⏱ 8 minute read
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with respected national security expert Paul Crespo and the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) – provides our readers the PDB:
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING.
Get Your Best Daily Defense and Foreign Affairs Intelligence Here in One Brief. Read the summaries or dive deeper via the linked articles.
Ukraine transparency push shouldn’t derail funding, HASC chair says. As some Republicans push for more intense oversight of Ukraine funding, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said the concerns were misguided and “makes me a little crazy.”
DEFENSE BUDGET
WELL, END VACCINE MANDATE – Austin urges Congress: Pass a timely budget. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday redoubled his call for Congress to pass a federal budget amid fears stalled talks will lead to another stopgap funding measure.
NATIONAL SECURITY
OUR NEW STEALTH SUPER BOMBER – ‘Deterrence the American way’: The new B-21 bomber debuts. For the first time in a generation, the Air Force revealed a new stealth bomber — a sleek, highly capable weapon the service hopes will be so deadly it would force leaders in China or Russia to rethink wars for decades to come.
SENDING MORE NUKE BOOMER MESSAGES – US Navy sends a message to adversaries with a rare submarine port visit in Indian Ocean. The US military wants its adversaries, as well as allies, to know that, for the first time, a US Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine docked at the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean as part of an extended months-long deployment.
Government-private sector cooperation vital in cyberwar. The rise of cyberwar means the United States must rethink how it approaches conflict, and government cooperation and information sharing with the private sector will become indispensable, a leading senator said.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
SERIOUSLY, LLOYD? – Keep COVID-19 military vaccine mandate, defense secretary says. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making clear he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops.
Vaccine mandate is hurting recruiting, top Marines general says. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate is contributing to the military’s recruitment troubles, the top general in the Marine Corps said.
Appeals court weighs order to force Corps to accommodate Sikhs. Three men want allowance for long hair, beards and other religious symbols in boot camp.
The US military has a politics problem. It’s a tough time to be a major U.S. institution. Television news? Congress? Big Business? They’re all at major deficits when it comes to Americans’ confidence in them. Historically, the U.S. military has enjoyed much, much better ratings. But a new poll is sounding the alarm.
PODCAST – Today’s Episode: How do civilians view the military? – Military Times’ Pentagon Bureau Chief Meghann Myers discusses the Reagan Institute’s annual survey on the public’s view of the armed forces — and how sometimes politics goes past the water’s edge.
HOMELAND SECURITY
YES, IT’S AN INVASION – Texas National Guard parks armored vehicles at border with Mexico to ward off invading migrants. The Texas Military Department has sent 10 armored personnel carriers — without weapons mounted on them — to sit parked along the state’s border with Mexico as part of the governor’s effort to deter illegal activity in the region.
Three months after Fat Leonard escaped, feds remain mum on details. Federal government agencies have provided virtually no details about how fraud mastermind Leonard Francis lived under a medical furlough before escaping and fleeing to Venezuela in September.
CHINA THREAT
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS – Pentagon chief: US faces pivotal years in countering China. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week where the Pentagon was squarely focused on China’s rise.
Key lessons Air Force’s Kendall would ‘prefer’ China learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What Beijing may actually learn, Frank Kendall feared, was that “if we’re going to go and do an act of aggression, we have to do it in a way which [is] much more decisive.”
BACKING DOWN – China Covid: Xi’s face-saving exit from his signature policy. There has not been a significant drop in infections, yet public transport now no longer requires a PCR test result, bars and restaurants are slowly re-opening, and in some cases people are being allowed to isolate at home after catching Covid instead of going into centralized quarantine facilities. So when you examine what is happening here right now, the trajectory seems clear – the government appears to have quietly dumped zero Covid as a goal.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia burning through ammunition in Ukraine at ‘extraordinary’ rate. Russia is burning through its munitions stockpiles at an “extraordinary” rate as its invasion of Ukraine grinds on into its tenth month, the nation’s top intelligence official said Saturday.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 285. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were holding positions along the front line in the east, including near Bakhmut town, viewed as Russia’s next target in its advance through the Donetsk region.
