Iran is Top Mideast Threat – Not Terrorists

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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.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Pentagon memo says object shot down over Canada was a ‘small, metallic balloon.' The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday.

Lawmakers demand Biden address nation on UFO incursions. Frustration on Capitol Hill is mounting after a string of aerial objects were shot down over U.S. and Canadian airspace in the last few days, raising a long list of questions that lawmakers say President Biden should publicly address.

POPCAST – Three flying objects downed in three days. The United States shot down three more ‘unidentified' aerial objects.

White House launches effort to examine policy choices for shooting down UFOs. NORTHCOM has changed radar settings to get “better fidelity on seeing slower objects,” general says.

US, allies need to operate in the High North more to deter China, Russia, experts say. Physical presence by allied navies and coast guards is increasingly important as Russia builds up its military presence and China expands its intentions beyond commerce in the waters of the High North, senior maritime officers from three countries and a National Security Council official agreed last week.

HOMELAND SECURITY

This is why Jan. 6 Defense Department, Army texts weren't preserved. Current policies allow a wide range of apps that pose security and records preservation concerns.

US recovers electronic sensors in search of debris from downed Chinese balloon. The military said in a statement Monday that it was able to “recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified.”

Coast Guard encounters nearly 500 migrants off Florida coast in last 40 days. The U.S. Coast Guard is just wrapping up its 40-day patrol of the Florida Straits, and we're learning a lot from this long-term mission.

CHINA THREAT

GOP committee chair eyeing ‘creative wargaming' to evaluate possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is exploring an idea to hold a House hearing that would involve lawmakers participating in a “wargaming” scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

How a new Vietnam-Indonesia deal will affect South China Sea disputes. A recent agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam over maritime boundaries in the South China Sea will likely smooth over the occasionally tense relationship between the two South East Asian nations.

Japan plans to bulk order US Tomahawk missiles by March next year. Japan plans to bulk-order Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States by March next year as it begins a rapid military build-up, Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada said on Tuesday.

UKRAINE WAR

When will the war in Ukraine end? Experts offer their predictions. Defense News spoke with national security analysts, lawmakers and retired officials, asking each how the conflict could end.

Ukraine faces painful choice as Russia tightens chokehold on Bakhmut. Ukraine is seeking to degrade Russian forces advancing in costly house-by-house assaults and buy time until more and better Western weaponry arrives. The dilemma is how long to hang on before withdrawing to preserve lives.

Ukraine unlikely to get fighter jets anytime soon. Despite Zelensky's appeals, allies are hesitant and don't see aircraft as the most immediate battlefield need.

Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft near Poland – Netherlands' defense ministry. Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday.

Guided missile killed US aid worker in Ukraine, video shows. A Times analysis suggests that an intentional strike, not an indiscriminate attack, most likely killed Pete Reed. It is unclear whether the attackers knew he was with a group of aid workers.

US tells Ukraine it won't send long-range missiles because it has few to spare. The Biden administration wants to ensure it has enough ATACMS for the U.S. military.

IRAN THREAT

Iran overshadows terror cells as US Air Force's top Mideast priority. America's military air operations in the Middle East are entering an era of surveillance rather than offense, as Iran exerts its influence in the region and terror groups are “down but not out,” a three-star Air Force general said Monday.

US-Gulf Cooperation Council working groups to zero in on Iranian threats. Iran's regional influence has emerged as a focal point at the US-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh this week, while members are also interested in the flow of weapons from Tehran to Moscow, according to a top Pentagon official participating in the ongoing meetings.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA

Russia planned coup in pro-West Moldova, president says. Russia planned to topple Moldova's pro-West government by fomenting violence through foreign actors and internal criminal groups, Moldova's President Maia Sandu said Monday. The attempted plot would have placed the Eastern European nation at the disposal of the Kremlin for use in its invasion of Ukraine, and prevented Moldova's integration into the European Union, she said.

US airstrike in Somalia kills 12 al-Shabaab militants. The strike occurred on Feb. 10.

Chinese balloons have been ‘transiting' Middle East, top general says. The Pentagon has changed how it tracks items in American airspace, increasing the number of objects it sees.

Chinese balloons spotted over Mideast posed no threat, three-star says. Air Forces Central boss Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said the balloons haven't encroached on “sensitive” U.S. sites in the Middle East.

China on the mind: It will be a busy year for Australia. In his first full year as Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese will have to contend with a China-Australia relationship that has changed profoundly in recent years.

SPACE THREAT

New NATO initiative to bolster alliance's space-based data collection. NATO plans to launch a new effort this week to streamline the process of gathering, disseminating, and distributing the reams of data collected in space for use by the alliance command structure.

US MILITARY, ROBOTICS AND AI

The Navy's very expensive mistake. Inside the move to retire a specific type of combat vessel.

Air Force mulls remote control of drone wingmen. The Air Force is studying whether drone wingmen flying alongside piloted fighter aircraft could be controlled by operators in nearby battle management aircraft or refueling tankers, according to Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown.

The all-volunteer force turns 50 — and faces its worst crisis yet. Fifty years ago, in early 1973, with U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War coming to a close, the Nixon administration announced the end of draft call-ups. The armed forces, which had been dependent on conscripts since 1940, had to become an all-volunteer force (AVF) overnight.

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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