THURSDAY PDB – Wonder if wokeness and Joe Biden have anything to do with it? American trust in US military no longer highest among G7 nations: Survey. Confidence dipped last year, losing its top spot among the other Group of Seven (G7) countries.
It dropped to 81 percent in 2023, down 5 points from 2022, when confidence stood at 86 percent. That's according to a new Gallup World Poll released Wednesday.
Since 2006, Americans' confidence in their nation's military has typically ranked highly among the G7 nations — the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The U.S. was knocked from the top spot by France, where confidence in the country's military is about 86 percent. Confidence in the U.K.'s military ranks the second highest among the nations at 83 percent.
The U.S. is now third. Japan is slightly behind the U.S. at 80 percent trust in its military, with Italy following closely behind at 79 percent, then Canada at 78 percent.
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:
NATIONAL SECURITY
Germany arrests men who allegedly spied on US military sites for Russia in sabotage plot to undermine Ukraine aid. Prosecutors accuse the two men of working with a Russian secret service agent to undermine international military support for Ukraine.
Chinese diplomats are quietly meeting with Hill staffers about TikTok. After a bill that would force the sale of the company passed the House, diplomats from the Chinese Embassy met with Hill offices to push talking points defending the app.
Cybercom establishes AI Task force. The task force will have three main focus areas: delivering artificial intelligence capabilities for operations, enabling AI adoption and countering AI threats.
POLITICS
House to hold separate votes on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid. House Republicans on Wednesday released their proposals to fund a massive influx of military aid more than six months after Joe Biden initially submitted his emergency foreign assistance request to Congress.
Pentagon presses Congress for Ukraine funding, citing dire situation. Ukraine and Israel both desperately need the military weapons that are being held up by Congress' failure to pass a funding package for the two countries at war, Pentagon leaders say.
Navy ship slated to help build Gaza aid pier forced to return to port as experts warn of other delays. The was forced to turn back last week after it suffered a fire in its engine room.
US POWER OVERSEAS
The US is losing access to its bases in Niger. Here's why that's a big deal. As experts in U.S. military deployments, we think it is clear that the loss of these bases creates problems for U.S. regional interests in Africa and cedes ground to Russia and China. This places the U.S. at a serious disadvantage.
Defying Niger exit order leaves US troops vulnerable, whistleblower says. Deployed Americans are in limbo, unable to do their jobs or go home while the State Department seeks to extend military presence.
Army leaders open to more permanent basing in Poland, but costs would be high. That move could provide relief for units burdened with repeated deployments overseas.
Outgoing AFCENT boss on the future of the Middle East. When the National Defense Strategy was issued in 2022, the U.S. military mission in the Middle East took a back seat to the ongoing challenges of deterring China and Russia. But since then, no region has been more combustible. U.S. forces have had to contend with multiple threats.
ISRAEL WAR AGAINST HAMAS
Attack by Hezbollah injures 14 Israeli soldiers in border village. The Lebanese terrorist group said the drone and missile attack was in response to Israeli airstrikes that killed two Hezbollah commanders.
IRAN THREAT
All the Houthi-US Navy incidents in the Middle East (that we know of). A running list of every instance where a Navy ship or jet has shot down a Houthi attack, and every instance where the U.S. and its allies have hit back them in Yemen, since October.
CHINA THREAT
Lawmakers have a fix for Taiwan's weapons backlog: Build them on the island. Lawmakers in both parties have joined forces in a new push to speed up weapons deliveries to Taiwan as the island nation suffers from a years-long, $19 billion backlog of U.S. systems.
NASA's chief says China is being ‘very, very secretive' and pretending its space projects aren't linked to the military. Bill Nelson accused China on Wednesday of secretly working on military projects in space.
Taiwan wants to expand its military attaché office in Hawaii. This, at its de facto consulate in Honolulu as the self-ruled island democracy looks to tighten ties with the U.S. and bolster defenses against potential Chinese military attacks.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Czech PM bullish on ammo plan for Ukraine, envisions 1.5 million rounds in a year. “The purpose of our initiative is to find ammunition on the world markets, to negotiate the financing and to potentially negotiate deliveries to Ukraine,” said.
DOD still has no plan to stop using Russian gas in Europe. This, nearly four months after the deadline in a congressional mandate to submit a plan for weaning U.S. military bases in Europe off of Russian energy. That reliance could “be helping to fund the Russian war effort to the tune of a million dollars a week.”
This defiant Ukrainian general has no smile — and surprising remarks on Trump. Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov's glowering face is barely visible in the half-light of his office. He likes to work in the dark, as befits the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence service, the GUR. Behind him you can see a painting of a giant owl, the symbol of his service, savagely devouring a bat that is the motif of its Russian counterpart.
Ukraine doesn't want A-10s, but another country might, Air Force secretary says. Despite previous calls from Ukraine for more attack aircraft, a top Pentagon official said the country isn't interested in ex-U.S. Air Force aircraft.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Poland to join European Sky Shield scheme, following thaw with Berlin. Poland will join the German-led initiative, a continent-wide effort to coordinate nations' air defense-related purchases and procedures.
Australia unveils ‘historic' defense boost to 2.4% of GDP in decade; critics say too little, too late. Part of the shakeup includes tens of billions for nuclear-powered subs and halting the pricey procurement of an additional F-35 fighter jet squadron.
US MILITARY
Next Generation Squad Weapon and optic exceed soldiers' expectations. The first soldiers to field the Army's newest rifle and automatic rifle began live-fire training with the weapons this week, including demonstrations on how the new round can penetrate barriers to strike targets.
Lawmakers push for two submarines despite US Navy seeking just one. A House panel has made clear it wants the Navy to buy two attack submarines in fiscal 2025 in order to keep the submarine-industrial base on a path of recovery.
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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