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.
POLITICS
TOO MANY MEETINGS – NOT ENOUGH ACTION – White House officials meeting to discuss next steps in Paul Whelan’s case. White House officials are convening a planning session Monday to discuss the next steps in securing retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan’s freedom from Russia, an official with the National Security Council confirmed to CBS News.
DEFENSE BUDGET
This week in Congress: Budget deal remains elusive as shutdown looms. Defense and veterans hearings on Capitol Hill for the week of Dec. 12, 2022.
Pentagon profiteers: Executive compensation in the arms industry. If Congress has its way, funding for the Department of Defense and related work on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy will reach more than $850 billion in Fiscal Year 2023, far higher than spending at the height of the Cold War or the peak years of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. More than half of the Pentagon’s yearly budget goes to private contractors, many of whom are making hefty profits at taxpayer expense while producing flawed products at exorbitant prices.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Ex-US pilot held in Australia faces US charges over Chinese military pilot training. Former U.S. Marine pilot Daniel Duggan, who was arrested in Australia, is accused of breaking U.S. arms control law by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers according to an indictment unsealed by a U.S. court.
Pentagon, private sector must partner to fight new era of cyberattacks. It takes constant communication to enhance the efficacy of public and private sector entities in detecting and mitigating cyberattacks on everything from federal systems and critical infrastructure to banks and hospitals.
AND? Hundreds of DHS workers were Oath Keepers, POGO investigation finds. Leaked records indicate more than 300 people who were members of the right-leaning extremist group the Oath Keepers identified as current or former Department of Homeland Security employees, an investigation by the Project on Government Oversight and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found.
SCAPEGOATS? – 2nd Oath Keepers Jan 6 sedition trial to get underway. After securing seditious conspiracy convictions against two leaders of the Oath Keepers, the Justice Department will begin Monday to try to make its Capitol riot case against four others affiliated with the far-right extremist group.
DC National Guard activates 200 members to assist in US-Africa Leaders Summit. The District of Columbia National Guard has activated approximately 200 soldiers and airmen to assist with crowd and traffic control ahead of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit this week, the National Guard confirmed Monday.
If REAL ID can be further delayed, why is it needed? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yet another delay in requiring Real ID identification to board commercial flights. The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005, based on the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation. It sets a standard for identification cards issued by states, including driver’s licenses.
CHINA THREAT
India says China trying to ‘change status quo’ on disputed border. Indian troops prevented Chinese counterparts from entering Indian territory during a border scuffle last week, defense minister Rajnath Singh tells parliament.
Japan to buy Tomahawk missiles in defense buildup amid fears of war. Alarmed by increasing security threats and the risk of war in the Indo-Pacific, Japan will seek to purchase hundreds of U.S.-built Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of a major defense buildup unprecedented in the postwar period, Japanese and U.S. officials said
US, Japan wrap up weeks of training to control far-flung armies. U.S. and Japanese troops concluded their largest-ever command post exercise this week, honing skills to fight and win without large bases that might be targeted by missiles.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 293. Ukraine’s allies are set to meet in the French capital, Paris, as part of the “Standing with the Ukrainian people” conference where they promised to support Ukraine’s civilian resilience to get through the winter. Group of Seven (G7) nations said they would set up a multi-agency platform to coordinate aid to Ukraine and support its repair, recovery and reconstruction, with senior representatives to convene as soon as possible in January.
Biden admin wants to boost efforts to track US weapons in Ukraine, may send another handful of troops. Senior U.S. officials stressed that any new U.S. troop presence in Ukraine would be limited and modest, likely in the single digits.
No year-end press conference for Putin amid Russia’s faltering war in Ukraine. Kremlin says traditional event will not take place in further sign leader is becoming more remote.
Russia is running out of fresh ammo and may need to use 40-year-old shells. Russia is running low on ammunition as its Ukraine invasion careens toward the one-year mark, and it may soon be forced to use older, unreliable rockets and artillery shells — some built decades ago.
