WEDNESDAY PDB – Vladimir Putin claims one reason for invading Ukraine was to keep the country from joining NATO, which it wasn't really on track to do. But now NATO has adopted a framework for eventually joining the military bloc.
Letting Ukraine join in the middle of a major war would be insane, but this vague NATO plan for possible eventual membership is also questionable.
Zelenskyy says NATO's ‘absurd' plans for Ukraine fall short. NATO leaders agreed Tuesday to allow Ukraine to join “when allies agree and conditions are met,” the head of the military alliance said, hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the organization's failure to set a timetable for his country as “absurd.” (RELATED: Republicans Roast Graham's Resolution For Ukraine To Join NATO)
NATO chief defends Ukraine's by-the-books membership path. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg defended the alliance's stance on an eventual membership for Ukraine, just as Zelenskyy lamented the lack of a specific timeline.
MEANWHILE: G7 countries set to sign security ‘framework' for Ukraine. Joint Declaration signatories will provide long-term, bilateral security commitments for Ukraine, with the aim of building a Ukraine that can defend its territorial sovereignty both today and in the future,” according to the UK.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
TOTALLY POLITICIZED ‘WATCHDOG' NEEDS TO GO – Republican effort to cut DoD watchdog alarms anti-extremism advocates. A Republican congressman wants to eliminate a federal watchdog that investigates how the Pentagon handles diversity, equity and extremism.
GOP FIGHTING PENTAGON WOKENESS – House GOP channels America's culture wars in Pentagon budget battle. This year's Pentagon policy bill faces a potentially messy partisan battle in the House over troops' abortion access, LGBTQ rights and diversity initiatives. (RELATED: Biden Responds To GOP's Landmark Military Legislation)
OLD TEST WORKED – Is the Army going back to the classic three-part PT test? The Senate Armed Services Committee voted to restore the Army's physical fitness test as the test of record, while leaders defended the 10-part ACFT.
PENTAGON'S RADICAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE PLAN ENDANGERS NATIONAL SECURITY – House Republicans target the Pentagon's use of electric vehicles. House Republicans have proposed a slew of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that would limit the Pentagon's use of electric vehicles. (RELATED: Energy Chief Insists All Military Vehicles To Be All-Electric By 2030)
NATIONAL SECURITY
Majority of Americans say TikTok is a threat to national security. About six-in-ten Americans (59%) see TikTok as a major or minor threat to national security in the U.S., according to a new Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults that comes as the platform faces scrutiny from lawmakers over its ties to China and the security of users' data. (RELATED: Selective Outrage Over TikTok Conveniently Ignores Other, Constitutionally Dubious Practices)
Trump says Biden ‘dragging' US ‘into World War III' by sending Ukraine cluster bombs. Former President Trump ripped Joe Biden for his decision to send Ukraine cluster bombs and claimed Biden was “dragging” the U.S. “into World War III” with his controversial decision.
CHINA THREAT
Chinese hackers breach US government email through Microsoft cloud. The U.S. discovered the security problem, which affected unclassified systems, last month.
China sends large group of warplanes, navy ships towards Taiwan in forceful display. China sent navy ships and a large group of warplanes, including fighters and bombers, toward Taiwan over two days, the island's defense ministry said on Wednesday, before its annual military exercises aimed at defending itself against a possible invasion.
UNBELIEVABLY ALARMING – Alarming Navy intel slide warns of China's 200 times greater shipbuilding capacity. The Office of Naval Intelligence is sounding the alarm about the huge gap in U.S. and Chinese shipbuilding capacity and its implications.
WHY PUT THE SILLY PRO-CHINA MAP IN THE MOVIE AT ALL? – Is Barbie a Chinese communist sympathizer? GOP lawmakers weigh in. A movie about plastic dolls, not nuclear weapons, has caused political uproar among some conservatives over its depiction of a dashed line off the coast of a child-like drawing of Asia — markings that somewhat resemble territorial border claims by China in the South China Sea. (RELATED: ‘Top Gun' Blowback – Pentagon Won't Help Hollywood If They Submit To China)
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
NATO agrees to begin F-16 training program for Ukraine in August. A coalition of 11 NATO countries agreed to begin an F-16 training program in Europe this August to train Ukrainian pilots on the warplanes, ending speculation about when the long-awaited training would begin.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 504. NATO leaders began their two-day summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius but, in a serious disappointment for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, failed to give Ukraine a timeline or formal invitation to join the security alliance. “Ukraine's future is in NATO,” the leaders of the 31 member states said in a declaration. “We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” they added without specifying the conditions.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires its first ICBM in 3 months after making threat over alleged US spy flights. North Korea fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile in three months on Wednesday, days after it threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory. (RELATED: Think Tank Report Says North Korean Army May Be A Paper Tiger – But Not Its Nukes)
SPACE THREAT
US sharpens plan for military space race. The Space Force is challenged to compete with China amid ‘lack of communication, zero transparency.'
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
F-16s for Turkey aren't a done deal until these lawmakers say it's OK. And they're not sold yet. They're open to the idea, but the administration needs to do more to get them to “yes,” they said.
EXCELLENT – Japan and NATO agree on new partnership program at NATO Vilnius summit. Japan's Prime Minister said on Wednesday he welcomed that Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had agreed on a new partnership program, ahead of his attendance at the NATO Vilnius summit.
Cuba calls US nuclear submarine at Guantanamo Bay an ‘escalation.' Havana says it ‘strongly' rejects the submarine's presence, describing it as a ‘danger' to sovereignty in the Caribbean. (RELATED: Biden's Friendly Overtures Lead To Emerging Security Nightmare)
US MILITARY
On this day in history, July 12, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signs bill creating US Army Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is the foremost U.S. military decoration.
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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