‘Reduced tempo’ of war to continue in coming months, US intelligence chief says. Both Russia and Ukraine will likely “try to refit, resupply, in a sense, reconstitute” in the spring, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said.
Explosions hit two military airfields in Russia – reports. Several people have been killed in explosions at two Russian military airfields, according to reports.
After Kherson, Ukraine’s military ponders new push south and east. A logical step for Ukraine would be to press south through the Zaporizhzhia region and sever the “land bridge” between Russia and Crimea.
IRAN THREAT
BACKING DOWN – Iran to disband morality police amid ongoing protests, says attorney general. Iran’s morality police, which is tasked with enforcing the country’s Islamic dress code, is being disbanded, the country’s attorney general says.
Navy seizes 50 tons of ammo and rocket fuses from boat that set sail from Iran. Sailors from the sea mobile base USS Lewis B. Puller intercepted the stateless vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen, the Naval Forces Central Command said.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires over 130 artillery rounds as warning after South Korea-US drills. Some of the shells landed in a buffer zone near the sea border between the two Koreas in what Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 agreement.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
US designates members of Pakistan armed groups as ‘terrorists.’ The designation includes leaders of the South Asia-based al-Qaeda offshoot and the so-called Pakistani Taliban.
US military resumes joint patrols in north Syria. U.S. officials had said the patrols that resumed Saturday are not to counter Islamic State group militants.
Ethiopian guards massacred scores of Tigrayan prisoners, witnesses say. The deadliest killings occurred at the Mirab Abaya prison camp, where current and retired Tigrayan soldiers were detained.
El Salvador sends 10,000 police, soldiers to seal off town. The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off a town on the outskirts of the nation’s capital Saturday to search for gang members.
America’s military’s first medical mission to Angola in a decade bears fruit. Capt. Claudia McDermott didn’t know what to expect when she took leave from her job as an emergency room nurse in the Chicago area to head up a team of Army Reserves doctors and nurses for a mission in Angola.
Navy base increases security after explosive devices sent to offices in Spain. Naval Station Rota is stepping up security in response to a recent spate of letter bombs sent to government officials and buildings in Spain, including the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.
SPACE
SpaceX rolls out new business line focused on military satellite services. Starshield will leverage the Starlink internet constellation to develop new products for the military market.
MIDDLE EAST SPACE – US Central Command welcomes space ops shop in Florida. The Space Force on Friday is opening its second regional headquarters as part of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida.
US MILITARY
OORAH! – WELL-EARNED! – 18 Marines become US citizens following naturalization ceremony. There are 18 new American citizens Friday, after the Marine Corps held a naturalization ceremony aboard former battleship USS North Carolina.
Military officials look to Ukraine war for new lessons in training. American and European military officials are taking a harder look at allied training, prompted by the lessons of Russia’s nearly yearlong assault on Ukraine.
Educating future US Army officers to fight and win. Is the United States Army ready to succeed on the battlefields of tomorrow?
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.
READ NEXT: Knife Defense Techniques for Armed Citizens >>
America’s Military Has a ‘Politics Problem’ as China Threat Grows
Treasury Secretary Clarifies Threat Against Bill Pulte
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged Wednesday that he threatened to “kick ass” during a heated confrontation last year, while firmly denying reports that he threatened to punch the now-acting Director of National Intelligence “in the face.”
The unusual exchange emerged during a Senate Finance Committee hearing, where Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) pressed Bessent about reports surrounding a confrontation between the two Trump administration officials during the summer of 2025.
According to Bessent, one key detail in the widely circulated account was inaccurate.
While he denied threatening.
Seijah Drake
Seijah Drake was born in Boston, MA, where she developed a penchant for writing early on and a passion for politics in college. After college she worked briefly for a conservative media in New York before relocating to the Greater D.C. Area to pursue a career in political marketing. She now resides in the free state of Florida.
