SECRET DOTS IN PRINTOUTS: The case of the tell-tale microdots.

On 3 June, FBI agents arrived at the house of government contractor Reality Leigh Winner in Augusta, Georgia. They had spent the last two days investigating a top secret classified document that had allegedly been leaked to the press. In order to track down Winner, agents claim they had carefully studied copies of the document provided by online news site The Intercept and noticed creases suggesting that the pages had been printed and “hand-carried out of a secured space”.

In an affidavit, the FBI alleges that Winner admitted printing the National Security Agency (NSA) report and sending it to The Intercept. Shortly after a story about the leak was published, charges against Winner were made public.

At that point, experts began taking a closer look at the document, now publicly available on the web. They discovered something else of interest: yellow dots in a roughly rectangular pattern repeated throughout the page.

Read the whole thing.

TERROR ATTACKS IN TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament building and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini were the targets. The Islamic State claimed it conducted the attacks, so it’s Sunni terrorists attacking the kingpins off Shia terrorism.

JAPAN CONDUCTS A DRILL SIMULATING A NORTH KOREAN MISSILE STRIKE:

The exercises measured the self-defense forces’ ability to respond to a potential attack, and to work with local governments and disaster management agencies…No civilians were involved in the exercises, but the prefecture is planning a drill for local residents in February 2018.

Japan takes North Korea’s threats very seriously. And well it should.

WINGS OVER THE NORMANDY COAST: A USAF C-130 participating in a D-Day commemoration ceremony flies past Mont St. Michel.

RELATED: Taking D-Day’s high ground.

AYAAN HIRSI ALI:

“Things I say and do don’t have to fit into a political manifesto,” she said. “The way I see my role is to make people understand that the wonderful Western idea of multiculturalism and political correctness is counterproductive. It works to help them [the radical Islamists]. So we have to abandon that.”

The article includes her take on Trump: “…he is too inexperienced to resist distractions.” She thinks he Trump should focus on combating political Islamism. She’s also worried about European populists.

BOB DYLAN FINALLY DELIVERS NOBEL PRIZE LECTURE: It’s worth 900 grand. He lauded Buddy Holly.

Dylan had until 10 June to deliver the lecture or forfeit the prize money.

Hey, don’t look back.

A-10 OVER AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION: Well, it’s supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, so the ground below might be Iraq. The plane has just refueled, so it could be over Turkey. I’m sure an Instapundit reader can identify it.

RECYCLING COAST GUARD CUTTERS: The Philippines now operates three former Coast Guard cutters. They’ve been upgraded and reclassified as frigates. This quickly puts more Filipino hulls in the South China Sea.

RELATED: The U.S. Navy’s frigate controversy.

EGYPT’S FIGHT OVER AL AHZAR: The university is a battleground in the war with militant Islamism.

From the Carnegie Middle East Center’s analysis:

…there are signs that the effort to restructure Al-Azhar, though tabled, had real effects. Egypt’s religious leadership has been treading more carefully and the political leadership has been more successful in exploiting some divisions in the religious sector.

This is a thoughtful report with lots of historical background.

TUNISIA’S WAR ON CORRUPTION: Endemic governmental corruption sparked Tunisia’s Arab Spring revolt. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed says he means to end it. He’s right when he says “…Even social protests are exploited by this system (of corruption), and terrorists also benefit from it.” Stay tuned.

RELATED: Algeria’s rigged election and mire of corruption. Read the May 4 update.

REMEMBERING TIANANMEN SQUARE’S “TANK MAN”:

The meaning of his moment–it was no more than that–was instantly decipherable in any tongue, to any age: even the billions who cannot read and those who have never heard of Mao Zedong could follow what the “tank man” did. A small, unexceptional figure in slacks and white shirt, carrying what looks to be his shopping, posts himself before an approaching tank, with a line of 17 more tanks behind it. The tank swerves right; he, to block it, moves left. The tank swerves left; he moves right. Then this anonymous bystander clambers up onto the vehicle of war and says something to its driver, which comes down to us as: “Why are you here? My city is in chaos because of you.” One lone Everyman standing up to machinery, to force, to all the massed weight of the People’s Republic–the largest nation in the world, comprising more than 1 billion people–while its all powerful leaders remain, as ever, in hiding somewhere within the bowels of the Great Hall of the People.

Even though Time Magazine published the article, reading it’s worth your time.

FRANCE AND GERMANY ARMOR UP: Credit political climate change in eastern Europe. The French planned to buy modern Griffon armored personnel carriers before Trump became president. As this update points out, it’s linked to their Leclerc main battle tank modernization program.

As this second update notes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurred the German Leopard 2 revival. But Germany had let is tank fleet shrink from 2,000 to 225. The revival is minimal — only 104 Leopard 2A7Vs will be reactivated. That’s a start, but in my opinion Germany needs at least 500 Leopard 2A7Vs. The update discusses the improved Leopard 2’s impressive capabilities.

Yes, a Leopard 3 may be developed, but it’s still in the discussion stage. It could be a Franco-German project.

RELATED: U.S. Apache helicopter flies over watch for a Danish Leopard 2.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND A MURDERED DNC STAFFER: Wayne Allyn Root in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

THE MYSTERIOUS X-37B RETURNS: An update on the USAF’s unmanned orbital vehicle. One just spent 719 days in orbit. Here’s a photo of the spacecraft from 2014.

