Biden-Harris Response To Iran-backed Houthi Attacks Has Failed

FRIDAY PDB –Cost rising for US as it fights off Houthi drones. U.S. forces have launched roughly 800 missiles and seven rounds of air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels that have controlled Yemen since November.

WASTING MILLIONS! – GO TO THE SOURCE – IRAN.

Meanwhile – NAVCENT commander: Difficult to find Houthi center of gravity to hold at risk. The Houthi forces who have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden lack a center of gravity, making for deterrence by U.S and partner forces difficult.

IRAN IS THE CENTER OF GRAVITY! 

5th Fleet chief: Houthis support ‘diversifying’ beyond Iran, US Navy playing ‘shockabsorber.’ Vice Adm. George M. Wikoff suggested that in addition to murkier supply lines, the Houthis have developed their own offensive capabilities to the point where “there’s discussion that they could [be] becoming exporters of technology.”

DOUBTFUL THEY CAN DO ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT WITHOUT IRAN.

Meanwhile – Disinformation effort key to Houthi Red Sea campaign. As USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) left the Red Sea, on its way home, the Houthis attacked, sinking the ship. Or at least, that’s what the Yemeni-based group claimed, according to social media posts from the group’s leaders and their supporters. 

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

BIG WAR IS COMING – Preparing for the possibility of a draft without panic. Conscription — a practice most Americans believe should be relegated to the dustbin of history — has returned as an uncomfortable topic of conversation among U.S. allies and adversaries alike.

HOMELAND SECURITY

ISIS and al Qaeda material found at home of second suspect in foiled Taylor Swift concert attack in Austria.

Bipartisan bill pushes DHS to review terrorist risks from foreign-based mobile apps. The legislative proposal calls out several China- and Russia-tied apps for particular attention.

How to fix the Secret Service before it fails again. The agency suffers from a classic Washington problem—it’s been tasked with doing too much.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

DOD’s policy on telling parents about teens’ health rankles some congressional Republicans. Ten House Republicans have raised objections to new limits on military parents’ access to their teenagers’ medical records, calling the policies “reprehensible.”

POLITICS

THE TRUTH IS HE HAS EMBELLISHED HIS RECORD, LIED, AND RETIRED IN A SLEAZY WAY – The ‘swift boating’ of Tim Walz has begun. What is the truth? Questions about the final months of Tim Walz’s 24-year National Guard career have triggered a flurry of questions and confusion among military members and veterans.

US POWER OVERSEAS

YES! – Aussie Study calls for increasing US Marine force in northern Australia by 8-fold. Australia should welcome a U.S. Marine Corps rotational force eight times the size of one that now spends six months each year near the northern city of Darwin.

As the Gaza pier is packed up, experts worry about what it portends for a war in the Pacific.  Every few years the Army would break out a series of pontoons and boats and practice creating a pier where none existed before to land vehicles and cargo. It usually went pretty well, and it almost never generated any attention.

Army cyber unit marking two major milestones at upcoming exercise in Hawaii. An entire company from the 11th Cyber Battalion will deploy to the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center.

US Army-led project adds cargo pad at vastly expanding Romanian base. The airfield upgrade this week at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base will spur growth at what may become one of NATO’s largest military installations in Europe.

ISRAEL’S WAR AGAINST TERROR

Israel’s latest Gaza airstrikes spurs fear of wider war. Israeli forces stepped up airstrikes against Hamas terrorists across the Gaza Strip on Thursday. 

Hungry and displaced Gazans see their misery continuing with Hamas’ new leadership. This, as they people seek a way out of their misery Hamas created after nearly 10 months of war. 

Netanyahu says arms smuggling from Egypt’s Sinai, not Qatar financing, fueled Hamas. 

IRAN THREAT

F-22s land in Middle East, countering Iran and its proxies. Air Force Raptors are now in the Middle East to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups against Israel and American troops in the region.

Iranian brothers charged in smuggling operation tied to SEALs’ deaths. Two men linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard are now facing terrorism charges in the U.S. in connection with the interception of a vessel in the Arabian Sea that resulted in the SEALs deaths.

CHINA THREAT

Why Xi Jinping’s crusade against corruption in the military is far from over. Analysts say there’s more to come given that graft has long been rampant, the rapid build-up of the PLA, and its ‘insular’ culture. 

WAR IS COMING – Zero Day: New 10-part series imagines what a Chinese invasion of Taiwan might actually look like. In the wake of a new Taiwanese election, the Chinese People’s Liberation Navy and Air Force surround the island of Taiwan and cut off access to the Taiwan Strait.

DRONE SWARMS AGAINST CHINA – Pentagon awards contracts for second round of Replicator systems. The initiative hopes to quickly field thousands of drones to counter China in a future conflict.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

Russia says fighting continues in Ukrainian incursion into Kursk region. Russian troops are fighting Ukrainian forces in the third day of one of the largest cross-border incursions of the war. 

Can Ukraine get back on the offensive? Over the past six months, Russia has generally failed to capitalize on this convergence of openings. 

Cheap first-person-view drones now hunting larger prey in Ukraine. Low-cost first person-view drones are proving increasingly capable of striking larger platforms — such as combat helicopters — in Ukraine.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

THEY SHOULD GET THEIR OWN NUKES – South Korean nuclear weapons would fracture US ties, defense chief says. If it started building nuclear weapons. it could rupture its U.S. alliance and shock financial markets.

SPACE THREAT

MAJOR SNAFU – They went to space for eight days – and could be stuck until 2025. When two American astronauts blasted off on a test mission to the International Space Station on 5 June, they were expecting to be back home in a matter of days. But things didn’t quite go to plan.

EMBARRASSING! – NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to Earth. There’s lingering uncertainty over the safety of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, and the space agency is split over the risk.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Top UN counterterrorism official tells Security Council that Islamic State group, affiliates gaining power in Africa. A vast stretch of Africa could soon fall under their control. 

DNA on weapons implicates ex-US Green Beret in attempted Venezuelan coup. Feds found the DNA on some of the 60 automatic weapons he allegedly smuggled from Florida to South America as part of a failed 2020 coup attempt against socialist Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

US MILITARY

Army’s successful hypersonic missile test puts fielding on horizon. The Army’s first complete, end-to-end flight test of its hypersonic missile was a success.

Future Army Precision Strike Missile to feature smart submunition. This, as the Army also prioritizes a longer-range version.

Recruiting shortfall means Coast Guard ‘can’t crew all our ships.’ Coming up short 10% of its required enlisted force also means the service has had to “temporarily shutter some of our smaller stations.” 

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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