James Clapper: “There is no national security interest more vital to the United States of America than the ability to hold free and fair…”

It shows once again not that we need proof of it, where the President's head really is and all this. And it's not on national security, not on the pandemic, not on the massive Russian cyber espionage.

This is quite different. And, you know, shocking, stunning, but not surprising, a phrase that we often find ourselves using about revelations of abuse of power by the Trump administration.

It's all about the base and keeping his grip on it.

Ties with Tehran offer some regional governments a means of staking an independent position on Iran, thereby mitigating its isolation while also attempting to extract Iranian financial aid and investment for economic and social projects.