FRIDAY PDB – US strikes Iran-linked sites in Syria after attacks on US troops. The strikes come in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.
FINALLY – BUT DO MORE THAN ‘TIT-FOR-TAT.' DONALD TRUMP TOOK OUT IRAN'S TERROR MASTER.
THESE AREN'T ‘MINOR INJURIES' – 19 US troops have Traumatic Brain Injury after drone attacks in Iraq and Syria. Fifteen of the troops diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury were based in Syria. The other four were in Iraq.
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower approaching Mediterranean, French deploy warships near Israel. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is more than halfway across the Atlantic on its way to join U.S. naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
900 US troops deploying to Middle East to support Israel, add ‘stability.' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier put 2,000 troops on pre-deployment orders to prepare for possible missions in the Middle East. On Thursday, some of those orders were activated.
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:
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERROR
HORRIFIC TERROR – Israel tries to part the fog of war. Footage captured by Israeli dash and security cameras and the Hamas terrorists themselves makes the horror clear.
What weapons might Israeli forces use for a ground campaign in Gaza? Israel's campaign into the Gaza Strip started Thursday with a brief incursion of armored and engineering forces laying the path for a potentially wider ground entrance.
HOMELAND SECURITY – LAW ENFORCEMENT
Manhunt continues for Army reservist suspected in Maine mass shooting. Law enforcement officials issued an arrest warrant for the 40-year-old charged in the mass shooting Wednesday in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead.
BAD TIMING – MAY WANT TO REVISIT SOME OF THIS? – Bill giving veterans deemed ‘mentally incompetent' easier access to guns gains steam with Senate approval. The Senate has approved a measure that would ease some veterans' access to guns, brushing aside objections from most Democrats and the Department of Veterans Affairs that doing so could hinder suicide prevention efforts.
POLITICS
After Biden meeting, new Speaker Johnson says GOP won't abandon Ukraine but will aid Israel first. Joe Biden met with new House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries at the White House Thursday to discuss his request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security items.
Congress' job approval drops to 13%, lowest since 2017. Amid a prolonged search for a new House speaker that paralyzed the House of Representatives for three weeks, approval of Congress' job performance fell from 17% to 13%. This is the lowest approval rating of Congress since November 2017, when it was also 13%, and is just four points above the all-time low from November 2013.
CHINA THREAT
PLAYING WITH FIRE – US military says Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of B-52 bomber over South China Sea. The incident nearly caused a crash, underscoring the potential for a mishap as both countries vie for influence in the region.
BIDEN PLAYING CHINA'S GAME – China and the US appear to restart military talks. China froze military exchanges after former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August visited self-governing Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 610. Ukrainian officials plan to evacuate 275 children from 10 communities near the northeastern city of Kupiansk, as Russia steps up assaults in the area. Kyiv's forces recaptured Kupiansk and the surrounding areas in September 2022, but Moscow has since pushed back.
Russia executing own retreating soldiers. Russia is executing soldiers who try to retreat from a bloody offensive in eastern Ukraine, the White House has said.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
WE ARE STAYING – Senate votes down bill to withdraw troops from Niger. The Senate struck down a bill from Sen. Rand Paul that would have required the U.S. to remove troops from Niger in the wake of the coup.
Space Force, AFRL ink first non-US research agreements with Indian AI, sensor firms. While this may be the first CRADA's between the two Indian space startups and the Space Force, neither company is a stranger to the US space market ecosystem.
AUKUS sub sale will cause 10-year dip in US attack boat inventory, says CBO. The U.S. nuclear attack submarine inventory will experience a nearly decade-long dip due to the Australia, UK, US partnership.
Italian navy gears up to protect Mediterranean rare earth mining. The Italian navy could soon be protecting sub-sea, rare earth mining in the Mediterranean, adding to its defense of internet cables on the seabed.
AVOID DEFENSE WORK IN QATAR – Qatar sentences Indian ex-naval officers to death. India has said it is exploring all legal options after a court in Qatar sentenced eight former Indian naval officers to death on unspecified charges.
Terrorists with ties to the Islamic State group kill at least 26 people in eastern Congo.
US MILITARY
You can't fight without supplies: the future of Army logistics. Keeping troops fighting in a theater like the Indo-Pacific is a huge logistics challenge.
New Army watercraft? Force looks to develop new vehicles. The Army's chief of acquisition talks about new craft the force is trying to source to cross wet gaps, and updates on missile stockpiles.
SEMPER FI – Marine Corps eyes national rebranding of recruiting centers. Marine recruiting offices across the country may soon be getting a major face-lift for the first time in more than 17 years.
Space Force solidifies new JTAGS mission with stand-up of squadron and detachment. The new service has taken key steps in recent weeks to build out its new Joint Tactical Ground Station mission, after assuming control of the missile warning system from the Army on Oct. 1
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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