong desire from both sides to see if we can wrap this up or move on.”

“We hope within the next two rounds, in China and in DC, to get to the point where we can either recommend to the president that we have a deal or recommend that we don’t,” he added, claiming that enforcement mechanisms for the deal are “close to done.”

Bolton clarifies alleged $2 million payment to North Korea

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, national security adviser John Bolton answered reports alleging that the U.S. government under President Trump was sent a $2 million bill for the medical care of American hostage Otto Warmbier, who became gravely ill while in North Korean captivity and died shortly after being released to U.S. custody.

Bolton said that the U.S. agreed to pay the $2 million dollar bill — which appears to amount to a ransom, but the check was never sent.

"Did the U.S. pay any money to North Korea, however it was disguised, after Warmbier was released?" host Chris Wallace asked.

"Absolutely not, and that's the key point," Bolton replied.

Under President Obama, the U.S. government did make a massive ransom payment to the terrorist regime that rules Iran. The Tehran regime received a $1.7 billion ransom — approximately 850 times more than what Pyongyang required of the Trump administration — in exchange for the release of American hostages.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here!

FBI attempted to recruit sources for Trump-Russia investigation inside the White House?

Senior Republican senators sent a letter Thursday to the Department of Justice disclosing new texts between former FBI official Peter Strzok and his mistress, former FBI attorney Lisa Page, in which the couple appeared to be plotting to recruit secret sources from inside the White House. 

The letter, from Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, revealed: “We have reviewed certain text messages that may show potential attempts by the FBI to conduct surveillance of President-elect Trump’s transition team.”

The letter continues: “In text messages exchanged between former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and former FBI Attorney Lisa Page, the two discussed the possibility of developing ‘potential relationships’ at a November 2016 FBI briefing for presidential transition team staff. Specifically, it appears they discussed sending ‘the CI guy’ to assess an unnamed person(s) ‘demeanor’ but were concerned because it might be unusual for him to attend.”

Journalist Sara Carter reports that the wife of Vice President Mike Pence’s former chief of staff, who was serving as an FBI analyst under Strzok, was seen as integral to these efforts.

The texts show that Strzok and Page were targeting Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who was then incoming national security adviser. Flynn was later removed from his post at the request of VP Pence.

It remains unclear how much direct contact Vice President Pence had with the FBI officials who sought to undermine and depose Flynn. However, as Catherine Herridge at Fox News pointed out, it appears that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, using Strzok's information, did in fact brief Pence prior to his decision to publicly take responsibility for Flynn’s ouster.

Pence has not spoken about the Flynn firing since he claimed that Gen. Flynn “lied” to him about contacts with the Russian government. 

What did VP Pence know and when did he know it?

The Obama White House partnered with Ukraine to bolster Russia collusion narrative

John Solomon over at The Hill published a bombshell piece late Thursday discussing how the Obama administration leveraged the government of Ukraine to spice up the bogus Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

Solomon writes: “Ukrainian participants said it didn’t take long — during the meetings and afterward — to realize the Americans’ objectives included two politically hot investigations: one that touched Vice President Joe Biden’s family and one that involved a lobbying firm linked closely to then-candidate Trump.”

He adds: “That makes the January 2016 meeting one of the earliest documented efforts to build the now-debunked Trump-Russia collusion narrative and one of the first to involve the Obama administration’s intervention.”

Read the full story here.

President Trump: Expect ‘blockbuster’ IG report on FISA abuse

President Trump appeared on Fox News’ Sean Hannity Show Thursday evening to discuss the DOJ Inspector General’s (IG) upcoming report on the FBI’s rampant abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process.

The president told Hannity that the illegal espionage campaign against him is “the greatest political scandal in the history of our country.”

“This was a coup. This wasn't stealing information from an office in the Watergate apartments,” he added. “This was an attempted coup, and it's inconceivable. Like a third-world country.”

He said of the upcoming IG report scrutinizing FISA abuse: “The IG report coming out in three or four weeks, from what I hear, is going to be, and should be, and almost has to be a blockbuster because he has access to information that most people don't.”

Joe Biden wanted to establish a Biden-Putin commission to cozy up to the Kremlin

In a piece I wrote Thursday for Conservative Review, I discussed how then-Vice President Joe Biden attempted to cozy up to the Kremlin. According to previously unreported State Department emails, Biden floated the idea of a “Biden-Putin commission,” which appeared to be intended to turn Moscow into a partner, to the detriment of our European and NATO allies.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared in Blaze Media’s The Dossier newsletter. For foreign policy news and views delivered to your inbox twice a week, subscribe here!