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@ForeignPolicyMueslifrom Montana submitted…5hrs5H
Biden administration is circulating proposals to publicly dispute the $320 million dollar cost figure for the failed Gaza aid pier as a way of making it appear less of a disaster. State Department officials in particular are discussing revising the cost downward to as little as $80 million or so, a Department official told me. The ridiculous proposition offered to stem the criticism of the pier would dispute the Pentagon’s most recent estimate, which is almost double what it originally estimated. That the government seeks to change the narrative says a lot about the Biden camp’s priorities, but it should also be a reminder: If the Pentagon builds it, it will often cost double, triple, or ten times the original estimate, a truth that is plain to any thinking American.Consider some facts: the administration originally estimated the Gaza aid pier to cost $180 million, which is almost half of its current estimated price tag of $320 million. Only after pressure from Congress did the Pentagon, which constructed and oversees the pier, update its original estimate.“The cost has not just risen,” Senator Roger Wicker of the Armed Services Committee said a month into the project. “It has exploded.”
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@ISIDEWITH submitted…4hrs4H
On Wednesday, in Moldova, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken became the first administration official to publicly leave open the possibility that the Biden administration might “adapt and adjust” its stance about attacking inside Russia with American weapons, based on changing battlefield conditions.“We’re always making determinations about what’s necessary to make sure that Ukraine can effectively continue to defend itself,” Mr. Blinken said.His statement was the latest amid a drumbeat of calls for a shift, from allies and from within Mr. Biden’s administration. Mr. Blinken, who returned from a sobering trip to Kyiv earlier this month, reported to the president that the Ukrainians might not be able to hold the territory between Kharkiv and the Russian border unless Mr. Biden reversed himself. That earlier warning was conveyed privately, in keeping with Mr. Biden’s deep aversion to letting debates among his inner circle leak out and create pressure on him to shift strategy.The usually cautious outgoing leader of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, told The Economist in an interview published late last week that Ukraine’s losses of territory near Kharkiv could only be countered if Ukraine was free to take out artillery and missile launchers and command posts on the Russian side of the border.“To deny Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very hard for them to defend themselves,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. On Tuesday, the leaders of France and Germany joined that chorus. Britain already allows its weapons to be fired at military targets inside Russia.
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This policy change is long overdue. Ukraine should be able to hit any military targets in Russia whether deep or just in…
@ISIDEWITH submitted…5hrs5H
President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has begun reaching out to key figures in the cryptocurrency industry, seeking guidance on "crypto community and crypto policy moving forward," sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block. The outreach, which includes calls to key industry leaders Biden's administration previously rebuffed, marks a significant "shift" from Biden's previous arms-length dealings with the industry, according to several sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.The engagement effort, which started about two weeks ago, comes as Biden's camp increasingly recognizes the impact crypto-related issues could have on a presidential race that is likely to be quite close, the sources said, citing the sensitivity of the discussions, which are ongoing. As part of that outreach, the re-election team has called several crypto experts, including some crypto industry players Biden rebuffed on previous occassions, one source said.They have very smart and capable people advising on that front, and you’ve seen some of the results of that and will see more in the coming months,” said a source within Trump’s inner circle with ties to the crypto industry.Sources told The Block that the Biden campaign’s overtures have been well-received by many in the crypto sector. However, one source noted that some industry players remain skeptical, viewing the outreach as "too little, too late."
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@FederalistSophiefrom New Jersey agreed…4hrs4H
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@MindRights from New York commented…4hrs4H