THE HOUSING MARKET IS RIPE FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DISRUPTION: “Real estate is local; knowing the neighborhood has value…” But there is “pressure on commissions” and home buyers today shop online,

U.S. MISSILE DEFENDERS NEED TO KEEP ON SHOOTING: My latest Creators Syndicate column. Yesterday’s test of the Ground-based Missile Defense system was successful. The interceptor downed an ICBM target missile. That’s good news. However, ugly domestic politics has slowed development and deployment of missile defense systems. (bumped)

BACKGROUND: This update includes a good discussion of the Ground Based interceptor that was tested yesterday.

U.S. MISSILE DEFENDERS NEED TO KEEP ON SHOOTING: My latest Creators Syndicate column. Yesterday’s test of the Ground-based Missile Defense system was successful. The interceptor downed an ICBM target missile. That’s good news. However, ugly domestic politics has slowed development and deployment of missile defense systems.

For over two decades, often-hysterical opposition from the American political left stalled deployment of an operational missile shield. Their hysteria was a fossil rite drawing on their Cold War opposition to President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.

During the Clinton Administration, left-liberal Democrats ritually demonized missile-defense. Testing and development slowed. In 2003, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi opined: “The United States does not need a multi-billion-dollar national missile defense against the possibility of a nuclear-armed ICBM. What we need is a strong nonproliferation policy with other nations to combat the most serious threat to our national security.”

Hey Nancy, do you mean a strong nonproliferation policy, like the Clinton Administration’s 1994 Agreed Framework? That deal gave Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, heavy fuel oil and technical assistance if Pyongyang shutdown its nuclear reactors producing weapons-grade plutonium. That charade failed, Nancy, utterly and completely.

Enjoy the whole thing.

SUB SURFACED AND DELIVERED: The Navy’s newest Virginia-class attack sub, the U.S.S. Washington. It’s named after the state of Washington. The USN took delivery of the sub May 26th. The last Navy ship named after the state of Washington was the battleship U.S.S. Washington (BB-56). It was decommissioned in 1947. The latest U.S.S. George Washington is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

AMERICA FIRST DOESN’T MEAN AMERICA ALONE: H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn in The Wall Street Journal.

…America First does not mean America alone. It is a commitment to protecting and advancing our vital interests while also fostering cooperation and strengthening relationships with our allies and partners. A determination to stand up for our people and our way of life deepens our friends’ respect for America.

The president is unequivocal in declaring that America’s primary interest is the safety and security of our citizens. In discussions overseas, Mr. Trump encouraged others to join the U.S. in doing more to defeat the terrorist organizations that threaten peaceful nations around the world. He challenged leaders of more than 50 Muslim-majority countries to stand together “against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”

A strong stand against terrorism is consistent with values common across all the world’s great religions. After the president’s historic remarks, leader after leader of Muslim-majority nations reaffirmed the president’s message and committed to confronting the terrorism and extremism that plague all civilized societies. To answer the call and address these grave concerns, Saudi Arabia launched a new Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology, and several Middle Eastern nations signed a memorandum of understanding to create the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, with the mission of cutting off funds to terrorist organizations.

More:

This historic trip represented a strategic shift for the United States. America First signals the restoration of American leadership and our government’s traditional role overseas—to use the diplomatic, economic and military resources of the U.S. to enhance American security, promote American prosperity, and extend American influence around the world.

Read the whole thing.

USAF WANTS MORE C-5 TRANSPORTS ON THE FLIGHTLINE:

The Air Force plans to activate more C-5M Super Galaxies after removing a number of the cargo planes from active service due to budget constraints…A few years ago, the size of the fleet was more than 100 aircraft; today, it’s half of that, according to Gen. Carlton Everhart, the head of Air Mobility Command.

Indeed. If I recall correctly, someone wrote about the airlifter shortage just about three weeks ago…

MISSILE DEFENSE TEST A SUCCESS: This is welcome news. My column on the test and U.S. missile defense capabilities will appear tomorrow.

More here on the Ground-based Missile Defense system’s exo-atmospheric kill vehicle.

BACKGROUND:This discussion of AEGIS Ashore includes information on the Ground Based Interceptor.

COMEY’S FBI BROKE ITS OWN RULES AND SPIED ON AMERICANS: James Rosen at Fox News.

A B-1B APPEARS IN PUBLIC WITHOUT MAKEUP: Well, it’s at Tinker AFB undergoing depot-level maintenance.

DISTANTLY RELATED: StrategyPage’s webmaster found a photo of a B-25 conducting a rocket-assisted takeoff. It dates from 1958 and is rather dramatic. Have an enjoyable Memorial Day, Instapundit readers.

EVOLUTION OF THE U.S. ARMY SIDEARM: Popular Mechanics surveys U.S. Army pistols, from the Revolutionary War to today. Check out the Model 1775 .62-caliber smoothbore flintlock.

DISBANDED TERROR GROUP?: According to the BBC, surviving members of the Ansar al-Sharia terror group say their organization has disbanded. The announcement was made on-line.

Ansar al-Sharia was responsible for the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Libya’s on-going civil war has been hard on Ansar al-Sharia murderers:

The Ansar al-Sharia group said that its leadership had been wiped out while fighting the Libya National Army.

Most of its members are thought to have defected to the Islamic State group.

So. Disbanded doesn’t mean the killers have disappeared. It looks like the survivors have migrated to another terrorist outfit and are still on the battlefield.

BACKGROUND: Libya’s continuing anarchy — a report dated May 25.