While ISIS has been defeated in Syria, the US military has no plans to leave the country. In fact, the Pentagon is building new, permanent military bases on Syrian soil. But the Syrians don’t want American troops on their soil and it’s pretty illegal to put your troops into another country without permission. So why stay? To “counter Iranian influence in the region.” But how did Iran get so much influence in the region? The US invasion of Iraq and the US destabilization of Syria were a shot in the arm to Iran’s influence in the region. So if US interventionism in the Middle East keeps making Iran stronger and the US claims to want Iran to be weaker, why does Washington keep intervening in the region? We try to sort it out in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review, due next month, is expected to call for the development of new, “low yield” nuclear weapons and a lowering of the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Is the Pentagon still fighting the Cold War? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own closest advisors begged him to avoid focusing on the Vietnam war. It will alienate President Johnson, who is doing so much for the civil rights movement at home, they argued. MLK ignored them, vocally opposed the war, and found much of the liberal establishment had turned on him. Is that why he was assassinated? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Unfortunately the Amash Amendment to the FISA extension bill was defeated today and the extension itself passed with ease. What does it mean? The NSA and various US intelligence agencies can continue to collect your personal communications without a warrant and store them indefinitely. Thus foreign intelligence information is stored to be later used for law enforcement purposes. Completely unconstitutional. But there is not yet enough dedication to the Constitution and to liberty. We explain what’s at stake and how the extension could still be halted in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump is expected to direct US embassy staff overseas to more aggressively push the sales of US-manufactured military items to their foreign counterparts. His “National Security Decision Directive” due next month will reportedly also ease the rules and regulations for the export of military hardware. In today’s Liberty Report we take a critical look at US taxpayer-funded salespeople for the US arms industry. Should middle class Americans, who have seen their real incomes decline over the years, really be subsidizing the sales force for large, wealthy corporations? And what of the danger of yet more weapons to get into the hands of bad actors overseas?

Despite US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ promises that North and South Korean talks today would be about only one subject, the Olympics, the North and South ended up after 12 hours of talks opening the door quite a bit wider between the two countries. In addition to the North sending a team to participate in the South Korean Winter Olympic games next month, the two countries agreed to continue meeting bilaterally in attempt to find ways to reduce military tension on the peninsula. President Trump has taken credit for the breakthrough talks taking place…does he have a point? Join us for today’s Liberty Report:

Protests have broken out in Iran against the Iranian government. Other protests have broken out in favor of the Iranian government. Almost uniquely in the Middle East, Iran holds elections contested by parties representing different political philosophies. Yet US neocons insist that the mere presence of protests means the Iranian government is illegitimate and therefore must be overthrown. How do they get that? Do protests in the US mean that the US government must be overthrown? More in today’s Liberty Report:

In the last several days, North and South Korea have agreed to hold high-level talks, to re-establish a direct communication link, and to participate in the coming winter Olympic games. Taken together it appears a significant step toward reducing tensions on the peninsula and reducing the risk of catastrophic war. You would think the US would be pleased at the developments and hopeful that diplomacy might take over from saber-rattling. But you would be wrong. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has poured cold water on the developments, screeching that North Korea must first give up its nuclear program before talks can even take place. For more, tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

What a coincidence that just when news leaks out of a coordinated US, Saudi, and Israeli plan to undermine the Iranian government we see the largest protests in Iran since 2009! We are told that thousands of people carefully coordinated protests in multiple cities throughout the country over a hike in the price of eggs and that there were absolutely no foreign fingerprints on the unrest. Do you believe it? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Last week President Trump signed an Executive Order providing for the seizure of assets of any person or corporation — American or foreign — determined to be abusing human rights or engaging in corruption. In theory, this means if a Chinese employee of Apple bribes a Chinese official, the US government claims the right to freeze all of Apple’s US assets. How’s that going to work out? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

US spy satellites have detected Chinese oil sales to North Korean ships in violation of UN Security Council sanctions. Will the US demand to board Chinese ships in international waters? Escalation? And why these sanctions in the first place? Does the US and UN really think that freezing the civilian population in North Korea will help them overthrow their leader? Tune in to today’s Liberty Report…

Dr. Paul and I would like to share a brief Christmas message with all our viewers. What does Dr. Paul remember about the Christmases of his youth? What about the Prince of Peace and how so many self-professed Christians seem to prefer worshipping the dark gods of war. Merry Christmas from the Ron Paul Liberty Report and thank you for continuing to watch the program!