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Today's PDB includes a variety of critical, global national security issues.
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READ TODAY'S PDB BELOW:
NATIONAL SECURITY
THANK GOD – Congress poised to shoot down Biden's nuclear rollback. The White House wants to cancel a nuclear cruise missile, but Democrats have joined Republicans to try to save it.
HOMELAND SECURITY
SEND THEM BACK! – Texas governor orders state police to return migrants to border. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered the Texas National Guard and the state police to begin apprehending migrants who illegally cross the border from Mexico and taking them back to ports of entry, a move that could put the state into direct conflict with the federal government over immigration.
CHINA THREAT
EXTREMELY WORRISOME – US Homeland Security agents indicted in alleged Chinese effort to spy in US. A federal grand jury has indicted a current U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent and a former agent in connection with an alleged Chinese government-sponsored scheme to stalk, harass and spy on U.S.-based Chinese critics of Beijing, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Defending Guam. Guam, “where America's day begins,” constitutes an indispensable strategic hub for the United States. The largest of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific, it allows the United States to successfully project power within the Indo-Pacific region and so makes credible US security commitments to key US allies located there.
JAPAN'S GROWING DEFENSE FOOTPRINT – Ukraine War boosts support for added defense spending in Japan. A national election on Sunday is projected to give the government a mandate to increase the military budget sharply.
RUSSIA THREAT
Russia taking ‘operational pause' in Ukraine, analysts say. Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in Ukraine as it attempts to reconstitute its forces for a renewed assault.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 135. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly video message, responded with defiance, saying the two-month operation to retake Snake Island was a warning to all Russian forces that Ukraine would not be broken.
Ukraine says Western weapons begin to help as it raises flag on Snake Island. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Western heavy weapons are starting to have an effect on the battlefield but urged speedier deliveries, particularly of anti-aircraft systems, as Russia continued lobbing missiles into Ukrainian cities.
Zelensky says Ukraine will not give up territory for peace with Russia: ‘This is our land.‘ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that Ukraine is unwilling to cede any of its land to Russia, standing firm that a concession of Ukrainian territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.
Polish and Lithuanian leaders meet troops at NATO bottleneck. The presidents of NATO members Poland and Lithuania voiced confidence Thursday that allied troops can fully safeguard a strategically vital corridor, which links their countries, between Russian ally Belarus and a Russian Baltic Sea exclave.
IRAN THREAT
British military announces capture of smuggled Iranian missiles. A Royal Navy frigate intercepted speed boats carrying missiles and parts off the coast of Iran on two separate occasions earlier this year, the Ministry of Defense announced July 7.
Navy offers cash for tips to seize Mideast drugs, weapons. The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet is starting to offer rewards for information that could help sailors intercept weapons, drugs and other illicit shipments across the region amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program and Tehran's arming of Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Polish scientist is being held in Iran, government confirms. A citizen of Poland is being held in Tehran, the Polish government said Thursday, confirming the detention after Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused several Europeans of spying on military sites as tensions remain high between Tehran and the West.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Shinzo Abe, former Japanese prime minister, dies after being shot during election campaign. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving leader, died on Friday after being shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election, an official from his political party said.
Mexican army and National Guard say they seized half-ton of fentanyl. The Mexican government has seized over a half-ton of the potent drug fentanyl along with other drugs from a warehouse in Culiacan, Sinaloa, according to the Mexican Ministry of National Defense.
US MILITARY AND SPACE
DAMN – Rocket carrying new nuclear missile component explodes in late-night test. A military rocket exploded Wednesday during the first test launch of a key component of America's future land-based nuclear missiles.
END of PDB
