By John Helmer, Moscow @bears_with
Manipulating the US president to make his domestic and foreign policy decisions as Stephen Miller of the White House (lead image-3) is doing with President Donald Trump (lead image-2) is not new.
Jimmy Carter tried to dismantle the bureaucracy and the mindset (ideology) of the “imperial presidency”, as he called the White House during the election campaign of 1976. But then Carter fell under the spell of National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski; he controlled what the president was told was the evidence for his policy choices, the risks, and the consequences. In this way, Brzezinski more than influenced the policy outcomes Carter believed he was deciding for himself.
(One of them was the secret US war with the Kremlin in Afghanistan.)
Carter required that his decision-making process start and end on paper; he read reams of it in the personal study off the Oval Office. He demanded his intelligence briefing every morning. However, connected by an internal passage of connecting doors, Brzezinski supervised what was in the papers and vetted who walked in the outer Oval Office door to have words with the President.
Trump prefers pictures, screens of them, and he gets one intelligence briefing per week, followed by interpretation over lunch in the private White House dining room from Vice President JD Vance. Miller controls the paper, especially the virtual posts, the press gaggles on aircraft in flight and airfields at takeoff and landing, and in the Oval Office. Vance coaches Trump through his misspeaking, memory failures, political gaffes.
Listen now to the way in which the method and purpose of these new men differs from anything in the history of the American presidency; and how the leaders of the European allies, the UK, and Canada exploit what they believe they know in order to get the policy decisions they want from Trump — that is, after Miller, Vance and others have decided and Trump has been persuaded.
Then once you understand, ask whether the calculations of the allies, and also of the main enemy at present, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, are misjudgements of what serves their national strategies best.
Chris Cook’s latest Gorilla Radio show was broadcast on Wednesday evening British Columbia time. Our segment starts at Minute 29.35.
Source: https://gradio.substack.com/p/gorilla-r ... cook-chris beginning at Minute 29:35
For the realization in London of Miller’s current role as Trump’s “prime minister”, click on this September 29 report of the Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/6754d817-57c ... c686e100c8
https://johnhelmer.net/gorilla-radio-wh ... more-92572
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Trump Declares War
October 15, 2025
US President Donald Trump in Oval Office. Photo: rawpixel.com.
By M Santos – Oct 13, 2025
After decades of financing wars, regime changes and assassinations, the US imperialist political establishment is now trying to appear as a peacemaker. It is invoking “peace” in the massive suffering caused by the very conflicts it has funded and perpetuated.
US President Donald Trump is not merely the unhinged madman that some might think, with his lies, half-truths and contradictory ranting and raving. There is method in his madness–that of an egotistic, dangerous, fascistic dictator. A man who plans to not only rule the US and its military with an iron fist, but who also seeks global dominance in a uni-polar world and is prepared to do whatever it takes.
“Together, we’re reawakening the warrior spirit, and this is a spirit that won and built this nation,” said Commander-in-Chief Trump.
Trump and Hegseth were addressing 800-plus US generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisers assembled from around the world at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on 30 September.
Amidst Trump’s egotistical rants there runs a clear agenda: the US is on an aggressive and offensive path to eliminate any economic or military competition. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are in US imperialism’s sights as well as the ever-expanding BRICS group of countries and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“And we want war because we want to have no wars, but you have to be there and sometimes you have to do it,” said Trump while claiming to have settled eight wars in his pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump boasted about the superiority of the US’s nuclear weapons and its “undetectable” submarines claiming that they were 25 years ahead of China’s and Russia’s.
Might rules
In a repeat, but a more dangerous form of the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine, Trump argued that making the US the most powerful nuclear force will act as a deterrent. “We’re investing tens of billions of dollars in modernising our nuclear deterrence capabilities like never before,” said Trump. For “deterrence” read “offensive.”
“We must be so strong that no nation will dare challenge us, so powerful that no enemy will dare threaten us, and so capable that no adversary can even think about beating us,” Trump declared.
