FRIDAY PDB – Accounting error means Pentagon can send more weapons to Ukraine. The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the used weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion, counting them as new. A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE.
This comes at a time when the Pentagon is under increased pressure by Congress to show accountability for the billions of dollars it has sent in arms to Ukraine and as some lawmakers question whether it should continue.
Congressional lawmakers are shocked by reports of the Pentagon’s $3B Ukraine aid error. Lawmakers are furious that the Pentagon miscalculated Ukraine aid by a massive $3 billion — and that they found out about it Thursday, two months after it was discovered.
This discovery potentially allows the department to add another $3 billion worth of aid to the $2.7 billion left in the account that funds weapons the U.S. pulls from its existing stockpiles to send to Ukraine.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories from national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
SPECIAL FORCES
“De Oppresso Liber” – to Free the Oppressed. That was Nick: Special Forces vet killed in Ukraine remembered as big-hearted protector. Nick Maimer’s send-off was like any other family event, filled with laughter and fond memories. The Army veteran and Idaho native was heading to Spain to teach English in early 2022. RIP BROTHER.
NATIONAL SECURITY
SOUNDS WRONG TO ME – Supreme Court may weigh constitutionality of court-martialing retirees. A retired staff sergeant who pleaded guilty to a sexual assault that occurred after his time as an active-duty Marine has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether his prosecution under military law was unconstitutional.
HOMELAND SECURITY
WHAT?! – US labor agency has power over state militias, Supreme Court rules. The Court said the agency that oversees labor issues in the federal workforce can force the Ohio National Guard and other state militias to bargain with unions. THIS IS WRONG. ALSO DOESN’T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN AN ACTUAL ‘STATE MILITIA’ AND THE NATIONAL GUARD.
Mississippi sends National Guard to US-Mexico border. Mississippi’s GOP Gov. said Wednesday that he has mobilized a National Guard unit to help with security at the U.S. border with Mexico.
CHINA THREAT
BREAKING – Satellite image shows WZ-8 supersonic drone at Chinese base. The image shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
The US and UK are split on the Ukraine war. The British are more assertive, the Americans more worried about provoking Russia.
HMMM? – Russia fires cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets. Kyiv officials said defense systems shot down 29 of 30 cruise missiles Russia fired against various parts of the country.
Damaged Patriot system in Kyiv has been fixed, US says. Explosions rocked Kyiv as Russia continued barrages of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 450. Ukraine’s military and Russia’s private Wagner Group reported fresh Russian retreats on the outskirts of Bakhmut, as Kyiv pressed on with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned major counteroffensive.
US signals to allies it won’t block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine. Team Biden does so as the White House comes under increasing pressure from members of Congress and allies to help Ukraine get the planes amid intensifying Russian aerial attacks.
SPACE THREAT
Space Force may seek new bidders for future deep-space radars. After awarding a contract to Northrop Grumman last year to build the first of three radars, the service may choose a second provider to develop the remaining two systems.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
THANKS FOR THE BACKUP – Britain to send an aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific in 2025. The Royal Navy is to deploy a carrier strike group to the region as part of strengthening its defense ties with Japan and other nations there.
MORE HELP FROM ALLIES – Australia to provide surveillance drones to Philippines. The Australian Foreign Minister also says her country is considering whether to take part in joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea.
UMMM – US officials walk back claim drone strike killed a senior al-Qaeda leader in Syria. This comes as terrorism experts and the dead man’s family have cast doubt on a Pentagon statement indicating the May 3 operation targeted an influential member of the terrorist organization.
US MILITARY
SURPRISE – ON AVERAGE WOMEN ARE PHYSICALLY WEAKER AND LIGHTER BONED. Nearly 1 in 3 female recruits were injured in Army basic training last year. Women are at least twice as likely as men to be injured in Army basic training, according to data collected over six years by the service.
COOL – Marine helicopters drop supplies to Navy ballistic missile submarine in the Pacific, a first. The Marine helos from Okinawa delivered supplies to an Ohio-class nuclear submarine transiting the Philippine Sea, a practice integral to the Corps’ new island-hopping doctrine.
US medics must learn from Ukraine’s harsher war, report says. Russia’s artillery and jammers make battlefield medicine harder and more dangerous than in Afghanistan and Iraq.
How to retire a radioactive ship. How do you dismantle an aircraft carrier with a nuclear-powered engine? The Navy weighs options for decommissioning the 50-year-old USS Nimitz in the coming years.
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.
READ NEXT: Squad Member Introduces Proposal For $14 Trillion In Reparations
Outsource accounting OK then remedy & fix
Maybe that $3B could be used to extend the debt crisis!
Sure they did…unhunh.