/homenews

Covert drone war between Israel and Iran goes public with missile launch on Iraq
Amos Harel | Mar. 13, 2022 | 10:48 PM - Haaretz.com
▻https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-covert-drone-war-between-israel-and-iran-goes-public-with-missile-

https://img.haarets.co.il/img/1.10672502/1098685717.jpg?precrop=2160,1258,x20,y0&height=698&width=1200

Tehran has adopted a policy of responding to any attack against it attributed to Israel, such as the one last week in Syria. Meanwhile, Israel fears new demands would see Iran getting more out of Vienna nuclear talks

Iran’s claim of responsibility for this weekend’s missile launches at Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, revealed a bit about the war of drones, missiles and cyber that the Islamic Republic and Israel have been waging for a long time.

Some of the blows the enemies exchange are landed under the radar; others are publicized only after some time. But in practice, Israel and Iran have been clashing directly for five years now, and there has been a clear trend of escalation. One could list key incidents such as the downing of an Iranian drone that had penetrated Israeli airspace in February 2018 and Iran’s attempted cyberattack on Israel’s water system in April 2020.

In general, it’s clear the Iranians have adopted a policy of responding to any significant Israeli attack, and certainly to any attack that causes them casualties. And last week, two officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were reportedly killed in an alleged Israeli air strike in Syria, not far from the Damascus airport.

But the time that elapsed between these two incidents may actually be too short. It’s possible the Iranians were responding to earlier attacks against them.

The missiles were fired at Irbil overnight on Saturday. At first, there was speculation that the target was American, but later, media outlets close to Iran said the target had been Israeli.

At noon on Sunday, the Revolutionary Guards announced that they had carried out the attack and described the target as Israeli “strategic centers.” They also warned Israel that next time, the response will be a “harsh, decisive and destructive response.”

The Lebanese television station Al Mayadeen, which is close to both Hezbollah and Iran, added further details. It said the attack was an Iranian retaliation for an incident in mid-February, when Israeli drones launched from Iraqi Kurdistan hit an Iranian base and caused substantial damage. It also said the overnight strike on Irbil killed and wounded many Israeli soldiers, but that claim doesn’t seem credible.

This isn’t the first time the Iranians have claimed there is a secret Israeli base in Irbil. In April 2021, the Iranian media reported that Iran had launched drones and missiles at that same location, near the Irbil airport, and that the attack had wounded Mossad agents.

Foreign media outlets have for years reported that secret Israeli activity was taking place in both Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, both of which border Iran. In principle, this sounds reasonable, since an Israeli presence in those places would greatly reduce the range for Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.

In this regard, the American disclaimer was interesting. In response to the initial reports Sunday morning, which mentioned the United States as a possible target, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman quickly announced that the administration didn’t believe the American consulate in Irbil had been the target. Washington did something similar in the past, when it leaked that attacks by pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias in Syria on the American base in Al-Tanf were retaliation for Israeli attacks.

The Kurdish government’s response was more collegial. In a statement on Sunday, it said the attack constituted Iranian aggression against a strictly civilian target.

Iran nuke connection

This small-scale war is being conducted against the background of two much bigger international developments – the war in Ukraine and the effect of the deteriorating Russian-American relationship on the talks in Vienna between Iran and five other countries about a new nuclear deal. And these developments aren’t unrelated.

According to reports from Vienna, the parties were slated to finalize the new agreement soon. But then a last-minute problem cropped up: Moscow demanded guarantees that if Tehran signed the nuclear deal, Russian trade with Iran would be able to continue despite the sanctions the international community imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Britain, France and Germany warned Moscow that its new demands could cause the nuclear deal, which they said was on the verge of being signed, to collapse. But the Israeli defense establishment says Iran may also raise new hurdles, in the hope of extracting additional concessions from the other parties before signing.

Israel is troubled that the Biden administration is completely focused on the fallout of the war in Ukraine and doesn’t appear to be interested in setting tougher conditions for Iran in the nuclear talks. In particular, Jerusalem would have liked to see Washington insist that any deal be contingent on completion of the International Atomic Energy’s investigation into four sites where Iran is suspected of engaging in prohibited nuclear activity.

Israel is also worried about the arrangements for removing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. Under the original agreement signed in 2015, from which America unilaterally withdrew in 2018 with the urging of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the enriched uranium was sent to Russia.

Defense sources said that in recent months, Iran has continued enriching uranium to a high level, with the result that it is now apparently just weeks away from acquiring enough enriched uranium for a single nuclear bomb. But even after reaching that target – which the Iranians have so far been careful not to do – the bomb would still need to be adapted to fit on the warhead of a ballistic missile. That would take another year or two, say intelligence estimates.

US does not believe consulate in Iraq was target of Iranian missile strike
By Mychael Schnell - 03/13/22
▻https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/598015-us-does-not-believe-consulate-in-iraq-was-target-of-iranian

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Sunday said the U.S. does not believe the American consulate in Iraq was the target of an Iranian missile strike that morning, instead calling it an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty.

“We do not believe the consulate was the target of this attack... this was an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty,” Sherman said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

A dozen ballistic missile strikes hit Erbil, the northern Kurdish regional capital of Iraq, early on Sunday, which the Iranian Revolutionary Guards took responsibility for, according to Reuters.

The strike reportedly left material damage and injured one civilian, Reuters reported, citing the Kurdish interior ministry.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards wrote in a statement that the offensive was against Israeli “strategic centres” in Erbil, Reuters reported, citing Iran’s state media.

“Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response,” the Iranian Revolutionary Guards added.(...)

Erbil missile strike a response to Israeli sabotage of Iran drone factory, say sources | Middle East Eye
▻https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-erbil-missile-strike-response-israel-sabotage-iran-drone-factory

http://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/2022-03-14T120549Z_181619454_RC2B2T9A3BT6_RTRMADP_3_IRAQ-SECURITY-ERBIL-KADHIMI.JPG

By Suadad al-Salhy
Published date: 14 March 2022 16:41 UTC | Last update: 16 hours 31 mins ago

The ballistic missile attack that targeted Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, is a response to a previous Israeli attack that targeted an Iranian drone factory in the city of Tabriz, Iranian and Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye.

Suggestions it was linked to negotiations over the formation of Iraq’s next government were wide of the mark, they said.

Around 1am on Sunday morning, a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iranian territory towards Iraq. Most of them hit a farm 30km north of Erbil, Kurdish officials said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attack. It alleged the missiles targeted Mossad sites in Erbil, saying Iran’s security and peace is a “red line” that no one is allowed to threaten.

#Erbil

Did Russia empower Iran’s attack on Erbil? - analysis
Iran is counting on the US being afraid of “war” whiel Russia wants to return Ukraine to its “near abroad.” Iran wants to ride the Russian train as far as it can.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
Updated : MARCH 13, 2022 19:58
▻https://www.jpost.com/international/article-701125

#immunité_naturelle #immunité_de_troupeau #ivermectine #IHU #pipo

Fox news effect : Mississippi officials warn against using ivermectin for COVID-19 amid spike in poisonings
▻https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/568834-mississippi-officials-warn-against-using-ivermectin-for-covid-amid-s

Mississippi health officials are warning residents against using ivermectin, a horse dewormer medication, to treat COVID-19 infections at home amid a spike in poisoning calls to the Mississippi Poison Control Center.

The Mississippi Department of Health sent a letter out to to the MS Health Alert Network on Friday warning health professionals of the spike in poisonings from individuals digesting ivermectin.

“At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers,” the letter stated.

Only one person was told to seek further help due to the amount of the ivermectin ingested and 85 percent of callers had mild symptoms.

Some of the symptoms individuals can experience are rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurologic disorders, and sometimes severe hepatitis.