GOP-Led House Approves Iran War Powers Resolution In Rebuke To Trump
Six Thousand Complaints, 27 Investigations: The Federal Whistleblower Shield Exposed
California Tech CEO Arrested For Allegedly Supplying US Equipment To Iran’s Nuclear Program
Ohio Supreme Court Decision Could Affect Thousands Seeking Firearm Rights
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with respected national security expert Paul Crespo and the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) – provides our readers the PDB:
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING.
Get Your Best Daily Defense and Foreign Affairs Intelligence Here in One Brief. Read the summaries or dive deeper via the linked articles.
POLITICS
Ukraine transparency push shouldn’t derail funding, HASC chair says. As some Republicans push for more intense oversight of Ukraine funding, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said the concerns were misguided and “makes me a little crazy.”
DEFENSE BUDGET
WELL, END VACCINE MANDATE – Austin urges Congress: Pass a timely budget. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday redoubled his call for Congress to pass a federal budget amid fears stalled talks will lead to another stopgap funding measure.
NATIONAL SECURITY
OUR NEW STEALTH SUPER BOMBER – ‘Deterrence the American way’: The new B-21 bomber debuts. For the first time in a generation, the Air Force revealed a new stealth bomber — a sleek, highly capable weapon the service hopes will be so deadly it would force leaders in China or Russia to rethink wars for decades to come.
SENDING MORE NUKE BOOMER MESSAGES – US Navy sends a message to adversaries with a rare submarine port visit in Indian Ocean. The US military wants its adversaries, as well as allies, to know that, for the first time, a US Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine docked at the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean as part of an extended months-long deployment.
Government-private sector cooperation vital in cyberwar. The rise of cyberwar means the United States must rethink how it approaches conflict, and government cooperation and information sharing with the private sector will become indispensable, a leading senator said.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
SERIOUSLY, LLOYD? – Keep COVID-19 military vaccine mandate, defense secretary says. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making clear he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops.
Vaccine mandate is hurting recruiting, top Marines general says. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate is contributing to the military’s recruitment troubles, the top general in the Marine Corps said.
Appeals court weighs order to force Corps to accommodate Sikhs. Three men want allowance for long hair, beards and other religious symbols in boot camp.
The US military has a politics problem. It’s a tough time to be a major U.S. institution. Television news? Congress? Big Business? They’re all at major deficits when it comes to Americans’ confidence in them. Historically, the U.S. military has enjoyed much, much better ratings. But a new poll is sounding the alarm.
PODCAST – Today’s Episode: How do civilians view the military? – Military Times’ Pentagon Bureau Chief Meghann Myers discusses the Reagan Institute’s annual survey on the public’s view of the armed forces — and how sometimes politics goes past the water’s edge.
HOMELAND SECURITY
YES, IT’S AN INVASION – Texas National Guard parks armored vehicles at border with Mexico to ward off invading migrants. The Texas Military Department has sent 10 armored personnel carriers — without weapons mounted on them — to sit parked along the state’s border with Mexico as part of the governor’s effort to deter illegal activity in the region.
Three months after Fat Leonard escaped, feds remain mum on details. Federal government agencies have provided virtually no details about how fraud mastermind Leonard Francis lived under a medical furlough before escaping and fleeing to Venezuela in September.
CHINA THREAT
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS – Pentagon chief: US faces pivotal years in countering China. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week where the Pentagon was squarely focused on China’s rise.
Key lessons Air Force’s Kendall would ‘prefer’ China learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What Beijing may actually learn, Frank Kendall feared, was that “if we’re going to go and do an act of aggression, we have to do it in a way which [is] much more decisive.”
BACKING DOWN – China Covid: Xi’s face-saving exit from his signature policy. There has not been a significant drop in infections, yet public transport now no longer requires a PCR test result, bars and restaurants are slowly re-opening, and in some cases people are being allowed to isolate at home after catching Covid instead of going into centralized quarantine facilities. So when you examine what is happening here right now, the trajectory seems clear – the government appears to have quietly dumped zero Covid as a goal.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia burning through ammunition in Ukraine at ‘extraordinary’ rate. Russia is burning through its munitions stockpiles at an “extraordinary” rate as its invasion of Ukraine grinds on into its tenth month, the nation’s top intelligence official said Saturday.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 285. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were holding positions along the front line in the east, including near Bakhmut town, viewed as Russia’s next target in its advance through the Donetsk region.
