The Middle East is again bracing for turbulence this week after a number of yet-unpunished acts of aggression perpetrated by Iran draw attention to the region. Such turmoil is nothing new in this particular corner of the globe, where religious and political tensions run high seemingly nonstop.  The escalation this week comes to us courtesy of Iran, who are being blamed for two attacks on the Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure. The first fracas took place on the high seas where underwater drones acting as torpedoes “sabotaged” several Saudi oil tankers.  Mere hours later, an airborne drone caused a disruptive explosion to a Saudi-owned pipeline. US President Donald Trump has maintained his hope for staying uninvolved throughout the incidents, but it looks like at least some American military members will be headed to the region. “We’re going to be sending a relatively small number of troops,” the president told reporters outside the White House on Friday. “Mostly protective. Some very talented people are going to the Middle East right now. And we’ll see what happens.” No large military units, such as U.S. Army brigade combat teams, are expected to deploy. Instead, senior military leaders want to deploy an additional Patriot anti-aircraft missile battery, a defensive weapon system. They also want to deploy another warship or submarine to the region, more surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and potentially more Air Force fighter jets. The total number of troops being deployed is said to be around 2,000. The drama between the US and Iran has been growing ever-more severe since President Trump effectively nullified America’s involvement in an Obama-era “nuclear deal” between the two nations.

The ways in which President Donald Trump has been criticized are unprecedented in American history. Rising to power from outside of the Washington Swamp was Trump’s first sin in the eyes of many DC fat cats.  This CEO-in-Chief has wasn’t elected to play their game, and it shows both in Trump’s economic effectiveness and in the opposition that he’s face. Simply put:  The President is a threat to the Beltway’s cozy career politicians. That fact, when amplified by the existence of “the resistance”, has somehow given the mainstream media carte blanche to speculate wildly about this President. Take the latest from Morning Joe, for instance. Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski agreed Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “sharp as a tack” while President Trump’s mental capacity has “completely changed.” The co-hosts discussed the ongoing feud between Pelosi, D-Calif., and Trump, which erupted this week after Pelosi accused Trump of engaging in a “cover-up” and the president cut short a meeting on infrastructure with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Scarborough said he’s known Pelosi for 25 years and she’s “tougher today than she was” back then and the difference between the two is “not even close.” The footage was pure media hysteria. https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1131866287032938496 President Trump has long suffered from the uninformed and uneducated opinions on non-doctors in the mainstream media, but with the focus suddenly on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s linguistic acuity, these attacks have been ramped up significantly.