There have been no hospitalizations reported to the department yet from someone ingesting ivermectin to cure the coronavirus.

“Animal drugs are highly concentrated for large animals and can be highly toxic in humans,” the letter signed by state epidemiologist Paul Byers stated. “Patients should be advised to not take any medications intended to treat animals and should be instructed to only take ivermectin as prescribed by their physician.”

The increase in ivermectin use comes as Mississippi is struggling to deal with an increase in coronavirus cases as the state has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the U.S.

“traitement” promu par #fox_news

Ah, ça marche pas leur truc : Panique à Wall Street, qui a connu sa pire séance depuis 1987
▻https://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/panique-a-wall-street-qui-connait-sa-pire-seance-depuis-1987-20200313

Barron’s, le très respecté hebdomadaire boursier, parle de « panique ». Warren Buffett, l’investisseur légendaire âgé de 89 ans, quatrième personne la plus riche du monde, avoue n’avoir jamais confronté pareille situation. Même l’annonce par la Réserve fédérale (Fed) d’une injection de 1500 milliards de dollars de liquidités pour pallier les signes de stress sur le marché du crédit à très court terme, n’a ralenti la chute des cours que de quelques minutes.

Les institutionnels comme les particuliers veulent vendre à tout prix toutes les catégories d’actifs. Même l’or a vu son cours plonger. Le métal n’a pas joué son rôle de valeur refuge, car trop d’investisseurs ont eu besoin d’en vendre pour couvrir leurs pertes par ailleurs. Personne ne sait quand la purge va cesser. Car personne ne sait combien de temps le coronavirus peut paralyser l’économie mondiale.

Coronavirus : krach boursier en Europe et à Wall Street, pire journée de l’histoire pour la Bourse de Paris
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/03/12/coronavirus-les-bourses-s-effondrent-la-bce-maintient-ses-taux-directeurs_60

La BCE avait annoncé à la mi-journée un programme de prêts pour soutenir les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) les plus touchées par l’épidémie de Covid-19, et l’achat de 120 milliards d’euros de dette publique et privée supplémentaire d’ici à la fin de l’année. A la différence des autres grandes banques centrales, la BCE n’a cependant pas touché à ses taux directeurs : le principal est déjà à zéro depuis mars 2016, et le taux frappant les dépôts laissés par les banques dans ses caisses a été laissé à − 0,50 %.

L’institution établie à Francfort a également autorisé jeudi les banques à opérer temporairement en dessous des exigences de fonds propres et de liquidités en vigueur, en réponse à la crise due au coronavirus qui menace toute l’économie et le secteur bancaire en particulier.

donner 1000$ par mois à chaque résident US coûterait 327 milliards par mois, si je sais faire une multiplication

Oui mais alors ils ne feraient plus rien d’autre qu’à se droguer avec leurs 1000 dollars et comme tu te doutes, ce serait mauvais pour l’économie.

Impressionnant : il faut décréter l’« urgence nationale » pour « accéder » à « jusqu’à 50 milliards » pour « lutter contre le virus » ; mais la FED peut décider d’injecter « 1500 milliards » pour rassurer les marchés.

Donald Trump déclare l’état d’urgence aux Etats-Unis face au coronavirus
▻https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/amerique-nord/donald-trump-decrete-l-etat-d-urgence-aux-etats-unis-face-au-coronavirus_21

« Pour déclencher la pleine puissance des ressources du gouvernement fédéral, je déclare officiellement une urgence nationale », a-t-il affirmé depuis les jardins de la Maison Blanche.

Le président a expliqué que cette décision permettrait d’accéder à jusqu’à 50 milliards de fonds pour lutter contre le virus.

si tu te demandais qui est le conseiller occulte de Mitt Romney…
▻https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/487794-romney-proposes-sending-1000-to-every-american-adult-amid-coronaviru

Sanders propose $2000 par personne et par mois.

