Thank you for bringing some clarity to this strange and, frankly, scary situation. My thoughts quickly went to a potential military action against Mexico. I put nothing past this regime.
Many people I know in national security circles and in the region thought this as well. I will say that I'm not ruling out that this wasn't a failed test run on their capabilities, given that we know those discussions on wanting to take military action, etc are still happening.
I don’t believe a word that comes out of this administration so I still believe that our so called inept government could be assessing actual strikes against Mexico. They need a new diversion.
The general consensus in the aviation community is that the way the ELP closure was handled shows that no one in authority knows what they're doing. It has rattled a lot of people's confidence in the National Aerospace System. Many are not buying the "cartel drone" bullshit. I detect the drunken hand of Whiskey Pete in this.
Thanks again Olivia. Everyday brings more proof that the Trump regime has no idea how to organize and run an organization, no less a government. They are an especially scary and incompetent group. Yikes
The GOP has been a rogue party for decades, cozying up to Putin and passing legislation that they KNOW is harmful like THREE waves of trickle down economics. Family Values, a fraud perpetrated by a philandering megalomaniac who served one of his wives with divorce papers while she was in the hospital with cancer. Trying to take healthcare away from the most needy among us.
And guns
I could list twenty more things.
It. Will. Get. Worse. ICE will invade more states, there will be a pretty well organized attempt to either steal or cancel mid terms. J6 and Minnesota are spring training.
And now, a Utah legislator is sponsoring legislation to allow Utah Jazz fans to bring guns into games. That should go well.
All sponsored by Fox News.
Thank God we have Schumer and Jeffries to lead us out of this (said no one)
So the US Air Defense System neutralized a mylar party balloon. We've GOT to get those thoughtless, incompetent, dangerous people out of places where they could do some serious damage. Preferably before they kill a bunch of people.
When I first heard about what was going on at ELP, my thoughts were that the Trump regime were enacting a scheme to drop drones on the Mexican cartels along the border.
Yeah, right! What else are they going to "loan" to these goons? Is the arsenal of the military becoming an asset of a bunch of ill-trained amateurs? This happened because these buffoons decided to give their new Rambo-toy a try resulting in this mess. Next they'll be riding in the streets with mounted M-2 machine guns or worse. These guys are all "Call of Duty" boys and it shows. The Proud Boys et al can just sit back and relax or (better) join up with Trump's new SA troopers. I was a soldier for 23 years. I hate this. It embarasses me. Trump and MAGA need to be excorcised from this nation.
I honest thought a few nefarious scenarios including something horrific with ICE or BP, and some crazy practice drill aimed at Mexico. I wish I felt confident that our military would do the right thing but at this point, everything is compromised. We have a lot to build up again the day this regime is go. The rot will be deep by then.
Many in the military will do the right thing but they'll try to keep it out of the headlines. However, DOD has a lot of MAGA "commisars" installed. I sense an internal battle coming. I was a soldier for 23 years. The oath is the OATH. I see Trump as a domestic enemy of the Constitution.
Another example of the incompetent cabinet members in this administration. Sean Duffy is not competent and should never have been appointed. There are some lack of coordination and notification to the local government is so unprofessional. Our National Security officials are also guilty of this recent screwup! I think Tulsi has been getting involved in some shenanigans about voting, which she has no business with.
Great article! Two specific comments: 1) “When rhetoric outpaces risk, authority expands to match it.” What a brilliant sentence, and really a summary of how US foreign policy has gone astray since 9/11. 2) This incident exemplifies the symbiosis of incompetence and malevolence in this administration. It seems clear that incompetence caused the chaos. But that incompetence stems from many deliberate decisions: e.g. appointing unqualified people like Sean Duffy to cabinet positions, eschewing expertise, refusing to cooperate or even communicate with state and local authorities, etc. So, incompetence is a malevolent feature of this administration rather than a bug.
Remember the DHS involvement in this incident. With Stephen Miller there is malevolent intention. Incompetence is double edged. Sometimes incompetent execution might save us and sometimes......
Thank you, Olivia. Your distillation in bold italics says it all: Power is moving faster than the guardrails designed to contain it. This, to me, is frightening. It's not mere incompetence or poor training. It is the lack of seriousness on the part of the people to whom we are entrusting our lives. These are not serious people. I was a mathematician at Livermore Labs for over ten years and one thing that stands out is the gravity around all security matters. It was baked into the culture. It was sacred. These people running the show now are clowns -- they just don't get it -- and I hope to God the only price we have had to pay for that when the dust settles and competency returns is a few cancelled flights.
I’m hoping there’s a journalist out there researching the minute by minute timeline of this event, who communicated to whom, time stamped, so we can all see the dysfunctional actors and actions. Unfortunately, since Howard Lutnick is not being fired for eating lunch on Epstein Island and blatantly lying about it, I’m doubtful we will see any high level firings over this.
Thank you for bringing some clarity to this strange and, frankly, scary situation. My thoughts quickly went to a potential military action against Mexico. I put nothing past this regime.
Many people I know in national security circles and in the region thought this as well. I will say that I'm not ruling out that this wasn't a failed test run on their capabilities, given that we know those discussions on wanting to take military action, etc are still happening.
