President Trump has reportedly expanded the authority of military officers to approve drone strikes across the many countries where the US military is engaged. This is an escalation in the pace of US military actions overseas where the recent troop increases are an increase in scope. What is the endgame of President Trump’s escalations? What will victory look like? Will this newest “surge” work where it has failed repeatedly in the past? Our view in today’s Liberty Report:

US boots are on the ground in Syria. Nearly 1,000 to be exact. Not counting CIA or contractors. President Trump has ordered several hundred US Marines onto Syrian soil (without permission) to participate in the attack on Raqqa, and he has sent several dozen Army Rangers to Manbij to try to prevent US-backed forces and Turkish-backed forces from killing each other instead of killing ISIS. The Russians have also sent troops to Manbij — at the request of the US-backed YPG forces! Is Trump’s Syria to just take all that was wrong with Obama’s Syria and double it? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

What is the libertarian response to the Trump era? Is it about building a “movement” or about fighting in the battle of ideas? Have the neocons been put on their back heel by the new Administration or are they still riding high? What’s our next move? Mises Institute President Jeff Deist joins today’s Liberty Report to discuss where we are in relation to the new US Administration — and to invite our viewers to continue the conversation with us at our symposium on War and Peace in the Age of Trump taking place next month in Lake Jackson, TX:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has consistently failed miserably when tested on detecting contraband coming into airports. So what’s the government solution to a broken system? Double down! TSA has announced that it will begin taking its failures out on us, with far more aggressive and invasive pat-downs. You will notice the difference, said the TSA of its new procedures. It does not have to be this way. There is an alternative. And it’s time for Americans to stand up to these dangerous government agents who are hell-bent on depriving us of our Constitutional protections! For more on what we can do, tune in to today’s Liberty Report:

Over the weekend, President Trump Tweeted the he had just learned that former President Obama had wiretapped the campaign headquarters at Trump Towers. The mainstream media is largely ignoring the actual claims — certainly there is very little investigative journalism going on over it — but in reality this may be coming to a showdown: either President is so incredibly reckless that he would falsely accuse his predecessor of a serious crime, or former President Obama has indeed committed the most serious political crime since Watergate. What will happen? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

On Capitol Hill, Congressional business and campaign business is by law separate. Members or their staff must go off-site when conducting phone calls or other campaign related activities. When Senator Session said in his confirmation hearing that his campaign work did not include meetings with Russian officials he did not commit perjury, as the Democrat/Neocon alliance is claiming. But they are too lazy to have opposed Sessions on his terrible track record when it comes to civil liberties so they are determined to take down another senior member of the Trump Administration by perpetuating the laughable lie that somehow Washington, D.C. has been taken over by Putin and his KGB team. Will the Democrats and Neocons take down Sessions? We discuss the bizarre case in today’s Liberty Report:

Dr. Paul watched President Trump’s address to Congress last night with one hand on his keyboard, live-Tweeting the event with his own critique and commentary and finally giving the speech a grade from a libertarian perspective. The response to Dr. Paul’s “Tweet-storm” was overwhelming, but much of it missed the point. This is not an issue of whether one “likes” or “supports” President Trump or any other politician. It is about the policies not the people. In today’s Liberty Report, Dr. Paul looks back over some of his Tweets from last night to provide more context to the brevity demanded by that medium:

The sole permanent US military base in Africa is getting a new neighbor. It’s the Chinese, who are building their first military base outside of Chinese territory. The Chinese are the largest investors in Africa and have been heavily involved in anti-piracy efforts near Djibouti, where the two bases will be a few miles from each other. The neocons will point to this development as an example of how the US must be even more forwardly deployed to block Chinese expansion, but a more likely explanation is that the Chinese move is in response to repeated US destabilization moves in the region, including the war in Yemen, the war on Libya, and elsewhere. But will the new neighbors get along? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

A month into the new Trump Administration has been a mixed bag when it comes to foreign policy. On the one hand, the President has reiterated his desire to get along with Russia even with all the shrieking of neocon disapproval. On the other hand, neocons have infiltrated and continue to infiltrate his Administration. In today’s Liberty Report we are joined by Lew Rockwell to take a look at War and Peace in the Age of Trump — and introduce an exciting joint Mises Institute/Ron Paul Institute symposium on the topic!

According to a recent NBC News poll, two-thirds of Americans are worried about a major war breaking out, and while among all respondents Russia is considered a foe, young people by a near three-fourth’s majority do not believe Russia to be a foe. The propaganda of the mainstream media has less of an effect on younger Americans, who have tuned out network news. What does this mean for the pro-peace movement? It’s good news, as we discuss in the Liberty Report:

For the past couple of weeks the CIA weapons smuggling operation to Syrian rebels has been on hold, according to press reports. Does this mean Trump’s sensible “we don’t know who these people are” statement during the campaign has become policy? We hope that is the case. However, the current Commander of the US Central Command said recently that Washington may be sending regular units of the US military into Syria, which would be a significant escalation. Which is it going to be: wisdom or folly? We discuss in today’s Liberty Report:

President Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor, Gen. H.R. McMaster, holds some views on Russia that seem to be at odds with the policy positions of his boss. He believes that Russian “aggression” began when the US began to withdraw from the world militarily, around 2008. He believes the US military needs to be more forward deployed. He has also stated publicly that Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, which is factually incorrect. What are his views on why radicals in the Middle East seek to do us harm? Join us for today’s Liberty Report: