Trump’s America First Policies Tackle Real Global Threats

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Defense Secretary Hegseth says ‘all options will be on the table’ when asked about military strikes against criminal drug cartels in Mexico.

Rubio says Trump’s Greenland bid ‘not a joke’ because of the risk that China would station resources on the island that threaten American security and the importance of Arctic shipping lanes for energy exports.

Marco Rubio’s weekend visit to Panama is set to offer clues to a pressing question: whether the next four years of US policy will more closely resemble an imperial conquest or a hardball real estate negotiation.

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:    

HOMELAND SECURITY

Pete Hegseth on Monday will take his first trip as defense secretary to the southern border, where he will highlight military support for Customs and Border Protection operations.

With more troops on the way, military assumes a familiar role on the border, as dozens of Marines unfurl coils of concertina wire to make it more difficult to climb a border wall separating Tijuana from San Diego.

Trump says US will send some migrants to Guantanamo Bay.

Air Force flies migrants to Guatemala as US military’s border role grows.

WASHINGTON, DC AIR CRASH

Control tower at National Airport understaffed before deadly collision.

Air traffic controllers twice alerted the crew of the Army helicopter to the presence of an inbound American Airlines jet, with the first warning issued a full two minutes before the aircraft collided.

Data from the deadliest US air accident in 24 years show conflicting altitude readings of the airliner and Army helicopter when they collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

The day before the official start of Black History Month the Department of Defense canceled and blocked any celebrations of it and other “identity months.”

BUT IS IT TRUE? – Officials from Paralyzed Veterans of America strongly criticized Trump for his comments this week suggesting disabled workers may have played a role in Wednesday’s aircraft collision in Washington, D.C.

The Pentagon revoked its Biden-initiated abortion access policy for troops, following an executive order from Trump cracking down on the use of taxpayer dollars for any abortion services.

Trump ordered the US agriculture department (USDA) to take down its websites referencing the climate crisis.

The directors of the Center for Minority Veterans and the Center for Women Veterans were dismissed Thursday night by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump wants to undo diversity programs. Some agencies react maliciously by scrubbing minority US history and culture.

POLITICS

Elon Musk said Trump agreed the US Agency for International Development (USAID) needs to be “shut down,” after its funding was frozen and dozens of its employees were put on leave.

Trump has threatened to widen the scope of his trade tariffs, warning that the EU – and potentially the UK – will face levies, even as he conceded that Americans could pay a price in a global trade war.

The loneliest General: Silence surrounds Gen. Mark Milley amid Trump retaliation. The president focused his ire on one person in the very first minutes of his presidency, even before his inauguration concluded.

US POWER OVERSEAS

SECDEF Hegseth affirms US commitment to Japan, South Korea during Defense Chief calls, along with furthering alliance defense cooperation.

The US is feeling pressure to intervene after its embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo was attacked on Tuesday by protesters in eastern DRC.

US military conducts airstrikes against Islamic State terrorists in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation under Trump 2.0.

US kills key figure in Syrian terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.

Regime change in Syria has Iraqi factions backtracking on their recent push for US withdrawal from the country.

IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WAR

A key group of Arab nations have said they “firmly” reject any efforts to resettle or evict Palestinians from Gaza, after Trump said he wanted to “clean out” the enclave and move its population to neighboring countries.

CHINA THREAT

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THEM – Not 10 feet tall: Despite the growing China threat, some defense experts are skeptical that the Chinese military has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite to fight and defeat the US military in a conventional conflict.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Zelenskyy says excluding Ukraine from US-Russia talks about war is ‘very dangerous’ and asked for more discussions between Kyiv and Washington to develop a plan for a ceasefire.

Ukrainian troops lose ground with shortage of troops and exposed supply lines coming under Russian drone attacks in Pokrovsk, where decisive battles in the nearly three-year war are playing out.

Repeated Russian attacks on key infrastructure have recently intensified, leaving Ukraine’s damaged electrical grid 70 percent reliant on three complexes of nuclear reactors.

SPACE THREAT

The emergence of China’s DeepSeek has shaken up the artificial intelligence sector, promising new opportunities for space companies beginning to explore ways to leverage AI.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

The increased frequency of underwater infrastructure damage across Europe has raised legal challenges for NATO related to the jurisdiction and ownership of undersea cables, which may limit NATO’s ability to respond.

Trump asserted South Africa was ‘confiscating’ land and ‘treating certain classes of people very badly’ as he announced US was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.

US MILITARY

The deadly Jan. 29 helicopter crash in DC was the Army’s first serious aviation incident in months—but it came after a fiscal year that saw the service’s highest rate of serious crashes in over a decade.

Operating close to the enemy by the Navy and Marines in the future will be harder than ever due to the proliferation of detection capabilities and other technologies. They are working to overcome those difficulties.

Trump’s Army Secretary pick says pay boost isn’t enough to fix recruiting woes.

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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