‘America First’ – A National Security Agenda For Trump’s Next Term

FRIDAY PDB – Trump-affiliated group releases new national security book outlining possible second-term approach. One of several groups trying to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration if the former Republican president wins in November is out with a new policy book that aims to articulate an “America First” national security agenda.

The book, ‘An America First Approach to National Security,' is the latest effort from the America First Policy Institute. Like the Heritage Foundation's “Project 2025,” the group is seeking to help Trump avoid the mistakes of 2016, when he entered the White House largely unprepared.

Among its proposals: making future military aid to Ukraine contingent on the country participating in peace talks with Russia; banning Chinese nationals from buying property within a 50-mile radius of U.S. government buildings; and filling the national security sector with Donald Trump supporters.

Both groups stress they are independent from Trump's campaign, which has repeatedly tried to distance itself from such efforts, insisting that the only Trump-backed policies are those the candidate articulates himself.

Still Fred Fleitz, the book's editor, noted that he and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served for a time as Trump's acting national security adviser and wrote several of the chapters, have been in frequent touch with the former president, soliciting feedback and discussing topics such as Ukraine at length.

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:

HOMELAND SECURITY – LAW ENFORCEMENT

US committee targets Georgia Tech's alleged ties to Chinese military linked research. It has asked the leading research university to detail its collaboration with a Chinese university facing U.S. government restrictions due to its alleged ties to the country's military.

Upgrade outdated radar systems to improve homeland security. We've reached a critical moment in U.S. national security with kinetic and geopolitical conflicts that are knocking at the doors of global superpowers and smaller nations alike.

Bodycam footage shows deputy shot airman seconds after opening door. Body camera footage released by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Thursday shows a deputy knocked several times on an apartment door and announced himself as law enforcement before fatally shooting a Black airman seconds later.

POLITICS

Democrat Sen. Tester confronts Austin over ‘unacceptable' border crisis in sharp exchange. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, confronted the Defense Secretary over the illegal alien crisis at the southern border.

‘We would need to make choices': Why Biden is threatening Israel now. Biden's announcement is an unintentional admission that his efforts to privately sway Netanyahu have had limited effects.

Transparency in arms support to Ukraine: Missing in action? Throughout the U.S. effort to support war-torn Ukraine, Republican politicians asked where the money was going in Ukraine, and who was profiting from it.

Moving Air Guard troops to active-duty Space Force hurts recruiting, retired general warns. The misguided Air Force proposal will set the Defense Department back decades and hurt the recruiting and retention of part-time troops trained to fight.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Aid on its way to US-led Gaza pier, but delivery is unclear. The first aid ship bound for an American-built floating pier to be installed in Gaza departed early Thursday. But it's unclear when the corridor will be up and running, and humanitarian groups say there are still major obstacles to getting food to the war-ravaged enclave.

MESSAGE TO VENEZUELA – Guyana says it gave permission for the US military to fly 2 powerful jets over the capital. The U.S. military flew two F/A-18F Super Hornets to demonstrate the close military and other forms of cooperation between this oil-exporting South American nation and the U.S.

ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST TERRORISTS

DAMN STRAIGHT! – Netanyahu on US threat to withhold arms: Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails' if needed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a U.S. threat to withhold some arms would not prevent Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza, indicating it might proceed with an invasion of the packed city of Rafah against the wishes of its closest ally.

CHINA THREAT

US bases in Indo-Pacific vulnerable to Chinese airstrikes, lawmakers warn. The bases are sorely lacking hardened aircraft shelters, leaving them vulnerable to devastating airstrikes in a potential conflict with China.

US Army sends HIMARS rocket launcher island hopping in the Philippines. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System has gained international attention in the war in Ukraine, but an Army unit challenged the system's ability to rapidly deploy in a drastically different Pacific island environment this month during the bilateral training exercise known as Balikatan in the Philippines.

China condemns USS Halsey's passage through Taiwan Strait. This, less than two weeks before the island's new president takes office and while Washington and Beijing are making uneven efforts to restore regular military exchanges.

Army divers begin port upgrades on strategically important Philippine island near Taiwan. U.S. and Filipino army divers began clearing debris this week from this strategically important harbor on the northern island of Bataan.

Okinawa prefecture discourages US military flights to pair of islands near Taiwan. The island prefecture in Japan has objected to the U.S. ambassador's upcoming visit to two islands east of Taiwan because he is planning to travel on U.S. military aircraft.

In fiery speech, Australia's defense chief urges support for ‘extraordinary' AUKUS subs.  He also defended the conduct of the Australian military after a recent run-in with Chinese helicopters.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Confusion swirls over Western tank use limits in Ukraine. The Dutch government, one of the architects of European Leopard 2 tank donations to Ukraine, has placed no caveats on the weapons' frontline use by Ukrainian troops, as confusion swirls over a report that U.S. military leaders wanted American Abrams sidelined from combat.

NATO's eight ‘capability coalitions' are rushing arms to Ukraine. Here's who will donate what.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy says Russia has the initiative in the east but new Western aid is on the way. Ukraine's army is facing “a really difficult situation” in eastern regions where troops are battling to hold at bay an intense Russian push along parts of the front line.

Estonian volunteers fighting in Ukraine are helping prepare Tallinn's rapid response force. The head of the Estonian Scouts, among the first who would be called to fend off an invasion, said the “biggest part that's going to change” is how the unit fights with and against drones.

Inside the bunker with a Ukrainian Vampire drone squad. Reporter accompanies a four-man team on an operation to replenish front-line troops' essential supplies.

IDIOT – WAS IT A ‘HONEY POT' TRAP? Wife of US soldier detained in Russia says he was having an affair, not involved in ‘geopolitical intrigue.' The wife of Gordon Black, the American soldier detained on theft charges in Russia, said he traveled there because he was having an affair and was not involved in “geopolitical intrigue.”

SPACE THREAT

Capella Space is combining its space-based imagery with pattern recognition to quickly detect and characterize vessels of interest.

US MILITARY

Drones could guide every bit of an Army division's firepower, 101st CO says. From mortars to missiles, the airborne unit is rethinking the use of uncrewed systems in the kill chain.

Navy probes apparent drone footage of USS Ronald Reagan posted on social media. But it has not concluded that a drone flew over the home of the U.S. 7th Fleet.

OOORAH! – ‘I could do anything now': Top enlisted Marine reflects on his citizenship journey as new Americans are naturalized on USS Bataan. Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz talked Tuesday about becoming a U.S. citizen as he watched 60 new Americans swear allegiance to the U.S. for the first time.

US special forces want longer reach for rockets, snipers, robots. Special operators are pushing for more firepower in their small teams, asking industry for a lighter shoulder-fired rocket, a long-range sniper rifle, and both land- and air-based weaponized drones.

For data in their sights, US special ops seek military Google Glass. Special operators are looking for some serious upgrades to their eyewear and weapons optics, including the Day and Night Heads Up Display.

WATCH – SOC-R boats and Little Bird helicopters neutralize threats during Special Operations Forces demo.

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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