Primaires démocrates : Bernie Sanders remporte le New Hampshire, comme en 2016
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/02/12/presidentielle-americaine-j-265-sanders-devance-buttigieg-et-klobuchar-dans-

Primaires démocrates : Bernie Sanders remporte le New Hampshire, comme en 2016

COMME EN 2016. C’est non-significatif, coco.

Bernie Sanders faces sexism allegations amid dispute with Elizabeth Warren - The Washington Post
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/14/sanders-warren-debate

https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/T5NwwkTYOcg95xVR1gmd_Jk7sN8=/1440x0/smart/d1i4t8bqe7zgj6.cloudfront.net/01-14-2020/t_064dfcd67da44a699675f699a6318a27_name_1___1920x1080___30p_00_00_13_20_Still015.jpg

Sanders’s first attempt to run for president was marred by his aggressive supporters, dubbed the Bernie Bros, who harassed his political opponents and journalists online. Their actions spurred allegations of sexism that have never abated and deepened resentment about Sanders’s challenge to Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state whom supporters described as the most qualified candidate in history.

It was also later alleged that his 2016 campaign fostered a hostile work environment for women, with several coming forward to allege that they were paid less than their male counterparts and subjected to sexual harassment and poor treatment, the New York Times reported last year. Sanders apologized to the women, promising to “do better.” But when asked whether he knew about the complaints, he responded, “I was a little bit busy running around the country.”

“It is not good enough for someone to say: ‘I’m a woman! Vote for me!’” Sanders said. “No, that’s not good enough. What we need is a woman who has the guts to stand up to Wall Street, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies.”

Many critics would argue Warren is that kind of woman. The two political rivals have been longtime allies and friends, who started their campaigns for the 2020 Democratic nomination with a pact to remain civil. That truce began to fray this weekend, when Politico revealed Sanders’s campaign had given volunteer canvassers a script portraying Warren as appealing only to “highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what.”

Only Assholes Bitch About Sanders Supporters Being Rude Online
▻https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/only-assholes-bitch-about-sanders-supporters-being-rude-online-c95faa4b43b8

@antonin : Les principales et premières accusations de sexisme viennent de Clinton. J’aurais tendance à considérer que ça rend le truc immédiatement indigent.

La mode de l’« identity politics » est tout de même dangereuse ici, et comme on dit en américain « c’est un jeu qui se joue à deux ». Ou en l’occurence au moins à 3. Pete Buttigieg, lui, est gay, et ça n’a pas raté : l’attaquer pendant la campagne, serait donc s’attaquer au premier « candidat ouvertement gay ». Comme confronter Waren, ce serait sexiste. Mais les deux, en jouant à ça, s’exposent tout autant à l’accusation d’attaquer le premier candidat juif en position de remporter la présidentielle américaine (l’équipe Sanders n’a semble-t-il pas joué à ça, mais ça leur pend au nez, et Twitter n’a pas vraiment attendu l’autorisation du candidat pour faire la remarque que c’est un jeu dangereux).

Autre aspect, à mon avis plus important : ces accusations sont colportées, en premier lieu, par des médias qui détestent tout autant Waren que Sanders. Le déchaînement « centriste » est extrêmement visible. Maintenant que Biden semble s’effondrer, et que Waren est très en retard, ils ont parié sur Buttigieg (mais ça n’est pas très prometteur, même si Le Monde titre triomphalement sur sa « victoire » après un premier caucus grotesque). Et maintenant sur Michael Bloomberg et ses milliards. Mais en général, tous ces commentateurs du supposé « sexisme » des Bernie Bros ne souhaiteraient de toute façon pas que Waren l’emporte sur un candidat mâle centriste et néolibéral.

L’équipe Sanders, en revanche, met en avant différents aspects « positifs » de sa campagne sur ce point :
▻https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/479848-sanders-faces-lingering-questions-about-appeal-to-women-voters

Note : l’autre aspect du thème « Bernie bros » était le fait que les électeurs noirs ne votaient pas pour lui. Aspect qui est démonté dans cet article de Jacobin.