I don’t believe a word that comes out of this administration so I still believe that our so called inept government could be assessing actual strikes against Mexico. They need a new diversion.
Same.
Those Epstein files are BAD!!! Nothing to distract and even help them cancel elections if the Save Act doesn’t pass.
Had to read that twice but now I getcha.
The general consensus in the aviation community is that the way the ELP closure was handled shows that no one in authority knows what they're doing. It has rattled a lot of people's confidence in the National Aerospace System. Many are not buying the "cartel drone" bullshit. I detect the drunken hand of Whiskey Pete in this.
You are my go to for security issues. Thank you for staying on top of this.
Thanks again Olivia. Everyday brings more proof that the Trump regime has no idea how to organize and run an organization, no less a government. They are an especially scary and incompetent group. Yikes
ALL of this - and more - was/is predictable.
The GOP has been a rogue party for decades, cozying up to Putin and passing legislation that they KNOW is harmful like THREE waves of trickle down economics. Family Values, a fraud perpetrated by a philandering megalomaniac who served one of his wives with divorce papers while she was in the hospital with cancer. Trying to take healthcare away from the most needy among us.
And guns
I could list twenty more things.
It. Will. Get. Worse. ICE will invade more states, there will be a pretty well organized attempt to either steal or cancel mid terms. J6 and Minnesota are spring training.
And now, a Utah legislator is sponsoring legislation to allow Utah Jazz fans to bring guns into games. That should go well.
All sponsored by Fox News.
Thank God we have Schumer and Jeffries to lead us out of this (said no one)
Ugh. Looking forward to your next assessment. Thanks for being there for us as we attempt to wade through this hot mess.
So the US Air Defense System neutralized a mylar party balloon. We've GOT to get those thoughtless, incompetent, dangerous people out of places where they could do some serious damage. Preferably before they kill a bunch of people.
This is what happens when you put puffed up idiots with no experience in charge of our military & Dep't of Transportation.
When I first heard about what was going on at ELP, my thoughts were that the Trump regime were enacting a scheme to drop drones on the Mexican cartels along the border.
Yeah, right! What else are they going to "loan" to these goons? Is the arsenal of the military becoming an asset of a bunch of ill-trained amateurs? This happened because these buffoons decided to give their new Rambo-toy a try resulting in this mess. Next they'll be riding in the streets with mounted M-2 machine guns or worse. These guys are all "Call of Duty" boys and it shows. The Proud Boys et al can just sit back and relax or (better) join up with Trump's new SA troopers. I was a soldier for 23 years. I hate this. It embarasses me. Trump and MAGA need to be excorcised from this nation.
I honest thought a few nefarious scenarios including something horrific with ICE or BP, and some crazy practice drill aimed at Mexico. I wish I felt confident that our military would do the right thing but at this point, everything is compromised. We have a lot to build up again the day this regime is go. The rot will be deep by then.
Many in the military will do the right thing but they'll try to keep it out of the headlines. However, DOD has a lot of MAGA "commisars" installed. I sense an internal battle coming. I was a soldier for 23 years. The oath is the OATH. I see Trump as a domestic enemy of the Constitution.
Another example of the incompetent cabinet members in this administration. Sean Duffy is not competent and should never have been appointed. There are some lack of coordination and notification to the local government is so unprofessional. Our National Security officials are also guilty of this recent screwup! I think Tulsi has been getting involved in some shenanigans about voting, which she has no business with.
Very mysterious what they are saying why they closed the airspace. It’s one thing or the other. Very odd.
Great article! Two specific comments: 1) “When rhetoric outpaces risk, authority expands to match it.” What a brilliant sentence, and really a summary of how US foreign policy has gone astray since 9/11. 2) This incident exemplifies the symbiosis of incompetence and malevolence in this administration. It seems clear that incompetence caused the chaos. But that incompetence stems from many deliberate decisions: e.g. appointing unqualified people like Sean Duffy to cabinet positions, eschewing expertise, refusing to cooperate or even communicate with state and local authorities, etc. So, incompetence is a malevolent feature of this administration rather than a bug.
Remember the DHS involvement in this incident. With Stephen Miller there is malevolent intention. Incompetence is double edged. Sometimes incompetent execution might save us and sometimes......
Thank you, Olivia. Your distillation in bold italics says it all: Power is moving faster than the guardrails designed to contain it. This, to me, is frightening. It's not mere incompetence or poor training. It is the lack of seriousness on the part of the people to whom we are entrusting our lives. These are not serious people. I was a mathematician at Livermore Labs for over ten years and one thing that stands out is the gravity around all security matters. It was baked into the culture. It was sacred. These people running the show now are clowns -- they just don't get it -- and I hope to God the only price we have had to pay for that when the dust settles and competency returns is a few cancelled flights.
I’m hoping there’s a journalist out there researching the minute by minute timeline of this event, who communicated to whom, time stamped, so we can all see the dysfunctional actors and actions. Unfortunately, since Howard Lutnick is not being fired for eating lunch on Epstein Island and blatantly lying about it, I’m doubtful we will see any high level firings over this.