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.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
ABSOLUTE B*LLSHIT – YOU ADJUST TO OUR COUNTRY AND CORPS – NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! – 2 Sikhs can now enter Marine boot camp with turbans and beards. Two Sikh men who have been fighting grooming restrictions that they say violate their religious beliefs can finally ship off to boot camp, a panel of appeals judges decided.
POLITICS
Congress mandates more oversight on Pentagon plans for defending Guam. Lawmakers will require the defense secretary to create a federally funded research and development center that can independently assess the Pentagon's plans to build an integrated air-and-missile defense architecture to defend Guam, according to the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
DEFENSE BUDGET
Biden OKs defense bill despite military COVID vaccine repeal. President Joe Biden signed the annual defense authorization bill into law Friday despite administration concerns over its repeal of the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate, saying the legislation includes “critical authorities to support our country's national defense.”
Congress passes funding bill with major cash infusion for Pentagon. Congress on Friday passed a spending bill to fund the government and avoid a shutdown as part of a deal that includes a significant cash influx for the Defense Department with a 9% budget increase over fiscal 2022 levels on top of billions in additional aid for Ukraine.
Congress adds $1.7 billion for US Space Force in 2023 spending bill. The 2023 omnibus spending package includes $26.3 billion for the U.S. Space Force.
NATIONAL SECURITY
How the ‘Rad Lab' helped avert nuclear war. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently grabbed international attention with its announcement that experiments there hit a milestone in nuclear fusion research that's dogged scientists for decades.
What should Eurasian security look like after the Russia-Ukraine war? In Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's address to a joint session of Congress, he stated: “Your money is not charity. It is an investment in global security and democracy.” The immediate investment is to secure a victory against Russia's war of aggression. But what comes next? If we are to have any hope of a stable, long-term peace, we must think creatively about how to build new, more effective post-war security institutions that could underpin this up-front investment in global security.
Why is Japan building up its military? Japan is choosing to reinforce the international order that the United States helped to create after World War II, according to Japanologist Michael J. Green.
HOMELAND SECURITY
DC Guard almost deployed to Capitol on Jan. 6 without permission. The commander of the Washington, D.C. National Guard considered sending troops to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, without permission from Defense Department leaders because of the rapidly escalating violence there. Ultimately, he opted against it because of conflicting messages from military leaders, according to a report.
SERIOUSLY?! – For sale on eBay: A military database of fingerprints and iris scans. German security researchers studying biometric capture devices popular with the U.S. military got more than they expected for $68 on eBay.
CHINA THREAT
China's foreign minister signals deeper ties with Russia. Wang Yi said China would “deepen strategic mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation” with Russia.
China sends 71 warplanes, 7 ships toward Taiwan in 24 hours. China's military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the island, Taiwan's defense ministry said Monday, after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions in U.S. annual defense spending bill passed on Saturday.
FINALLY, TAIWAN TAKES THINGS SERIOUSLY – Taiwan extends military service as China dials up pressure. Taiwan's president has announced that compulsory military service will increase from four months to one year.
KARMA? China grapples with massive COVID wave with full emergency wards and crowded crematoriums: ‘Many people dying.' China's ongoing battle with a COVID surge has completely devastated the country's healthcare infrastructure, especially in the Hebei province. Experts have forecast China will eventually experience a million to 2 million deaths over 2023.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine war: Five ways conflict could go in 2023. The conflict in Ukraine is about to enter its second calendar year. We asked several military analysts how they think events on the ground will unfold in 2023.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 307. On Monday, a drone believed to be Ukrainian penetrated hundreds of kilometers through Russian airspace, causing a deadly explosion at the main base for Moscow's strategic bombers in the latest attack to expose gaps in its air defenses.
Captured Russian tanks and equipment are coveted trophies — and a headache. Ukrainian forces have seized hundreds of tanks and other military vehicles, but many are languishing as they wait for repairs and spare parts.
Ukraine pitches peace conference even as Russia issues threat. Ukraine's foreign minister said the country wanted a UN peace summit by February, but it's unlikely Russia will join.
Putin claims Moscow ready for Ukraine talks as attacks go on. President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia is ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine even as the country faced more attacks from Moscow — a clear sign that peace wasn't imminent.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, ASIA, AFRICA
Indian weapons buyer approves $10B fund to equip military. India's weapons buyer on Thursday approved a 843.28 billion rupees ($10.18 billion) budget for the acquisition of major weapons and platforms, most of which the government will spend locally in a bid to bolster the domestic defense manufacturing sector.
Pakistan troops search for attackers after 6 soldiers killed. Pakistani forces on Monday expanded their search for the perpetrators behind multiple attacks that killed six troops and wounded 17 civilians in a restive southwestern province the previous day.
Two military officers arrested in Gambia for alleged link to foiled coup. Two Gambian military officers linked to an alleged plot to overthrow the government of President Adama Barrow have been arrested over the weekend, Gambia's government spokesperson said.
BUT, WHY? – Colombia begins negotiations to buy 16 Rafale fighter jets. Colombia is negotiating the purchase of 16 Rafale multirole fighter jets for its Air Force, a deal potentially worth $3.15 billion, according to a news release from the country's president.
BIDEN AFGHAN RETREAT DISASTER
Taliban orders NGOs to send women workers home. The ban comes days after the Taliban-run government ordered universities to suspend classes for women until further notice.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea denies reports it has supplied weapons to Russia. North Korea is denying it sold munitions to Russia after the United States and a Japanese media report said Pyongyang has completed at least two weapons deliveries to the Kremlin.
S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones. South Korea's military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years in a fresh escalation of tensions.
US MILITARY
Can the Army fill its ranks? As the Army rolls along into 2023, everyone from recruiters to senior leaders to Congress are closely monitoring whether the Army will be able to shore up its recruiting and stem the end strength freefall that the service is currently experiencing.
Pacific training center to add partners, events for Army exercises. Soldiers in the Pacific, be that Hawaii, Alaska or beyond, are getting in-theater training in the terrain and conditions they may face if called up to counter the Chinese military or other adversaries.
New in 2023: More King Stallion helicopters for the Marine Corps. The number of King Stallion helos in the fleet is set to triple.
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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?????? Really
There goes the Marines