Avec cet aspect désormais du « ce petit jeu se joue à deux » : attaquer désormais Sanders, c’est aussi attaquer le candidat le plus populaire parmi l’électorat « non-blanc ».

The Quiet Death of the “White Bernie Bro” Attack
▻https://jacobinmag.com/2019/08/bernie-sanders-white-bernie-bro-race-2020-democratic-primary-pew-poll

By January of this year, it had already become clear that enthusiasm for another Sanders run was remarkably inflected by race — with comparatively strong support coming from black voters. And Friday, a poll from Pew confirms the trend: only 49% of Sanders supporters are white, compared with 56% of Biden voters, 59% of Harris voters, and a remarkable 71% of Warren voters.

Trump administration raids military construction projects for border wall

The move is likely to further inflame Democrats who have accused the administration of illegally overriding Congress’ spending decisions.

The Trump administration is carrying out plans to raid $3.6 billion in military construction projects to build the border wall, further inflaming lawmakers who have accused President Donald Trump of illegally overriding Congress’ spending decisions.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper informed congressional leaders on Tuesday of the cash grab from a total of 127 military projects. Roughly half the money will come from funds previously dedicated to upgrading military bases abroad and the other half in the United States.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Esper told him some of the money will come from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in his home state of New York.

“It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that President Trump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build,” Schumer said in a statement.

Trump declared a national emergency in February in order to divert $8 billion from various federal accounts to build a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, including a Treasury Department fund and Defense Department efforts to interdict illegal drugs.

Tuesday’s announcement comes on top of $2.5 billion the Pentagon already diverted from its budget toward the border barrier this spring over objections from leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees.

In a letter to Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Tuesday, Esper detailed 11 border projects on the U.S.-Mexico border that the diverted funds will now finance.

The barriers, Esper contended, will allow military personnel that have been deployed to the border to beef up security to focus on areas that don’t have physical barriers.

“In short, these barriers will allow DoD to provide support to DHS more efficiently and effectively,” Esper wrote. “In this respect, the contemplated construction projects are force multipliers.”

In total, the military construction budget will fund 175 miles of border wall — a combination of new barricades and improvements to existing structures. The earliest construction could begin in about 100 days, Elaine McCusker, the Pentagon’s acting comptroller, told reporters.

She added that the first projects are likely to begin on land owned by the military, including the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range along the border in Arizona.

The roster of 127 projects the Pentagon is targeting to pay for the border wall has been winnowed down from a much longer list of $12.9 billion worth of projects in dozens of states, as well as several locations overseas.

The Pentagon is expected to release a list of all impacted projects on Wednesday, after it notifies lawmakers whose districts will be affected, as well as officials in foreign countries where projects are being deferred, according to Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson.

However, the military construction projects being raided do not include family housing, military barracks and projects that have already been awarded or are expected to be awarded in fiscal 2019, Hoffman said. He also added that the $1.8 billion from domestic projects will become available only when the $1.8 billion from international projects has been used up.

Defense officials said they also hope Congress will appropriate more money to backfill the military construction projects that get cut. “The way we’re describing it is deferred. They’re definitely not canceled," McCusker said of the military construction projects being raided.

Nevertheless, other Democrats in Congress also swiftly rebuked the decision. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who oversees military construction funding in the House, warned that the Trump administration “is about to weaken our national security by stealing billions from our military," including training for soldiers and schools for military families.

“I reminded his Admin today that I will not support this theft from our military," Wasserman Schultz wrote on Twitter. “Trump can pander to his nativist base, but the House will fight his every attempt to make our military families or national security suffer as a result.”

A group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Esper on Tuesday demanding more details. “We are opposed to this decision and the damage it will cause to our military and the relationship between Congress and the Department of Defense,” the senators wrote. “We also expect a full justification of how the decision to cancel was made for each project selected and why a border wall is more important to our national security and the well-being of our service members and their families than these projects.”

