VA Delays Decision On Gender-Affirming Surgeries For Veterans

TUESDAY PDB – VA again delays decision on transgender surgery options. The delay will last for at least several more months as they conduct new studies into the issue, a decision a senior House Democrat called “unacceptable.”

This and other VA services have rightfully come under criticism from conservative lawmakers in recent months.

NO TAXPAYER-FUNDED, ELECTIVE SURGERIES.

The new VA studies come in response to a lawsuit filed last month by the Transgender American Veterans Association, which argues department officials are endangering the health of transgender veterans by refusing to provide gender confirmation surgery.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough in June 2021 announced plans to offer the procedures, also known as gender reassignment surgeries, at some department medical centers as part of larger efforts to make VA “more welcoming” to all veterans.

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:

UKRAINE AND ISRAEL FUNDING

Biden will urge Congress' top leaders to keep the government open and send aid to Ukraine and Israel. Joe Biden was meeting Tuesday with the top four leaders of Congress to press them to act quickly.

POLITICS

NATO needs more than money to solve its Russia problem. Donald Trump knew what he was doing with his threat not to defend NATO if the alliance refused to spend more on defense, asserting he would tell Russia they “can do whatever the hell they want.”

SAD, BRAINWASHED LEFTY – Airman dies after self-immolating outside Israeli embassy in DC. An active-duty Air Force member set himself ablaze in Washington, D.C., declaring that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.”

BULLS**T CYA, RETIRED 4-STAR GENERAL AND SECDEF SHOULD ABSOLUTELY KNOW BETTER – Confusion, lack of policy led to Austin's hospitalization secret. There was no wrongdoing in the secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization last month, according to a review ordered by his chief of staff into how neither the president nor Congress was notified that the Pentagon boss was incapacitated.

HOMELAND SECURITY – LAW ENFORCEMENT

Coast Guard cutters Thetis, Reliance return to homeports after seizing drugs at sea. Two Coast Guard cutter crews returned to their Florida home ports during the weekend after two months at sea rounding up drug traffickers.

US POWER OVERSEAS

8,000+ soldiers tested in large-scale combat in the Arctic. The exercise included a 150-mile helicopter deep strike and armed snowmobile hunter-killer teams.

Alaska paratroopers get a secret weapon for the arctic: beards. Soldiers may not have to shave when they're deployed in the Arctic, according to Army CG of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division.

US-led Kenya exercise represents novel mission for group of Somali soldiers. As part of it, an elite contingent of Somali troops will join a multinational exercise in their first mission abroad.

Maintaining the best thing the US built in Iraq: Continued support to the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service. US focus has drifted from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to China and the Pacific and — now — Europe. Unfortunately, the worsening security situation in the Middle East continues to pull US attention back to the region.

IRAN THREAT

GUESS IRAN IS IN CHARGE – SO HIT THEM – After US strikes, Iran's proxies scale back attacks on American bases. Tehran, supposedly wary of igniting open warfare with Washington, has told its militia groups to curtail assaults on U.S. military installations.

Greek frigate departs to join EU Red Sea mission. The Hydra sailed on Monday in mission to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

While the world was looking elsewhere, North Korea became a bigger threat. Kim enlarged his nuclear arsenal and built ties to Russia, no longer aiming for reunification with South Korea. The U.S. and its allies are alarmed.

South Korea eyes mixed fleet of manned, unmanned warplanes. With South Korea's KF-21 fighter jet nearing mass production, the country plans to incorporate unmanned technology to operate alongside the manned air fleet.

CHINA THREAT

China is building its own Starlink—even as questions surround Musk's constellation. A rocket recently lofted satellites for a Chinese service to mimic SpaceX, which was slammed this weekend by a top U.S. lawmaker for not being allowed to work in Taiwan.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

France's Macron doesn't rule out sending troops to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron left that option open, saying nothing should be ruled out to defeat Russia's aggression against the country.

Ukrainian troops pull back again as Russia's onslaught pushes ahead in eastern Ukraine. They have pulled out of a village in the east, as Russian forces display advantages in manpower and ammunition at the start of the war 's third year.

Russian-installed officials claim Moscow's forces destroy first US-supplied Abrams tank in Ukraine. This drew approving comments from the Kremlin.

SPACE THREAT

Sideways moon landing to cut short private mission for NASA. A private lunar lander is expected to cease operations Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon.

Crew-8 set for March 1 launch to space station. NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station later this week, part of a busy schedule this year.

ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS

STOP PRESSURING ISRAEL – Biden says he hopes to see a cease-fire by next week in the Israel-Hamas war.

OR IT COULD ALL BE JUST A SHOW – What to know about Palestinian Authority government resignation. The PA, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is getting a shake-up with the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet Monday. This could help create a revitalized Palestinian governance essential in order for the PA to take on a leading role in postwar Gaza.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE – Majority of countries argue Israel violated international law in last historic hearing at UN court. The court reviewed the legality of Israel's 57-year occupation of lands lost after repeated invasions of Israel but sought by Palestinians for a future state.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Carrier HMS Prince of Wales under NATO command in major exercise. Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) has assumed command of the multinational U.K. carrier strike group (CSG) headed by the UK carrier during NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 2024.

Hungary's parliament ratifies Sweden's NATO bid. This, ending more than 18 months of delays that frustrated the alliance as it sought to expand in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.

German military coming to Hawaii. It is planning a series of deployments to the Pacific this summer and looking at setting up a permanent military liaison position in Hawaii at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as part of its new regional strategy.

US MILITARY

Marine Corps begins water testing for future landing ship concept. Gears grinded as offshore supply vessel Resolution folded its long stern ramp on Friday and prepared to head into the Pacific with a group of Marines and their drones.

Autonomous cargo planes: Is this the future of ACE? The self-flying aircraft could enable Agile Combat Employment, as two startup businesses demonstrated how their retrofits could let conventional aircraft taxi, take off, fly, and land without a pilot at the controls.

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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