‘Reduced tempo’ of war to continue in coming months, US intelligence chief says. Both Russia and Ukraine will likely “try to refit, resupply, in a sense, reconstitute” in the spring, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said.
Explosions hit two military airfields in Russia – reports. Several people have been killed in explosions at two Russian military airfields, according to reports.
After Kherson, Ukraine’s military ponders new push south and east. A logical step for Ukraine would be to press south through the Zaporizhzhia region and sever the “land bridge” between Russia and Crimea.
IRAN THREAT
BACKING DOWN – Iran to disband morality police amid ongoing protests, says attorney general. Iran’s morality police, which is tasked with enforcing the country’s Islamic dress code, is being disbanded, the country’s attorney general says.
Navy seizes 50 tons of ammo and rocket fuses from boat that set sail from Iran. Sailors from the sea mobile base USS Lewis B. Puller intercepted the stateless vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen, the Naval Forces Central Command said.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires over 130 artillery rounds as warning after South Korea-US drills. Some of the shells landed in a buffer zone near the sea border between the two Koreas in what Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 agreement.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
US designates members of Pakistan armed groups as ‘terrorists.’ The designation includes leaders of the South Asia-based al-Qaeda offshoot and the so-called Pakistani Taliban.
US military resumes joint patrols in north Syria. U.S. officials had said the patrols that resumed Saturday are not to counter Islamic State group militants.
Ethiopian guards massacred scores of Tigrayan prisoners, witnesses say. The deadliest killings occurred at the Mirab Abaya prison camp, where current and retired Tigrayan soldiers were detained.
El Salvador sends 10,000 police, soldiers to seal off town. The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off a town on the outskirts of the nation’s capital Saturday to search for gang members.
America’s military’s first medical mission to Angola in a decade bears fruit. Capt. Claudia McDermott didn’t know what to expect when she took leave from her job as an emergency room nurse in the Chicago area to head up a team of Army Reserves doctors and nurses for a mission in Angola.
Navy base increases security after explosive devices sent to offices in Spain. Naval Station Rota is stepping up security in response to a recent spate of letter bombs sent to government officials and buildings in Spain, including the U.S. Embassy in Madrid.
SPACE
SpaceX rolls out new business line focused on military satellite services. Starshield will leverage the Starlink internet constellation to develop new products for the military market.
MIDDLE EAST SPACE – US Central Command welcomes space ops shop in Florida. The Space Force on Friday is opening its second regional headquarters as part of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida.
US MILITARY
OORAH! – WELL-EARNED! – 18 Marines become US citizens following naturalization ceremony. There are 18 new American citizens Friday, after the Marine Corps held a naturalization ceremony aboard former battleship USS North Carolina.
Military officials look to Ukraine war for new lessons in training. American and European military officials are taking a harder look at allied training, prompted by the lessons of Russia’s nearly yearlong assault on Ukraine.
Educating future US Army officers to fight and win. Is the United States Army ready to succeed on the battlefields of tomorrow?
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.
READ NEXT: Knife Defense Techniques for Armed Citizens >>
Paul Crespo
Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Liberty Defense News. As a Marine Corps officer, he led Marines, served aboard ships in the Pacific and jumped from helicopters and airplanes. He was also a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at U.S. embassies worldwide. He later ran for state and federal office, taught political science, wrote for the editorial board of a major newspaper and had his own radio show. A graduate of Georgetown, London and Cambridge universities, he brings decades of experience and insight to the issues that most threaten our American liberty – at home and from abroad. To read more go to: paulcrespo.com.
Treasury Secretary Clarifies Threat Against Bill Pulte
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