For a quicker end to the Russia war, step up aid to Ukraine. No negotiated settlement is possible, and the longer the conflict goes on, the costlier it becomes.
IRAN THREAT
Deterring by detection: A cheap, successful way to deter Iran. “The simple act of letting Iran know the US is paying attention may end up being the cheapest, most effective way of deterring Iran’s actions” in the region, write Bilal Saab and former CENTCOM head Frank McKenzie.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
First Anduril prototype ‘Ghost Shark’ drone sub delivered to Aussies 3 months early. “Due to its modular and multi-role nature, our adversaries will need to assume that their every move in the maritime domain is subject to our surveillance and that every [sub drone] is capable of deploying a wide range of effects, including lethal ones,” says Rear Adm. Peter Quinn.
Future of US Navy base in Diego Garcia hinges on UK-Mauritius negotiations. Negotiations now underway between the United Kingdom and a tiny Indian Ocean nation could have significant repercussions for a strategically located U.S. Navy installation on the island of Diego Garcia.
Why do some German soldiers seem to be rejecting democracy? Germany is in shock. On Wednesday, 3,000 police officers conducted an unprecedented nationwide raid on a far-right terrorist organization, arresting 25 in what authorities have described as a plan to overthrow the government. While the immediate danger to democracy seems to have been averted, the list of suspects makes for troubling reading.
EU imposes new Iran sanctions, no deal yet on new Russia package. European Union foreign ministers on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iran over its crackdown of anti-government protests and its drone deliveries to Russia but pushed the adoption of a new package of measures against Moscow to later this week.
BIDEN’S AFGHAN DISASTER
Visa program for Afghans who helped US military in danger of lapsing after exclusion from defense bill. The program that grants visas to Afghans who helped the U.S. military during the United States’ longest war is at risk of ending next year after an extension was left out of the annual defense policy bill.
SPACE
Sailors recover Orion spacecraft after million-mile swing around the Moon. A team of sailors aboard USS Portland (LPD-27) recovered an Orion space capsule after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday after a 25-day trip around the moon.
Space Development Agency again delays inaugural satellite launch. The Space Development Agency’s first major satellite launch, planned for this month after being rescheduled from October, has been delayed again after technical issues arose during testing.
US MILITARY
HELL NO – Inside Google’s quest to digitize troops’ tissue samples. Google has long sought access to a priceless trove of veterans’ medical data.
Air Force conducts first launch of prototype hypersonic missile. The U.S. Air Force said it conducted the first test launch of a fully operational prototype of its hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon.
No more Army helicopters? See what’s replacing Black Hawks, Apaches. The Army will soon replace its most storied helicopters. See what they chose as a new aircraft in the largest helicopter award in 40 years at $1.3 billion.
This amphibious recon vehicle might end up replacing the Marine Corps’ decades-old LAV fleet. Marines, meet the ‘Cottonmouth.’
HMMM? – More women poised to lead Marine combat platoons. The number of women who have graduated the grueling Marine Infantry Officer Course has risen steadily in recent years, since their first female made it in 2017.
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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Why is it that only Conservatives are part of “extremist” groups? But when Progressives belong to a group calling for open borders and voting at 16, they are “concerned Americans”? Propaganda…
The DHS members were all likely spies in the Oathkeepers group.They are also likely to be the instigators of the so-called insurrection of Jan. 6th, 2020. Keep in mind that the FBI, DOJ and DHS are all deep state actors and as such, should not be trusted. My money is that they will testify against the leaders of the Oathkeepers at trial. Will they tell the truth? Maybe or maybe not.
How about DoD & what about Leftist groups too Antifa??
Explain
Make =
Extremist group my butt. They’re real Americans unlike you.
I am unsubscribing from this leftist rag masquerading as an unbiased feed!
If hundreds of Oath keepers were DHS agents and the government ignored warnings about Jan. 6th, does that mean the DHS agents in the Oath Keepers were doing their jobs and the government did not want to prevent them from discrediting the peaceful demonstrators who supported President Trump?