Month: June 2020

Stocks Rise At End of Best Quarter in Decades

Stocks ended June with another move higher, capping the best quarter for the major indexes in decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 217 points, 0.85 percent higher. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.87 percent. The Dow ended the second quarter with a 17.8 percent gain, the biggest quarterly gain since 1987. The S&P 500 is up nearly 20 percent, the best quarter since 1998. Nasdaq Composite is up 30.6 percent, the best quarter since 1999. The yield on the 10-year ticked up slightly to 0.658 percent, 0.022 points higher. Oil slipped slightly lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude closing at $39.38 a gallon, 0.86 percent lower, and the global standard Brent Crude falling 1.37 percent. All 11 sectors of the S&P were up for the day. Energy was the best performing sector, followed by health care and consumer discretionary. Utilities, industrials, and consumer staples–sectors that tend to outperform when investors seek to reduce risk–were the laggards.

Definitely some much-needed good news!     🙂

Intrusion Suspect Shot Dead While Allegedly Trying to Enter Home

An intrusion suspect who allegedly tried to make entry into a Springfield, Missouri, home Friday night died after being shot by the homeowner. Ozarks First reports that the incident occurred around 11:00 p.m. Friday night. Springfield Police Lieutenant Chad McIntyre indicates that the suspect was allegedly breaking into the home when he was shot. KY3 identified the deceased suspect as 36-year-old Kenneth L. Clay. He was shot by homeowner David R. Jones, who says Clay allegedly shot first, striking him in the foot. Jones then returned fire, killing Clay.

Yet another great example of the need to own a firearm!

Russian spy unit paid Taliban to attack US troops, US intelligence says

A Russian spy unit paid members of Afghanistan’s Taliban movement to conduct lethal attacks on U.S. troops in that country, according to a classified American intelligence assessment, people familiar with the report said. The assessment of the role played by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, in fostering attacks on American soldiers, comes as President Trump is pushing the Pentagon to withdraw a significant portion of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and as U.S. diplomats try to forge a peace accord involving the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government. The intelligence assessment regarding Russia’s actions in Afghanistan was delivered to the White House earlier this spring, and until recently had been known only to a handful of officials, a person familiar with it said. Its contents were reported earlier Friday by the New York Times. It couldn’t be determined whether Russian bounties paid to Taliban fighters resulted in any American combat deaths in Afghanistan. The White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon declined to comment. Russia’s Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. At issue is a secretive unit of the GRU that, according to Western officials, has conducted sometimes clandestine lethal operations against Moscow’s adversaries. The same unit, they said, was responsible for the poisoning in the U.K. of Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer who defected to Britain, and his daughter. Russia has denied involvement.

Of course they have..  This cannot be allowed to stand.