In response to the news, Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) also taunted Trump in a tweet, writing eight times that “Trump promised Mexico would pay” for his campaign pledge to build a border wall.

The move is also expected to draw ire of Republicans — at least privately. Lawmakers in both parties have consistently warned the Pentagon against raiding the defense budget for a border wall — a move they fear will hurt military readiness.

The Trump administration previously angered congressional Democrats by deploying thousands of troops to help secure the southern border.

It’s possible some of those troops on the border could return home once the wall is erected, Army Lt. Gen. Andrew Poppas, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. Having more effective barricades could reduce the need for military personnel to patrol those portions of the border, Hoffman added.

But Congress isn’t the only interested party expected to put up a fight over Trump’s latest move.

The American Civil Liberties Union said after the announcement that it plans to file a motion to block the transfer of the money. The ACLU is representing the Sierra Club and border advocates in a related federal lawsuit in California.

“The fact that the government sat on these so-called ‘emergency funds’ for seven months further confirms that this is nothing but an unlawful power grab. We’ll be back in court very soon to block Trump’s latest effort to raid military funds for his xenophobic wall," Dror Ladin, staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a statement.

▻https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/03/trump-administration-prepares-to-raid-military-projects-for-border-wall-14

Trump moving forward to divert $3.6B from military projects for border wall

The Trump administration is moving forward with its plan to divert $3.6 billion from military construction projects, notifying congressional leaders and lawmakers whose states will be impacted by the shuffle.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper called congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), on Tuesday to detail the decision to reprogram the money away from military construction projects and to the border.

Schumer, who has projects in his home state that will be impacted, panned the decision as a “slap in the face” to members of the military.


“The president is trying to usurp Congress’s exclusive power of the purse and loot vital funds from our military. Robbing the Defense Department of much-needed funds is an affront to our service members and Congress will strongly oppose any funds for new wall construction,” he added.

Pelosi told House Democrats on a caucuswide conference call on Tuesday that Esper also informed her of the move earlier in the day, according to a call participant.

“Canceling military construction projects at home and abroad will undermine our national security and the quality of life and morale of our troops, making America less secure,” Pelosi said later in a public statement.

“The House will continue to fight this unacceptable and deeply dangerous decision in the Courts, in the Congress and in the court of public opinion, and honor our oath to protect the Constitution,” she added.

Pentagon officials on Tuesday also confirmed that Esper approved $3.6 billion in Defense Department dollars to build 175 miles of wall on the U.S.- Mexico border, with Congress being briefed on the construction projects that will be affected by the order.

The notification to congressional leadership comes following Trump’s declaration of a national emergency earlier this year to access more money for the border wall after Congress passed a funding bill that included only $1.35 billion for the border.

Republicans bristled over Trump’s decision to declare the national emergency to get wall funding, but Congress was unable to override Trump’s veto of a resolution to nix the declaration. Democrats have pledged to force another vote this fall.

As part of the declaration, Trump announced that he would reshuffle $3.6 billion from military construction projects. Republicans are promising to “back fill” the money in the upcoming government funding bills, though that requires cooperation from Democrats.

In the meantime, roughly 127 military construction projects are being put on hold, half of which are overseas and half of which are planned U.S. projects, according to the Pentagon.

Pentagon Comptroller Elaine McCusker, who also spoke to reporters, said construction is expected to begin in about 135 days.

Officials also said that the additional miles of wall to be built are expected to diminish the number of U.S. troops deployed to the border but could not give an estimate as to how many.

Democrats immediately balked at the Pentagon’s decision to formally move forward with the reprogramming.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, knocked the administration on Tuesday, saying there was “no credible reason” for diverting the funding.

“There should be broad, bipartisan opposition to misusing defense dollars in this manner in both Congress and the courts," he added.

