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Today’s PDB includes a variety of critical, global national security issues.
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READ TODAY’S PDB BELOW:
CHINA THREAT
THIS IS SERIOUS – China likely to use ‘nuclear coercion’ in bid to take Taiwan by 2027, STRATCOM chief says. China is closely watching the war in Ukraine and “will likely use nuclear coercion to their advantage in the future,” Adm. Charles Richard, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, or STRATCOM, told lawmakers on Wednesday. “Their intent is to achieve the military capability to reunify Taiwan by 2027.” Adm. Richard urged Congress to restore funding for a ship-based, variable-yield nuclear missile, since low-yield nukes are crucial to deterrence.
RUSSIA THREAT
LET FREEDOM RING – How millions of Russians are tearing holes in the Digital Iron Curtain. Daily downloads in Russia of the 10 most popular VPNs jumped from below 15,000 just before the war to as many as 475,000 in March. As of this week, downloads were continuing at a rate of nearly 300,000 a day, according to data compiled for the Washington Post by the analytics firm Apptopia, which relies on information from apps, publicly available data and an algorithm to come up with estimates.
CRITICAL BATTLE, BRAVE RESISTANCE – Mariupol steel mill battle rages as Ukraine repels attacks. Heavy fighting raged Thursday at the besieged steel plant in Mariupol, as Russian forces attempted to finish off the city’s last-ditch defenders and complete the capture of the strategically vital port.
Russia-Ukraine live news: Battle rages in Azovstal ‘hellscapes.’ Ukraine’s forces in the Luhansk region are preparing for more powerful offensives from the Russians in the next three to four days, the region’s governor has said. In the town of Mykhailivka, businessmen are registered and taxed “according to occupiers’ rules”, while in the village of Chernihivka farmers have to report land they own and rent before they are allowed to till it, it said.
US Army in Germany resumes training Ukrainian forces, with focus on Western weaponry. A Ukrainian officer had an encouraging message for the contingent of U.S. soldiers that left a Ukrainian military base shortly before Russia launched its full-fledged invasion of the country in February.
MORE FLEXIBILITY AFTER ELECTION – For first time, France talks openly about sending weapons to Ukraine. France has been tight-lipped about what it is sending to Ukraine, until a few days after President Emmanuel Macron won a second term.
US cyber squad boosts Lithuanian defenses amid Russian threat. The U.S. military said it dispatched a cyber team to Lithuania to expose malign activity and strengthen the country’s networks amid mounting Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
Belarusian president, a Putin ally, did not expect war to ‘drag on.’ Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — Russia’s staunch ally — said he did not expect the war in Ukraine to “drag on this way.”
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Three people killed in suspected Palestinian attack in Israel. Police set up roadblocks to try to catch the assailants who fled the scene, about 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv. On television, Elad’s mayor urged residents to stay indoors while security forces were still operating.
Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa as hundreds of settlers gather. Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Thursday, injuring at least 16 Palestinians and arresting dozens.
Rights groups slam Israeli ruling that allows razing of villages. Rights groups have decried a decision by an Israeli court that paves the way for Israeli forces to forcibly expel Palestinian Bedouin communities in Masafer Yatta, an area in the southern occupied West Bank.
OPPOSING US NOT LOOKING AS GOOD NOW – Nicaragua quietly seeks to re-engage with US -sources. Laureano Ortega’s overture comes as he, other family members and those in his father’s inner circle face U.S. sanctions, and Managua’s ally Russia is increasingly isolated by Washington and other Western powers over President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
US MILITARY AND SPACE
New ruling threatens Coast Guard’s high seas counter-drug mission. The Coast Guard spends more than $2 billion annually as part of the effort to stop illegal narcotics from entering the United States.
COOL – DARPA’s nuclear space propulsion project advances to next phase. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is kicking off the next phase of a program to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear-powered propulsion systems operating between Earth and the moon in what’s known as cislunar space.
What a general’s court-martial means for the military’s ‘old boys’ club.’ No general in the 75-year history of the Air Force had ever been through a court-martial, let alone been convicted. But in April, both happened.
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.
Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Liberty Defense News. As a Marine Corps officer, he led Marines, served aboard ships in the Pacific and jumped from helicopters and airplanes. He was also a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at U.S. embassies worldwide. He later ran for state and federal office, taught political science, wrote for the editorial board of a major newspaper and had his own radio show. A graduate of Georgetown, London and Cambridge universities, he brings decades of experience and insight to the issues that most threaten our American liberty – at home and from abroad. To read more go to: paulcrespo.com.
Dear Thoroughly Marxist Milley and Lord Austin III,
Mount lasers in modified KC-47’s and B-52’s. Restart SAC patrols 24/7 in a layered defense. Russia and Communist China have deployed their Hypersonic and Hyperglide nukes………………..LAST YEAR!
BTW, stop testing Lasers in the damned desert in perfect weather!
US better get lasers in space …pretty …damned …quick looking down.
Looking up, Lasers don’t work in rain, snow, temperature inversions or heavy smoke.
But FIRST …..seal the dammned border and smoke out the smuggled nukes you lame Asss0les let in the past 13 years. Try near Yellowstone, if ya know what I mean!
SECONDLY………..Raid and seal the two GULFTAINER ports. Ya, I know what’s coming through there.