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Pentagon Identifies Service Members Killed In Tanker Crash

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The Department of War on Saturday released the identities of the six American service members killed in the Thursday crash of a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker in Iraq.

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) acknowledged the aerial refueling tanker, crewed by six, went down over western Iraq in a statement released Friday. CENTCOM later stated the incident involved a second aircraft which landed safely, rather than hostile fire or friendly fire.

Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky. served as part of the 6th Air Refueling Wing out of MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, a War Department statement released Saturday night reads. Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio served as part of the 121st Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio National Guard.

“Heartbreaking to learn that Auburn alumnus and Birmingham resident Major Alex Klinner was among those killed in the KC-135 crash this week,” Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville stated. . .

The six service members killed in the Feb. 28 attack in Kuwait were identified by the Department of War as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif. (Read more from “Pentagon Identifies Service Members Killed In Tanker Crash” HERE)

All 6 Crew Members Killed as US Air Force Refueling Plane Crashes in Iraq, Military Says

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Six crew members were killed when a US Air Force refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, US Central Command announced Friday morning.

The Tampa, Fla.-based command said the crash of the KC-135 Stratotanker followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace”

“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,” CENTCOM pointedly declared in a statement..

The second aircraft, also a KC-135, landed safely in Israel, according to Yechiel Leiter, the Jewish state’s ambassador to the US.

The military was withholding the identities of the crew members until 24 hours after their families were notified. War Secretary Pete Hegseth lauded the fallen as heroes during a Pentagon news conference Friday. (Read more from “All 6 Crew Members Killed as US Air Force Refueling Plane Crashes in Iraq, Military Says” HERE)

Ancient Time Capsule Unearthed in Iraq Reveals New Details That Corroborate the Bible

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A Babylonian ‘time capsule’ buried for more than two millennia under the ruins of a ziggurat in modern-day Iraq has revealed never-before-seen details about the biblical king Nebuchadnezzar II.

Two cylinders bearing a royal inscription were buried as ‘foundation deposits’ – ritual objects buried under ancient buildings as a divine blessing believed to ensure the structure’s longevity.

The cylinders, each made of baked clay, were originally unearthed at the ruins of the temple in the ancient city of Kish, one of the most important cities in Mesopotamia.

Two locals who found the relics at the Kish archeological site named Tell Al-Uhaimir handed them to the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in 2013. The new findings about what was inscribed on the cylinders were revealed in December.

The cylinders offered a new perspective on Nebuchadnezzar II, a historical figure who was an agent of destruction in the Bible. The king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire ruled from 605BC to 562BC. (Read more from “Ancient Time Capsule Unearthed in Iraq Reveals New Details That Corroborate the Bible” HERE)

Iraq War Veteran ID’d as Gunman Who Attacked Grand Blanc LDS Church, Killing 4 and Setting It Ablaze

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The madman who killed at least four people and wounded eight others at a Michigan Latter-day Saints church is a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran who served in the US Marines, The Post can confirm.

Thomas Jacob Sanford rammed his Chevy Silverado truck into the building before opening fire on worshipers at a Sunday service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan.

The vehicle had two large American flags behind the cab and a set of deer antlers attached to the bumper.

He also set the church ablaze, causing the entire structure to burn down. Authorities fear there may be more victims in the fire.

A Facebook post by Sanford’s mother says the gunman — who died at the scene in a shootout with cops — served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008.

Authorities later confirmed that Sanford, from nearby Burton, Michigan, is the lone suspect. (Read more from “Iraq War Veteran ID’d as Gunman Who Attacked Grand Blanc LDS Church, Killing 4 and Setting It Ablaze” HERE)

Neocons Use Accusations of ‘Appeasement’ to Morally Blackmail People Into Supporting Forever Wars

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Bad World War II analogies appear to have become a dime a dozen in today’s political discourse. In just the past few months, I’ve excoriated Russell Moore for his ridiculous reference to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in response to President Donald Trump’s push toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine and pilloried Max Boot’s baffling comparison of Ukraine’s recent attack on Russia’s bomber fleet to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Now, Mark Levin, in his zealous crusade to push the United States into directly joining Israel’s strikes against Iran, has invoked the most tired and most misconstrued talking point related to the Second World War: appeasement.

