“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated on Saturday that some U.S. service members could be redeployed from Europe to the Western Hemisphere as the Trump administration ramps up its deadly campaign against drug cartels in South America,” NewsNation reports.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 193
The Magnificent Seven
Trial Balloon · Ep. 193: The Magnificent Seven
Superpowers Race to Put Nuclear Reactors On the Moon
“In late August, NASA asked contractors to prepare to build a nuclear reactor that could survive a space voyage and run without maintenance near the moon’s south pole. That may sound like science fiction, but the agency wants it ready to be launched by December 2030,” the New York Times reports.
“There is a reason for the rush. Russia aims to have a lunar reactor running by 2036 as part of a secretive partnership with China. NASA has already sped up its schedule to beat its rivals.”
“The race is for the very future of space exploration. The United States and China want to be first to establish a moon base, to search for resources like frozen water and to launch missions deeper into the solar system. Controlling access to the moon’s assets is vital to this mission. Both superpowers believe a nuclear reactor is the centerpiece of this ambition.”
New York Times: Who owns the Moon?
Elon Musk and His Conflicts of Interest Are Back
“In unveiling a panel to study the future of warfare this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did more than announce some advisers. He brought Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, back into the Trump administration fold,” the New York Times reports.
“With him came a raft of potential new conflicts of interest.”
“Mr. Musk had largely failed at his high-profile government cost-cutting expedition last year, not coming close to meeting his stated goals and leaving some agencies in disarray. After departing government duty, he prompted an epic fight with President Trump and threatened to start his own political party.”
“But after a long make-nice campaign, Mr. Musk is back in Washington with a seat at the table of the Pentagon, as a co-director of a group advising an agency that is a source of his vast personal wealth.”
Trump’s Top National Security Aides Meet Secretly
“President Trump’s top cabinet members huddled for hours at Camp David on Friday to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen,” Axios reports.
“The highly unusual meeting was not announced by the Trump administration. The last time a similar meeting took place was in June 2025, just days before Israel went to war against Iran.”
Judge Throws Out Another Confession in 9/11 Case
“In a new setback to prosecutors in the Sept. 11 case, a military judge on Friday excluded the confessions of another prisoner accused of helping the hijackers who carried out the attacks,” the New York Times reports.
“Last month, the judge also threw out the confessions of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the man accused of being the mastermind of the plot that killed nearly 3,000 people.”
Hegseth Orders ‘Stand-Down’ to Encourage Voting
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered commanders to set aside a day this month for troops to register, request absentee ballots and vote, expanding his push for military voter participation,” the Washington Sun reports.
“The directive, signed Thursday and announced Friday, requires a one-day voting ‘stand-down’ by Oct. 15 and establishes the practice for every even-numbered year.”
Said Hegseth: “Now, we’re not telling you who to vote for, but we will give you every opportunity to do so. It’s then up to you to exercise your right as an American to choose your elected leaders.”
Iran Is Still Menacing the Strait of Hormuz
“Almost every day in September, Iranian media outlets have published reports of explosions ‘heard from the sea,’ an ominous sign that military activity is taking place in the Strait of Hormuz,” the New York Times reports.
“But the reports left mysterious just who was carrying out the attacks.”
“It turns out it was Iran itself.”
CBS News: Trump vows Iran war to end “very quickly” as more troops head to Mideast.
U.S. Sending Third Aircraft Carrier to Middle East
“The Pentagon is sending a third aircraft-carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East, adding 9,000 to 10,000 more troops to the region as President Trump considers renewing strikes on Iran after the midterm elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The ships, jet fighters, Marines and sailors will arrive in the region by the end of November.”
Europe Urged to Stay Vigilant Over Russian Threat
“Europe must be ready for a world where Russia is regularly committing sabotage, arson and other hybrid attacks on its soil, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Rutte: “We see Russia testing us across Europe. We must be prepared for Russia’s campaign of hostile actions against allies to continue. We must all remain vigilant, we must all remain alert.”
CNBC: Russia launches massive strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid, forcing power cuts ahead of winter.
