A.M. Links: Trump Plans Troop Surge in Afghanistan, North Korean Shipments to Syrian Chemical Arms Facility Intercepted

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  • Gage Skidmore / Flickr.com

    President Donald Trump is planning a massive troop surge to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

  • Sen. Rand Paul: "The mission in Afghanistan has lost its purpose and I think it is a terrible idea to send any more troops into that war."
  • President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally today in Phoenix, Arizona.
  • According to a U.N. report, two shipments from North Korea to a Syrian chemical arms facility have been intercepted in the past six months.
  • Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver in the Barcelona terror attack, was shot and killed by Spanish police yesterday.
  • "India's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled a controversial Muslim instant divorce law unconstitutional, a landmark victory for Muslim women who had long argued that it violated their right to equality."

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NEXT: Trump Opens Door For Afghanistan Peace, But Says U.S. Sticking Around

Damon Root is a senior editor at Reason and the author of A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution (Potomac Books).

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  1. President Donald Trump is planning a massive troop surge to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    Just make it the 51st state already.

    1. Adans smith

      We already have a Mississippi.

    2. Rufus The Monocled

      Hello.

    3. Curt

      These “massive” troop surges just ain’t what they used to be. Bush’s surge in 2007 was > 20k troops. Obama’s in 2009 was about 17k. Now Trump’s “massive” troop surge is about 4k?

      I’m sure there’s an inauguration crowd-size joke sitting around here somewhere.

      1. Well, it’s good that they have the decency to send less people to kill and die in a far away land.

        1. Curt

          Agreed. Although, “decency” might be a charitable interpretation of the reason.

          1. I like politeness. It’s what keeps us civil.

            1. Curt

              BS!!! You’re just trying find excuses to hide your true agenda. Clearly you’re a commie, nazi, cronyist, capitalist, racist, tree-hugging, gun-toting, bible-thumping, welfare-loving, environmentalist, anti-free-speech wingnut. Obviously, you hate America and therefore should be deported to some country that better reflects your political views. Somewhere like either Canada or Somalia.

              Too much coffee; not enough sleep. Otherwise, I’d probably agree with you.

  2. The mission in Afghanistan has lost its purpose and I think it is a terrible idea to send any more troops into that war.

    Before Trump even has a chance to put his stamp on it???

    1. Libertarian

      Well, okay. But after President Pence, that’s IT! I mean it this time.

  3. Bee Tagger

    President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally today in Phoenix, Arizona.

    There are other types of rallies? There are other types of campaign-style events? There are other types of Trump events?

    1. Libertarian

      You know who else held campaign style rallies?

      1. loveconstitution1789

        FDR?

      2. CE

        Bernie?

  4. President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally today in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Campaigning for everyone to elect Trump Steaks for their dinner tonight and the Ivanka collection as president of their closets.

    1. Bee Tagger

      Kirstie Alley stars in Verivanka’s Closet on TV Land

      1. Rhywun

        Kirstie Alley

        Which one?

        1. Fat One

  5. Bee Tagger

    Sen. Rand Paul: “The mission in Afghanistan has lost its purpose and I think it is a terrible idea to send any more troops into that war.”

    Same re: congress and elections

  6. …two shipments from North Korea to a Syrian chemical arms facility have been intercepted in the past six months.

    Is Syria sending food back as payment?

  7. Mnuchin’s wife confronts Instagram user over comment

    Some users disliked the move to call attention to her outfit. One user posted: “Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.”

    But Linton did not take the comment sitting down. The actress went on to confront the woman.

    “Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable!” she wrote. “Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country? I’m pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day ‘trip’ than you did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you’d be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.”

    I like the cut of this high fallutin’ dame’s job.

    1. Lololol

      Louise Linton is DanO/AddictionMyth/dajjal??

      1. Yes, everyone is you fucking hoser.

        1. BestUsedCarSales is Cytotoxic?

    2. Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting

      “I think my post was just five or six words, and she had to go on basically a rant about it to make herself look more important and look smarter, better, richer ? all those things,” she said, adding that the situation “seemed wholly inappropriate.”

      Shitlibs don’t like it when you shove their shaming tactics back in their face and remind them what pathetic sacks of garbage they really are.

