TUESDAY PDB – Haley calls for US to ‘take out' Iranian leaders responsible for deadly strikes. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley called for the U.S. to conduct targeted strikes against the Iranian leaders responsible for attacks against U.S. service members in the Middle East.
JUST LIKE TRUMP DID.
Who is Kataib Hezbollah, the group blamed for killing US troops? Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran.
Fatal drone attack similar to recent incidents in Iraq and Syria. There was “nothing new” about the way an airborne drone attacked U.S. troops in Jordan on Sunday.
Pentagon IDs Army Reserve soldiers killed in Jordan Tower 22 attack. Military officials have released the identities of three Army Reserve soldiers killed in the suicide drone attack by Iran-backed militias Sunday at a U.S. military base in northeastern Jordan near the country's borders with Syria and Iraq.
What is Tower 22, the base in Jordan where 3 US troops were killed? A little-discussed U.S. military desert outpost in the far reaches of northeastern Jordan has become the focus of international attention after a deadly drone attack there.
Drone that killed US troops may have been mistaken for friendly. The Iranian sponsored drone used in the Jordan attack may have been confused with an American drone returning to the U.S. installation.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.
Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:
NATIONAL SECURITY
The US is in the midst of a Middle East regional war. Team Biden has a regional war on its hands in the Middle East and needs to change its strategy fast.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returns to work at the Pentagon after cancer surgery complications. Austin returned on Monday after nearly a month's absence because of prostate cancer.
US weapons exports up 50 percent in 2023 as Washington challenges Russia, China. American defense companies racked up $81 billion in new foreign military sales last year, with huge deals spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine leading the way.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Lt. gov.: Texas ‘will not stop' putting up razor wire on border after Supreme Court ruling. Dan Patrick (R) said Monday the state will continue to build fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border, despite a Supreme Court order last week allowing federal law enforcement to tear down state-erected barriers.
Maine lawmakers consider request to give subpoena power to committee investigating mass shooting. The independent commission is hoping to bring Army officials to the table to testify about shooter and former reservist Robert Card's history in March.
Coast Guard stops $55 million worth of illegal drugs from entering the US. Six suspected drug traffickers were arrested after attempting to bring $55 million worth of illicit narcotics into the U.S. on Monday
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
Supreme Court asked to block West Point from considering race as admissions factor. The group behind the Supreme Court cases that eliminated affirmative action in higher education wants the justices to block race-conscious admissions policies at the U.S. Military Academy. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the court's 3 liberals, and the one who handles emergency requests from New York, ordered West Point to respond by 5 p.m. Tuesday, a rather quick timeline.
OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – VA expected to follow Pentagon in removing barriers to IVF treatment for unmarried veterans and same-sex couples.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR
Document spells out allegations against 12 UN employees Israel says participated in brutal Hamas terror attack. It claims seven stormed into Israeli territory, including one who participated in a kidnapping and another who helped to steal a soldier's body.
Israeli undercover forces dressed as women and medics storm West Bank hospital, killing 3 terrorists. The dramatic raid underscored the spillover of deadly violence to the territory during the war in Gaza.
Israeli defense chief tells US he won't allow rebuilding of illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza. Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told U.S. officials last week that he and the Israeli military will not allow the rebuilding of illegal outposts or settlements by Israeli settlers inside the Gaza Strip, four U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
CHINA THREAT
US disabled Chinese hacking network targeting critical infrastructure. Such breaches could enable China to remotely disrupt important facilities in the Indo-Pacific region that support or service U.S. military operations. U.S. officials are concerned the hackers are working to hurt U.S. readiness in case of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Why Chinese spy balloons are back in force over Taiwan. China is stepping up a campaign to coerce and intimidate Taiwan, sending batches of spy balloons over the self-governing island nation that flouted Beijing's warning with the election of a pro-U.S. president earlier this month.
Transparent Sea: AUKUS looks to AI, quantum in hunt for Chinese submarines. AI analysis of sensor data, including new kinds of quantum-based detection, could give a lethal edge in undersea warfare — to either the Australia-UK-US alliance or to China.
War with China would be an unmitigated strategic catastrophe. The U.S. too often suffers from historical amnesia and technological hubris. One striking example proves this point.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine's hopes for victory over Russia are slipping away. It's hard to ignore the sense of desperation in Ukraine's corridors of power. Nearly two years since Russia launched its invasion, Kyiv keeps asking friends to: Deliver us more arms, more aid, more political commitments.
NATO chief huddles with Trump allies in longshot Ukraine funding push. Jens Stoltenberg is also in Washington this week to meet with lawmakers and Biden officials.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Czech Republic joins F-35 ranks, inks ‘most important' deal with US for 24 aircraft. WASHINGTON — The Czech Republic today inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the US to purchase 24 F-35 fifth generation fighters, in what the Czech government called the “most important project in the history of the Czech Armed Forces.”
Leader of Somalia's breakaway Somaliland says deal with Ethiopia will allow it to build a naval base. His government will press ahead with an agreement signed earlier this month with landlocked Ethiopia to give it access to the sea by way of Somaliland's coastline.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Mideast waters challenge unmanned vessels, says US Navy leader. Operational and environmental challenges in Middle Eastern waters are hindering the pace of innovation around unmanned surface vessels.
US deepens ties with Angola, a model for Washington's ties to Africa. This oil-rich nation long turned to China for infrastructure and to Russia for tanks and missiles, a lingering legacy of Cold War power rivalries.
US MILITARY
SEMPER FI AND RIP – Honorary Marine, whom the Corps welcomed as one of its own, dies at 17. He became an honorary Marine in November 2023 following a diagnosis of terminal bone cancer but died Friday morning at his home in Georgia.
Marine Corps plans to upgrade 50,000 radios across the force. The multi-channel, software-defined radios will ensure communications equipment does not fall into obsolescence.
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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