MONDAY PDB – The China challenge is a global one. What Vance gets wrong about the China challenge. FROM A CHINA HAWK – Memo to Trump’s running mate: You can’t be tough on China by ignoring the rest of the world.
His proposal to reset with Russia and pivot away from the Middle East ignores how connected these issues are.
“That ultimately leads to appeasing [Vladimir] Putin while never actually being willing to fight a war with China,” one former Trump administration national security official said.
In reality, if Vance really wants to prioritize China as the most important threat to the U.S., forsaking U.S. allies and breaking commitments elsewhere is the worst way to compete, or to deter Beijing from attacking Taiwan.
But where Vance’s vision really falls short is in ignoring that Ukraine’s success in repelling Russian aggression is crucial for deterring China from attacking Taiwan. Just ask the Taiwanese, who have stated again and again their belief that if the U.S. abandons Ukraine, it would embolden Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
China, meanwhile, is also active in the Ukraine conflict, supplying Russia with everything except actual weapons. Iran and North Korea are sending Russia a seemingly endless supply of drones, missiles and artillery shells. Chinese troops are now even showing up in Belarus, Russia’s ally, right on NATO’s border.
AND – “If Ukraine collapses, it becomes a major outpost of the Axis of Chaos armed with the full might of China’s military industrial capacity and Iranian and North Korean weapons,” former Trump official Matthew Pottinger said.
“It’s going to cost a hell of a lot more for all NATO members, including the United States, to build and defend that new front line than to keep Ukraine in the fight.”
The bottom line is: “Abandoning Ukraine would likely cause a crisis of confidence in the Western Pacific about U.S. resolve and credibility.” That won’t help us deter China.
THESE ARE VERY COMPELLING ARGUMENTS.
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
Joint Chiefs Chairman says DoD operations not affected by widespread CrowdStrike ‘glitch.’ “I’m sure our adversaries are looking at this as a way to, I would say, put sand in our gears when we’re trying to generate combat power,” Gen. CQ Brown said.
Drone and air defense warfare in Ukraine prompts fresh thinking in helicopter tactics. They are moving the platforms’ center of gravity away from the tip of the spear to an emphasis on combat-support missions along the front lines.
EXCELLENT – I BACK PROJECT 2025 – SO SHOULD TRUMP – The Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025’s plan for the US military. Project 2025 would reduce the number of generals while increasing the size of the Army, ban transgender service members and restore troops separated over COVID-19 vaccinations.
Outgoing National Guard chief warns of ‘unintended consequences’ of transferring Air Guard units to Space Force. A proposal to transfer certain Air National Guard units into the Space Force could take away key resources from states and may lead to serious repercussions if passed.
POLITICS
AND OBAMA AND OTHER POWER BROKERS FORCED HIM OUT – Biden drops out of 2024 race on Sunday. He ended his bid for reelection after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent’s fitness for office. BYE BYE BIDEN.
What a Kamala Harris foreign policy could look like. She would likely stay tough on Russia and China and has rebuked Israel’s handling of aid into Gaza.
A new candidate must now defend Biden’s legacy abroad. More than any election in decades, this one will be marked by starkly different approaches to an era of simultaneous confrontations, from China to Russia to the Middle East.
Joint Chiefs chair: ‘That’d be great’ if Trump ends Ukraine war quickly. Brown would be Donald Trump’s top military adviser if he is reelected.
SEMPER FI, DEVIL DOG! – A Marine veteran gets the nod for Trump’s VP pick.
US POWER OVERSEAS
CHINA THREAT
China halts nuclear arms control talks with US: Why and what’s next. This, allegedly in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Trump and Zelenskyy hold phone call — and Ukraine says it liked what it heard. A Ukrainian official says Trump pledged to “achieve a just peace in Ukraine” if he gets a second term.
NATO hits back against Putin’s worldwide campaign of assassination and sabotage. Russia is no longer just fighting its war on the battlefields of Ukraine. The Kremlin is also engaging globally in hybrid warfare.
How the Ukrainians – with no navy – defeated Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Since the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s most surprising success came in a theater where few expected Ukraine to prevail: the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s cheap sensors are helping troops fight off waves of Russian drones. Sub-$500 rig helps save expensive air-defense missiles for bigger threats.
ISRAEL’S WAR AGAINST TERROR
SPACE THREAT
Annual global military space spending jumps 18% to $57B in 2023: Space Foundation. “The majority (80%) of defense spending comes from the U.S., but other nations, including Japan and Poland, increased space defense spending sharply last year.”
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
France to give 24-hour protection to Israeli Olympics team amid Gaza tensions. This, after a far-left lawmaker said Israel’s delegation was not welcome and called for protests against their participation.
BIDEN’S AFGHAN CATASTROPHE
BIDEN WENT WRONG – Today we make history: Commission probing Afghanistan War starts work with veterans top of mind. What went wrong with the war in Afghanistan? It’s a question that scholars, policymakers, service members, veterans and everyday Americans have debated significantly after the chaotic and unsuccessful end to the war in 2021.
US MILITARY
How the sixth-generation fighter jet will upend air warfare. The next generation of fighter aircraft could bring greater speed, range and ability to penetrate deep into enemy airspace — and it might even feature a revolutionary new type of engine.
BUT WILL IT BE UNMANNED? – NGAD redesign: Air Force Secretary cracks door for unmanned option. He suggested the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter decision is farther off than estimated, as the service rethinks the threat landscape
Meet the little-seen agency creating detailed pictures of precise locations for troops. The Army Geospatial Center is at the foundation of incredibly detailed pictures of locations all over the globe – get a look at how they do their work.
55 years ago, the military pilots of Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and command module pilot Michael Collins served as Navy aviators and Air Force pilots before joining NASA.
TOO FAT TO FIGHT! – Fixing the military’s overweight and obesity crisis. Our young service members are experiencing a crisis involving too much junk food and not enough movement that is leading them to be overweight and obese.
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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Paul Crespo: Love your updates. I read them all. Thanks, Marty