LESLIE STEVENS
15.8K posts
Loud and clear since day 1: Iran can NEVER have a nuclear weapon.
English
FWIW, I opened my phones to callers from around the country on how they'd like the war to proceed. The call board was slammed and to a caller, they want the Iranian regime defeated. My audience is very large and solidly conservative. I understand the polls, etc., but this is another and a different measure of the public's attitude.
English
Officials say the two suspects in the San Diego Islamic Center shooting were radicalized. The three men killed, including a security guard, are being hailed as heroes for their courage during the attack.
English
Ed Gallrein will defeat incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie in the Republican primary in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District, CNN's Decision Desk projects.
Follow live updates: cnn.it/49egduV
English
CENTCOM forces continue total enforcement of the U.S. blockade against Iran, stopping the flow of commerce into and out of Iranian ports. 89 commercial vessels have been redirected to ensure compliance.
English
@marklevinshow Regime believes Iran is to play a pivotal role in a cosmic struggle, where resistance, power-building, and confrontation with enemies serve the ultimate goal of the Mahdi's return and global justice under Shia Islam. Western societies/governments lack the understanding of this.
English
Let me try it this way: the Iranian regime's ideology does NOT allow it to abandon its reason for existence. It believes Allah compels it to do whatever it takes -- cheat, lie, deceive, imprison, torture, and murder -- if it means survival and furtherance of its revolution.
English
@marklevinshow The Iranian regime (Shia) claims to be the custodians of the global government of Imam al-Mahdi, a figure who they believe is preserved in heaven until the time for him to reappear and lead a global Islamic revolution. They believe war and chaos will bring his return.
English
@CENTCOM if a new operation begins, it won’t require congressional approval until the 60th day.
English
@CNN Both Democratic and Republican presidents have repeatedly conducted military operations without prior congressional authorization, routinely stretching or bypassing the War Powers Resolution. This is a longstanding bipartisan executive practice, not unique to Trump.
English
The Senate advanced a measure aimed at restricting President Donald Trump’s war powers by requiring congressional approval for any future military action in Iran. cnn.it/49WiLy0
English
Authorities are reviewing a video apparently posted online by one of the suspects in Monday's deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego that appears to capture a livestream of the attack and its aftermath, sources told ABC News. abcnews.link/ZnDkAqG
English
NOW: Law enforcement officials brief on San Diego Islamic Center shooting
WATCH HERE: youtube.com/live/pp3yWEMvc…
YouTube
English
"If it was not for him taking action against the shooters, the shooters could easily have access to all the classrooms," Imam Taha Hassan of the Islamic Center of San Diego tells CBS News of the beloved security guard and members of his mosque who lost their lives in yesterday's shooting.
"We hold them as our heroes. We hold them as people who sacrificed their lives for their entire community, the entire school and all the kids and the staff."
English
Two men were killed as they tried to draw the attention of suspected shooters away from San Diego's largest mosque and into the parking lot, Police Chief Scott Wahl said. cnn.it/49al5kT
English
@marklevinshow Trump recently indicated 20-yr. suspension of enrichment could work = kicking the can Obama style. Lindsey Graham (citing Trump) stated Iran must “end its support for all terrorist proxies in the region.” What happened to proxies and ballistic missile program red lines?
English
DEAL OR NO DEAL
When we suddenly hit the brakes and called off the planned military operation against the Iranian regime, it was clear that something was going on. We gave the regime 2-3 days to come to some arrangement that presumably includes no nukes. What does no nukes mean? Are their scientists going to forget what they developed? How long can we keep that in a box? What happens to the enriched uranium? We are told: 1. they have enough to make 10 bombs in 11 days, and 2. that it takes a matter of weeks to further enrich uranium from 60% to 90% nuclear grade. What about the plutonium, which no one is talking about?
And the ballistic missiles, that were destroying targets throughout the Middle East? And the range of those missiles, which can now hit Europe? We didn't even know how far those missiles could reach. I guess all of this will change? The Iranian regime that kicked out inspectors, hid their activities, and violated every single agreement it ever signed, will have changed because of our military actions? Honestly, does this act or sound like a regime that is defeated or cares about death? For some reason, the West cannot get its collective head around the fact that the Iranian regime's mindset is not one of mutual existence. It is a religious, extremist, fundamentalist cult that insists on conquering or destroying all those who do not bend to its ideology. They have told us this. They have written this. They preach this. It is in their books, pamphlets, sermons, etc. It is a revolution without borders, not merely one nation among others. Haven't we learned this by now? Many Americans have been killed during the last 47-years as a result of the regime's ambitions.
My greatest concern has always been enforcement, which has not been discussed much even after all of this time. If there is a deal, whatever deal it is, perhaps the greatest deal in the history of deals, again, the regime cheats, lies, and hides what it is doing. Our intel and satellites simply cannot catch all of it. And if we find violations, then what? "Well, we'll hit them again, Mark." Is that what we did before Trump? Does anyone believe that's what we will do after Trump? Is that what a Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris or the rest of the Democrats would do if one of them became president? Heck, even Republican presidents did not act. For crying out loud, look at all the noise, the appeasers, the pacificists, the isolationists, etc. These are loud movements in our politics and government. And look at the reaction to the temporary increase in a gallon of gasoline. Would we have the will even a few years from now?
And what of Hezbollah, still a potent terrorist force? And what of Hamas? The Iranian regime will promise not to support them? My response: is the Brooklyn Bridge still for sale? And how do we stop the regime if it funds them anyway? What will we do? And the Iranian people? What of them? "They should rise up," it is said. Well, they did. Without arms. And they paid a horrendous price and still are. I can only imagine what more would be done to them.
Of course, the Europeans will be useless, as they are now. Even with detente with China and something like it with Russia, they still will provide support to the Iranian regime. So will North Korea. We have no control over their sabotage of any deal. This all must be considered.
And the Democrats, always desperate for a political opportunity, will ask rhetorically, "why did we go to war," "this is Obama 2.0," "we wasted billions for nothing," "Trump is a TACO," and on and on. I can hear it now. The truth won't matter. The spin will be constant. Of course, if the Democrats had their way, the Iranian regime would already have nuclear weapons. But none of that will matter. This could be very damaging for the mid-term elections, despite all the demands for "off-ramps." Yet, the problem is the regime itself, is it not? How do we contain it if it survives?
To be absolutely clear, I have no inside information. In fact, as far as I know at the end of another 2-3 days of negotiations military action against the regime will resume. But it's very important to think about these issues and much more.
English
@marklevinshow Trump campaigned 'Iran will NEVER have a nuclear weapon' — permanent red line, no enrichment, full behavioral change. Now he's open to a 20-year 'suspension' if the guarantees are 'real.' That's exactly what critics called kicking the can: temporary pause, he slammed Obama for.
English