    3. So, the woman who’s stepping off a government jet doesn’t think the government is paying for her travel? And last time I checked, we hired *her husband*, not her. So yeah, everything she does is ‘personal’ and every bit of it that is on the government’s dime is reason to criticize her.

  8. Sen. Rand Paul: “The mission in Afghanistan has lost its purpose and I think it is a terrible idea to send any more troops into that war.”

    SOMEONE doesn’t want to Make America Grate Again.

  9. Austrian brothel buys a SECOND sex doll after its first became more popular with customers than real women

    The unusual story of ‘Fanny’, a sex doll which has become the top-selling superstar of the Kontakthof brothel in Vienna, became worldwide news in July.

    Kontakthof, which rents out sex doll Fanny for 80 euros (?72.90) per hour, now has a second sex doll due to the huge demand as Fanny is often completely booked for several days in a row

    Your reign is coming to an end, ladies. My advice: deaden those of yours and latch on to the first man who catches your fancy.

    *coughoverherecoughcoughlookatmecough*

    1. Rat on a train

      Did I mention it vibrates?

  10. Younes Abouyaaqoub, the suspected driver in the Barcelona terror attack, was shot and killed by Spanish police yesterday.

    Hopefully he’s collecting in the afterlife what he earned here on Earth.

    1. loveconstitution1789

      72 sex dolls.

      1. Adans smith

        72 male goats.

    2. 2/3rd chance that he’s standing around in the afterlife wondering why these cops showed up out of the blue and gunned him down.

      1. He’s dead, this is more important than closure or justice being done through official channels.

        1. No, I meant there’s often a decent chance the cops just shot a random BSP because terrorism.

          Though it looks like this dude was either involved . . . or one of these videos went horribly wrong.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRT8LtOrARc

          1. I was being sarcastic.

  11. It’s no surprise the leftie cucks at TreasonNN didn’t cover this death, is it: ‘Predator’ actor Sonny Landham dies at 76

    In 2008, Landham’s anti-Arab comments lost him the Libertarian Party’s backing for U.S. Senate.

    RIP

    1. Conchfritters

      I only remember these prophetic words from Predator: “We’re all going to die.” Chilling.

    2. loveconstitution1789

      People really flip out when Native-Americans point out the flaws with Muslim people too.

      RIP and soar like an eagle in the great reward.

      1. Domestic Dissident

        No one on earth is as intimately familiar with the danger of an open borders policy than the Native Americans.

        1. Sure, that’s a comparison that makes sense at all.

          1. I think this song explains it all, Crusty.

          2. loveconstitution1789

            1. Native Americans welcomed the white man without properly vesting their over all intent to take over.
            2. White men killed Native Americans to lessen the threat to homesteads.
            3. White men rule the USA (according to lefties).

  12. colorblindkid

    How many troops do we already have in Afghanistan? Is 5,000 a significant increase? I think we should pull them all out, obviously, and leave that hellhole to be the hellhole it’s been for 1,000 years, but some people seem to think the war was over and we have nobody there right now, and that is just utter bullshit.

    1. loveconstitution1789

      There are around 8400 US troops in Afghanistan after the 2016 “withdraw”.

      All US troops should leave but 5k more is not a significant force. Supposedly, Trump’s compromise with generals is to give them some more troops to stabilize and train more Afghanis. I assume Trump gave US generals a certain period of time to make it happen or shut up forever.

      Unfortunately for Trump, he is not experienced enough to know that the generals are full of shit and cannot possibly handle this type of guerilla warfare and “win”. 16 years should prove that point.

      Hopefully, Trump pulls troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq within his first term. That would be better than Boosh and Obummer.

      1. Obummer.

        Did you and Mikey meet at a Klan rally or a white nationalist meet-up?

        1. loveconstitution1789

          I can’t go to those because I am Cherokee.

        2. DRM

          Sure, Obama got more than twice as many Americans killed in Afghanistan than all other presidents in US history combined, but the only reason Buttplug can imagine someone could use a nickname suggesting the man was less-than-stellar is white nationalism.

      2. If its not a significant force – then there’s no point in doing it at all. What are we going to accomplish with 13k that 8k couldn’t?

        1. It’s a greater than 50% increase.

        2. loveconstitution1789

          The reason give is for those troops to train Afghanis, protect air bases, and coordinate air strikes.

