Watch Neocon Warmonger-in-Chief Lindsey Graham Get Viciously Booed by MAGA Crowd in SC
The veteran South Carolina senator has offered ringing endorsements of every act of US military aggression abroad since 2003, and was a fervent backer of NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine before a surprise partial reversal this month, refusing to endorse a $61 billion Senate funding bill in favor of a loan scheme proposed by Donald Trump.
The MAGA crowd at Donald Trump’s victory bash after Saturday’s South Carolina primary gave a not so very warm welcome to Senator Lindsey Graham after Trump invited him to the podium to speak.
“Another man, not a lot of people know him, he doesn’t do too much television, he happens to be a little bit further left than some of the people on this stage, but I always say when I’m in trouble on the left I call up Lindsey Graham and he straightens it out so fast,” Trump said, with his comments met with a mix of applause and boos.
“No, no,” Trump said, gesturing to try to calm the rambunctious crowd. “I love him, he’s a good man! Come up here Lindsey!”
Lindsey Graham booed during Trump’s victory speech in South Carolina… his home state ?
It proves that our elections are rigged. pic.twitter.com/hbmc0221uv— TheStormHasArrived (@TheStormRedux) February 25, 2024
“Ok, are you ready?” Graham asked after reaching the podium, where he was met with more boos. “America, the nightmare you’re facing is just about over. Help is on the way. This is the most qualified man to be president of the United States. And let it be said that South Carolina created the biggest political comeback in American history,” the senator said before quickly dashing off from center stage.
Graham and Trump have had a difficult, on-again, off-again political relationship since the New York billionaire announced his run for the presidency in 2015, with the senator initially calling the real estate mogul a “jackass” and Trump returning the favor, calling Graham a “disgrace,” a “nut job” and “one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen.” After entering office in 2017, Trump accused Graham and his fellow neocon, the late Senator John McCain, of ignoring issues like immigration and border security and instead “always looking to start World War III.”
Graham pulled an about face on Trump in 2019, presumably after realizing the then-president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) wing of the party was gaining significant political clout and easing out traditional, George W. Bush-style neocon Republicans, after which he began to cozy up to Trump and even seemingly adopting elements of his personal style.
Graham became one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the US-backed proxy war against Russia in Ukraine in 2022, vowing to support Kiev for “as long as it takes” and saying US support was resulting in “Russians…dying,” which was “the best money we’ve ever spent.” Russia reacted by adding Graham to its “terrorists and extremists” listing.
The South Carolina senator pulled a bizarre 180 on his Ukraine stance earlier this month, expressing support for the MAGA Republican-dominated House of Representatives’ intransigence on further aid, and saying Congress’s priority was to “deal with our border first,” and saying he backed a Trump proposal to make the “supplemental aid package into a loan instead of a grant.”
Last week, Graham even defended Trump’s comments on NATO, which caused an explosion of exasperated anger by Democrats and neocon Republicans alike, saying he wants “to have a system where if you don’t pay, you get kicked out,” and that Trump was “right to want NATO nations to meet their obligation of 2 percent” of GDP on defense spending.
Political trends may help explain Graham’s about-face. Fresh polling of South Carolina Republicans’ attitudes toward American assistance for Ukraine by AP VoteCast has found that about 6 in 10 GOP voters oppose continuing aid to Kiev, in favor of Trump’s “America First” message, with about half saying the US should take a less active role in world affairs.
In his farewell address in January 2021, Trump said he was “especially proud to be the first president in decades who started no new wars” during his tenure. One of Trump’s twin impeachments revolved around his threat to temporarily put Ukraine military aid on hold while calling for an investigation into potential pay-to-play corruption by the Biden family in the Eastern European country.
WATCH: Smuggler Crashes With Illegals Laying in Pickup Bed During Wild Pursuit
A suspected human smuggler was arrested after a dangerous pursuit in Texas that ended when he crashed a pickup truck with illegal aliens laying in the bed, according to authorities.
The harrowing incident unfolded on Monday in Webb County near the Mexican border.
Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS) troopers attempted to pull over a suspicious vehicle when the driver took evasive action.
TxDPS released footage from the ensuing chase, which unfolded on a local highway packed with traffic.
2/19: A driver from #Laredo led @TxDPS on a high-speed chase in #WebbCounty. The chase came to a stop after the driver crashed. Troopers discovered 8 illegal immigrants concealed inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested & charged w/ evading & smuggling. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/jctoWA4vDk
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) February 23, 2024
The driver of the pickup can be seen weaving around big rigs and other vehicles before speeding down the grassy shoulder and nearly slamming into a tractor trailer passing through an intersection.
