OUR PICKSCore Al-Qaeda Poses a High Threat to the United States | Joe Biden’s Legacy Never Recovered from the Afghan Withdrawal, and more
· Planned U.S. Missile Defense Tests Divide Guam Residents
A 10-year launch program is part of the U.S. military’s Pacific build-up against China
· Arizona Republican Who Said 2020 Election Was Not Stolen Loses Primary
Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder in Phoenix, was widely criticized by Republicans for defending the state’s voting system against false claims about the 2020 election
· Core Al-Qaeda Poses a High Threat to the United States
US officials have already projected that Core al-Qaeda would be able to reconstitute its external attack capabilities within 12 to 36 months
· Joe Biden’s Legacy Never Recovered from the Afghan Withdrawal
Despite his best efforts, Biden could not escape from the stigma of “strategic failure”
· Election Deniers Are Ramping Up Efforts to Disenfranchise Voters
After working for months to challenge thousands of voter registrations, election denial groups are now pushing ahead with plans to challenge voters and votes ahead of the election
Planned U.S. Missile Defense Tests Divide Guam Residents (Mar-Vic Cagurangan and Stefan Armbruster for BenarNews ? RFA)
Planned missile tests in Guam are dividing residents as an unprecedented military build-up in the U.S. territory continues in response to geo-political tensions in the Pacific.
Residents have been given until Friday to voice their concerns about the environmental impacts of the launches due to begin by the end of the year.
A draft Department of Defense environmental assessment concludes missile flights from the Andersen Air Force Base, at the northernmost tip of the island, or at sea from Navy ships would have “no significant direct, indirect, or cumulative environmental impacts.”
The tests come as the island is preparing for the relocation of 5,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa by 2028 and in response to long-range ballistic missiles developed by China and North Korea, dubbed “Guam Killers”.
An “open house” was hosted last week by the Missile Defense Agency, part of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at the request of local politicians and the community over lack of transparency and consultation. A small group of protestors picketed the event.
Arizona Republican Who Said 2020 Election Was Not Stolen Loses Primary (Jack Healy, New York Times)
Republican voters on Tuesday ousted a top elections official in Arizona’s most populous county who angered conservatives by defending the state’s voting system against false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, according to The Associated Press.
The results as of early Wednesday showed that the official, Stephen Richer, had lost his primary re-election bid for Maricopa County recorder to State Representative Justin Heap, a right-wing challenger buoyed by conservative voters’ distrust in elections and mail-in voting.
The campaign was a high-stakes contest between the Trump wing of Arizona’s Republican Party and establishment Republicans, with the potential to affect voting procedures in a county that encompasses Phoenix and its suburbs, and that often decides the state’s political direction.
As county recorder, Mr. Richer oversaw voter registration and mail-in voting, a once-obscure elections post that is now a battlefield for falsehoods about election fraud.
Mr. Richer campaigned as a conservative who had “cleaned up” voter rolls, made the office more transparent to the public and strengthened procedures for verifying voter signatures and tracking ballots. He was endorsed by former governors Jan Brewer and Doug Ducey, both Republicans. (Cont.)
