MONDAY PDB – It seems China is gearing up for war sooner rather than later. Already the biggest, most powerful state in the Asia Pacific. It is also the most belligerent and menacing. It has systematically built militarized artificial islands in contested waters and is bullying smaller neighbors with armed warships and fishing fleets illegally in their territorial waters, not to mention making almost daily bombing runs and invasion drills against Taiwan.
Despite all that, and more, China is now gaslighting everyone, claiming ‘escalating threats' to China are the reason it will increase military spending by more than 7% this year.
This publicly announced increase is in addition to China's already massive and unprecedented peacetime military buildup over the past few years, which has dramatically expanded its conventional and nuclear forces. A major war with China is getting more likely in the next two years.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of other developing stories.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
MILITARY ACADEMIES NOW BECOMING BABY DAYCARE CENTERS – The Pentagon is behind on issuing policy to allow cadets who have kids to remain at service academies. This reverses existing rules that could lead them to get kicked out of school for doing so.
TATTED TROOPS – Officials OK some hand and neck tattoos for airmen, Guardians. U.S. airmen or Guardians eager to get inked with an “Aim High, Fly-Fight-Win” or a classic “I heart mom” tattoo now have the opportunity to do so. BUT EXPECT MORE DARING TATS – CENTRAL AMERICAN CRIMINAL GANGS. LOOK OUT – YOU MAY BE GETTING COMPETITION.
POLITICS AND BUDGET
SECDEF touts ‘once-in-a-generation' investments. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin touted “major investments” in the nuclear triad, space, and next-generation fighter aircraft—along with “once-in-a-generation” expenditures for shipyards and munitions manufacturing—ahead of the Pentagon's 2024 budget release.
HOMELAND SECURITY
FORGET ZOMBIES – THE LATEST THREAT IS SATANIC NEO-NAZIS – Ex-soldier, a neo-Nazi, gets 45 years for plot to ambush his own unit. The former Army private who pleaded guilty last year to plotting to murder members of his own unit with help from satanic neo-Nazis was sentenced today to 45 years in prison.
CHINA THREAT
BUT, OF COURSE – Pentagon sees giant cargo cranes as possible Chinese spying tools. Chinese-made cranes at U.S. ports, including at several ports used by the military, could pose a security risk hiding in plain sight.
MESSAGE TO CHINA – Japan-US joint military exercise simulates defending and recapturing remote islands. The Ground Self-Defense Force conducted a landing drill on the island of Tokunoshima on Friday as part of the Iron Fist joint exercise conducted with the U.S. Marines — the first iteration of the drill to be held in Japan.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
US to send bridge-launching vehicles for tank deployments to Ukraine in new $400M aid package. The new $400 million in arms and equipment, including the armored bridge-launching vehicles, will likely come from its military stockpiles.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 376. Ukraine's military said its forces repelled 95 Russian attacks in the Bakhmut area over the previous day. “The situation in Bakhmut can be described as critical,” Ukrainian military analyst said.
US generals and Ukrainian officers meet in Germany for tabletop war exercise. There they evaluated battlefield options ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive meant to free their territory from Russia's grasp.
LIKE I SAID – F-16s ARE NEXT – Two Ukrainian pilots are in the US for training assessment on attack aircraft, including F-16s. The Ukrainians' skills are being evaluated on simulators at a U.S. military base in Tucson, Arizona.
NORTH KOREA
US, South Korea announce largest field exercises in 5 years. The 11-day Freedom Shield is part of an annual combined training with troops from South Korea and the U.S. which is scheduled this month.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Defense secretary aims to reassure Mideast allies, deliver tough message. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Jordan to begin a three-country Mideast visit, is aiming to reassure key allies of American commitment to the region despite Washington's recent focus on Russia and China, officials said, but plans frank messages for leaders of Israel and Egypt.
US troop expansion near Taiwan revives old debate in Philippines. It's been more than three decades since the Philippines ordered U.S. troops to withdraw from their sprawling military bases in the country, ending an era that harkened back to America's colonial days.
Israel air force reservists to skip training in Netanyahu protest. The reservists are angry at PM Netanyahu's attempts to change the Israeli judiciary, in what they see as an anti-democratic move.
BIDEN'S DISGRACEFUL AFGHAN RETREAT
WHILE THESE FOLKS DESERVE THE RECOGNITION, BIDEN IS SHAMELESS SINCE HE CREATED THE CRISIS AND THEN CONSTANTLY SABOTAGED OR BLOCKED EFFORTS BY VETERANS TO SAVE LIVES – Veterans and Others Who Helped in Afghanistan Evacuation Honored at White House. Veterans and other volunteers who helped evacuate Afghans after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, as well as a group of Afghan refugees, were honored at a private White House event Thursday evening.
SPACE THREAT
SPACECOM plans new, unified ‘Commercial Integration Office' to work with private firms. The new office will coordinate the commercial cooperation activities of the Joint Task Force-Space Defense at Schriever SFB in Colorado and the Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg SFB in California.
SDA taps Raytheon for seven more missile-tracking satellites. The Space Development Agency has completed another buy for a batch of seven more missile-tracking satellites to add to its expansive constellation.
US MILITARY
To prepare for a Pacific island fight, Marines hide and attack in California. Although far from the ocean, the base at Twentynine Palms offers about 1,200 square miles to train.
U.S. ARMY WINTER WARFARE FASHION FAUX PAS – Finnish Army's winter uniforms make US Army digs look like trash bags. Finland's Army is small but mighty — and they dazzle in white.
Army secretary wants to persuade schools to welcome recruiters. Army recruiters struggling to meet enlistment goals say one of their biggest hurdles is getting back into high schools.
END of PDB – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING
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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