The suspect leaves the roadway again at high speed before crashing into a guardrail and coming to a stop.
TxDPS troopers swarm the pickup as passengers bail out of the cab.
At least four more people can be seen laying dazed and confused in the bed of the pickup.
The suspect was identified as Adrian Alejandro Ibarra, a resident of Laredo, Texas.
Ibarra was charged with one count of smuggling a person under 18 years of age, seven counts of smuggling persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death, and evading arrest.
Chaos unfolds constantly along the U.S.-Mexico border, as Infowars regularly reports.
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Two Americans Feared Dead After Yacht Hijacked In Caribbean
Authorities in the Caribbean nation of Grenada believe three escaped prisoners hijacked a yacht and killed two Americans in the process as they sailed from Grenada to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Police in Grenada said Thursday that a preliminary investigation “suggests” after the three male prisoners escaped jail on Sunday, they hijacked a catamaran in St. George, Grenada, CNN reports.
Police are “currently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process,” authorities stated, adding, “It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens.”
The Royal Grenada Police Force released images of the escaped prisoners who are now in police custody after the catamaran was found abandoned in Saint Vincent.
In a separate report, Fox 5 DC said the American couple is from northern Virginia:
Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel have been known to take trips to go cruising around Grenada. Their family told FOX 5 this is something they always do – live on their boat during the winter months. It’s an escape from their home in Falls Church, Virginia.
Suellen Desmarais, Ralph Hendry’s sister, is still trying to figure out what exactly happened on the vessel. She told Fox 5 that she’s keeping faith the two are alive.
A US State Department spokesperson told CNN: “We are aware of these reports involving US citizens. We are monitoring the situation and seeking additional information.”
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US, Allies Conduct Strikes Against 18 Houthi Targets in Yemen
The United States and its allies, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, have carried out strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, hitting 18 military targets of the movement, the US Defense Department said on Sunday.
“Today’s necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across 8 locations in Yemen associated with Houthi underground weapons storage facilities, missile storage facilities, one-way attack unmanned aerial systems, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter,” the department said in a statement.The statement added that the strikes were conducted by the US, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and New Zealand in response to the “Houthis’ continued attacks against commercial and naval vessels transiting the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.”
On the same day, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that the movement fired several missiles at an American ship in the Gulf of Aden.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific military operation targeted the American ship ‘TORM THOR’ in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of appropriate naval missiles,” Saree said on X.
In addition, Houthis also carried out drone attacks on a number of US military vessels in the Red Sea, the statement added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday that it had received information about an attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden.”UKMTO has received a report of an incident 70 NM [nautical miles] east of the port of Djibouti. The Master reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel, no damage is reported to the vessel and there are no injuries to the crew,” the agency said on X.
The Houthi movement, which controls large parts of northern and western Yemen, vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea. US and UK forces later launched major strikes against Houthi positions in a bid to degrade the rebels’ ability to target commercial vessels.
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Pentagon Investigating 50 Cases of Ukraine Aid Fraud
The Pentagon’s inspector general has opened more than 50 cases into possible “theft, fraud or corruption, and diversion” of military aid to Ukraine. Allegations of graft surfaced almost immediately after the aid began flowing to Kiev and Inspector General Robert Storch has declared that more investigations are likely to follow.
Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Storch said that though no allegations have been substantiated yet, “that may well change in the future,” according to Bloomberg. Additional investigations will be necessary “given the quantity and speed” of weapons being sent to Ukraine, he noted.
One case highlighted by Storch involved unidentified items arriving in Poland as part of a wider weapons shipment, before disappearing from a shipping manifest when they were sent across the border into Ukraine in June.
While the case of the disappearing equipment was highlighted in a report by Storch’s office last year, the inspector did not say at the time whether the items had been lost or stolen. Instead, his office stated that Pentagon personnel “did not have required visibility and accountability of all types of equipment during the transfer process.”
None of Storch’s reports to date have identified any outright criminality. However, Thursday’s announcement marks the first time he has acknowledged that his office is probing potential cases of “procurement fraud, product substitution, theft, fraud or corruption, and diversion.”
In the two years since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, the US has spent roughly $113 billion on military, economic, and humanitarian aid for Kiev. Around $45 billion of that amount has been spent on weapons, ammo, and other military support for Kiev’s forces.
