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Welcome to the official home and wonderful world of Pulitzer Prize Winning Political Cartoonist Michael P. Ramirez, daily editorial cartoonist for the Las Vegas Review Journal |
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Secretary Esper, I was talking to the dog.
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Trump honors ISIS-fighting dog Conan at White House
By Bob Fredericks November 25, 2019 NEW YORK POST President Trump on Monday welcomed Conan, the canine military hero who was wounded in the successful special forces raid that took out ISIS kingpin Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to the White House. “It was a flawless attack, al-Baghdadi’s gone, and we gave Conan a medal and a plaque. He’s a very, very special dog,” the president said at the White House about the Belgian Malinois. “He’s an incredible dog. We’re very honored to have Conan here and to give Conan an award,” he said in the Rose Garden ceremony after meeting with Special Forces troops in the White House. “He was badly hurt but he recovered very quickly. Conan is a tough cookie, nobody’s going to mess with Conan,” the president continued, alluding to the dog’s injuries when the ISIS cutthroat blew himself up with a suicide vest. The commander-in-chief then extolled the canine’s fighting abilities. “This is the ultimate fighter, ultimate everything. Ultimate in terms of sniffing drugs,” Trump said. Trump said he asked Conan’s handlers “what chance a person [would] have against Conan without the guns, I guess the answer was pretty much none. No chance, it was amazing.” “We had a case [on the southern border] where we had drugs in a cylinder in a car. It was undetectable. The dog came in and jumped on the hood, pointing — wow! — incredible sense of smell,” said the president, who was accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump. As the president and his wife walked back into the White House, a reporter asked the first lady if she wanted to adopt Conan for the couple’s son, 13-year-old Barron. The president and his wife chuckled at the question. The first family does not own a dog. Service dogs have been used by the military for decades. On the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the animals’ most critical function has been sniffing out hidden roadside bombs or IEDs — and they have saved untold numbers of American lives. read more
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Esper ‘flabbergasted’ by ousted Navy secretary’s actions in Gallagher case, says Trump gave direct order
By Alex Pappas | Fox News Pentagon fires Navy Secretary Richard Spencer over handling of Eddie Gallagher's controversial war crimes case; national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Monday he was given a direct order by President Trump to allow Eddie Gallagher to retire without losing his status as a Navy SEAL, while also saying he was “flabbergasted” by now-fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s handling of the case. “I spoke to the president on Sunday, he gave me the order that Eddie Gallagher will retain his Trident,” Esper told reporters. Asked by a reporter if he considered that a formal order from Trump, Esper said, “Absolutely.” Gallagher was acquitted of murder in the stabbing death of an Islamic State militant captive but convicted of posing with the corpse while in Iraq in 2017. Last week Trump had tweeted that he wanted Gallagher to be allowed to retire with his Trident Pin, but Esper's comments Monday revealed that Trump had given the defense secretary a direct order to make this happen. In his remarks, Esper accused Spencer of secretly offering to the White House to rig the Navy disciplinary process to ensure the Gallagher not lose his Trident. Esper fired Spencer on Sunday, saying he had lost trust in him. “Contrary to the narrative that some have put forward in the media, this dismissal is not about Eddie Gallagher,” Esper said. “It’s about Secretary Spencer and the chain of the command.” read more |
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