In Fight Against Houthis, Trump Threatens The Source, Iran

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Trump takes off the gloves and removes handcuffs from the military. The US has struck more than 30 targets in Yemen since Saturday, part of Trump’s air campaign targeting Iran-backed Houthi terrorists that have halted international shipping for more than a year.

Trump warns Iran it will face ‘consequences’ of further attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, explicitly linking the actions of Yemen’s Houthi rebels to the group’s main benefactor.

“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump alleged in his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’”

And in a marked departure from the previous administration’s micromanagement, Trump has given Central Command the authority to launch offensive strikes against the Houthis whenever it deems it appropriate.

The director of operations for the Joint Chiefs said this “allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis.” He added that it also allows the U.S. to hit a much broader array of targets.

All this, as the Iranians continue to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

For the first time ever, the Pentagon will spend a year without a full congressional budget — a sharp drop in spending that threatens to throttle the military’s work, from weapons programs to training.

Pentagon officials finally know how much money they’ll receive for research, development, test and evaluation this fiscal year after lawmakers fund federal agencies through the end of September. (RELATED: Pentagon Shake-Up: Hegseth Shutters Key Military Think Tank Amid Rising China Threat)

As the Pentagon prepares to move on Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense project, leaders are looking to the recent examples of Iran’s attacks on Israel to better understand the evolving threat.

HOMELAND SECURITY

A federal judge on Monday questioned whether the Trump administration ignored his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador, a possible violation of the decision he’d issued minutes before.

POLITICS

The service secretaries can request exemptions for civilian hiring freezes at “readiness-centric” locations, according to a new memo from SECDEF Pete Hegseth.

Trump appoints Charlie Kirk, Walt Nauta, Michael Flynn and a slew of other allies would be appointed to the boards of visitors at the nation’s military academies, including lawmakers and conservative media personalities.

Trump’s moves to gut much of the US Agency for Global Media and its integrated government-funded news networks are priming overseas media consumers for exploitation by authoritarian regimes and influence campaigns, experts warn.

Trump speaks about strikes in Yemen, federal workers and deportations aboard Air Force One.

DOD has failed seven consecutive audits, despite the fact that the Pentagon has spent a billion dollars building software known as “Advana” to solve this exact problem. If the eighth attempt—a SECDEF priority—is going to deliver a better outcome, Advana must return to its original focus.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

VA officials announced Monday they will phase out all medical treatments for gender dysphoria, including hormone therapy and any surgical options for transgender veterans. (RELATED: Texas Moves To Ban ‘Non-Human’ Behavior In Schools To Buck Furry Trend)

US POWER OVERSEAS

If it’s not difficult, then we’re doing something wrong’: Soldiers sharpen recon skills in the Baltics.

After 32 years, an American military presence is set to return to Subic Bay under a new Marine Corps prepositioning program that will see the service stage equipment in the Philippines.

US Marines and sailors have arrived in Australia’s Northern Territory to kick off the 14th annual Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) Marine Air-Ground Task Force. This, as Marine Southeast Asia unit drills in Singapore.

An agreement with Norway that provides US forces with access to a dozen Norwegian military facilities remains in place, Norway confirmed, with Washington moving ahead with investments to expand an airbase where F-35s are based.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Putin and Trump will speak on Tuesday about the war in Ukraine in a possible pivot point in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.

IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WARS

Syria’s struggle to unify military was evident in outburst of violence. Sectarian killings of civilians this month displayed the government’s weak control over both its own forces and affiliated groups.

End of Gaza cease fire. Israel carries out what it described as extensive strikes across the enclave, while vowing to use “increasing military strength” against Hamas. “Tonight we returned to fighting in Gaza.”

Lebanon and Syria agree to ceasefire after cross-border attacks kill 10 and more than 50 wounded.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

North Korea warned that the US “war reinforcements” will be “contained and wiped out” after additional US stealth fighters were sent to Northeast Asia.

SPACE THREAT

An F-22 pilot with more than 200 combat hours in the Middle East is trading places on the International Space Station with the first Space Force Guardian to ever launch into orbit.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Rwanda cuts ties with Belgium. This after Belgium, Rwanda’s former colonial ruler, pushed for the EU to impose sanction against Rwandan officials over their role in invading eastern Congo and plundering its mineral wealth.

US MILITARY

The Army’s 3rd Multidomain Task Force unit is standing up its long-range fires battalion over the next year, including readying its Typhon battery for deployment in the Pacific theater — marking the Army’s second such missile system to enter the region.

The Army’s new Master Combat Badges will be coming to soldiers this month.

A paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division was getting ready to jump toward the earth when a sharp-eyed jumpmaster stepped in and saved him from a potentially neck-snapping fatal injury.

Officials at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center confirmed they will receive one of two $4.9 million grants from DoD to fund a study of MDMA, the active ingredient in the street drug known as ‘Ecstasy.’

Philadelphia will kick off America’s 250th birthday with a birthday bash for the Navy and the Marine Corps.

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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