          In other words, not a lot of regular ground pounders. So not a significant force. It might be an effective force but 16 years should teach America that 100k troops cannot tame Afghanistan.

          1. FFS – we’ve been training them for a decade already. Another 5k to train some more isn’t going to make a difference.

  13. Conchfritters

    The law allows Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word “talaq” three times.

    In the US we just say “sayonara sweetheart”

    1. Libertarian

      “uttering the word “talaq” three times.”

      Do they have to be looking in a mirror?

  14. Are You Sure You Want Single Payer?

    But should it be? It’s true that the current American health-care system suffers from serious problems. It’s too expensive, millions are still uninsured, and even insured people sometimes can’t afford to go to the doctor.

    Single payer might be one way to fix that. But it could also bring with it some downsides?especially in the early years?that Americans who support the idea might not be fully aware of. And they are potentially big downsides.

    Summary: according to the experts she asked, it will be good even though hospitals will shut down, and the care will be worse, and less money will be invested in drug development, etc.

    1. loveconstitution1789

      As someone who is in the Veterans healthcare system, you do NOT want single payer. In fact, you want the government out of health care as quickly as possible.

      1. TrickyVic (old school)

        It’s never good to have a monopoly.

        1. Libertarian

          I think monopolists would disagree with that.

          1. TrickyVic (old school)

            They always do

        2. Mickey Rat

          Aside from the fact that the correct term is monopsony.

          1. loveconstitution1789

            You misspelled crony capitalists.

    2. creech

      Yet the news media continues to find nurses, doctors and health administrators to trot before the cameras and advocate for single payer/medicare for all. Just once I’d like to see the reporter ask if they would be for such a plan, if it meant depending on the voters for their salary and any paltry raises.

      1. Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting

        The doctors assume that they’ll be able to continue charging $2,000 for treatments that cost about $50 thanks to AMA cronyism. They mainly don’t want to deal with multiple insurance companies anymore.

        The nurses tend to be SEIU drones so they’ll naturally support anything that increases government control.

        1. Well, they’ll be charging *$4,000$ for treatments that cost $50 – the part they don’t realize is that they’ll be pocketing $100 after expenses instead of 3k. The rest will go to mandatory insurers and the government regulators.

    3. Bra Ket

      But at least if you like your doctor you’ll be able to keep them.

  15. “India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled a controversial Muslim instant divorce law unconstitutional, a landmark victory for Muslim women who had long argued that it violated their right to equality.”

    ACTIVIST COURTS!

    1. TrickyVic (old school)

      Just say “I divorce thee” three times and throw dog poop on their shoe.

      Isn’t that how it’s done?

    2. Mickey Rat

      So whose fault will bombings be now that the court has angered up the Muslims.

  16. The battered and bruised mugshot of man, 20, ‘who tried to carjack three football players at gunpoint after asking them for a ride’

    As he was trying to drive off, Martinez lost his grip on the gun, and one of the carjacked football players used this opportunity to jump in the car and punch the suspect in the face.

    Fun fact: it got worse from there.

    1. The other players soon joined in, pummeling the hapless carjacker. As they were tying up the 20-year-old, the players allegedly discovered a knife tucked into his waistband.

      They also wrested away his gun, which turned out to have been fake.

      When police officers were summoned to the scene to arrest the suspect, they searched him and found a poorly spelled note in his possession that read: ‘give me the keys to your wip and a nobody get heart. I know where you live so don’t make me kill.’

      1. Adans smith

        It is nice to see a post with a happy ending.

        1. Libertarian

          EWWW!

      2. There is nothing so sad as to see a guy attempting a crime in America with a *fake* gun.

        For god’s sake man, get a job, scrape up a couple hundred, and go buy a real gun – consider it a capital investment in your burgeoning enterprise.

    2. Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting

      That’s got to be kids from Highland High School–too bad they don’t show that much fight during games, their football team’s been trash for a while now.

      The players agreed to give Martinez a ride, but the 20-year-old kept changing his destination.

      Odds are they already knew this dumb cholo from around the neighborhood, otherwise they probably would have told him to go fuck himself.

    3. You’d think that after getting in the car and seeing 3 big dudes sitting there that you’d abort, finish the ride, and try again later.