In the summer of 2022, a CBS News report suggested that only around 30% of the weapons sent by the West actually made it to the front lines in Ukraine. Around the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned that weapons intended for Ukraine were showing up in Middle Eastern arms bazaars.
Storch’s office has since deployed more than two dozen people to Ukraine to track US arms shipments. However, allegations of corruption have continued to surface, with the graft often beginning before supplies even enter the country. Last month, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced the uncovering of a major embezzlement ring at the country’s Defense Ministry. According to the SBU, five suspects attempted to steal 1.5 billion hryvnia (around $39.6 million) in state funds intended for the purchase of mortar shells.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov was dismissed from his post over graft allegations in September. His successor, Rustem Umerov, announced in January that an audit had revealed $262 million in theft-related costs in weapons procurement.
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Lockstep US Support for Israel ‘Eroding Confidence’ of Americans in Own Government
Amidst a broader lack of trust in US institutions, the United States government has undermined its own credibility by repeatedly backing Israel’s dubious claims. Will it prove to be a fatal mistake?
In the latest development in the saga of Western countries’ support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the National Intelligence Council of the United States has ascribed “low confidence” to Israel’s claim that a small number of the organization’s staff members participated in Hamas’ surprise October 7 attack on Israel. The finding was reported this week in US media.
Israel’s claim that some 0.4% of UNRWA’s more than 30,000 employees were involved in the armed operation dominated headlines just days after the UN-backed International Court of Justice (ICJ) instructed Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in the besieged Gaza Strip. The accusation against UNRWA led the United States and more than a dozen Western allies to withdraw financial support for the agency, which is a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees.
But it now appears that decision may have been premature, with US intelligence experts publicly casting doubt on Israel’s incendiary claim. Journalist Dan Lazare joined Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Friday to discuss the fallout from the development and what it means for Americans’ trust in their own government.
“The US will appease Israel because at this point that alliance is stronger than NATO, and I just don’t see the US breaking it,” said the author and political commentator, adding that “the Israeli assertions are difficult to back up.”
“I think that the US will go along [in undermining UNRWA],” Lazare said, despite the potentially embarrassing finding by US intelligence. “Ultimately the US is going to do whatever Israel wants it to do, and this is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. Israel is an essential US ally and it’s so essential that essentially the US defers to Israeli decisions.”
Host Michelle Witte agreed, claiming the United States’ lockstep subservience to Israel – even in apparent defiance of its own intelligence community – powerfully discredits the US government in the eyes of its own people.
“It has to have the effect of eroding confidence among the American people in the American government, in the American government speaking truth to its population,” said Witte. “Because we can see Israel keeps making these accusations, we keep acting on these accusations, and then they keep turning out to not be true.”
The Israeli government has made a series of controversial claims defending its military operation in the Gaza Strip, which some international experts have claimed amounts to genocide. As the country’s military destroyed al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in Gaza, they justified the act with the claim the hospital had served as a “command and control center” for Hamas militants. Investigations by US media outlets found no evidence for the claim.
Many of the more outlandish Israeli assertions surrounding Hamas’ October 7 attack have also been undermined or debunked. Claims that Hamas fighters engaged in mass killing and beheading of Israeli babies were found to be based on unreliable testimony. That didn’t stop President Biden himself from falsely insisting he saw photos of the alleged atrocity.
Observers have long pointed out that the United States faces a crisis of confidence in its institutions, with approval ratings for everything from courts to Congress at record lows. The phenomenon has generated widespread cynicism, which occasionally even results in political violence. Witte claimed the United States’ backing of Israel – despite the repeated debunking of its rhetoric – can’t help but further damage faith in the US government.
“More and more people can see that and are interested in that and that has got to have an effect,” she insisted. “You know, we have all this hand-wringing, oh, faith in our institutions. Well, this is part of that reason, is part of that erosion, I would think.”
Lazare predicted that the United States would likely continue to support Israel’s effort to delegitimize UNRWA, which the country has long resented because it draws attention to millions of Palestinians’ continued refugee status dating back to the Nakba in 1948. The steadfast US government support for Israel comes even as half of Americans agreed Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a recent survey.
The poll suggests opposition to Israel is a mainstream sentiment in the United States, if not a majority position. But lest Americans think they live in a democracy, both major party candidates for the presidency express strong support for the longtime US ally.
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