UN Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting on Iran

With the US represented by the very capable Mike Waltz. It’s worth noting that the only reason they met was because the U.S. pressed the global body to do so. New York Post: The US ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday that President Trump would not stand by if the anti-government protesters in Iran are threatened, describing the commander in chief as a “man of action” unlike the UN. US ambassador Mike Waltz reiterated America’s commitment to the protesters during an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council, warning that the US would do what it takes to ensure the demonstrators’ safety. “President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Waltz said (New York Post). Also speaking was the courageous journalist and activist Masih Alinejad: I now address the Representative of the Islamic Republic DIRECTLY: You have tried to KILL me 3 TIMES! My crime?! Echoing the voice of innocent people that you killed! Your leader, Ali Khamenei, he ordered my killing! I have seen my would-be assassin with my own eyes in front of my garden in my home in Brooklyn. He said, ‘that American agent who compared compulsory hijab to the Berlin Wall must be killed.’ I am that woman but I am NOT the agent of America. I have agency, but I am thankful to American government and the law enforcement to protect my life! And it was not the protection of the law enforcement, I wouldn’t, I couldn’t have been here to testify for millions of people who are facing the same killers, facing the same terrorist regime in my country! (Daugherty).

The US Disposition Towards Iran: ‘All options remain on the table’

White House Press Secretary Leavitt points to a pause in the slaughter of the regime’s forces: 800 executions that were scheduled to take place yesterday were halted. The president and his team are closely monitoring the situation. All options remain on the table (Nawfal). In watching news events thus far, it looks more plausible that the military was sufficiently brutal in their killing to quiet the uprising—as opposed to the regime rethinking whether it was a good idea for them to kill their own people so indiscriminately. Meanwhile: Our military assets are still making their way to the region. Fox News: At least one U.S. aircraft carrier is being moved toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to build, military sources confirm to Fox News (Fox News). There have also been headlines indicating Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Turkey have sought to dissuade the US from taking action. Senator Lindsey Graham doesn’t have much patience: The ayatollah’s regime has American blood on its hands. They are slaughtering people in the streets. If it is accurate that the Arab response is “action is not necessary against Iran” given this current outrageous slaughter of innocent people, then there will be a dramatic rethinking on my part regarding the nature of the alliances now and in the future (Graham). More from John Sexton at Hot Air.

Trump Threatens Minnesota With Invocation of Insurrection Act

The 1807 law was last invoked in 1992 to address the riots that followed the Rodney King incident. The president has every right to invoke the act today. President Trump: If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State (Truth). The announcement comes after a violent attack of an ICE officer on Wednesday evening. An ICE officer was getting beaten with a snow shovel and fired shots in self-defense. DHS: This attack on another brave member of law enforcement took place while Minnesota’s top leaders, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, are actively encouraging an organized resistance to ICE and federal law enforcement officers. Their hateful rhetoric and resistance against men and women who are simply trying to do their jobs must end. Federal law enforcement officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest criminals and lawbreakers (Fox News). Ed Morrissey: [Trump’s] not going to sit on his hands for long while Walz and Frey claim to have superior jurisdiction over federal law enforcement. This is likely the last warning Walz will get before Trump orders troops into Minneapolis to put down this uprising  – and unlike with Section 12406, the use of the Insurrection Act will leave Walz with no real options in court. And he knows it (Hot Air).

Protest Group ‘ICE Watch’ Declares ‘Time Is Ripe to Embrace Militancy’

There may well be “normal” liberal Minnesotans among the protestors—people who just want to exercise their First Amendment rights. But it’s clear: The energizing force and the leadership in these protest movements are genuine radicals. Free Beacon: The “ICE Watch” group at the center of the unruly demonstrations gripping Minneapolis urged supporters to “embrace militancy” and escalate their demands “by any means necessary.” Hours later, Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D.) also encouraged residents to resist ICE, accusing the agency of carrying out a “campaign of organized brutality.” MN ICE Watch, which describes itself as an “autonomous collective documenting & resisting against ICE, police, & all colonial militarized regimes,” shared an Instagram post on Wednesday teaching agitators how to relay “information on police and/or fascist” activity at demonstrations (Free Beacon).

Stephen Miller Labels Minneapolis Violence an ‘Insurrection’

And points out that each arrest helps them understand more about the network and those who fund and support it. White House deputy chief Stephen Miller: In Minnesota right now, the insurrectionists have come out of hiding. They’re confronting our officers on the street. They’re being arrested. This is a national security priority. More arrests of insurrections are being made every day. And each of those arrests then provides an opportunity to learn more about the network from a law enforcement and national security standpoint (One News Now). The Hill, quoting Miller: “What I would say very clearly is that you only have to read their own words and hear their own words and judge their own conduct,” Miller continued. “Understand that this is clearly an insurgency against the federal government. They are describing a federal government as an occupying force. Just think about that for a second.” He said the federal government is responsible for administering the law across all 50 states, including immigration law. “We have one national currency, we have one national flag, we have one national Constitution, we have one national immigration law,” he added. “If you were to permit individual cities and states to ratify their own immigration laws for themselves, you wouldn’t have a republic and you wouldn’t have a country, and that’s the proposition that [Minneapolis Mayor Jacob] Frey and [Minnesota Attorney General Keith] Ellison and [Minnesota Gov. Tim] Walz are trying to test” (The Hill).

