FRIDAY PDB – Gaza protests block gate at New Mexico's Kirtland Air Force Base. About two dozen protesters sat in the middle of a roadway blocking access to one of the main gates at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Thursday morning, waving flags and vowing to “shut everything down” over U.S. military support for Israel's war in Gaza.
THIS IS A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT. AND MAY BE JUST THE BEGINNING.
The protest is the latest demonstration to target a U.S. military installation since Hamas militants attacked Israel in October, killing around 1,200 people and abducting around 250 hostages.
Kirtland, a base of around 22,000 employees in Albuquerque, is home to a range of air and space research-and-development programs, special operations units and the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, which manages acquisition and sustainment of the service's nuclear enterprise.
BLOCKING ACCESS TO A MILITARY BASE ISN'T PEACEFUL PROTEST.
WRONG – Base spokesman Rob Smith said Kirtland supports citizens' rights to peacefully assemble and protest and that base security would monitor the situation throughout the day.
Meanwhile, the gate would remain closed indefinitely and people who work on the base were advised to use other routes.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
US needs better coordination, cheaper ways to counter drones in our homeland: Pentagon officials. But it is at the mercy of local politics on the issue.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Marine general issues ‘call to action' against China hackers lurking in US computer systems. A Chinese, state-sponsored hacking group has embedded itself in critical U.S. infrastructure and is waiting to “foment terror” and “societal panic” through cyberattacks — an effort that military leaders said Tuesday persists undeterred.
Set your email servers to block N. Korean spies, US officials urge. The cybercrime group, known as Kimsuky, is using phishing to covertly gain access to organizations' email domains and masquerade as legitimate users. Kimsuky is believed to be housed in the DPRK's military intelligence directorate, known as the Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
WE DON'T NEED PEOPLE WITH MAJOR DISABILITIES – THEY ARE A MAJOR LIABILITY – People with autism navigate roadblocks to serving in the military. Applicants and military members push for review of eligibility standards.
POLITICS
THESE PROTESTS AND OCCUPATIONS ARE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY – Biden says “order must prevail” on college campuses, but National Guard should not intervene in protests. This, as some of the pro-Palestinian protests have turned violent, insisting it's his responsibility to protect the “rule of law” as much as freedom of expression.
Former election official fined for obtaining fake military ballots. A former Milwaukee election official convicted of misconduct in office and fraud for obtaining fake military absentee ballots was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $3,000.
US POWER OVERSEAS
NOTHING TO SEE HERE, FOLKS – Russian troops at same air base as departing American forces in Niger. But they pose little risk to American personnel there, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
GIVE THEM MORE – THEY ARE KEY TO GRAY ZONE WARFARE AGAINST CHINA – Coast Guard commandant says service is maneuvering a tight budget as its worldwide mission expands. Leader says the service is ready for a larger role in national defense but will need the funds to do the job.
Marines sending new amphibious vehicles to Japan in the summer for first time.
Marine Corps' new Force Design approaches are paying off in operations. Changes made to its structure, equipment and approach to deployments are giving the service new ways to react to crises across the globe.
Patriot air-defense system debuts at former American air base in the Philippines. The Army for the first time has deployed the missile launchers to a large facility shared by commercial and military aircraft north of Manila.
Boxer deployment delay highlights aging fleet, lack of repair capacity. It's likely the U.S. Navy can repair its nearly 30-year-old amphibious assault ship with an underwater team, but the challenge of how to fix the ship and redeploy it as soon as possible highlights the service's challenges of an antiquated amphibious fleet that lacks the necessary repair capacity.
How Transcom transformed to ‘rapidly adapt as things change around the world.' U.S. Transportation Command is harnessing data and delivering digital tools to support and enhance worldwide military transits and operations.
IRAN THREAT
US shuffles military assets in Middle East after Gulf pushback. It shifts some warplanes to Qatar to allay concerns among Gulf powers about riling Iran and its proxies.
US airstrikes against Houthi rebels insufficient to deter future Red Sea attacks, intelligence official says. A ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war might not end the attacks, either.
Iran's terrorist regime is strengthening military cooperation in Latin America. The dictatorships of Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have redoubled their political, technological, and military alliance with the Islamic Republic. This is a latent threat that cannot be underestimated.
CHINA THREAT
Intel officials say China supplies are “key factors” in Russia's battlefield momentum.
Chinese satellites are breaking the US ‘monopoly' on long-range targeting. China “has rapidly advanced in space in a way that few people can appreciate.”
US officials wary of Chinese plans for floating nuclear plants. The reactors will likely be used to power military bases on artificial islands in the South China Sea.
SPACE THREAT
Monitoring the heavens: Space Force has 1,000 ‘priority targets,' 600 sensors. Besides tracking adversary satellites, said the deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, “sometimes I want to be looking at my own object to see if anything's going on, right?”
Danti search engine answers Space Force location questions with images. An artificial intelligence company partnering with varied federal agencies is fielding a technology that responds to queries not just with words, but near real-time images generated by satellites, drones and other diverse sources.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Australia aims to double its naval fleet. Can its plan work? This, with its largest shipbuilding investment since World War II, but questions remain about its financial commitment, manpower, schedule, and ability to avoid acquisition missteps.
Norway to add millions more to historic increase in defense spending announced last month. Norway's center-left government said that it wants to add $630 million to the Scandinavian country's armed forces over the next 12 years amid increased tensions in the region.
US MILITARY
Navy's next amphibious assault ship named ‘Helmand Province.' This, to honor Marines, Navy corpsmen, allies and partners who served and died in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Can a reporter handle the M249 SAW? We put one to the test on the show floor at Modern Day Marine.
GO BACK TO USING QUONSET HUTS FOR MARINE HOUSING! – Top Marine ‘won't apologize' for Corps' past neglect of barracks. This, even though he has made improving those living facilities a top priority now that he is in charge.
Air Force, Navy likely to fall short on reserve recruits in 2024.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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