PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Pentagon’s top national security focus will mirror that of President Trump’s “America First” agenda, with officials saying that the department will prioritize protecting the homeland and the Western Hemisphere.
But countering China will remain a key national security interest of the new National Defense Strategy (NDS), which is expected to be released soon, officials said.
One official stressed that the new NDS will not be a complete shift away from China. Instead, the Pentagon can use this hyperfocus on the Western Hemisphere to better counter Chinese malign activity in Latin America, a region often thought of as “America’s backyard.”
“For too long, China, Russia and Iran have been active in Latin America, and Washington’s response has often been somewhere between nonexistent and ineffective,” said Bradley Bowman at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
Unprecedented. Defense Secretary Hegseth has summoned the military’s top officers — hundreds of generals and admirals — to Quantic Marine base in northern Virginia for a sudden meeting next week.
U.S. fighters part of NORAD scrambled to identify and intercept four Russian warplanes flying near Alaska.
Industry says Pentagon’s behemoth homeland missile defense initiative, Golden Dome’s greatest challenge is an unpredictable budget, not technical hurdles.
‘Alien’ oracles: Military decision-making with unexplainable AI. Would you stake thousands of lives on a strategy that, by every measure of your training and experience, seems destined for catastrophic failure?
HOMELAND SECURITY
25-year-old former Army National Guardsman has been charged with attempting to provide al-Qaida with 3D-printed weapons.
“Did you go to Airborne just to pull security for ICE?” a billboard asks in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is one of two put up last week in North Carolina outside of two of the largest military bases, Army’s Fort Bragg and Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune.
Coast Guard offloads nearly 8,700 pounds of cocaine ($65 million) in illicit narcotics interdicted in the Western Caribbean Sea.
Trump plans new tariff push with 100% rate on patented drugs.
With Boeing still at an impasse with its St. Louis-based union almost two months into a strike, the company is making an unusual move: bringing on permanent nonunion hires to replace them.
Hegseth said 20 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their actions in 1890 during the Battle of Wounded Knee will keep their awards.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Sailors at Navy’s hub in the Middle East bid farewell to the last of their wooden-hulled mine hunting ships in a mission handoff to four larger LCS vessels specially outfitted for the mine countermeasures task.
Laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets have become the Air Force’s principal air-to-air weapon against drone threats in the Middle East, used by F-16 Vipers and now F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10 Warthogs.
Air Force Special Operations Command leaders are moving to deploy new technologies and diversify exercise locations — including around the Caribbean — as they seek to drill forces in scenarios and environments similar to those where they may fight in the future.
CHINA THREAT
China, China, China—wait, what? Air Force mulls next steps amid homeland focus.
RUSSIA THREAT
NATO’s air defense dilemma with Russian drones and combat aircraft breaching NATO members’ airspace and targeting civilian airports.
Ukraine navy, a battle-tested force, plays enemy in NATO drone drill. Representatives participated in NATO’s largest unmanned maritime systems exercise, simulating the opposing force to test the capabilities of two dozen allied countries in scenarios inspired by frontline action.
Royal Navy has tracked two Russian vessels in UK waters during a three-day operation that formed part of wider NATO monitoring efforts in the North Atlantic.
MIDDLE EAST THREATS
Trump said that he ‘will not allow’ Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, putting him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government who have been pressing for annexation of the territory.
White House is backing a plan that would see Tony Blair head a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip – initially without the direct involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
‘Palestinians will not leave,’ their president tells world leaders at UN in defiant, virtual speech. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas told world leaders that his people reject the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the terrorist group would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip after war ends and must hand over its weapons to the PA.
Microsoft said it had disabled services to a unit within the Israeli military after review determined its AI and cloud computing products were being used to help carry out mass surveillance of Palestinians.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea has no intention of surrendering its nuclear weapons, which leaves the U.S. to either neutralize a nuclear threat or develop something like a normal relationship with Pyongyang.
South Korea’s military said it fired warning shots to drive away a North Korean ‘merchant ship’ that briefly crossed the western sea boundary between the rival neighbors.
SPACE THREATS
Space Command is planning a second space domain awareness mission with France, after recently completing a similar mission with the UK.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
To ease the burden on U.S. and Western defense industrial bases and fill supply chain gaps, officials should look to “friendshoring” some defense production to allies in the Middle East.
UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) has outlined its intention to establish long-term port service support for Royal Navy vessels operating in and around Vietnam.
Germany will invest $41 billion in space-related defense projects by 2030, stepping up the country’s ability to protect its assets in orbit amid an increasing militarization of outer space.
India launched a ballistic missile from a train. India has tested a rail-mobile version of its nuclear-capable Agni-Prime medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). The development puts India in a small group of nations that have developed this kind of technology.
US MILITARY
Getting Air Force readiness back where it needs to be—something the new Secretary has quickly made one of his top priorities—will take parts, flying hours, maintainers, and new aircraft. But even if the service funds all those things in its next budget, they won’t appear right away.
Air Force is on its third of a series of sprint exercises intended to show how AI can supercharge human decision-making. But, while raving about the results, they note that the algorithms can still propose bad or nonsensical options.
Coast Guard will invest nearly $350 million to expand robotics and autonomous systems, strengthening mission execution and operational capabilities.
National Guard units are beginning to receive the Army’s new automatic rifle replacement, the M250.
Army must own air base defense, not chase Air Force missions. The 1948 Key West Agreement assigned clear roles: Army is responsible for land combat, including ground-based air defense to protect troops and bases, Air Force handles air superiority, strategic bombing, and deep strikes.
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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