monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

LOL.........

Liar. All of my claims can be backed up by actual cites.

Your claim to be dealing with reality does not make your claims any less false than they already are.

A former US marine imprisoned in Russia on suspicion of spying has complained of "abuses and harassment" and says he is a "victim of political kidnap".

Mr Whelan - a citizen of the US, UK, Canada and Ireland - was arrested in late December, accused of espionage.

The 48-year-old denies the charges and told a court on Friday that he had been subjected to threats and abuse by a security service investigator.

The comments came as his pre-trial custody was extended until 29 August.

Mr Whelan told the court that there was "absolutely no legitimacy" to the case against him, describing it as retaliation for US sanctions.

If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

He said he had not showered in two weeks, was unable to access medical or dental treatment and had been denied access to books and letters sent to him months ago.

"I've been threatened. My personal safety has been threatened. There are abuses and harassment that I am constantly subjected to," he said.

Typical Trump, when push comes to shove he'd rather lick Putin's arse than support American veterans.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/23/politics/war-crimes-pardons-trump/index.html

Trump crossed that line this month when he pardoned Michael Behenna, who had been sentenced to prison in 2009 for unpremeditated murder in the killing of an Iraqi detainee and released on parole in 2014 after his sentence was reduced.
That Trump is considering other pardons for military crimes on a short timeline before Memorial Day took the Department of Justice and the Pentagon by surprise and added new context to the pardon power, which he's already used to reward political allies and send political messages.

Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher is charged with stabbing a wounded man to death, shooting at a male and female noncombatant and obstructing justice while deployed in Iraq. His own teammates turned him in, but Gallagher, who has pleaded not guilty, has found defenders in the media and on Capitol Hill.
Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher is charged with murder of Iraqi civilians.
Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher is charged with murder of Iraqi civilians.
He was allowed to leave the brig after Trump tweeted about the case. The President also tweeted about Golsteyn.
"At the request of many, I will be reviewing the case of a 'U.S. Military hero,' Major Matt Golsteyn, who is charged with murder. He could face the death penalty from our own government after he admitted to killing a Terrorist bomb maker while overseas. @PeteHegseth @FoxNews"


The closest a modern president has come to a pardon for war crimes was Richard Nixon's treatment of William Calley, who was convicted of premeditated murder for his role in the Vietnam War My Lai massacre of unarmed civilians in 1968. Nixon released him to house arrest and his life sentence was commuted by Nixon's secretary of the army, Howard Calloway.
The first difficulty of assessing war crimes in the US is that there is no commonly accepted definition of the term and the US is not a party to the Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court in 1998. In fact, the Trump administration recently revoked visas for the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor, which CNN reported was part of an effort by the US to deter ICC actions against US service members in Afghanistan.
That doesn't mean the US military is not prosecuting those suspected of war crimes, according to Chris Jenks, a law professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law who is a former Army judge advocate. Jenks is an expert in the law of armed conflict who wrote about possible Trump pardons for the Just Security blog. He answered some questions about Trump's possible move and what it could mean for the military justice system.
What is a war crime and are US service members charged with war crimes?

Not ordinary veterans, convicted war criminals and murderers,

The US is to send 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East for "mostly protective" reasons, President Donald Trump has announced.

"We want to have protection in the Middle East," he told reporters on Friday. He described the latest deployment as "relatively small".

Congress has been notified about the plans, US media report.

Tensions between the US and Iran rose this month, with America sending an aircraft carrier to the region.

The US has also deployed more planes to the Gulf in recent days, with officials saying there was a threat from Iran-backed forces in Iraq.

But only on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he did not think more troops were needed.

"I don't think we're going to need them," he told reporters. "I really don't. I would certainly send troops if we need them."

The US is to send 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East for "mostly protective" reasons, President Donald Trump has announced.

"We want to have protection in the Middle East," he told reporters on Friday. He described the latest deployment as "relatively small".

Congress has been notified about the plans, US media report.

Tensions between the US and Iran rose this month, with America sending an aircraft carrier to the region.

The US has also deployed more planes to the Gulf in recent days, with officials saying there was a threat from Iran-backed forces in Iraq.

But only on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he did not think more troops were needed.

"I don't think we're going to need them," he told reporters. "I really don't. I would certainly send troops if we need them."

It's not just Iran, there's lots of people wanting to have a pop at occupiers.