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
HASC members push back at Sen. Reed AUKUS criticisms: ‘Far from a zero-sum game.' Key members of the House Armed Services Committee pushed back at the idea that AUKUS could be a “zero sum game” for nuclear submarines.
VERY SHORT-SIGHTED – Congress trims funding for Pentagon ‘chem-bio' programs. The Pentagon will soon release its biodefense posture review.
DEFENSE BUDGET
Group of moderate Democrats lobbying against defense spending cuts. A group of moderate Democrats is sounding the alarm on potential cuts to defense spending as Republicans grapple with the possibility of Pentagon budget slashes that were part of a deal to secure Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the gavel last week.
NATIONAL SECURITY
AND THERE'S MORE – Biden aides find second batch of classified documents at new undisclosed location. On Monday, the White House acknowledged a “small number” of classified documents had been found in an office Biden used.
NOT SO FAST, TEAM BIDEN – Congress announces commission to review National Defense Strategy. A congressional bipartisan commission will examine President Joe Biden's 2022 National Defense Strategy and craft recommendations for its implementation, Congress announced Wednesday.
STILL WEAK – Three steps toward a ‘whole of nation' approach for national security. In October, the Biden administration released its full National Security Strategy (NSS) and National Defense Strategy (NDS). The documents outline the overall national security strategy for the United States and for the Department of Defense (DOD). Both strategies note the rise of China and the belligerence of Russia, especially in light of its invasion of Ukraine. The NSS and NDS emphasize the need for the U.S. to secure its supply chain and industrial base, protect its critical infrastructure, empower allies, and strengthen its position in advanced research and technology.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Florida governor sends National Guard to help with Cuban migrants in the Florida Keys. Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the National Guard to deal with all the Cuban migrants landing in the Florida Keys.
CHINA THREAT
DEFENDING TAIWAN AGAINST CHINA – Japan to OK new US Marine littoral regiment on Okinawa. Japan on Wednesday will formally approve U.S. plans for a new Marine quick-reaction force on Okinawa and unveil plans to deepen military cooperation on Japan's remote southwest islands near Taiwan, according to U.S. officials.
DEEPENING UK-JAPAN TIES TO FACE CHINA – UK, Japan ink agreement to enable bilateral troop deployments. Britain has signed a major defense agreement with Japan, giving the two nations the ability to deploy troops in the other country.
Australia finalizing new security pact with Papua New Guinea. The leaders of Australia and neighboring Papua New Guinea say they are finalizing a new security treaty – a move seen as a challenge to China's growing assertiveness in the Pacific region.
UKRAINE WAR
Battle rages in Ukraine town; Russian military sees shakeup. Ukraine says its forces are holding out against a Russian onslaught in one of the fiercest and bloodiest recent ground battles of the nearly 11-month war.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 323. Russia appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as overall commander of forces to take charge of its invasion of Ukraine in the biggest shake-up yet of its military command structure after months of battlefield defeats. The head of the private military firm Wagner Group said his forces had achieved the complete “liberation” of Soledar, killing about 500 pro-Ukraine soldiers.
Putin changes His Ukraine war's leader, calls for quicker aircraft deals. Russia's top military officer was put in charge of troops fighting in Ukraine on Wednesday, a move that appears to reflect the Kremlin's dissatisfaction with the current leadership and flaws in the military's performance.
Ukraine needs US help in fighting two wars, Sen. King says. The Maine independent recently returned from meetings with leaders in Ukraine.
Russia on verge of biggest gain in Ukraine since summer. Russian forces have nearly taken full control of Soledar, a small mining town in eastern Ukraine, placing Moscow on the verge of its most significant gain since August.
CHENAULT'S WWII ‘FLYING TIGERS' GO TO UKRAINE? – A mercenary air force for Ukraine? It's not as far-fetched as it sounds. The idea of leasing an air force to Ukraine could solve several current challenges on the issue of military support. And some discussions have reportedly already taken place.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
LONG OVERDUE – TRUMP'S BIG RED BUTTON GOES TO SOUTH KOREA – In a first, South Korea declares nuclear weapons a policy option. President Yoon Suk Yeol said that if North Korea's nuclear threat grows, his country may build a nuclear arsenal of its own or ask the United States to redeploy in the South.
IRAN THREAT
Iran gives death sentence to former defense official, a dual UK citizen. Alireza Akbari, a former deputy defense minister, was convicted of spying, in a case he described as a slap at Britain, where he had lived.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, ASIA, AFRICA
US military tanks at Dutch port en route to NATO frontier. A large number of U.S. army tanks and military vehicles began arriving at the Dutch port of Vlissingen on Wednesday, before heading to Poland and Lithuania as part of efforts to strengthen NATO's eastern flank.
US military donates weapons, and military equipment to Somalia. The United States government presented the Somali National Army with a $9 million donation of military equipment at a ceremony on Sunday, as the country's military continues to fight against al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda linked group.
Keep US troops in Syria. Four years after a terror attack claimed four U.S. lives, here's a look at how the American presence remains useful.
BIDEN'S AFGHAN DISASTER
Congress must not abandon female Afghan soldiers who fought alongside us. Unless Congress or the Biden administration acts, their ‘humanitarian parole' status is set to expire, putting their lives in peril.
TALIBAN NOW THE TARGET – Blast kills at least 5 outside Afghan Foreign Ministry in Kabul. A Taliban police spokesman said that those killed in the blast were civilians and that many others were injured. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
SPACE
DEFEATING CHINA IN SPACE – Space Force official: To beat China, US has to spend smarter. Col. Eric Felt: ‘What's so exciting to the Space Force about all this commercial innovation is that we can use it to deter conflict.'
US MILITARY
How big of a fleet? A look at the US Navy's size and readiness needs. The U.S. Navy is struggling with a fundamental question: What numbers and types of assets might it need in the coming decades?
Navy frustration building over late weapons, ship deliveries. Exasperation is growing over the U.S Navy's inability to get missiles and weapons delivered fast enough to keep its own magazines full, let alone offer more assistance to Ukraine or other partners in need, several leaders said at this week's annual Surface Navy Association conference.
Army fielding 2 Iron Dome batteries at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. “The Army appears to be keeping it accessible should the need arise in the US Indo Pacific region… but there's a larger question about what really is going to be the future of these Iron Dome batteries,” said Tom Karako, a missile defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
GET SOME, AIR FORCE! – Watch 24 C-17s roll out from an Air Force base in a matter of minutes. It was the largest single flight of C-17s to date.
WELL-INTENTIONED, BUT DOES ARMY NEED ANOTHER EXTRANEOUS RIBBON? Army may establish new recruiting referral ribbon. The Army is considering establishing a new ribbon that troops would receive for referring applicants to the service, officials confirmed to Army Times.
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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When it was first reported that the TOP SECRET documents were found where Biden had stashed them I predicted it would be reported that they were planted. I also felt and still feel Donald Trump will be blamed for it. Biden got his hands on those documents when he was vice president. First, who in his organization who didn’t have security clearance would be able to get his hands on them? Obviously Biden will get off and go scott free just the same as Hillary did. Also, as vice president, Biden lived in Blair House. So why without an ulterior motive would he take the documents to his home in Delaware. If they were things he needed for his job, they would have been stashed in Blair House, in D.C. Trump’s documents were checked by the Archives and delivered to his home. It was done legally but the corrupt FBI attacked his home and seized them. Why was the same not done with Biden? He broke the law and endangered our nation. Trump did not. He, unlike Biden followed the rules and got thoroughly screwed for doing the right thing.