FRIDAY PDB – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – YES, CHINA IS SHIPPING ARMS TO RUSSIA – Hunting rifles — really? China ships assault weapons and body armor to Russia. Customs data obtained by POLITICO reveals direct shipments of Chinese assault rifles, as well as drone shipments and body armor routed via Turkey and the UAE.
AND TENSIONS ARE INCREASING – US, Chinese commands in Pacific aren't talking, says Indo-Pacific boss. The head of INDOPACCOM says he has not had contact with his Chinese counterparts, despite a previous agreement between the U.S. defense secretary and the Chinese defense minister.
MEANWHILE – China's Xi Jinping to visit Russia next week, says Kremlin. The visit comes as China offers to broker peace in Ukraine, an effort that has been met with skepticism in the West.
SO WHY WON'T THESE MILITARY LEADERS WAKE UP? – Some Air Force leaders ‘disappointed' in general's prediction of 2025 war with China. Last September, Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, the head of Air Mobility Command, was receiving mountains of applause from a packed crowd in Maryland over his remarks.
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
BECAUSE MARINES ARE STILL FAR LESS WOKE THAN THE OTHERS – Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger says there's ‘zero evidence' DEI training distracts from readiness. Berger argued that if diversity, equity and inclusion (woke) programs were a problem, Marine Corps retention would be down.
GOOD – IT'S A MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM – NOT A GUN PROBLEM – Military moves to cut suicides, but defers action on guns. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care to try to reduce suicides in the military.
POLITICS & DEFENSE BUDGET
DEMOCRAT DIRTY TRICKS – House GOP panel launches probe into Air Force's ‘unauthorized' record disclosures. The Air Force had notified at least two sitting House Republicans that it had improperly released their personnel military records to a group affiliated with Democrats.
HOMELAND SECURITY
ACLU sues DC Guard over actions during George Floyd protests. The suit against the D.C. National Guard is for low-flying actions taken by a military helicopter during racial justice protests in 2020.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Pentagon accelerator cell to expand weapons production. With an eye on China and replenishing weapons sent to Ukraine, the Pentagon is launching a cell within its acquisition office to expand production.
US releases video of Russian jet dumping fuel on its drone. Pentagon has released footage of a Russian aircraft conducting an unsafe intercept of a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone in international airspace over the Black Sea.
CHINA THREAT
Don't expect US Navy robots in South China Sea anytime soon, CNO says. Navy pursues big AI ambitions with a gradual approach.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Poland to launch MiG-29 deliveries to Ukraine within days. It will deliver the first four Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days to help it combat Russia's ongoing invasion.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 387. The Pentagon released a video of Tuesday's intercept with its drone over the Black Sea, which shows a Russian Su-27 fighter jet coming very close to the U.S. drone. Russia has denied a collision took place, saying the drone crashed after making “sharp maneuvers,” having “provocatively” flown close to Russian air space near Crimea.
Ukraine demoted commander who gave interview about ill-trained troops. The battalion commander, who goes by the call sign Kupol, spoke candidly to the press about the difficulties facing front-line Ukrainian units.
UN-backed investigation accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. Russia's forced transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children in areas under its control amounts to a war crime, investigators say.
Poland says it foiled a Russian spy ring seeking to sabotage arms shipments to Ukraine. The sabotage was reportedly planned “at the request of Russian intelligence” and “aimed at paralyzing the supply of equipment, weapons and aid to Ukraine.”
NORTH KOREA THREAT
US Navy, partners stage military drills amid Japan-South Korea talks. The U.S., Canada, India, Japan, and South Korea are staging joint anti-submarine warfare drills.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
MUST BE DONE INTELLIGENTLY – Bring US military capabilities to bear against Mexican drug cartels. Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw calls for an authorization of military force.
Demand exploding for Tomahawk missiles as US backs latest foreign sale. Australia plans to buy the latest version of America's long-range Tomahawk land attack missile in a $985 million deal approved Thursday.
US seeing more unprofessional behavior from Russian aircraft in Syria, CENTCOM general says. The U.S. military in Syria began to see a significant spike in provocative behavior by Russian aircraft in the two weeks before a Russian jet forced down a U.S. drone over the Black Sea.
BIDEN'S AFGHAN DISASTER
THANKS FOR THE TERRORISM, JOE – ISIS in Afghanistan capable of foreign attacks in 6 months, CENTCOM commander says. The Islamic State network in Afghanistan will be able to attack U.S. or Western interests outside the country in less than six months “with little to no warning,” the top commander for U.S. forces in the Middle East said.
SPACE THREAT
CURVIER? – NASA reveals spacesuit for new Moon mission that better fits women. NASA and Axiom Space unveiled Wednesday the first prototype of a “next generation” spacesuit for humanity's return to the moon in 2025.
US MILITARY
DROP ‘WOKE' ADS! – Pentagon seeking more money for recruitment ads as Army, Navy, Air Force expect more shortfalls. The Defense Department wants to spend $40 million to promote military service to young people as lawmakers warn the Army, Navy and Air Force are on track to miss their enlistment goals this year amid persistent recruitment struggles.
Air Force partly changed its mind on cuts to the F-15EX buy. A year after it had decided to cut the planned fleet of F-15EX Eagle IIs from 144 to 80, the service partially reversed course and upped its buy in 2024 to 24 jets to fulfill the homeland defense mission. This will leave a final fleet of 104 F-15EXs.
New Marine littoral regiment fends off traditional regiment in exercise. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment — the first unit of its kind — isn't set to reach initial operational capability until the fall.
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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Chinas aiding Russia more now
NUKE China and Russia and be done the the no-good commie bastards!!
No surprise.