“The President is robbing the men and women of our armed services of funds meant for critical construction projects that are necessary to serve our troops, support our allies, deter our adversaries, and care for our military families — all to build a wall that will do nothing to solve the humanitarian crisis at our Southwest border or protect the American people,” Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in a joint statement.

Leahy is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, while Durbin is the top Democrat on the Defense subcommittee and Schatz is the top Democrat on the military construction subcommittee.

Schatz added in a subsequent tweet that “every service member, family member, and veteran should look at the list of projects he is de-funding and know that Trump thinks a wall is more important.”

Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee sent Esper a letter on Tuesday requesting more information on the impacted projects, including how they were selected.

“We ... expect a full justification of how the decision to cancel was made for each project selected and why a border wall is more important to our national security and the wellbeing of our service members and their families than these projects,” 10 Democrats on the panel wrote in their letter.

▻https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/459800-trump-plans-to-divert-money-from-military-projects-this-week-for-bor

Pentagon diverts $3.6bn in funds for southern border wall

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/4C54/production/_108604591_gettyimages-1164452134.jpg

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has granted $3.6bn (£3bn) in Pentagon funding to be redirected to help build a US-Mexico border wall.

The money will fund 175 miles (280km) of construction and will force 127 military projects to be put on hold, he told lawmakers in a letter on Tuesday.

Building a border wall was a major campaign pledge of President Trump but it has faced significant opposition.

Tough action on immigration also forms a central part of his re-election bid.

Mr Esper’s letter did not use the term “wall” but the border barriers described are likely to be cited by Mr Trump as evidence of progress as he gears up for the vote in 2020.

Last July, the Supreme Court handed Mr Trump a victory in a related case, saying that the national emergency he issued in February allowed him the power to use $2.5bn in defence funds for wall construction while the matter proceeds in courts.

In a letter sent to several congressional committees, the Department of Defense identified the 127 military construction projects worldwide that stand to lose funding on behalf of the border wall.

Democrats argue that by diverting funds to the wall, the Trump administration is attempting to circumvent Congress’ role in making budgets for government agencies.

Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it showed Mr Trump “is willing to cannibalise already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build”.

The American Civil Liberties Union promised to seek a court order to block “the president’s abuse of emergency powers to secure funds for a wall Congress denied”.

Donald Trump promised to use military construction money to fund his long-promised Mexican border wall. Now that order is being recorded on paper and put into action.

That may cause some political difficulties for the president, but it’s clear he believes the potential damage from not following through on his 2016 border-wall campaign pledge - even if the funds are coming from US taxpayers, not Mexico - is greater than the risk of disgruntled constituents and interested parties.

It wasn’t too long ago that border walling was a non-controversial proposition, tucked into larger spending legislation. That was before Donald Trump made it the most visible embodiment of his immigration policies, however.

Mr Trump has already tweeted aerial video of new border wall construction (technically, just replacement barriers). His goal is to have even more footage to point to - and, perhaps, stand smiling alongside - as his 2020 presidential re-election campaign picks up steam.
What is being defunded?

In a letter released on Wednesday evening, first reported by The Daily Beast, Mr Esper identifies 127 projects that stand to lose funding at the expense of the border wall.

This list includes projects across 23 US states, three US territories and 20 countries. More than $1bn in mainland projects - with a wide array of purposes -will likely be shelved, including $40m to update hazardous waste storage in Virginia and $95m for an engineering centre in New York.

Nearly $700m will be diverted from projects in US territories Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Of these Puerto Rico will be hit hardest: the island stands to lose $400m worth of planned projects.

Approximately $770m will be taken from projects across Europe, directed at helping allied countries deter a possible attack from Russia.

Nine projects overall affect the renovation and replacement of schools for children on US military bases across the world.

According to the Pentagon, the affected projects have not been cancelled outright but have been “deferred”.

For the projects to be resumed, however, Congress must agree to do so in its annual defence policy bill. If Congress fails to do so, they will be stuck in legislative limbo and effectively defunded.

▻https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49574441