THURSDAY PDB – I’ve been a pretty strong supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, but the first thing I thought when I heard Ukraine’s president loudly and angrily whine about NATO not giving the country a timeline for memberships was, ‘seriously?’
Ukraine must show ‘gratitude’ to the West to keep support, UK defense minister warns. Ben Wallace cautioned that Kyiv should rein in its disappointment over NATO’s language on joining the alliance.
Ukraine must show “gratitude” to its allies, despite its disappointment over the way NATO framed Kyiv’s future membership prospects, in order to maintain long-term Western public and political support, the British defense secretary warned on Wednesday.
“There’s a slight word of caution here which is, whether you like it or not people want to see gratitude,” said Wallace.
The U.K. defense secretary added he’s advised the Ukrainian government to take this into account. (RELATED: New Country Gets Green Light To Join NATO)
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 military losing electronic warfare ‘muscle memory,’ CQ Brown warns. The Pentagon’s ability to fend off attacks on the electromagnetic spectrum has atrophied over decades, leaving troops vulnerable on the high-tech battlefields of tomorrow, according to the future CHairman of the JCS.
BIDEN ALREADY TOLD US – US, NATO weapons stockpile ‘dangerously low’: USAF general. Amid a high tempo of arms transfers to Ukraine, the stockpile of US weapons and those of allies are getting “dangerously low,” the commander of US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) said today. (RELATED: Republicans React Very Strongly To Graham’s Plans For Ukraine)
CHINA THREAT
China’s US envoy makes rare Pentagon visit for security-related talks. China’s ambassador to the U.S. held a rare meeting at the Pentagon on Wednesday with the top U.S. defense official for Asia, following U.S. criticism of Chinese reluctance to engage in military communications.
China sends planes, navy ships towards Taiwan in forceful display. The force, sent over the past two days, includes a group of warplanes with fighters and bombers.
US Navy plane flies through Taiwan Strait after Chinese drills. Chinese fighter jets monitored a U.S. Navy patrol plane that flew through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, following two days of Chinese military exercises to the south of the island.
US government-linked email accounts hacked from China, Microsoft says. The Storm-0558 hackers used forged authentication tokens — pieces of information used to verify the identity of a user — required to access the accounts.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
NATO deepens Ukraine ties but doesn’t set clear path for membership. NATO leaders gathered Wednesday to launch a highly symbolic new forum for ties with Ukraine, after committing to provide the country with more military assistance for fighting Russia but only vague assurances of future membership. (RELATED: America’s Oldest Ally Considers Controversial Addition To Constitution. Can Conservatives Stop Them?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 505. Moscow launched a wave of drone attacks on Kyiv for a third night, according to Ukraine military officials. The military said 11 of the 15 drones were destroyed.
France is already sending Ukraine long-range missiles. Ambassador puts timeframe on Macron’s Tuesday announcement as U.S. lawmakers put pressure on Biden.
WE WEREN’T ‘AT WAR’ WITH RUSSIA DURING ‘COLD WAR’ – Biden braces NATO for long conflict with Russia, making Cold War parallel. Concluding a NATO summit, Joe Biden vowed that the alliance would oppose Russian aggression for as long as needed.
Russia detained several senior military officers in wake of Wagner mutiny. Gen. Sergei Surovikin is being held and interrogated in Moscow; others were detained, suspended or fired.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires its first ICBM in three months. Some experts say the launch Wednesday was likely the second test-flight of the developmental Hwasong-18 solid-fuel missile. It is the North’s first ICBM to use solid propellants, which can allow faster deployment of missiles during a war.
SPACE THREAT
Congress queries Space Force plan for fewer missile warning satellites. House and Senate lawmakers want more details on the potential implications of a Space Force plan to make cuts to the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared satellite program that’s designed to provide missile warning capabilities from space.
How Space Force wants to use AI. As satellites multiply, “we won’t be able to…control all that by humans in real-time,” Space Command’s deputy chief says. (RELATED: Biden Quietly Weaponizing Dangerous New Technology)
Space Force wants ‘Foo Fighter’ satellites to track hypersonic missiles. The program shares its name with the infamous UFOs that plagued Allied aviators during World War Two.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
TURKEY IS A TROJAN HORSE IN NATO – Turkey won’t clear Sweden’s way into NATO for 3 months, Erdogan says. Though the delay does not fundamentally threaten Sweden’s membership, it raises concerns that Turkey will use the delay to force new concessions from NATO.
A Russian navy ship docks in Cuba as tough times bring the old friends together. As a series of welcoming cannon blasts rang out from a nearby colonial fort, the Russian navy’s training class ship Perekop sailed into Havana on Tuesday.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Human smuggler who rammed Coast Guard boat off California sentenced to 5 years in federal prison. A boat captain who rammed a U.S. Coast Guard vessel off Southern California after smuggling a dozen people into the country was sentenced Wednesday.
Navy vet arrested near Obama’s home will remain in jail until trial. Taylor Taranto is charged with misdemeanor offenses in the Capitol riot. (RELATED: Federal Law Enforcement Officials Intend To Charge Ray Epps: Report)
US MILITARY
AS LONG AS IT’S NOT GOING TO BE USED HERE – US Army Guard Special Forces practice counterinsurgency in West Virginia. The US Army National Guard conducted a Special Forces exercise in West Virginia to upskill in counterinsurgency operations, irregular warfare, and interoperability with foreign forces.
Air Force wants to cut F-15E fleet in half to focus on modernizing. The Air Force plans to cut its F-15E fleet to 99 aircraft in the coming years—cutting more than 100 Strike Eagles from the fleet. But buying new F-15EXs.
House Republicans argue for discipline of ‘bad apples’ at VA. The VA has the second-largest federal workforce behind the Department of Defense.
POLITICS – DEFENSE BUDGET
GOP’s isolationist wing seeks to use defense bill to defund Ukraine war effort. The proposals have no chance of passage, but they have further mired the military spending bill and highlighted Republican divisions over the war.
Top House Armed Services Democrat says ‘more likely than not’ that defense bill won’t pass. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said this on Wednesday.
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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Ukraine needs to understand that according to the NATO agreement, an act of war against one is an act of war against all. Hence no country actively at war can join because that would put all countries in the alliance automatically at war, To allow Ukraine to join NATO now would automatically start WW III and put all countries in NATO at war with Russia. The result would be catastrophic.