FRIDAY PDB – US, British militaries launch retaliatory strike against Houthis. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Thursday. U.S. officials said the strikes had been carried out by warship-launched Tomahawk missiles, as well as fighter jets and submarines.
Four RAF Typhoon jets flying from Akrotiri in Cyprus also conducted air strikes on two Houthi targets in Yemen using Paveway bombs.
Italy declined to take part in military action against Houthis. An Italian source explained that Rome preferred to pursue a “calming” policy in the Red Sea.
French navy defends use of million-euro missiles to down Houthi drones. France's maritime commander for the Indian Ocean cited the value of the lives and assets protected, and the sophistication of the threat.
STILL – Iran-backed attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria climb to 130. Since Oct. 17, there have been 53 attacks in Iraq and 77 in Syria.
AND – Iran's navy seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman. Iran's navy has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that once was at the center of a major crisis between Tehran and Washington.
Who are the Houthis and why are they attacking ships in the Red Sea? The U.S. hopes to deter the Iran-backed militants and prevent the war from escalating regionally.
MEANWHILE – The long war: Israel won't cease firing until Iran's proxy Hezbollah does.
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:
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
NO, IT DOESN'T – Senator's hold is a dangerous attempt to stifle discussion. The hold on the promotion of an Air Force colonel [promoting racist DEI policies] suggests that military officers might face professional setbacks for even acknowledging that problems exist. NO, IT'S HIS RABID PROMOTION OF DIVISIVE POLICIES THAT ARE THE PROBLEM.
Is VA paying for migrant health care? The agency says ‘no' despite wave of political attacks. In December, Republicans introduced a bill called the “No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act,” which would prohibit the VA from using resources to care for or process claims for migrants.
NATIONAL SECURITY
IT'S TIME TO GO – Secretary Austin Should Resign. The author has great respect for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He has served the U.S. honorably and heroically for decades. He earned a Silver Star in Iraq in 2003. He commanded U.S. forces during the successful counteroffensive against ISIS. Nonetheless, Austin should resign or be fired.
Pentagon watchdog to review Austin's secretive hospitalization, notification.
Pentagon's first industrial strategy calls for ‘generational' change. America's defense industry needs this major change to keep pace with Russia and China.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Texas seizes control of park, blocks migrant-enabling Border Patrol from entering, as part of anti-illegal immigration efforts. The move will likely significantly increase tensions between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Team Biden.
POLITICS
Dems rip Biden for launching Houthi strikes without congressional approval. Left-wing Democratic lawmakers responded furiously to Joe Biden's retaliatory strikes against the Iranian-backed militants in Yemen without asking Congress.
House Speaker Johnson faces conservative backlash over spending deal. A similar revolt occurred in June when, for the first time in some 20 years, such a routine vote was defeated, essentially grinding the House to a halt.
Pentagon fell short in tracking $1 billion in Ukraine aid. The Pentagon Inspector General found that the Defense Department has not complied with enhanced tracking requirements for that aid.
CHINA THREAT
A post-election risk assessment for the Taiwan Strait. On Jan. 13, Taiwan will elect a new government that will be pivotal in shaping cross-strait dynamics for the next four years. Final polls in early January show the nationalist, anti-China, Democratic Progressive Party candidate as the favorite.
Chinese Army defector claims Air Force cooked meals using missile fuel. “Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.”
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine and Russia say they want the war to end. But experts say they're nowhere near peace talks. Ukraine is set to pitch its peace plan for ending the war with Russia to allied national security advisors in Switzerland on Sunday.
SPACE THREAT
Inside Boeing's X-37B space plane conducting secret missions for the US. The U.S. and China recently launched secretive space missions using high-tech space planes. We take a look at what the U.S. spacecraft can do, and how these launches underscore the intensifying space race between the superpowers.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Putin pledges to visit disputed island chain north of Japan. Vladimir Putin's interest in visiting islands his country took from Japan at the end of World War II may be a retort to Tokyo's support for Ukraine.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Guyana rejects quest for US military base as territorial dispute with Venezuela deepens. Guyana's government has reassured neighboring Venezuela there is no plan for the U.S. to establish a military base in the South American country and that it has not made a formal request for one.
Mobility pilots prepare to fight fatigue in all-out Pacific conflict. The standard flight duty period for a single crew operating an Air Force aircraft is 16 hours, which includes two to three hours for travel to the operating location, briefing, and completing all the prerequisites before take-off.
US MILITARY
Does the Marine Corps need course correction? Congress wants to know. If so, necessary changes and funding are needed to restore lost capabilities.
Inside a new technology for Marine marksmanship training. Live-fire training is not going away.
It's hard: Navy needs to be realistic about laser weapons, admiral says. There's no lack of excitement in the Navy about the idea of an operational laser on a ship underway, but the service must be more “intellectually honest” about what's possible.
US Navy helicopter crew survives crash into bay in Southern California. It during a training exercise Thursday night. All six crewmembers survived.
RIP – Air Force ends effort to recover final member of downed Osprey's crew. Search efforts failed to recover the remains of the eighth and final special operations airman killed in a CV-22 crash late last year.
GREAT STORY – TRUE HERO – Long-overdue recognition: Navy to name destroyer after the ‘Human Tugboat,' Charles Jackson French. On Sept. 5, 1942, the USS Gregory was sunk by Japanese destroyers near Guadalcanal.
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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