What enemies? US imperialism faces no military threats, only a decline in its economic power. It has around 900 foreign bases, including those encircling China and Russia.
By bullying and imposing massive tariffs on other countries, including subservient allies such as Australia, the UK, and the European nations, Trump is attempting to shore up the US economy.
“We’ve taken in trillions of dollars, we’re rich. Rich again, and there’ll never be, when we finish this out, there’ll never be any wealth like what we have,” he said referring to investments pouring into the US to avoid tariffs.
But economic means alone are insufficient. The US is looking to military means of global domination in the face of more and more nations of the Global South asserting their independence, and the economic challenge China poses.
Pick of the litter
“Over the past eight months, new enlistments, I’m so proud of this, have surged to record highs, the highest we’ve ever had. And we used to have recruiting shortages,” Trump told the gathered brass.
That’s hardly surprising when 750,000 government workers have been sacked by Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). The massive withdrawal of funding for services in Democrat states also contributes to rising unemployment. And at the time of writing the blocking of government funding was set to result in more job losses.
“A year ago they were talking about making the military smaller because they can’t get the people to join … it’s nice to be able to cut people because of merit that aren’t really qualified for any reason, a physical reason, a mental reason,” he said echoing Hegseth’s report. “You don’t have to take them anymore because you have the pick of the litter and they all want to be with you.”
Urban warfare
“After spending trillions of dollars defending the borders of foreign countries, with your help we’re defending the borders of our country from now on. We’re not going to let this happen,” continued Trump. “Biden let people come in from prisons, mental institutions, drug dealers, murderers. We had 11,488 murderers allowed into our country by this guy who had no clue.”
“But together with many of you in the room, we’ve brought back the fundamental principle that defending the homeland is the military’s first and most important priority. That’s what it is.”
“Last month I signed an executive order to provide training for quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room because it’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control. It won’t get out of control once you’re involved at all,” Trump said.
“In our inner cities … it’s a big part of war now, it’s a big part of war,” Trump said.
Trump bragged that bringing the military into Washington, DC had made DC “just about our safest city.”
He added that cities “that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they’ve done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they’re very unsafe places. And we’re going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within.” For Trump, the people are the enemy.
“We’re under invasion from within. No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms. At least when they’re wearing a uniform, you can take them out.”
Trump mused about using “these dangerous cities” as training grounds for the US military.”
A post on Trump’s Truth Social paraphrases quotes from the movie Apocalypse Now: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” The post is accompanied by an AI-generated image of Trump kneeling in front of a burning skyline, with military helicopters flying overhead.
“We were dead. This country was going to hell. We were dead in everywhere from immigration to military. We didn’t have the weapons. We were giving everything to Ukraine. We had nothing.”
“Now we are discovering American muscle, reasserting American might and beginning the next story chapter in American military legends and lore.”
The imposition of massive tariffs on companies that do not invest in the US is not madness. Trump is attempting to build self-sufficiency in readiness for war against China. Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba are among others on his hit list for regime change.
His support for Israel’s genocide and Greater Israel incorporating parts or all of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and possibly other Arab states serves to build US imperialism’s control over the Middle East.
Trump shared on his social media an AI-generated video that shows Gaza being transformed into “Trump Gaza,” a luxurious Gulf resort. The video includes scenes of a child holding a golden Trump balloon, a gift shop selling Trump statues, and Elon Musk dancing on the beach with dollar bills raining down from above. It is accompanied by an AI-generated song with lyrics that include “Trump Gaza shining bright. Golden future, a brand-new light.”
The trillions in planned expenditure on war preparations further militarises the already heavily indebted US economy, and is being funded in part by DOGE sackings, cuts to health, to states, and most likely even more cuts to government.
Trump is paying scant heed to the constitution and any semblance of democracy, executing presidential war powers – the war he cites is domestic. It is against immigrants, against ‘woke,’ against Democrat states, and states that voted for Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump is step by step changing state structures, replacing democratic processes with himself as an authoritarian, fascist dictator – and not just over the US, but globally.
