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
Pentagon chief warns ‘no checks on Mr. Putin’ amid nuclear threats. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, warning there is no one to stop him from following through on his recent threats of using nuclear weapons.
The age of predatory nuclear-weapon states has arrived. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine makes at least one thing clear: It’s time for us to update how we think about nuclear weapons. For the first time in the nuclear era, one country used loudly issued nuclear threats — repeated just last week — to deter other countries from intervening in a large-scale conventional war of aggression. We have entered the age of “predatory nuclear-weapon states.”
How Russian battlefield defeats in Ukraine could lead to terrorism in the West. As Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to suffer humiliating battlefield defeats, his growing desperation may lead him to conclude that Russian-backed terrorist attacks against Western countries are a legitimate response. Attacks could be directed toward European military targets, NATO-related facilities or even civilians. Russia’s conduct in Ukraine, Syria and Chechnya has demonstrated that for Putin, nothing is beyond the pale.
CHINA THREAT
LONG OVERDUE – Senators propose China ‘Grand Strategy’ commission to guide US policy. A bipartisan group of 15 senators is seeking to create a commission tasked with formulating a “grand strategy” on China that avoids conflict with the world’s most populous nation while allowing the U.S. to pursue its interests.
Taiwan adds new amphibious warfare ship to defense inventory. New addition to Taiwan’s navy is part of an initiative by President Tsai Ing-wen to foster defense self-sufficiency.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
American veterans ‘prayed for death’ on brutal ride from Ukraine. One of two American veterans released from Russian captivity after being captured in Ukraine says they both prayed for death during the ride to freedom.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 222. Ukraine claimed full control of Russia’s eastern logistics hub of Lyman, its most significant battlefield gain in weeks, setting the stage for further advances aimed at cutting Russia’s supply lines to its battered troops to a single route. Ukraine’s capture of a city within territory of Putin’s declared annexation demonstrates that Ukrainians are making progress and can push back against Russian forces, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
9 NATO countries call to admit Ukraine as counteroffensive presses on. The leaders of Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia issued a joint statement backing a path to NATO membership for Ukraine.
Three maps that explain Russia’s annexations and losses in Ukraine. Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are the areas Putin is illegally annexing, as Russian forces suffer setbacks around the eastern city of Lyman.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
North Korea conducts 4th round of missile tests in 1 week. It is North Korea’s fourth round of weapons launches this week and seen as a response to nearby military drills by the U.S. and its allies.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
BIDEN ENCOURAGING HOSTAGE-TAKING? – American hostages are released from Venezuela and Iran. Caracas freed seven Americans in a trade for two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady who had been convicted on drug charges. Separately, Tehran released its longest-held American captive.
US ships seize $100 million of hash, heroin in the Gulf of Oman. A U.S. Navy destroyer and a Coast Guard cutter operating in the Gulf of Oman seized close to $100 million worth of hashish and heroin from two separate vessels Tuesday and Wednesday, according to statements from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
PENTAGON ‘WOKE WATCH’
Air Force Academy’s ‘mom/dad’ controversy draws renewed attention to a modern, military-wide debate. The “woke wars” that have been raging in U.S. culture for the past few years have now arrived full force in military academies, as evidenced by the recent controversy over a diversity and inclusion briefing at the Air Force Academy — and the academy’s defense of the program.
US MILITARY AND SPACE
SCAPEGOAT FOR NAVY COMMAND FAILURES? Sailor found not guilty of Bonhomme Richard arson. A military judge on Friday acquitted a sailor of arson in a fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a blow to the Navy as it faces allegations of improper training and maintenance of the $1.2 billion amphibious assault ship.
America’s incredible shrinking military recruiting pool is getting smaller and smaller. The most common reasons for disqualification from service were obesity, drug and alcohol abuse, and health and medical issues.
Army misses recruiting goal by 15,000 soldiers. Officials said the Army brought in about 45,000 soldiers during the fiscal year that ended Friday. The goal was 60,000.
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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