WEDNESDAY PDB – Despite the orchestrated global anti-Israel campaign,Israel is following the laws of war, even as Hamas is committing war crimes. This military expert explains why.
I'm an expert in urban warfare. Israel is upholding the laws of war. All war is hell. All war is killing and destruction, and historically civilians are inordinately the innocent victims of wars. Urban warfare is a unique type of hell not just for soldiers, who face assaults from a million windows or deep tunnels below them, but especially for civilians.
Noncombatants have accounted for 90% of casualties per international humanitarian experts in the modern wars that have occurred in populated urban areas such as Iraq's Mosul and Syria's Raqqa, even when a Western power like the U.S. is leading or supporting the campaign.
The destruction and suffering, as awful as they are, don't automatically constitute war crimes – otherwise, nearly any military action in a populated area would violate the laws of armed conflict.
Hamas forces indisputably violated multiple laws of war on October 7 in taking Israelis hostage and raping, torturing, and directly targeting civilians, as well as continuing to attack Israeli population centers with rockets.
Years of intelligence assessments and media reports have shown that Hamas also commits war crimes by using human shields for its weapons and command centers and by purposely putting military capabilities in protected sites like hospitals, mosques, and schools.
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:
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERROR
Inside Israel's mission to destroy Hamas tunnels in Gaza. The Israeli army is trying to find and destroy Hamas tunnels which the terror group is using to mount ambushes. Follow a unit of Israeli combat engineers tasked with destroying the tunnels.
US SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
LET THEM DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO! – White House warns Israel over post-war plans for Gaza. It said that it doesn't believe Israeli forces should reoccupy Gaza following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comments that the country will have the “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an “indefinite period” after the war ends.
US considers Israeli request for hundreds of Switchblade 600 attack drones. Israel recently submitted a request to the U.S. government that's now under review for 200 Switchblade 600 attack drones.
Army's Iron Dome batteries on 11-month lease with Israel, which could be extended. This, “depending on factors on the ground.”
GOOD! – Rep. Rashida Tlaib censured by House over Israel-Hamas comments. Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib was censured on Tuesday night, despite her emotional defense. Republicans and some Democrats voted for a resolution that claimed she had been “promoting false narratives regarding the bruta Hamas terror attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” NOW GET HER OUT OF CONGRESS.
NATIONAL SECURITY
BRING BACK THE DRAFT – Military growing more distant from most Americans, Hicks says. After 50 years, the All-Volunteer Force still works and is the right model, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said.
Influencers in uniform are boosting recruiting. Troops' social-media posts are “wildly popular because I think youth are looking for authenticity,” says the deputy defense secretary.
A top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties. He praised strong ties between the countries during a visit that underlined growing cooperation between them.
CHINA THREAT
Expanding multinational exercises key to countering China, says US Army Pacific commander. He offered bad and good news about China's rising military might Monday as helicopters buzzed overhead and trucks rumbled by him at this base on Oahu.
TESTING BIDEN – China's gray-zone tactics show the US-Philippine alliance is working. For the last several months, the Chinese government has steadily ramped up its coercive gray-zone tactics to interfere with Philippine civilian resupply missions of troops at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
The US Army needs tanks to win a war in the Pacific, but it knows the Abrams isn't the right tank for the job. It knows that rivals are building weapons that are potent against the aging Abrams tank.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Could this man bring down Putin? Ilya Ponomarev, a renegade former member of Russia's parliament argues that the only way to end the Ukraine war on acceptable terms is through a coup that topples Vladimir Putin.
For foreign soldiers in Ukraine, US foundation provides lifeline to medical treatment. The Weatherman Foundation's work underscores foreign governments' reluctance to extend some forms of medical help.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 623. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had deployed more Western air defense systems in preparation for an expected Russian onslaught on key energy infrastructure during winter when temperatures fall below freezing.
IRAN THREAT
What's an attack? In Iraq and Syria, that's not always clear. U.S. forces continue to come under attack from Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, with “conservative” estimates of at least 40 attacks, mostly with drones and rockets, since Oct. 17.
SPACE THREAT
What does the US Space Force actually do? Inside the highly secretive military branch responsible for protecting American interests in a vulnerable new domain.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Austin heads to Indo-Pacific as space race heats up on Korean peninsula. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin embarks this weekend on his ninth trip to the Indo-Pacific theater, with visits set for India, South Korea, and Indonesia.
US MQ-9 Predator drones waging most airstrikes in Syria as Middle East violence spikes. The drone is widely known for its intelligence collection and precision strikes against terrorist targets.
Groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State take root on the coast of West Africa. The insurgents pressured Zackari to join their movement, and he turned them down.
US MILITARY
NOT WOKE – OORAH! – Video for Marine Corps' 248th birthday emphasizes combat readiness. “We're Marines till we die,” a Silver Star recipient says in the video. “And we require a two-week notice for that.”
Ad spots over bonus pots: TV is Army's best recruitment ticket, study says. It should spend more on television advertisements and less on signing bonuses to attract new soldiers, amid an ongoing recruiting crisis in the service.
Air Force asks Congress to shield nuclear launch sites from wind power. There are hundreds of underground silos spread across the U.S., in Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