The agenda that Trump is following was scripted by the ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation. It is called Project 2025.
His speech was met with silence from the military brass–no applause.
(Communist Party of Australia)
https://orinocotribune.com/trump-declares-war/
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Trump Plans to Use Men With Guns as Part of IRS Campaign Against “Left-Leaning” Groups
Posted on October 16, 2025 by Yves Smith
The war against Trump’s perceived political enemies keeps escalating. The Wall Street Journal provides new detail on how the Trump Administration intends to use an IRS criminal unit, whose members bear arms, as part of his campaign against “left-leaning” organizations. This fallows a Reuters account describing how the Trump Administration intends to use the Department of Justice and DHS to pursue “left wing” groups that allegedly fomented violence.
Mind you, back in the day of McCarthy witch hunts, the targets were actual Communists or those who had colorable connections to Communists. This was a small swathe of society but did pick up many members of the intelligentsia who had participated in Communist organizations in college or had friends who could be depicted as being Communist. The fear, particularly among Hollywood studios, was intense (recall movies were not deemed to have First Amendment protection prior to a 1952 Supreme Court ruling). Trump is casting his targets net much wider. Democrats are taking “left-leaning” to mean potentially any Democrat and this reading does not seem to be nuts.
The violence allegations are also a stretch, but they will be more than sufficient to allow Trump officials to root in the records and communications of many groups and key individuals. Even if they do not succeed in deploying their big guns successfully, criminal prosecution and stripping the groups of not-for-profit status, the effort will be chilling. At a minimum, the campaign will force the targets to spend heavily on lawyers. Recall that Aaron Schwartz killed himself over Federal charges that most experts were confident he could beat back. But litigation is a crapshoot, his potential sentence was long, and the cost of his defense was estimated at $1.5 million which he did not have and he did not want to bankrupt his parents in trying to muster up the funds.
Admittedly, this is anecdata, but consider. First, in the Black Live Matters protests, there was organized looting of Macys and other stores….which had nothing to do with the protestors. The New York Times reported at length how gang members with bikes cased the area as the marches were on, and then moved in as darkness fell and the demonstrators had cleared out with trucks to make their haul.
Similarly, a contact has been a co-organizer of anti-Trump marches. In a recent one, participants that none of the event leaders recognized were trying to foment a fight, urging the protestors to throw objects at the police. The protest leaders screamed at the marchers that this was a peaceful protest and not to take the bait. The protest stayed non-violent.
As the Trump Administration telegraphed earlier, one of their big plans is to strip organizations of not-for-profit status who have been allegedly engaged in political activity. This is low-hanging fruit. 501(c)3 not for profits are for charitable activities (which includes supporting journalism). Donations to them are tax deductible to the donor. 501(c)4 is for not for profits engaged in political activity. Donations to them are not tax deductible but the organization is not taxed. Public Citizen and I imagine other groups regularly involved in DC trench warfare have both 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 units and I would assume run tight ships given their fondness for controversy. That is likely not to hold for others.
But now Team Trump is about to launch the big salvo of going after purported domestic terrorists. That not only allows them to engage in ICE-raid level stunts of sending armed IRS and DHS agents in but also to deploy the anti-money-laundering/anti-terrorist-finance apparatus at Treasury to examine money flows. The top target is the Soros Open Society Foundation. Trump has repeatedly attacked its head, Alex Soros, and called for his prosecution, since at least 2023. More recently Trump Administration officials have made clear they intend to pursue not only the Soros Foundation but also grantees, as in they are presumed guilty, irrespective of what they were actually up to.
Among other things, this looks like karma for Team Dem taking over Black Lives Matter via suborning it via successfully parachuting in non-organic leaders and providing considerable funding. This takeover occurred just after BLM started staging high-profile “die-ins” at places like Grand Central, which attracted considerable participation from people of all races. The Democrats were successful; the die-ins abruptly stopped. I am told some local BLM units were able to maintain their independence.
