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Today's PDB includes a variety of critical, global national security issues.
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READ TODAY'S PDB BELOW:
NATIONAL SECURITY
NUKES ON SHIPS – The Navy doesn't want nukes on ships, despite interest from some combatant commanders. The U.S. Navy remains opposed to buying ship-launched nuclear weapons, even though some in the Pentagon have pushed back.
HOMELAND SECURITY
A REAL WHITE SUPREMACIST EXTREMIST – Gunman kills 10 at Buffalo supermarket. President Biden called for a thorough investigation and said there was no harbor for “hate-filled domestic terrorism.” The 18-year-old white gunman, who pleaded not guilty, left behind a manifesto.
CHINA THREAT
‘Aggressive act': Aussie defense minister knocks Chinese intel ship ‘hugging coastline.' The PLAN ship passed within 17 miles of the Harold E Holt naval station base near the Western Australia town of Exmouth, which boasts a VLF transmission facility for communications with submarines.
‘PORCUPINE DEFENSE' – Preparing Taiwan for a War with China. Most observers believe that the successes of Ukrainian forces lie partially in employing an asymmetrical strategy. The employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as Stinger missiles, Bayraktar TB2, switchblades, NLAWs, and new technology such as SpaceX's Starlink has disproportionately damaged Russian forces. Many believe that Taiwan could learn important lessons from what Ukraine has been doing.
RUSSIA THREAT
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 82. Russian forces are targeting civilian and military sites in multiple towns in the Donetsk region including Dovhenke, Ruski Tyshki, Ternova and Petrivka, the Ukrainian military said. Four missiles hit military infrastructure in the Yavoriv area of western Ukraine, according to Lviv's regional governor.
Growing evidence of a military disaster on the Donets pierces a pro-Russian bubble. The destruction wreaked on a Russian battalion as it tried to cross a river in northeastern Ukraine last week is emerging as among the deadliest engagements of the war, with estimates based on publicly available evidence now suggesting that well over 400 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded.
GETTING HOT FOR RUSSIA – Troops defending Kharkiv reached Russian border, Ukraine says. If confirmed, it would suggest a Ukrainian counter-offensive is having increasing success in pushing back Russian forces in the northeast after Western military agencies said Moscow's offensive in the Donbas region had stalled.
Ukraine says it has repelled Russian incursion in Sumy region. Ukrainian border guards repelled an incursion by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the northeastern region of Sumy on Monday, the governor of the Sumy region said.
RUSSIA'S NEXT STOP? A mini-Russia gets squeezed by war. The self-declared republic of Transnistria, on the Ukraine border, has been steered by Moscow for decades. The Times made a rare trip inside.
IS TURKEY A TRUE ALLY? Turkey's leader opposes letting Finland, Sweden join NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is “not favorable” toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating that Turkey could use its status as a member of the Western military alliance to veto moves to admit the two countries.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Turkish drones arouse desire, dispute in Central Asia. Turkic republics of Central Asia are queuing up to buy increasingly combat-proven Turkish drones.
Mali's military junta pulls out of regional G5 Sahel force. Mali is pulling out of a multi-national military force in West Africa's Sahel region combatting an Islamist insurgency, the country's military junta said in a statement on Sunday.
NARCO TERROR GROWS IN COLOMBIA – ‘Terrifying': Days of terror under Colombia's Gulf Clan cartel. From the morning of May 5 until midnight on May 9, the armed group enforced a self-declared “armed strike” across the country's northwest in response to the extradition to the United States of its detained former leader Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known as Otoniel.
US MILITARY AND SPACE
INFO WARFARE – New social media, electronics policies likely on the way for Marines. The Marine Corps is about to release a document codifying “information” as a war-fighting function.
ARMY LONG-RANGE ARTILLERY NEEDS BASES – Lawmakers worry Army doesn't have basing agreements for long-range fires. “I don't think it would be wise for us to wait to develop the kinds of weapons systems we need for a future conflict until we have the diplomatic agreements signed,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said.
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.