FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty Defense News (ALDN) – 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
PLAYING HARDBALL – Senators want to block Turkey F-16 sale until NATO expansion succeeds. More than a quarter of the Senate sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday threatening to tank a $20 billion arms sale that includes 40 Lockheed Martin Block 70 F-16 fighter jets and upgrades to Turkey's current fleet so long as Ankara continues to block Sweden and Finland from joining NATO.
New House Vets chair plans focus on PACT Act oversight, medical access. The House Veterans' Affairs Committee has 13 new members and a new chairman this session, but the leader of the panel says he hopes veterans see from the group the same focus on improving veterans benefits that they have in recent years.
NATIONAL SECURITY
TIT FOR TAT – FBI searched Mike Pence's home for additional classified materials. FBI agents searched former Vice President Mike Pence‘s residence Friday as federal authorities continue their classified document investigation, two sources confirmed to Fox News.
HOMELAND SECURITY
EPIDEMIC? – Air Force intel officer had hundreds of classified and secret files at his Florida home. A retired Air Force intelligence officer accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors last year admitting to illegally possessing hundreds of top secret and classified documents, according to court records filed Friday.
Retired Navy captain sentenced in ‘Fat Leonard' bribery scandal. Retired Capt. David Haas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in 2020.
CHINA THREAT
US Shoots Down Unidentified ‘High-Altitude Object' Over Alaska. U.S. fighter jets have shot down a second possible reconnaissance balloon on President Biden's orders. Administration spokesman John Kirby revealed that the takedown occurred over a frozen body of water in Alaska. A recovery effort is underway.
YES, IT IS – ‘A big deal': US, Philippines tighten military ties. The United States and the Philippines have announced an expansion of America's military presence in the Southeast Asian country.
Taiwan's Tsai welcomes retired US admiral for China talks. Retired Adm. Phil Davidson, former head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned in 2021 that the island could face an invasion from China this decade.
UKRAINE WAR
“Putin's Chef” now serving up gains for Russia in Ukraine. A paramilitary force called the Wagner Group, led by a man dubbed “Putin's Chef,” is helping Russia in its war on Ukraine.
US Pledges Longer-Range Glide Bombs for Ukraine. The latest U.S. aid package includes a game-changing new weapon for Kyiv. One that doesn't have tracks or a turret.
Ukraine warns Russia massing 500,000 troops on border for offensive. Ukraine is warning that Moscow is regrouping hundreds of thousands of troops on the border for a massive new offensive, just weeks before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.
As Russia strikes Ukrainian civilians, Putin says the war is just. Invoking World War II on the 80th anniversary of victory at Stalingrad, Vladimir Putin repeated his false justifications for the invasion.
Losing Crimea would escalate Russian-Ukraine conflict, former defense secretary says. Losing Crimea, which holds an important naval base in Sevastopol, to Ukraine would cross a “real red line” for Russia and likely risk an escalation of the ongoing war, a former U.S. defense secretary said Wednesday.
I'LL BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR – General Atomics offers 2 Reaper drones to Ukraine for $1. San Diego's General Atomics Aeronautical Systems recently offered to provide two MQ-9 Reaper drones to Ukraine for $1 but first must get approval from the U.S. government.
IRAN THREAT
Iran blames Israel for drone strike on Isfahan military site. “Early investigations suggest that the Israeli regime was responsible for this attempted act of aggression,” reads a letter published by Iran's U.N. mission.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA
The US military is ramping up operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. ISIS may be down, but it's far from out.
India to boost defense spending 13%, with billions for new weapons. India set aside 1.62 trillion rupees ($19.87 billion) for procurement of new weapons and platforms to be sourced mainly through domestic defense contractors in fiscal year 2023-24.
Israel and Sudan agree to revive peace deal. Israel said a signing ceremony to normalize relations could take place in Washington in a few months, after Sudan establishes a civilian government.
Qatari navy's new amphibious ship to help fulfil nation's ‘unique' needs. Naval buys position the peninsula Gulf nation to work with international allies, while sailing into deeper waters.
BIDEN'S AFGHAN DISASTER
DUH – Afghanistan watchdog: US must consider whether aid dollars are helping Taliban. The government's watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction said Thursday that the Taliban is growing ever more oppressive, and lawmakers need to consider whether too many U.S. aid dollars are ending up in their hands.
SPACE
Space Force object tracking upgrade delayed by engineering challenges. The U.S. Space Force is a year behind on its most recent effort to fully decommission its legacy space object catalog and replace it with a modernized command and control capability designed to track space launches and monitor on-orbit debris.
US MILITARY
DARPA wants a heavy cargo plane that can land at sea. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has tapped two companies to design, and possibly build, an experimental seaplane that can transport large amounts of cargo on the water.
Post-Global War on Terror, different missions for the National Guard. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over, the National Guard is facing a period of transition.
STILL, ONE GOOD MAN IS DEAD – 2 Marines found not guilty of homicide in Green Beret veteran's death. Gunnery Sgts. Josh Negron and Danny Draher were acquitted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide.
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.
READ NEXT: WATCH: Fox News Star Claims Republicans Handed Biden GIANT Win
Better move: get Turkey out of NATO, & stop all ales of weapons there, admit Sweden & Finland. Then get the UN out of the US, for good, & kept our money here for AMERICANS, for a change!