    4. Any butt stuff?

  17. Sex and the long-distance runner

    Summary: it depends on the individual. Far out.

    1. Conchfritters

      “Sex makes you happy. Happy people don’t run a 3:47 mile.”. Amen – I haven’t ran a mile since 1986.

  18. Lindsey Vonn Calls Leaked Nude Photos of Her & Ex Tiger Woods a ‘Despicable Invasion of Privacy’ After Personal Phone Is Hacked

    After investigating the hack I can confirm that the leaked photos are completely disgusting.

    1. geo1113

      Does that mean they were properly screwing?

    2. Adans smith

      I take it Tiger’s still slicing his ‘driver’?

    3. Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting

      Was it her phone, or her account on the Cloud that got hacked? As I recall, the hacks from the Fappening were all pulled from Apple’s cloud service, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this was the same situation.

      Moral of the story–when you break up with an ex, delete your sex pics ASAP because there are a lot of maladjusted nerds with absolutely nothing better to do with their time than look for celebrity titties.

      1. Also, “the Cloud” is just a fancy name for “somebody else’s computer.”

  19. Three and a Half More Years!

    Institutional Democrats use the state and local governments they control as political weapons, and they have made great strides in politicizing business life. When the nation’s dairy producers declined to make a statement on the events in Charlottesville, Jesse Singal of New York magazine wrote: “You are either with us or against us, milk!” He was joking, but the joke is funny because it is so close to the facts. Progressives have boycotted L.L. Bean because one of its board members made a donation to a political-action committee that supported Trump. That wasn’t the company using the company’s money to support a candidate, just a board member who has a life outside of being on the board of L.L. Bean. And, of course, local “community organizers” take a sudden interest in monuments that have been sitting in local parks for a century.

    1. Trump, being Trump, adds his own chaos to the mix: his petulant schoolboy tweeting, his Queeg-and-the-strawberries press conferences, his penchant for surrounding himself with nutcases like Steve Bannon and his gormless children and in-laws. If what you want is chaos, then Donald J. Trump ? a retired game-show host who apparently believes there were “a lot of good people” at a neo-Nazi rally that ended with a political murder ? is your man. You could hardly do better.

      1. Adans smith

        And yet,he is still better than Hillary.

        1. Bra Ket

          Because that entire list is meaningless hot air and feelings that only the obsessed news wonks even know about.

      2. gormless children and in-laws

        Like every other politician – or, indeed, like *everyone else* – hell, one of our former President’s gormless children *became president himself*.

        1. paranoid android

          That’s not a very nice thing to say about John Quincy Adams.

  20. How do some people become attracted to white nationalism?

    It wasn’t really about ideology for some of the young, right and wayward. They were mad as hell and were being given a voice, whether through the alt-right, Trump or both.

    Regular conservatives and libertarians could now rationalize becoming racist, because it was simply part of fighting the left, which Milo and even more mainstream conservatives have always preached is the right’s primary mission.

    This mentality presents a slippery slope: it’s one thing to say you’re not afraid of political correctness and are willing to discuss racial issues. It’s another thing to embrace racial hatred in the name of being politically incorrect. For the genuine racists who lead the alt-right, it is to their benefit that most people don’t know the difference.

    1. As the alt-right began to gather steam in 2016, someone eventually told me that Cantwell had transformed from a libertarian anarchist into a hard right fascist. This person was surprised that someone like Cantwell could go from a hyper-individualist philosophy to one of hardcore collectivism ? because there’s nothing more anti-individualist and collectivist than racism.

      I wasn’t surprised at all. This change isn’t about philosophy for someone like Cantwell. It’s about narcissism. It’s about mental and emotional instability. It’s who he is and always has been.

      Again, it’s about being the most extreme thing out there. And the newest, most extreme thing out there for the past year or so has been the alt-right.

      1. The Alt-right was just so 2016.

        1. loveconstitution1789

          The Alt-right being socialists and all, more like so 19th and 20th Centuries.

    2. Rhywun

      Regular conservatives and libertarians could now rationalize becoming racist

      I literally haven’t seen this story written over and over since the morning after the election.

  21. Coal CEO “Trump lied to us”

    WASHINGTON ? The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants, a decision contrary to what one coal executive said the president personally promised him.