Levin’s screed (it’s far too light on substance to be called an op-ed), titled “Isolationism is the same as appeasement — and it’s keeping Trump, Netanyahu from transforming the Middle East,” does little more than launch ad hominem attacks and provide a masterclass in projection. It’s amazing to read sentences like these: “They’re too self-righteous in their ignorance to realize how absurd they sound. … In fact, they’re so blind and self-important that they don’t see the new foreign policy taking place in real time, right in front of their eyes!” and not even detect even a hint of self-awareness from a man who is advocating for the United States to become stuck in yet another Middle East quagmire.

Remember how all those other times our attempts to “transform” the Muslim world worked out so well?

Afraid that his readers won’t be convinced by merely insulting the intelligence of so-called “isolationists,” Levin tries to morally blackmail any potential skeptics by blowing the appeasement dog whistle as loudly as he can. “There’s nothing new or good about isolationism, which, in a word, is appeasement. It’s old and promotes war, such as World War II,” he writes bluntly.

It seems like whenever very reasonable people object to yet another forever war, neocons crawl out of the woodwork to screech “appeasement!” to try to cow their foreign policy opponents into embarrassed silence. If you don’t agree with the neocons’ next regime-change project, you’re no better than British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who meekly gave in to Adolf Hitler in 1938 and emboldened Nazi aggression — thereby unleashing all of the devastation that ravaged Europe. If you don’t believe in toppling tinpot dictator No. 12, installing an American puppet state, and sacrificing untold amounts of American blood and treasure, you, specifically, are setting the stage for another World War II, another Holocaust. At least, that’s the implication. (Read more from “Neocons Use Accusations of ‘Appeasement’ to Morally Blackmail People Into Supporting Forever Wars” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Discredited Neocon Talking Points From the Iraq War Are Back, Lazily Re-Purposed for Iran

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Remember all the infamous one-liners from the Global War on Terror? In the years after 9/11, when the neocon establishment in Washington was pushing ahead with its disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were everywhere.

It’s a slam dunk case! We have to fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here. We’ll be greeted as liberators. Islam is a religion of peace. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom.

Those last two are direct quotes from President George W. Bush, the man most responsible — whether through extreme naiveté or extreme duplicity — for propagating these ridiculous slogans and using them to justify decades-long wars that ended in ignominy for the United States. You’d think that after Iraq and Afghanistan this kind of rhetoric would be totally discredited. But you’d be wrong.

Over the past few days, almost since the moment Israel began bombing Iran, we’ve seen the reappearance of almost all the old GWOT rhetoric. Then as now, the purpose is to justify a U.S. military adventure abroad and gaslight the American people into supporting regime change in Iran.

For those of us who were in high school and college during and immediately after 9/11, who saw the propaganda play out in real time, it’s an amazing thing to witness what’s happening now. (Read more from “Discredited Neocon Talking Points From the Iraq War Are Back, Lazily Re-Purposed for Iran” HERE)

Army Sergeant Reunited With His Military Dog Just In Time For The Holidays

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This week, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Payton May was reunited with a Belgian Malinois named Yyacob, a now-retired military dog the sergeant used to handle before being reassigned to another base in 2022.

When May found out Yyacob was retiring after seven years of service, knew he wanted to try to adopt the dog, whom he calls his “best friend.” May reached out to American Humane, an animal welfare organization known for reuniting Military Working Dogs with former handlers, for assistance – and the group came through.

After two-and-a-half years apart, the pair were reunited on Monday, just in time for the holidays.

May and, Yyacob, an explosives detection and patrol dog, served together for nine months in Iraq. They would check anyone entering the base for ammunition or explosives, and also carried out patrols and scanned vehicles together.