Coulter: Great Moments in Racism — the Dash Cam Tapes

If you were watching MSNBC last Sunday, you may have seen Imani Perry, professor of African-American studies at Princeton University, and wondered, as I did, Why do I know that name? Professor Perry’s delightfully original point was that we need to “think in serious contemplative ways about the depth of American inequality.” So perhaps we know her from her incisive commentary! I certainly haven’t heard anyone talk about American inequality. It really made me think. But then I suddenly realized it’s that Imani Perry! The one who nearly destroyed a policeman’s life by falsely accusing him of racism! Back in February 2016, Perry launched a series of tweets, alleging the following: — She was “arrested in Princeton Township for a single parking ticket three years ago.” — She was cuffed — FOR A PARKING TICKET — and not allowed to make a phone call “so that someone would know where I was.” — “I was afraid,” she wrote. “Many women who look like me have a much more frightening end to such arrests.” Oh my gosh, she could have been killed! — She was “working to move from being shaken to renewing my commitment to the struggle against racism & carcerality.” Naturally, her story became instant international news. The president of Princeton leapt to her defense, firing off a letter to the chief of police, demanding an investigation. (I know Perry is a professor, but you’d think that, by now, more people would say, Let’s wait for the facts.) Perry attributed the universal acceptance of her story to her “small build” and her association with “elite universities” such as Princeton. Just a thought, but it might also be because she’s black. The Princeton police spent several days investigating before finally releasing the dashcam footage. I’m hoping they dragged it out to allow public outrage to reach maximum velocity. Perry wasn’t arrested “for a single parking ticket three years ago.” After being stopped for going 67 mph in a 45 mph speed zone, officers ran her name and discovered her license had been suspended. She was arrested for driving with a suspended license. The officer was almost comically polite to the professor. He gently explained to Perry that because of her suspended license, “What you’re going to have to do is come with us, it’s $130, so if you have that money we’ll be able to post and we’ll be able to get you right back out.” He offered to drop her at the university, saying, “You really shouldn’t be driving because of your suspended license.” He informed her that police are required to cuff anyone being transported to the station and assured her that no one would have to know. As for not being allowed to make a phone call, he clearly told her that once they got to the station, “You can make as many phone calls and texts as you want.” A policeman was kind to her, so Perry turned around and accused him of racism, secure in the knowledge that no one would dare challenge whatever she said. It would have been firing offense for him, but not for her. She is still gainfully employed as a Princeton professor — and a sought-after guest on MSNBC and NPR! (It must be because of her “small build.”) There are dozens of these cases. Tweet me your favorites! Here’s another, from one of our blessed immigrants, Minati Roychoudhuri, professor at Capital Community College in Connecticut. (Really! That’s not one of my proposed new names for Yale, currently named for a slave trader.) In 2015, Roychoudhuri (B.A., M.A., Utkal University, India) wrote a letter to the commissioner of public safety, as well as “the Senator and Legislator of my constituency” (she teaches English), claiming a policeman had racially profiled her. Her letter said: “The officer did not give me any reason as to why had stopped me. His asking if I could speak English shows that he had racially profiled me and was not able to give me a concrete reason for stopping me. Further, the officer had checked ‘Hispanic’ in the race category in the infraction ticket.” The professor also noted that, “I teach about diversity and the negative impact of racial profiling, I have now become a target of the same insidious behavior! It is easy to connect the dots with the nationwide racial profiling which has led to serious consequences.” (It’s such a boon to have immigrants teaching about the horrors of “racial profiling” in America because we can’t get anyone to do that!) Then police released the dashcam footage. Below are relevant portions from the transcript. I didn’t include the part where the officer asked Roychoudhuri if she spoke English because he never did that. It was a bald-faced lie. Officer: Hi ma’am, do you know why I’m stopping you today? Roychoudhuri: No. Officer: OK. There’s that big gore area with white lines painted across it and you cut in front of it, in front of me, thinking it’s a lane or something. You have to wait until it’s a dotted white line. License and registration. … Officer: Ma’am. So I wrote you the infraction for that improper lane change that you did. Roychoudhuri: Please, you know, I probably crossed over there, and that’s why I did it. … Obviously I did that. … My (record) is absolutely clean. Officer: OK. So I wrote you an infraction for that improper lane change that you did. Roychoudhuri: OK. Officer: The answer date is on the front of it and the instructions are on the back of it. Roychoudhuri: Wait, what? Officer: It’s a mail-in infraction. All you have to do is mail in, either a check or money order, and mail it in. Roychoudhuri: OK. Officer: All right. Roychoudhuri: Thank you. Guess who’s still teaching at Capital Community College and paid by Connecticut taxpayers? Our sacramental immigrant! (NOTE TO MSNBC: Roychoudhuri would make another excellent guest to discuss racism in America.) After the 2014 killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri — a justified killing according to everyone, including Obama’s Department of Justice — the big demand was that police be required to wear bodycams. OOPS! That was a miscalculation. Turns out body cameras are the best thing that ever happened to cops. Which reminds me: The public has still not seen the bodycam footage from the officers arresting George Floyd, explaining how he ended up on the ground. Maybe we should wait for the facts.

Agreed..  Thanks to conservative firebrand Ann Coulter for the common-sense smack upside the head.

