FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with respected national security expert 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.
POLITICS
Another Continuing Resolution? The enemy is us. Another Continuing Resolution would impact military readiness when it comes to everything from munitions relevant to the fight in Ukraine to the newly revealed B-21 stealth bomber, warns Elaine McCusker of AEI.
How a Republican majority in the House will affect defense policy. A slim Republican majority in the House coupled with narrow Democratic control in the Senate could gum up the works as Congress sets its defense policy agenda in 2023.
Who is Paul Whelan, the former US Marine held in Russia? Convicted of espionage charges that both he and U.S. officials say are baseless, the American remains imprisoned in Russia despite two high-profile exchanges this year.
WHAT ABOUT EX-PRESIDENTS TAKING MONEY FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS? – Democrats ask consulting firms for information on retired military officers advising foreign governments. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) sent letters to the leaders of five consulting firms on Wednesday asking for information on their companies work with foreign governments.
DEFENSE BUDGET
House passes defense bill with more Taiwan, Ukraine security aid. The House on Thursday passed 350-80 the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act after making several concessions to the Senate, which did not pass its own version of the bill for the second straight year in a row.
A graphical look at scenarios for the US defense budget through 2027. The U.S. Defense Department and the rest of the federal government have been operating under a continuing resolution since fiscal 2023 began on Oct. 1.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Ukraine says Western allies shouldn't fear Russia falling apart. Ukraine's foreign minister defended Kyiv's right to strike targets on Russian soil and vowed that Ukraine would never accept a peace settlement that leaves occupied lands, including Crimea, under Moscow's control.
The Ukraine fight is just part of Russia's war. Western leaders must remind their populaces what is under pressure and at stake.
Global leaders fixate on warfare and economic stability. Climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity. And of course, Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
Woke-ism ‘not a factor' in the Marine Corps, commandant says. “I don't see it. I don't hear it. They're not talking about it,” Gen. David Berger said at the Reagan National Defense Forum.
US military braces for impact of Covid vaccine mandate repeal. As a repeal of the US military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate took a step closer to becoming law on Thursday, military officials and experts are warning it's a change that could have adverse ripple effects on military readiness and the ability of service members to deploy around the world.
Air Force pilots seeking religious vaccine exemption still grounded while other unvaxxed members can fly. Last week, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction from October that protects unvaccinated Air Force service members from being punished or involuntarily terminated from the military due to religious objections to the vaccine.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Jury sees classified documents in Tampa trial of retired Special Forces soldier. The documents government agents say they found among Jeremy Brown's belongings last year are so sensitive that the general public can't see them and a jury in his federal trial could only look at copies inside special binders kept under close guard.
CHINA THREAT
CHINESE PR SPIN? – Former PLA officer says China is restraining Russia over use of nuclear weapons. Former senior colonel in China's People's Liberation Army Zhou Bo talks to the FT's global China editor James Kynge about Beijing's leverage with Moscow, how China's influence can prevent the use of nuclear weapons in Europe and why it wants a strong relationship with Europe even in the face of increased competition with the US.
US special operators have a new goal: Creating ‘multiple dilemmas' for China. After more than two decades of fighting insurgents and terrorists in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, SOCOM is moving into a new era in which kicking down doors to capture or kill high-value targets is not the main measure of success. Now US special operators are focusing on working with allies and partner forces to shape the environment and support the rest of the US military in deterring and, if need be, fighting China.
Makin Island ARG, Marines drill with Indonesian forces in the Java Sea. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group with the embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit is now operating in the Java Sea with Indonesian forces for the next two weeks as part of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Indonesia 2022.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
US sending $275 million in military aid to Ukraine. Including the latest aid, the U.S. has now committed more than $19.3 billion in weapons and other equipment to Ukraine since Russia attacked on Feb. 24.
Adviser to Ukraine's defense minister talks post-war forces, industry. As Russia's war against Ukraine continues, the Ukrainian military has liberated large portions of its territory previously occupied by Russian forces.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 289. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the West's desire to maintain its dominance of global affairs was increasing the risk of potential conflicts.
How Ukraine could use ‘threat emitters' to trick Russian pilots. Here's what threat emitters do, and how this training tool could be used in a real war.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
At arm's length: NATO juggles conflicts from Ukraine to the Balkans. Without firing a shot, NATO is emerging as a winner from the Ukraine war as Russia's invading force stumbles and nations clamor to join the Western alliance.
Africa partners privately oppose Russian actions, says Pentagon chief. The Pentagon's Africa chief told reporters Tuesday that she believes African countries are squarely against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite some appearances to the contrary.
Japan says it has sent fighter jets to the Philippines for first time since World War II.Japanese fighter jets are operating in the Philippines for the first time since World War II at a former U.S. air base, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force announced.
‘Unprecedented' visit from incoming IDF chief signals concerns about relations with DC. Defense sources here say a recent visit from the IDF's upcoming chief was timed explicitly to ensure continued operational dialogue with the Pentagon in case relations between the two nations' defense ministers become rocky.
BIDEN'S AFGHAN DISASTER
GOP senators remove visa program for war interpreters from spending bill. The end may be coming for a program that resettles Afghan interpreters who worked with U.S. forces during the 20-year-long war, after provisions for its extension were removed from the Senate version of the defense spending bill.
Afghan interpreter rescued by Marine officer denied visa to stay in US. Marine Maj. Tom Schueman and Zainullah “Zak” Zaki wrote the book “Always Faithful” about Zak's harrowing escape from Afghanistan.
US MILITARY
Project Overmatch: US Navy preps to deploy secretive multidomain tech. The U.S. Navy is moving quickly to link its fleet through its Project Overmatch initiative, which has been kept almost entirely secret for two years.
US Navy secretary talks drones, fleet size and South American security. In the year and a half since Carlos Del Toro was sworn in as U.S. Navy secretary, sailors and Marines have seen significant changes and challenges.
White House steps in as Navy, Pentagon feud over amphibious ship study. The White House was called in to help settle a disagreement between the Department of the Navy and the Department of Defense regarding an amphibious warship requirements study owed to Congress, a defense official said.
US warships need faster ways to rearm, repair, Navy secretary says. The Navy needs to work out how to repair and rearm warships faster to get them back into a fight, the service's secretary said.
US Air Force lays groundwork for major changes to bomber fleet. With December's public debut of the B-21 Raider, the U.S. Air Force's preparations to receive its newest stealth bomber — and transform its bomber fleet — will kick off in 2023.
What could be part of the B-21 ‘family of systems'? New report offers some insight. With the unveiling of the B-21 Raider, speculation and interest in the new bomber have reached a fever pitch, with the first flight still to come in mid-2023.
Dramatic changes in military pay to be focus of new study. Lawmakers want Pentagon leaders to launch a full review of military basic pay to see if troops' salaries are high enough to keep up with the needs of military families and whether the current pay tables need to be overhauled.
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.
It does appear that, respecting this “prisoner swap” Russia got the prize, while the U.S. got the booby.
Leads to Nuclear War??
Possible
The only disintegration on the table is America’s…either economically or via extreme prejudice which are both satisfactory to the Billionaires who want America destroyed eithin their remaining lifetimes.
Seriously plans for a world without American interference are underway in all Nuclear weapons states.
Really disintegration of America is just one more WEF statistical population reduction thing.
Check it out.