Even conservatives are alarmed at the prospect of open political persecution:
Sarah Longwell
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Conservatives (including me!) were rightly outraged when the IRS under Obama appeared to be giving undue scrutiny to Tea Party organizations. And that was *nothing* compared to what is being laid out here by the Trump administration.
Now to the press accounts. Key sections from the Journal’s report:
The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes…
Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups…
The effort within the IRS coincides with a larger administration effort to probe left-leaning groups for helping to finance organizations that the president says are creating anarchy in Democratic-led cities….
Trump previously said on Truth Social that Soros and his son Alex should face federal charges under the RICO Act and added in a separate interview that the elder Soros “should be in jail” without offering specific reasons…
Trump has ordered Bessent as the acting IRS commissioner to refer certain tax-exempt organizations to the Justice Department for further investigation…
The IRS has long tried to steer clear of political controversies, though not always successfully. During the Obama administration, an inspector general’s report concluded in 2013 that the IRS had used inappropriate criteria to select conservative groups for what proved to be lengthy, invasive scrutiny when seeking tax-exempt status…
The IRS-CI is a formidable tool. It has more than 2,000 agents, investigates potential criminal violations of the tax code, and assists other agencies in combating financial crime. It is the part of the IRS where agents often carry firearms, and it is distinct from the auditors and collectors who handle civil tax enforcement.
Recall that the Administration considered a perp walk for recently-indicted James Comey, but may have held back because the case against him is weak. One wonders if the Trump team will exhibit a similar level of probity with Alex Soros, particularly given that he has the resources to mount a fierce defense. Rudy Guiliani’s perp walk for Kidder Peabody’s Richard Wigton, who was later vindicated, was an embarrassing backfire.
Keep in mind that Team Trump has cut IRS staffing, so this bulking up to pursue enemies will likely come at the expense of other services.
Many cheered Trump reversal of Biden Administration staffing increases, when nearly half of the total was for customer support staff. I know individuals personally who have had taxes not owed where IRS mis-processing resulted in dunning efforts sent out to collection. That is due directly to staff cuts. For instance, professional tax filers are no longer uable to get through on the professional phone line (where they had been able to, albeit at times with some effort) and repeated letters correct IRS errors have not been acted upon. So be careful what you wish for.
The Reuters story focused on how the Trump Administration is structuring the campaign against political foes across Federal agencies:
President Donald Trump’s threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials.
The Trump administration plans to deploy America’s counter-terrorism apparatus – including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department – as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence, the officials said….
Miller is deeply involved in reviewing government agencies’ investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration labels “domestic terror networks,” which include nonprofits and even educational institutions…
“Left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more,” the White House said in a statement to Reuters….
When pressed by a Reuters reporter in the Oval Office on September 25 about potential targets of a domestic terrorism probe, Trump mentioned George Soros – a Democratic donor whose charitable network supports civil rights, education, democracy and other causes – and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of the online professional networking platform LinkedIn and another Democratic mega-donor.
The president did not present evidence of wrongdoing. “If they are funding these things, they’re going to have some problems. Because they’re agitators and they’re anarchists,” Trump said….
In response to a separate request, the White House highlighted seven political protests in 2023 and 2025 that included acts of violence directed against law enforcement officials, and two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year as well as half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.
It named nine liberal groups, donors or fundraising organizations that it said helped finance or plan protests where the violent incidents occurred.
While the second White House official stressed that the organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides insight into the administration’s thinking.
The list includes Soros’ Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
This is going to get ugly. But as indicated, many of the targets can and will mount muscular legal defenses. How much they can do to throw sand in the gears of Trump’s political revenge machine remains to be seen.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/10 ... roups.html
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Trump’s War Against ‘Left-leaning’ Groups Extends Further
There are a number of indicators which lets one predict that the Trump administration, during the next election, will use government forces to severely attack and disrupt all opposition to it.
Trump has send the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the cities to harass and arrest alleged illegal immigrants. Due cause is disregarded and the methods used by the agents are brutal.