Opinion/Analysis: Democrats exploit cities — They’ve ruled for decades but guess who they blame for problems?

There are many tragic ironies unfolding since even before the death of George Floyd. As we see sincere people demonstrating for change in this country regarding how people of color are treated within policing and the justice system, Democrats and left-wing leadership see this righteous activism as an opportunity to reinforce the status quo. I say this as a former community organizer for the left a great deal of my adult life. Whenever there was an issue on which people could be “organized” the goal was always to increase that rage and concern in order to access as many people as possible. For the Democrats, marches based on outrage and people gathering to protest are the most effective means with which to gather names and to expand political influence. The horrible irony is the passion of these well-meaning citizens is being exploited by the Democrats and their “social justice” handmaidens to actually maintain the political status quo. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, millions and millions of corporate dollars are pouring into the Democratic and left-wing establishment “social justice” organizations. Once again, the good intention is to help spur “change” in the inner city and for people of color in this country after watching, for decades, nothing improve for people in cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Baltimore and Detroit. Voter registration efforts are a focus of the Black Lives Matter organization, the NAACP, and other Democratic-allied organizations. The message seems to be that the more you vote if you are a person of color in an urban area, the more your voice will be heard and the better your life will become. But how has that been working out? Is the suffering endured by people living in cities run by Democrats somehow going to change by voting in more of the same? The arterial message with Democratic crisis voter registration is that it is Republicans who are evil and at fault. All of this is Donald Trump’s fault, and voting in more Democrats like Joe Biden, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Keith Ellison is going to, somehow, improve everyone’s lot in life. But that, of course, is a lie. The cities suffering with the most economic and social injustice are cities that have been controlled by the Democratic establishment for years, and in most cases, for decades. Chicago has been controlled by Democratic mayors for 89 years. Detroit for 58 years. Baltimore for 53 years. Washington, D.C., for 53 years. Minneapolis, with George Floyd’s killing the spark of the latest demand for change, has been controlled by Democrats for 42 years. Los Angeles for 19 years. And New York, in the latest round of disastrous governance, has suffered under Bill de Blasio for six years. The messaging from both the Democrats and the media is that Donald Trump, the guy who’s been in office for three years, is the source of all the injustice — or so say the people in charge for half a century or longer. It’s not surprising that those responsible for the continuing decline of America’s great urban areas would like their constituents to look elsewhere to blame. The attempt to deflect and accuse others for the continuing decline of urban America has been generally successful. After all, why else would cities like Chicago and Minneapolis and Baltimore keep voting in their tormentors? One tactic is to promote extremes accusing others for the disasters, issuing slogans like “Defund the Police” so real policy solutions won’t be discussed. The emotional reaction also keeps local constituencies from looking at their local failed and culpable leadership that is directly responsible for the untenable situation. This circus is made possible in large part because Democrats are very good at deflection, theater and stunts, and their compliant media loves covering it. Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., a city facing many economic and social problems, and led by Democratic mayors for over half a century, decided to paint a massive “Black Lives Matter” banner on the street leading to the White House. When it comes to stunts, that’s a good one. It is the ultimate in what I term “Patronizing Mayhem,” where politicians give the impression of acting on a problem with one hand while maintaining the pain with the other. Many community activists are beginning to recognize and admit that, despite (or because) of decades of Democratic leadership and involvement of so-called social justice organizations, the lives of people of color have not gotten better in the inner city. And even some of the deflected blame may not be the core of the problem. According to The Washington Post, there were 15 fatal shootings of unarmed black men by police in 2019. Even one is too many, but the messaging has been that the police are responsible for a “genocide” of African-Americans in this country. There has been massive suffering and death in the black communities in this country, that is true. But the question remains, why? The Chicago Sun-Times reported the grim news of what that great American city still endures. “From 7 p.m. Friday, May 29, through 11 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 25 people were killed in the city, with another 85 wounded by gunfire …” The newspaper tells us this was the most violent day in 60 years in that city, and it wasn’t due to police shootings. “‘If immediate action isn’t taken to address systemic racism, poverty and ‘black folks being shot down and killed out here like dogs,’ [Rev. Michael] Pfleger said the last weekend in May will merely serve as a ‘coming attraction of what’s going to happen next.’” Is it finally becoming undeniable that if Chicagoans want to genuinely address the systemic problems of their city, they will have to look directly at the Democratic leadership they have relied upon for 83 years — the same Democratic leadership at the city and state level controlling the social policies destroying lives. For those living in the inner city, the corporations that are sending millions to groups like the ACLU, Black Lives Matter and the NAACP, among others, are doing so with the intent to improve peoples’ lives. The past, however, indicates they are instead funding efforts invested in the political status quo keeping people trapped in cities where generations of lives have been lost to self-obsessed politicians and a political party that sees the suffering of people as a political necessity.