Trump Unveils Plan for Health Care Affordability

The president’s plan seeks to address both insurance premiums and prescription costs. The wrongheaded nightmare that is Obamacare is a difficult web to unweave—especially given the narrow majority the President has in both chambers. The Hill: Affordability is a key issue for voters, and the health plan is part of the administration’s efforts to reassure the public that everyday costs are going down. “I’m calling on Congress to pass this framework into law without delay,” Trump said in a video message. “Have to do it right now so that we can get immediate relief to the American people” (The Hill). President Trump: Today I’m thrilled to announce my plan to lower healthcare prices for all Americans and truly make healthcare affordable again. We’re doing things that nobody’s ever been able to do. We’re calling it the great healthcare plan…. I’m asking Congress to complete the work that we’ve started. Next, my plan would reduce your insurance premiums by stopping government payoffs to big insurance companies and sending that money directly to the people. Obamacare was designed to make insurance companies rich (White House).

Third Circuit Court Strikes Down Decision That Had Allowed Mahmoud Khalil to Be Released

Mahmoud Khalil is the Hamas-supporting activist who was instrumental on the campus protests and disruptions at Columbia University. The Trump administration has been trying to deport him. Jeff Charles at Townhall: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned a lower court’s ruling that stopped the Trump administration from detaining or deporting former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil, a 30-year-old Palestinian activist, has been fighting deportation since March last year, when ICE agents arrested him at his apartment (Townhall). Secretary of State Rubio in his now trademark plainspoken clarity: For the fake news peddling misinformation about the appellate ruling for Mahmoud Khalil, here is our stance in simple terms: If you sympathize with terrorists, your presence is contrary to the national and foreign policy interests of the United States. You are not welcome here (Rubio). Free Beacon: Khalil’s legal team plans to appeal Thursday’s decision, with one of his attorneys, Baher Azmy, saying it will “continue to fight with all available legal options.” The matter will likely next be reviewed by a full panel of Third Circuit judges (Free Beacon).

Nobel Prize Winning María Corina Machado Visits White House, Gives Trump Her Prize

Adding a bit of humor to the very serious history that’s unfolding for Venezuela is the fact that the Nobel committee said she couldn’t give her award to Trump. CBS last weekend: The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize is throwing cold water on talk of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado giving her recent award to President Trump. Once the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, it can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others, the Norwegian Nobel Institute said in a short statement on Friday. “The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said (CBS).  That didn’t stop her. New York Post: “I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters on Capitol Hill. Machado, who won the prestigious award last October for her tireless fight to restore freedom in Venezuela and defeat the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro, explained that she also had a message for Trump when she gave him the prize. “I told him this: 200 years ago, Gen. [Marquis de] Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face on it. Bolivar kept that medal the rest of his life,” Machado said….  “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition” (New York Post).

Trump Administration Establishes Working Group for Greenland Acquisition

The announcement came from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: It was a good meeting and, in that meeting, the two sides agreed to really establish a working group of individuals who will continue to have technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland. Those talks will take place. I’m told every two to three weeks, so this is a conversation the administration intends to keep having with the Danes and with the respected delegation from Greenland. But the president has made his priority quite clear he wants the United States to acquire Greenland. He thinks it’s in our best national security to do that (Daugherty). Also: NATO Troops are quickly establishing a “more permanent” presence on Greenland. Financial Times:            Troels Lund Poulsen, Denmark’s defence minister, said on Thursday that the intention was to have more Danish troops based in Greenland, with other Nato allies invited to take part on a rotational basis. “The intention is to create a more permanent military presence,” he told Danish public broadcaster DR (Financial Times). Given the tone and tenor of recent meetings, it’s difficult to discern whether NATO troops are there to protect against Russia’s ambitions or against the US as the administration tries to defund us against Putin’s—and China’s—aspirations.

Niall Ferguson on Iran: ‘The best solution I can think of would be to get rid of the theocracy’

The support from the historian is notable: Does it make sense to do nothing and sit back and watch the regime massacre thousands of people reestablish its domestic authority and then resume normal service as a source of terrorism in the region, presumably also resume normal service in its pursuit of weapons and mass destruction? Or do you finish the job off that came close to being complete last year? … The best solution I can think of would be to get rid of the theocracy. It’s deeply unpopular. Very few Iranians would lament it and help if there is a way to do it, a transition maybe to constitutional monarchy, maybe to a liberal republic, but it would be without question a benefit not just to ordinary Iranians, it would be a benefit to the region as a whole and indeed the world to remove this evil regime, which is once again proving its moral repugnance from the face of the earth. Let’s do it (Coleman).