Wednesday March 18th, 2026
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
Trump May Seek Earlier Iran Exit Than Netanyahu
White House
advisers reportedly say they believe President Donald Trump will likely
want to end major military operations in Iran before Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even as Trump
and Netanyahu have spoken nearly daily and appear closely aligned, U.S.
officials say that differences in long-term strategy and risk tolerance
could emerge as the conflict stretches into its third week, according
to Axios.
Trump has been
described by officials as one of the most forceful voices in his
administration in favor of confronting Iran militarily, aligning more
closely with Netanyahu's aggressive posture than many of his advisers.
Iran Attacks Israel, Gulf as Israel Hits Beirut
Iran lashed out
on Wednesday with attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbors as Israel
intensified strikes on Beirut, marking a sharp escalation in the
regional war.
The attacks
came after Israel killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib,
one of Tehran's most senior security figures. Israel's defense minister
said the military carried out the strike, with Israel Katz announcing
Khatib's killing and warning that "significant surprises are expected
throughout this day on all the fronts," without elaborating.
Khatib had been
sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 for directing cyber-enabled
espionage and ransomware attacks against the United States and its
allies. The Treasury said he oversaw networks of cyber threat actors
advancing Iran's political goals.
US bunker-buster bombs hammer Iranian anti-ship missile sites near Strait of Hormuz
CENTCOM says Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles posed risk to international shipping in Strait of Hormuz
U.S. forces
hammered Iran’s anti-ship missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with
5,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command
(CENTCOM) said.
The strikes
near the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil choke point,
come as Iran’s stranglehold over the vital waterway has grown concerns
over the regime’s threats to oil tankers.
"Hours ago,
U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator
munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near
the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM posted Tuesday evening on X.
Deep GBU- 72
penetrator weapons, often referred to as bunker busters, are designed
to cut through hardened or underground targets before detonating. The
munition was first tested by the Air Force in 2021.
Oil spikes after Iran says world’s largest gas fields hit in strikes, vows to attack Gulf oil production in retaliation
An Israeli
airstrike hit Iran’s South Pars gas field, the largest in the world, on
Wednesday — causing energy prices to spike as Tehran vows to hit energy
sites across the Gulf in retaliation.
Explosions were reported across multiple areas of the South Pars gas field, which is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar.
Doha slammed the strike as a targeted attack.
“The Israeli
targeting of facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension
of Qatar’s North Field, is a dangerous & irresponsible step amid
the current military escalation in the region,” said Majed Al Ansari, a
spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Iran’s central
military command warned that a severe response to the strike was
imminent, signaling a new wave of attacks on energy facilities across
the Gulf.
Brent crude oil futures soared to nearly $109 per barrel in the wake of the strike, after opening Wednesday around $101.
Trump Moves to Lower Fuel Costs With Waiver
President
Donald Trump's decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is aimed at
easing pressure on American consumers and strengthening supply chains
as U.S. forces continue executing Operation Epic Fury, according to the
White House.
The temporary move allows foreign-flagged ships to transport key energy
products between U.S. ports — a significant shift from the century-old
Jones Act, which typically requires domestic shipping to be conducted
on U.S.-built and operated vessels.
"President Trump's decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just
another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market,"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X, noting the
action will allow "vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer,
and coal to flow freely" across the country.
Israel says it assassinated Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib in overnight strike
Israeli forces
have killed Iranian intelligence minister Esmaeil Khatib, making him
the third major Islamic Republic figure to have been taken out in the
past two days.
The Israel
Defense Forces confirmed Wednesday on X that Khatib, who led Iran’s
global terror apparatus, had been “eliminated overnight.”
Khatib, thought
to be 65, joins de facto Iran leader Ali Larijani and Basij
paramilitary leader Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani as the highest-ranking
Tehran officials to be rubbed out since the killing of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of Operation Epic Fury.
New audit exposes flawed system critics say let Minnesota fraud slip through cracks: 'Didn't act for years'
The new audit sparked immediate outrage from conservatives online
A new state
audit investigating the massive fraud scandal in Gov. Tim Walz's
Minnesota revealed that the state's Department of Human Services (DHS)
failed for years to properly investigate Medicaid kickback allegations
while incorrectly claiming that they did not have the authority to do
so.
The Office of
the Legislative Auditor report released on Tuesday, titled "Department
of Human Services Investigations of Alleged Kickbacks in the Early
Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention Program," found
that DHS’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has long possessed the
legal authority to pursue kickback cases independently, contradicting
the agency’s own claims.
Instead, DHS
officials operated under the belief that they could only investigate
kickbacks if they were tied to other forms of fraud, such as billing
abuse or theft, prompting a rebuke in the report.
Boat Strikes 'Just the Beginning' in Cartel Fight
A senior
Pentagon official told lawmakers Tuesday that U.S. military operations
targeting Latin American drug cartels are likely to expand, potentially
including ground deployments, as the Trump administration intensifies
its campaign against narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean and eastern
Pacific, Politico reported.
Speaking before
the House Armed Services Committee, acting Assistant Secretary of
Defense Joseph Humire described the current effort, Operation Southern
Spear, as "just the beginning," defending ongoing lethal strikes on
suspected drug-smuggling boats as necessary deterrence.
Since early
September, U.S. forces have conducted 45 strikes, killing at least 157
people and contributing to reported declines in maritime trafficking
routes.
Democrats sharply criticized the operation as an open-ended conflict lacking clear objectives or legal grounding.
Sen. Rand Paul eviscerates Markwayne Mullin in DHS confirmation hearing: ‘A man with anger issues’
Sen. Rand Paul
(R-Ky.) ripped his colleague, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), at the
start of the latter’s confirmation hearing to lead the Department of
Homeland Security, calling him “a man with anger issues” who “has no
regrets about brawling in a Senate committee.”
The shocking
words from the GOP chairman were made just minutes after the
high-stakes hearing kicked off, with Paul also sharing personal
frustrations that Mullin called him “a freaking snake” who deserved to
have six of his ribs broken by a neighbor over political differences.
The Homeland
Security panel chair added that he “was shocked” that Mullin “would
justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much
pain,” adding Mullin “never had the courage to look me in the eye and
tell me the assault was justified.”
Regime Change Is Inexorable
Ending the war now is untenable. As Trump said last week, ‘We don’t want to go back every two years.’
By John Bolton
How does
President Trump expect the Iran war to end? He’s been ambiguous about
the answer, saying in an interview last Friday that he’ll know it “when
I feel it in my bones.” Some of his advisers and supporters urge him to
stop short of a change of regime in Tehran. But the logic of regime
change is inexorable.
If the
president wasn’t fully resolved to remove the ayatollahs, he should
never have initiated so ambitious a military effort. Strikes on
military targets alone won’t topple the regime. Instead, they must
debilitate the institutions of state power, notably the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and the basij militia. That would prove the
regime’s inability to defend itself, signifying it can’t long survive
and exacerbating divisions within a system already rocked by an
accelerated succession crisis and the elimination of many top leaders.
Iran’s opposition must help intensify regime collapse by working with
disaffected officials, civil and military.
Susan Rice is no stranger to dirty tricks — and her latest threat shows how shameless the Democrats are
By Michael Goodwin
Susan Rice, who
played leading roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, has broken
a Washington code of silence by threatening that anyone who plays ball
with the Trump administration will suffer payback the next time
Democrats take control.
‘When it comes
to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the
universities, the media, it’s not going to end well for them.’ ” she
said on a podcast.
“They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box,” Rice added.
She is no
stranger to dirty tricks, having been involved in the Obama
administration’s spying on Trump’s 2016 White House campaign.