Exactly!  And, well said, Tammy.  Tammy Bruce is the author of that outstanding piece.  Tammy is president of Independent Women’s Voice, is a radio talk-show host, and a New York Times best-selling author.  Excellent!     🙂

Joy Behar says she and her husband drive around looking for people not wearing masks

“The View” co-host Joy Behar revealed on Tuesday that she regularly spends time looking at people who are walking around without masks during the coronavirus pandemic. “I don’t have much faith that this is going to end anytime soon … Barring a vaccine, all we have is social distancing and masks — neither of which is happening in this country right now … this is going to go on and on and on, and I’ll tell you the truth, it’s making me crazy,” she said. “All I do is I get in my car maybe with Steve and we go around town looking for people who are not wearing masks,” she added, referring to her husband. Behar’s comments touched on growing concerns that social distancing guidelines were being abused by some as a justification for surveilling fellow Americans. While mask requirements vary by state, the federal government has not mandated that citizens wear facial coverings in public. “The View” was discussing President Trump’s suggestion that testing rates should slow in order to avoid the alleged misconception that coronavirus cases were spiking across the country. According to Behar, halting testing would be a form of “criminal negligence” on Trump’s part. “He’s always wanted to slow down the testing because the testing — when it’s in big numbers, when it’s accurate — it makes him look bad. I believe that’s called criminal negligence, when you say I’m not going to do the testing. Just like he goes out without a mask, and encourage other people to do that,” she said.

Joy Behar is a nauseating, self-righteous, arrogant, liberal elitist, hypocrite.  Not ONCE has she spoken out against the crazy protestors and rioters.  BUT, because of the Trump rally, she freely admits that in her spare time she actually (no sh_t) drives around with her hubby looking for people not wearing face masks.  She is so overcome with “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS), that she actually does things like that.  How crazy is that?!?  We wonder if someone is gonna remind her that as recently as yesterday, Dr. Fauci said on the record that NOBODY (i.e. President Trump, VP Pence, etc.) has asked him or the COVID taskforce to slow down COVID testing.  Sorry, Joy.  Nice try.  What a loser…

Opinion/Analysis: Carbon tax is a bad idea that would hurt our economy and destroy jobs