    The Energy Department says it considered issuing the order sought by companies seeking relief for plants it says are overburdened by environmental regulations and market stresses. But the department ultimately ruled it was unnecessary, and the White House agreed, a spokeswoman said.

    The decision is a rare example of friction between the beleaguered coal industry and the president who has vowed to save it. It also highlights a pattern emerging as the administration crafts policy: The president’s bold declarations ? both public and private ? are not always carried through to implementation.

    https://goo.gl/KDWyzG

    1. TrickyVic (old school)

      But did they get to keep their doctor?

    2. Trump lied? How shocking.

      Maybe they could have, you know, done their due diligence and talked to some of his other business partners who could have told him the man will *say* anything to close a deal but the only thing you can make him respect it what’s printed in the contract.

  22. Rebel Scum

    President Donald Trump is planning a massive troop surge to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    “Warmonger Trump ruins Obama era peace in the Middle-east”

  23. And, of course, my favorite headline of the week: Squabbles Over the Family Summer Home? Don’t Hire a Lawyer Just Yet

    Summary: Instead of hiring a lawyer, look to the Postal Service for a solution. For realsies.

    1. geo1113

      Here’s your package, Mrs. Smith…now what’s this I hear about the squabble over the house in The Hamptons!

    2. Rich

      India should have tried “transformative mediation” with that instant divorce kerfuffle.

  24. 68W58

    McConnell says that Congress will raise the debt limit.

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-g…..ebt-limit/

    What is the point of you McConnell?

    1. What is their alternative?

      Cut spending? Ha Ha Ha HA!!!! Please don’t be that naive.

      1. TrickyVic (old school)

        Ha Ha indeed.

        Both parties have a love for your wallet.

      2. loveconstitution1789

        Trump’s tried to cut some stuff but Congress refuses.

  25. Rebel Scum

    President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally today in Phoenix, Arizona.

    Over/under on “peaceful” “anti-fascist” “protest” getting someone killed?

  26. Rich

    The ruling was delivered by a panel of five male judges from different faiths – Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Three of the five ruled that the practice was unconstitutional, overruling the senior-most judge in India, the chief justice.

    “We answer to a higher authority.”

    1. Triangle K?

      in New York, the Kosher Law Enforcement Division (KLED) is maintained to aid its large Jewish population and protect consumers from the mislabeling and misrepresentation of food products.

      http://www.hebrewnational.com/about-kosher

      Seriously? May as well bring on Sharia if we’re going to allow any of this bullshit.

  27. Bra Ket

    Muslim women say they have been left destitute by husbands divorcing them through “triple talaq”, including by Skype and WhatsApp.

    Depends if it was a video call.

    Under the ruling, the government will need to frame new divorce legislation, which would replace the abolished practice of triple talaq.

    “Finally, I feel free today,” Shayara Bano, who was divorced through triple talaq and was among the women who brought the case, told Reuters after the ruling.

    “I have the order that will liberate many Muslim women.”

    Uhhh how is not being divorced like being free?

    1. You’re only free if you leave with half his shit too.

  28. creech

    Notorious liberal lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, was on Fox this morning and he made a really rational case for free speech and called out antifa nut jobs too. I wonder how long it will take for the hard Left to demand his ouster, banishment, etc. for sounding kind of like Trump?

    1. Rhywun

      They’ll just say he’s senile.

      1. TrickyVic (old school)

        They will ignore him.

    2. Bra Ket

      Wasn’t Dershowitz one of the “rape culture propagandists”?

    3. loveconstitution1789

      The Democratic Party is done for.

      When wealthy jewish donors start giving money to the GOP because they are scared of lefty socialists it should be red flags all over the place for the Democratic Party.

  29. Rich

    triple talaq

    Nice rapper name.

  30. Libertarian

    “Two police officers in the area closed in and cornered the suspect, Younes Abouyaaqoub . . . he opened his jacket to reveal what looked like a suicide belt ? which turned out to be fake ? and shouted, “Allah is great.” The officers shot him dead.”

    Good thing it wasn’t Halloween or the decision to shoot would have been a lot more problematic.

    1. Rhywun

      Since he obviously had a death-wish, it’s odd that he fled for so long. Or I just don’t have the mind of a lunatic mass murderer. ?\_(?)_/?

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