Hegseth Vows to Cut Pentagon, Then Expands It
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday pulled together hundreds of troops to lay out cuts to the Pentagon’s bureaucracy — and ended up announcing major plans to add to it,” Politico reports.
”At first, the Pentagon chief’s ‘State of the Force’ speech at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, sounded similar to his more publicized talk last year, where he declared new grooming and fitness standards and vowed to get rid of ‘fat generals and admirals.’ He touted an effort Wednesday to monitor testosterone levels and cut 20% of the military’s top officers — particularly those he considered too ‘woke‘ for their jobs.”
”But Hegseth then took an abrupt U-turn, declaring a half-dozen new initiatives that are likely to add to the Pentagon’s budget — among them a combatant command for drones, a commission led by SpaceX founder Elon Musk and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and a new military base that the Pentagon chief said governors could compete over to house in their states.”
U.S. Pressure Campaign Leaves Iranian Tankers Stranded
“Some 15 miles off the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, around 20 empty Iranian oil tankers are stranded, drifting with their engines idled as food, fuel and fresh water run short,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“They are the most visible consequence of the new pressure campaign by the U.S. to bring Iran to heel. Dozens of Iranian or Iranian-linked tankers that had participated in the shadowy trade of getting sanctioned oil to China have been stuck in the waters near Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia since July, when the U.S. reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Democrats Challenge Trump On Venezuela Oil Deal
“Senate Democrats are challenging the legality and prudence of the Pentagon’s plan to take a stake in a Venezuelan oil company, laying the groundwork for a potential probe into the arrangement,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Pentagon’s deal for a position in North American Blue Energy Partners—Venezuela’s second-largest oil producer—stands on shaky legal ground and undermines the Latin American country’s pursuit of a democratic transition, four high-ranking Senate Democrats said in a letter sent to President Trump’s top lieutenants.”
Pete Hegseth Talks Tough as GOP Doubts Grow
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has survived in office by projecting an image of strength,” the New York Times reports.
“His combative style has won praise from President Trump and support from the Republican base. ‘He loves war,’ Mr. Trump said earlier this year, slapping Mr. Hegseth on the biceps.”
“By many measures, though, Mr. Hegseth has never been weaker. He is leading the military through an unpopular war. Republicans in Congress complain privately — and increasingly in public — that he and his staff are dismissive of their questions and frequently unprepared for briefings.”
“If Democrats win a majority in the House, Mr. Hegseth will likely face new calls for his impeachment.”
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
“We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops. The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top.”
— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, quoted by the New York Post.
Elon Musk Tapped to Co-Lead Project On Future Warfare
“Elon Musk is taking on a new role in the Trump administration, this time helping the Pentagon determine which weapons and technology American troops will need to fight the wars of the future,” Fox News reports.
“War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that Musk will co-lead Project Meridian, a new Pentagon initiative tasked with looking years and even decades ahead to identify emerging domains of warfare and the capabilities the U.S. military will need to dominate them.”
CNBC: Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich to help Pentagon with warfare initiative, Hegseth says.
Hegseth Says Reporting On Iran Is a ‘National Betrayal’
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called press coverage of the Iran war ‘a national betrayal,’ and described journalists as anti-American traitors for reporting on the actions of the Pentagon,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Hegseth: “A free press is of course important, but partisan activism that intentionally smears the troops and the historic mission that they are undertaking is fundamentally anti-American. It’s sick. It’s a national betrayal. It’s treason.”
Hegseth Unveils New Command to Oversee Military Drones
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is creating a four-star combatant command for autonomous warfare, overhauling the way the Pentagon buys, tests and deploys drones and other cutting-edge technologies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Autonomous Warfare Command, or ‘AutoWarCom,’ will be directed to buy new drones and robotics ‘in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history.'”
U.S. Forces Exit Iraq After Two Decades
“U.S. forces are set to pull out from their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday, a departure celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies who now have deep influence in the country where 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war,” Reuters reports.
“Iraqi security experts say the withdrawal — agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump’s administration even as it wages war against Iran — could give Tehran and its powerful allies free rein, while also allowing other U.S. enemies to stage a comeback, including Islamic State.”
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Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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