At a time when America’s economy has been crippled by shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic and 45 million Americans have lost their jobs, we need major economic stimulus and employment programs to put Americans back to work. The absolute last thing our country needs is a new tax that would slow our economic recovery and hiring. But environmental zealots have never let facts get in the way of their radical policies to restructure our entire economy to be “green” – so why start now? Disregarding America’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the green crusaders are pressing on with their dream of taxing carbon dioxide emissions, ostensibly to slow climate change. Lately, environmentalists have taken to calling their carbon tax a “fee” – as if changing the name means it won’t be taking money out of the pockets of individuals and businesses. This is absurd. It makes as much sense as calling robbery “income redistribution.” For decades, the environmental movement has sought to make America green. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden tried to regulate a green America into being by offering billions of taxpayer dollars to green companies. And the two used the Environmental Protection Agency to impose costly and unnecessary regulations on American oil, natural gas and coal companies – forcing up the price of the energy we all rely on. Growing up in the 1980s during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, I have imprinted in my soul the belief that taxes and government programs are never a solution. Reagan taught us the nine most frightening words in the English language: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Government proposals aimed at improving life will usually make it worse. An organization seeking creation of a carbon tax called the Climate Leadership Council has even enlisted prominent Republicans in its ranks, including former Secretaries of State and Treasury James Baker III and George Schultz. While both these man are prominent figures who command respect and gratitude for their service to our nation, neither is an environmental or energy expert. They are simply wrong in seeking approval of a destructive carbon tax. I also criticized former New York City Mayor Michael Blomberg during his short-lived campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination for his belief that taxes should be used to dictate behavior. Whether this idea – and the carbon dioxide emissions tax it supports – is backed by a Republican or Democrat, it is bad policy on many counts. Keep in mind that all of us (and all animals) emit carbon dioxide every time we exhale. So we are not talking about toxic fumes coming out of factory smokestacks here – carbon dioxide has been part of our natural world since before human beings inhabited Earth. A tax on carbon dioxide emissions presumably wouldn’t be levied on all us whenever we exhale. Even the most fanatical environmentalist isn’t crazy enough to try that. But it would apply to everything that uses fossil fuels for energy – cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, most electric power plants, factories and more. That would translate into higher costs to fill up your vehicle’s fuel tank, heat and cool your home and keep the lights on, and for purchases of just about everything you buy. Factories, farmers and stores would all have to pass the carbon tax on to consumers. Beef prices have doubled in the past month because of the coronavirus pandemic. If they had doubled to pay for a carbon tax would Americans rejoice in a moral victory or just be burdened by the higher costs? The Climate Leadership Council claims the money that these taxes generate will be returned to the American people through dividend checks. The group claims we’ll pay more upfront, but we’ll get the money back from the Internal Revenue Service in the end. This proposal is a joke. This is the U.S. government after all, and we all know how well it manages money. It does a great job taking our money – but not in wisely spending it. President Reagan knew this. At the end of his presidency he warned us: “You can’t be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy.” I watched that speech live on TV. I was 13. Carbon dioxide emissions are a global issue. The Paris Climate Accord – the international agreement aimed at reducing carbon emissions – recognizes this. But China emits twice as much carbon dioxide as the United States, yet has no plans to reduce emissions – let alone adopt a carbon tax for some global benefit. China doesn’t care about the rest of the world; we are still in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic because the communist country withheld the truth of the outbreak. In addition to China, most other countries are also not meeting the Paris Climate Accord mandates – among them major carbon dioxide emitters like India, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia Russia, the world’s fourth-largest carbon dioxide emitter, made no commitment at all. We can safely assume that nation will not impose a carbon tax on itself. The very reason President Trump abandoned the Paris Climate Accord was because he wisely understood it makes no sense to punish Americans with a costly new tax while some of the world’s biggest emitters take no action. China would certainly applaud America for imposing a carbon tax on ourselves. Since 2000, almost 4 million American jobs have been lost to China. Why? U.S. policies made China more competitive and more attractive to businesses. Corporations seek only to increase their profit margins. A carbon tax would send businesses a signal: ship even more American jobs to foreign countries. Corporations would go elsewhere and do so without any second thoughts. They’ve done it before. It took 28 years for the White House to have an occupant as skeptical of big government and as aggressive in cutting taxes and keeping jobs in America as Reagan, but we have one now. Will that continue? Biden – the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee – is ahead in the polls. As president, he would punish the use of oil, natural gas and coal. This would not spur innovation nor would it reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It would just make life more expensive and throw even more Americans out of work. As President Trump pointed out in his speech to his rally in Tulsa Saturday night, Biden is relying on socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York – the sponsor of the extremist Green New Deal – to advise him on energy policy, naming her as co-chair of his energy task force. This is like appointing a pacifist to head a task force on national defense, or a vegan to head a task force on policy toward the meat industry. It spells disaster for the energy we all need. A carbon tax is anti-freedom, anti-growth, and thoroughly anti-Reagan. In his 1981 inaugural address, President Reagan told us “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” He was right then and his view remains right today.