Trump has also sent National Guard troops into cities where, he claimed, riots were taking place. There were no riots or ‘terrorist incidents’ but the presence of troops is used to create a militarized atmosphere.
A new National Security Presidential Memorandum, NSPM-7 issued by Trump has defined new classes of internal enemies:
With the mainstream media distracted by the made-for-TV drama of James Comey’s indictment, Trump has signed a little-noticed national security directive identifying “anti-Christian” and “anti-American” views as indicators of radical left violence.
…
In NSPM-7, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” President Trump directs the Justice Department, the FBI, and other national security agencies and departments to fight his version of political violence in America, retooling a network of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to focus on “leftist” political violence in America. This vast counterterrorism army, made up of federal, state, and local agents would, as Trump aide Stephen Miller said, form “the central hub of that effort.”
…
The Trump administration isn’t only targeting organizations or groups but even individuals and “entities” whom NSPM-7 says can be identified by any of the following “indicia” (indicators) of violence:
anti-Americanism,
anti-capitalism,
anti-Christianity,
support for the overthrow of the United States Government,
extremism on migration,
extremism on race,
extremism on gender,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family,
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and
hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.
“The United States requires a national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts,” the directive states (emphasis mine).
That all may sound laughable but these are unfortunately serious policies . The target list includes organizations which do not exist:
The FBI and the homeland security department are actively investigating “Antifa” individuals and organizations that the Trump administration has branded domestic terrorists. Actions so far include collecting intelligence on Antifa “affinity” groups, canvassing the FBI’s vast informant network for tips about Antifa, and scrutinizing financial records, two sources involved in the investigations tell me.
There are no ‘antifa’ organizations. ‘Antifa’ is the idea of fighting indications of fascism. From time to time local interest groups may claim to do so for this or that reason. This category ‘antifa’ was likely chosen because it can be applied to any group that opposes government policies.
Today Yves Smith reports of another enforcement agency that Trump will use to destroy opposition to him:
The war against Trump’s perceived political enemies keeps escalating. The Wall Street Journal provides new detail on how the Trump Administration intends to use an IRS criminal unit, whose members bear arms, as part of his campaign against “left-leaning” organizations. This fallows a Reuters account describing how the Trump Administration intends to use the Department of Justice and DHS to pursue “left wing” groups that allegedly fomented violence.
…
Now to the press accounts. Key sections from the Journal’s report:
The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes…
Among those on the list are the billionaire Democratic donor George Soros and his affiliated groups…
Many on the left will not mind any attack on George Soros as his organization is well know for financing foreign color revolutions against legitimate leftist rulers. We can however be assured that Trump wont stop with them:
The list includes Soros’ Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
…
Other groups on the list include two Jewish nonprofits that oppose Israel’s war in Gaza – IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace.
There is unfortunately little institutional or political opposition that can restrain Trump:
The push against domestic groups and their donors comes amid Trump’s attacks on law firms, universities and the media, and his deployment of National Guard troops to some Democratic-run cities.
…
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon presidential library, said Trump and Nixon were similar in their desire to punish political enemies and silence critics, but a pliant Republican-controlled Congress and a cabinet packed with loyalists are enabling Trump to go further.
“That’s why this particular moment is more dangerous for the rule of law in the United States than the 1970s were,” Naftali said.
All these are ominous signs that Trumps war on the political opposition will escalate further. Seymour Hersh’s sources are warning of this:
What’s happening now may be a trial run for the use of those forces to interfere on the behalf of the president and the Republican Party in states where the Democratic Party has a chance to win crucial seats in next fall’s Congressional elections. I’ve been told by someone with inside knowledge that planning for such action is now under way in the White House.
The ‘coerced dominance’ that has marked Trump’s brutal approach to foreign policy will now being applied to domestic issues and legitimate opposition.
Russell Vought, Trumps’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, are the men behind this.
The scary thing is that there is, so far, little or any opposition to these plans and only few warnings about their consequences.
Posted by b on October 16, 2025 at 14:43 UTC | Permalink
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/10/t ... rther.html