FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with 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.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Russian military leaders discussed use of nuclear weapons, US officials say. The conversations alarmed the Biden administration because they showed how frustrated Moscow had become over its battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.
Republicans push back on Okinawa F-15 withdrawal. Four key Republicans on Capitol Hill are questioning the Air Force's decision to replace two permanent F-15C Eagle fighter squadrons in Okinawa with rotational forces.
The high cost of low American military spending. Ukraine's lesson: Deterrence isn't about preventing only nuclear war.
HOMELAND SECURITY
MAGA porn, hate for Trump: China-based accounts stoke division. Twitter has disrupted three China-based operations that were covertly trying to influence American politics in the months leading up the midterm elections by amplifying politically polarizing topics, according to a trove of data released by the social media giant to researchers and The Washington Post.
US woman sentenced to 20 years for leading all-female ISIL unit. US prosecutors describe Allison Fluke-Ekren, a Kansas mother and former teacher, as the 'empress of ISIS.'
Tens of thousands of veterans, family members sign up to work the polls this election season. The past few election cycles have been marked by disinformation and allegations of fraud that have sought to undermine the election process in the country — a loss of faith that groups like Vet the Vote hope to restore by encouraging active-duty and former troops to serve.
CHINA THREAT
Biden administration foreign policy tracker: November. Xi Jinping secured his third term as head of the Chinese Communist Party on October 23, with all signs pointing toward the further suppression of political pluralism and market forces at home as well as greater confrontation with the United States abroad.
Basing B-52s in Australia would keep potential adversaries guessing, expert says. A plan to rotate U.S. B-52 bombers to Australia's Northern Territory shows the Pentagon has found a useful alternative to basing aircraft on Guam, according to security experts.
A-10 Warthogs deploy to Guam with aim to keep adversaries guessing. U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolts arrived on Guam last week for a dynamic force employment operation that aims to foster unpredictability in overseas deployments, the service said in a news release Wednesday.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Drone-killing Vampires due in Ukraine next year, Pentagon says. The U.S. is aiming to send Ukraine the “Vampire” counter-drone system by mid-2023, with a contract award expected within months, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 252. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a “reliable and long-term defence” was needed for the safe passage of ships carrying grain exports from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. The United States said Russia fired about 100 missiles on Monday and Tuesday. Ukraine said it shot most of those missiles down, but some had hit power stations, knocking out electricity and water supplies.
Russia orders wider evacuation of occupied southern Ukraine. Russia told civilians on Tuesday to leave a swathe of Ukraine along the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, a major extension of an evacuation order that Kyiv says amounts to the forced depopulation of occupied territory.
Russian defense minister insists Ukraine infrastructure is military target. Ukraine says water service is restored in Kyiv after airstrikes; United Nations warns grain will no longer ship from Ukrainian ports after Russia nixes agreement.
Most troops deployed for Ukraine response still in Europe. Roughly 20,000 U.S. troops were mobilized throughout central and eastern Europe in the early months of this year, first in anticipation of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and then in response to it.
US inspectors in Ukraine won't be near the front, Pentagon says. U.S. defense personnel inspecting foreign weapons shipments inside Ukraine won't be close to the front-line fighting, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday when questioned over the risk of engaging with Russian forces in the war.
Dramatic video shows why Russian helicopters are sitting ducks in Ukraine. A new video showing a Russian Mi-8 helicopter being shot down by Ukrainian forces underscores how the Russians have failed to gain air superiority more than eight months after launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Norway puts military on raised alert level in response to Ukraine war. PM says there is no reason to believe Russia intends to invade but ‘we must be more vigilant.'
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea fires at least 17 missiles, including first to land close to South's territorial waters. North and South Korea fired missiles into waters off each other's coasts for the first time on Wednesday as Seoul retaliated to Pyongyang's latest barrage of weapons tests, further escalating tensions in the region.
100 USAF aircraft to fly in large-scale exercise with South Korea. Exercise Valiant Shield, a large joint aerial training event between the U.S. and South Korea, kicked off Oct. 31 with U.S. Air Force fourth-generation fighters flying alongside F-35s from the U.S. Marine Corps and Republic of Korea Air Force.
IRAN THREAT
Iran is preparing to send additional weapons including ballistic missiles to Russia to use in Ukraine, western officials say. Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia, US on high alert after warning of imminent Iranian attack. Saudi officials said Tehran is poised to attack both the kingdom and Erbil in Iraq, and the White House National Security Council said the U.S. is prepared to respond.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Human rights coalition to Biden: No military intervention in Haiti. A broad coalition of civil society groups called on President Biden to permanently discard the possibility of a military intervention in Haiti as the country descends further into chaos.
Israel elections: Benjamin Netanyahu set for dramatic comeback, exit polls say. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on course for victory in the country's general election, exit polls say.
SPACE THREAT
US Strategic Space Review signed out, but no unclassified version is coming. “If we want deterrence to be effective, it takes three things: 1. Capabilities 2. Credible threats in the mind of the adversary and 3. The will to communicate the first two,” Chris Stone, Mitchell Institute fellow, told Breaking Defense.
SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy rocket with 1st national security payload. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful launch vehicle in operation, carried its first National Security Space Launch mission for the U.S. Department of Defense to orbit on Tuesday.
US Space Force Tetra-1 launches to GEO. Delivered in less than 15 months by prime contractor Millennium Space Systems, Tetra-1 is an experimental satellite designed for a variety of prototype missions in and around geostationary orbit, or GEO. The launch marks a new era for the Space Force, as it focuses on building and fielding new capabilities faster than in the past.
Russia launches Soyuz rocket carrying military satellite – state media. Russia has launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a military satellite into space, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday citing the defence ministry.
US MILITARY
US Navy touts hypersonic missile progress ahead of 2025 fielding. The head of the U.S. Navy's Strategic Systems Programs office is confident the service can field hypersonic weapons on a Zumwalt-class destroyer in 2025 and on a Virginia-class submarine in 2029 despite the significant workload that remains.
Marine air wing commander touts peace through strength, partnerships in Indo-Pacific. The new commander of Marine Corps air power in the Pacific said the force has never been more lethal, though he aims to maintain peace in the region through deterrence and partnerships with allies.
What the US Navy must learn from Ukraine's bold drone attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet. Ukraine's attack using unmanned boats provides a preview of the future.
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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