Exactly right!  Thanks to Daniel Turner for that excellent piece.  Daniel is the executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Follow him on Twitter @DanielTurnerPTF

Gutfeld on airlines banning booze on flights

Have you heard the phrase “never let a pandemic go to waste?” Now you have, because I just said it. Some airlines are doing just that. Delta and American Airlines, among others, are suspending all or part of their booze service to reduce interactions between passengers and crews. And to limit bad behavior. So this, in medical circles, is called a stupid, stupid, highly stupid idea. Do these idiots have any idea why alcohol sales boomed during the lockdown? It’s because we were trapped in a room and we couldn’t get out. This is much like being on a plane, where you’re trapped with no way out, unless you open an emergency exit and aim for a big bush. I wouldn’t suggest that under any circumstances, unless you’re flying next to Joy Behar. It’s a fact that flying is getting less enjoyable every year. And yet we never get anywhere faster. As computer speed doubles every two years, we still produce new jets lumbering through the air at the same speeds as the old ones did in the 1970s. Worse, today we’re packed like sweaty veal, forced to endure endless delays and bizarre regulations that often leave us with hunger-induced migraines and distended bladders. And now, they want to take away the booze? Look, I get the face masks. And believe me, I hate drunk jackasses who fly. I even hate myself. But usually not until the next day But to punish everyone – especially me – because of the actions of a few is not the way to solve problems. Sadly, though, that seems to be the trend these days. With just a few bad apples, we don’t just throw out the whole batch – we defund the orchard. It’s enough to make me drink. And hate myself tomorrow.

As usual, Greg nails it.  This time, with air travel and latest idiotic decision by the airlines.  This was adapted from Greg Gutfeld’s monologue on “The Five” on June 17, 2020.

Coronavirus spikes a concern, but no reason ‘to go into lockdown,’ Inglesby says

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, warned that events such as President Trump’s campaign rally and ongoing protests over George Floyd’s death could bring about an increase in coronavirus cases, but noted that he does not believe that lockdowns are necessary to combat spikes. States such as Florida, Texas and Arizona have seen significant increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after they took steps to reopen their economies, but Inglesby told “Fox News Sunday” that this does not mean states must revert to shutting down again. “I don’t think we need to go into lockdown in these places,” Inglesby said, noting that different states have different circumstances. He did suggest that governors take the lead in providing guidance for people to take steps that will help, such as social distancing and wearing masks. “They should also be really strongly encouraging people, leaders should be encouraging people to use the tools that we know work,” Inglesby said. “We should be encouraging people to wear face coverings, to stay at a distance, to avoid large gatherings, to use hand sanitizer or wash your hands. And those are things that we know work, and leaders really should, I think, double down and be communicating that across the country.”

Soo..  To be clear..  Dr. Inglesby is saying we do NOT need to shut the country down again, if there is another spike.  He’s saying just do the social distancing, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, wear face masks…the usual.  Imagine that!  Keep this in mind the next time you hear some liberal media personality or Democrat politician (who, btw, didn’t say anything during the all of th protests/riots) wring their hands about Trump rallies and such.  For more, click on the text above.

Al Qaeda leader taken out by ‘secret’ US missile filled with knives dubbed the ‘ninja bomb’

