New CIA official history of Obama-Trump transition; many revelations based on interviews. bit.ly/3FXp8zX Remarkably, Trump wasn't briefed on CIA covert activities before entering office, "nor in the first several weeks of his administration." (p. 244) Immense negligence

Tomorrow is 40th anniversary of Operation Eagle Claw, the military mission to 118 US troops attempted to enter Iran to rescue 52 American citizens held hostage in Tehran. It failed It was the riskiest, publicly-known, operation in modern US history. The commander, Col. Beckwith thought "the probability of success is zero," and Pentagon estimated 15 hostages and 30 troops would be killed if the operation succeeded.

This NYT passage is factually bizarre. nyti.ms/2kWZkQy Here's USAF stats for airstrikes in Afghanistan. Note the massive growth under Trump. bit.ly/2mmoUi7

Reasons for attacking Iran that I've read:
-signal that protecting energy sources is a priority
-defend a close regional partner
-simply punish Iran
-diminish IRGC capabilities
-establish deterrence/credibility with Iran
-establish credibility with others As people discuss why and how to attack Iran, ask yourself if that proposed use of force will achieve these objectives.

When a NYT columnist believes the United States is "a country at peace," the fundamental concept of warfare has been rendered meaningless. This is the sad culmination of a WH defining down the concept of war, the Pentagon's steady erosion of transparency and accountability, and civilian officials hiding policy decisions behind the sacrifices of servicemembers.

Consider re potential Korea denuclearization talks: failed diplomatic initiatives are often a precursor/instigator to war. The frustraed aggressor claims "we tried!" and then escalates to an outbreak of militarized conflict. Worry is if Trump were 40-60 against a preventive attacks today, a highly-publicized failure in talks might push him to 51 in favor, and lead him to authorize attacks. (Even w/out a quantitative change in NK nuclear or ICBM capabilities.)

Strictly from a security perspective, attempting to prevent school shootings through a point defense strategy is a poor and impractical idea. Highly-security facilities struggle to maintain the physical security controls, training, and culture required to defend themselves from motivated adversaries.

Revealing exchange: wapo.st/2E9Srnk

“You guys want me to send troops everywhere,” Trump said, according to officials in the Situation Room meeting. “What’s the justification?”

“Sir, we’re doing it to prevent a bomb from going off in Times Square,” Mattis replied. Mattis (reportedly) believes permanent stationing of troops in foreign countries is mandatory to prevent nuclear terrorism. The Safe Haven Myth assumption.