According to a press release from American Humane, the pair completed the elite Patrol Explosive Detection Dog – Enhanced Course, an advanced program for police patrol and explosive detection dogs that teaches them to work effectively off-leash. (Read more from “Army Sergeant Reunited With His Military Dog Just In Time For The Holidays” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Six U.S. Soldiers Injured in Mission to Kill 15 ISIS Fighters in Iraq

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A joint U.S. military-Iraqi Security Forces raid in Iraq against ISIS resulted in six American soldiers being injured, though 15 ISIS fighters were killed.

The operation’s aim targeted ISIS leaders “to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against” Iraqi civilians.

“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a partnered raid in Western Iraq in the early hours of Aug. 29, resulting in the death of 15 ISIS operatives,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “The ISIS element was armed with numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts. There is no indication of civilian casualties.”

None of the six American soldiers’ injuries were life-threatening.

“Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided,” the statement continued. “ISIS remains a threat to the region, our allies, as well as our homeland. U.S. CENTCOM alongside our coalition and Iraqi partners, will continue to aggressively pursue these terrorists.” (Read more from “Six U.S. Soldiers Injured in Mission to Kill 15 ISIS Fighters in Iraq” HERE)

Report: Mother of Soldier Killed in Iraq Says Tim Walz Took the ‘Coward’s Way Out’

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The mother of a 19-year-old soldier who was killed on the Iraq deployment that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was supposed to lead in 2006 expressed anger at Walz for taking the “coward’s way out.”

In an interview with the DailyMail.com on Thursday, Kathy Miller, mother of Kyle Miller, who was killed in Iraq on June 29, 2006 by a roadside bomb, said she will never trust him again, after he retired two months before the unit deployed.

“My son stepped up to the plate. All our sons stepped up,” she told the outlet. “My son wasn’t even 21 years old. He couldn’t even buy alcohol. Yet he took the step to serve our country, while Walz found the best way to run away.”

She added, “It was the coward’s way out.”

At the time, Walz was serving as the battalion’s top senior enlisted leader, which is a position in charge of the welfare of the enlisted troops under his command. It was an important role, as the unit prepared to head into war. Then, Iraq was an active battlefield, with troops facing the worst combat casualties since the Vietnam War. (Read more from “Report: Mother of Soldier Killed in Iraq Says Tim Walz Took the ‘Coward’s Way Out’” HERE)

Iranian IRGC Commanders Rush into Hiding as Biden Administration Reveals Retaliatory Strike Plans

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Recent reports revealed that commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), have gone into hiding in Iraq and Syria. The commanders rushed int o hiding following the Biden administration foolishly leaking details of planned retaliatory strikes against those responsible for the attack that claimed the lives of three U.S. soldiers and injured numerous others over the weekend.

CBS News reported that Biden officials confirmed plans for a series of strikes against targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria. Responding to the report, Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin, known for her pro-Biden reporting, noted that all IRGC commanders had reportedly left Syria and gone into hiding.

Griffin, despite her pro-Biden stance, admitted that the Pentagon typically avoids revealing such detailed information to maintain the element of surprise in military operations. The Biden administration’s decision to disclose these plans has sparked criticism, with politicians questioning and mocking the decision to release such disclosures. Senators criticized the Biden administration for tipping off Iran and its affiliated groups.

Amidst the tension, the Biden administration has downplayed Iran’s role in over 160 Iranian-backed terrorist attacks against U.S. forces in recent months. Politico reported the administration’s claim that Tehran may not have full control over the groups it funds, a statement met with skepticism from policy experts.

Additionally, Politico mentioned the administration’s belief that Israel is responsible for attacks by Iranian-backed groups, suggesting that a pause in such actions could occur if Israel ceased targeting Hamas terrorists. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin, questioned about IRGC commanders fleeing to avoid U.S. forces, refrained from commenting on specific movements [via Daily Wire]:

“Has there been too much telegraphing, or is the point not to kill any Iranian commanders?” a reporter asked.

“In terms of telegraphing about strikes and whether or not people leave or would have left, you know, I won’t speculate on any of that,” Austin said. “I will just tell you that, you know, we will have a multi-tiered response, and again, we have the ability to respond in a number of times depending on what the situation is.”

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