The journey of two senior Al Qaeda-aligned commanders in northwestern Syria on Sunday was suddenly cut short by a targeted U.S.-led strike — only it doesn’t appear that they were killed by explosives, but a missile packed with knives. Video of the aftermath circulating on social media shows that the vehicle of the terrorist leaders – Jordanian Qassam ul-Urdini and Yemeni Bilal al-Sanaani – was mostly untouched, with just one side severed and the roof smashed in, prompting defense analysts to point to the use of a “secret” missile jointly developed by both the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It is a variation of the Hellfire anti-tank missile, referred to as the R9X, and internally called the “Flying Ginsu” or the “ninja bomb,” and it just might drastically shape the way war is waged given its exactitude and subsequent ability to vastly reduce the risk of collateral damage and civilian casualties. “The Hellfire R9X missile is a modified version of the Hellfire anti-tank missile, the likes of which have been featured on America drones like the Reaper and Predator.​ The reference to knives is no accident, as it features multiple steel blades that emerge from the missile moments before impact,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) told Fox News. “The result is a much smaller kill radius, which can limit the damage caused by the missile to the intended target area. Such a feature is increasingly needed for counterterrorism campaigns, where the fighting is closer-in, and the environment around the target is more dense and likely to be filled with non-combatants.​” According to an analysis by “The War Zone,” the R9X doesn’t explode and wields six long blades “that are stowed inside and then deploy through the skin of the missile seconds before impact to ensure that it shreds anything in its tracks,” flying directly into designated targets. Compared to the traditional Hellfire, which ignites a potent blast, leaves a mangled mess in its wake and runs the risk of killing others within a 700-foot radius, the new modification is considered to be quite the advancement with a 100 percent deadly danger zone of 30 inches. The 100-pound Hellfire R9X was first publicly brought to light by The Wall Street Journal in May last year, and characterized by defense officials as being dependent on the force of impact in conjunction with the aureole of six blades that furl out during flight. Aside from its suspected use in Syria this past weekend, experts have pointed to numerous other occasions the weapon has been used to take down terrorist leaders not only in Syria but also in Yemen and Afghanistan. One occasion was in a January 2019 strike on a Taliban commander in Kunduz, Afghanistan. That same month, Jamal al-Badawi – alleged to have been the mastermind behind the attack of the USS Cole in a Yemeni port 20 years ago – was similarly neutralized. Two years earlier, Al Qaeda top brass Ahmad Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri was targeted using the R9X in Syria’s Idlib province, WSJ reported. “Some analysts allege that the Hellfire R9X was used in Iraq in a deadly display of its effectiveness this January against Qassem Soleimani – the former Commander of Iran’s IRGC Quds-Force, and Abu-Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former Commander of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq,” Taleblu surmised. “One lasting impact of that strike is how removing the leadership cadre can handicap or hinder efforts of a larger organization. We are likely to see continued use of this weapon in U.S. counterterrorism campaigns to target leaders on the battlefield.​” The weapon was under development as early as 2011, according to The Wall Street Journal, and a “missile with similar capabilities was considered as a ‘Plan B’ to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that year,” and that is advancement was spurred by the increasing ability of terrorists to adapt to U.S. airstrikes and tactics, namely concealing themselves among women and children. While it is not known just how many R9X’s are tucked away in the Pentagon’s depository, military experts have been quick to highlight its efficiency, citing examples that the Hellfire variation has the capability of killing a passenger and not a driver, or leaving a terrorist leader dead in his house and not any relatives sitting at the same table. Its edges are able to effectively slice through walls and roofs, according to experts. On the downside, DefenseOne points out that the use of the missile, especially outside of officially declared war zones, could lead to an uptick in military engagement and overt confidence that no civilians will be caught in the crossfire. However, Col. John Venable, a Heritage senior research fellow and former F-16 pilot in the Air Force, points out that the R9X is essentially an old tried-and-true tool made new again. “The munition with ‘knives’ has been around since at least the Vietnam War. The military term for the warhead is ‘flechettes,’ which are dart-like submunitions that are released and spread out in flight as an anti-personnel device,” Venable said. “Munitions have had a variety of warheads since before the Civil War, where they used everything from classic exploding cannonballs, to dumbbell-shaped projectiles and ‘grapeshot,’ which was basically shotgun-shell BBs (only much larger) that used mass and velocity as the engagement mechanism,” he added. “It’s really not much different today. There are high-explosive, penetrating, and even inert warheads – that use mass and velocity as the engagement mechanism while minimizing collateral damage.”

Well said, Colonel.  Score one for the good guys!  For pics and more from the folks at The War Zone, click on the text above.