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
STILL NEED OVERSIGHT – Biden: Ukraine aid will keep flowing, even through a GOP-led House. President Joe Biden says he expects U.S. aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia to continue to flow whatever the still-undecided outcome of the midterm elections, where Democrats performed stronger than expected.
UGHH – Biden, Democrats celebrate keeping control of the Senate. As the president and his allies in Congress tout their election wins, some Republicans are blaming Trump for their party’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Missile defense is more urgent than ever. As rogue states and powerful rivals grow more dangerous and belligerent, even Biden acknowledges its necessity.
Japan, US hold joint drills amid China, North Korea concerns. The biennial “Keen Sword” drills kicked off Thursday at Tsuiki Air Base in southwestern Japan and will run through Nov. 19.
HOMELAND SECURITY
3 charged with sending technical drawings of US military weapons parts to China. Three people and a Kentucky-based magnetics company have been charged over allegations they conspired to send sensitive U.S. military data to China and illegally supply the Defense Department with Chinese-made materials for aircraft systems and other equipment.
US intelligence report says key gulf ally meddled in American politics. The United Arab Emirates steered U.S. foreign policy in its favor through legal and illegal exploits, according to an unprecedented intelligence report.
EXTREMELY FEW – Extremists in uniform put the nation at risk. On May 29, 2020, Steven Carrillo decided that his moment to take up arms against the government had arrived.
CHINA THREAT
US Pacific allies want to work together to blunt Chinese nuclear threat. As China builds up its nuclear weapons arsenal and expands its conventional military forces, United States allies in the Pacific are asking Washington for an extended deterrence alliance in the region, three security experts said Wednesday.
China displays air-launched hypersonic missile at air show near Taiwan. China has unveiled air-launched versions of its ship-based hypersonic missile and a standoff cruise missile at the Zhuhai Airshow, going on this week in the southern Guangdong province near Taiwan.
Taiwan says Chinese fighter jets fly near island. Taiwan’s defense ministry says the Chinese military flew 36 fighter jets and bombers near the self-ruled island.
Biden meets Xi amid heightened China-US tensions. The meeting took place in Bali, a day before the G-20 summit is due to kick off.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 264. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of committing war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson, parts of which were retaken by Ukraine’s army last week after Russia pulled out.
US sending Ukraine $400 million in military aid. U.S. officials say the aid package will contain large amounts of ammunition and, for the first time, highly mobile Avenger air defense systems.
Kherson: President Zelensky visits liberated city. President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the city of Kherson days after it was liberated by Ukrainian troops.
US to buy South Korean howitzer rounds to send to Ukraine. A U.S. official says the U.S. will buy 100,000 rounds of howitzer artillery rounds from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine.
Ukraine rushes supplies to Kherson as military assesses destruction. After nearly nine of months of occupation, officials are examining the damage to the city they reclaimed days ago from Russian troops.
Ukraine is crowdfunding a naval drone fleet to repeat its Black Sea success. Kyiv wants to buy 100 of the kayak-like uncrewed surface vehicles to wreak havoc on Russia’s navy.
‘Baltic Tiger’ drill tests Berlin-to-Tallinn flow of reinforcements. On a crisp October morning, nearly 30 miles from Tallinn Bay, two German Eurofighter Typhoon fighters taxied down the runway here, as an A400M transport aircraft carrying the nation’s top Air Force and Navy officers touched down after a dawn flight from Berlin.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
US, Japan, South Korea vow unified response to North Korea threat. President Joe Biden said the three-way partnership is “even more important than it’s ever been” when North Korea is stepping up its provocations.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Surrounded by threats, Japan rethinks decades of military dependency. As it pushes to significantly increase defense spending and develop more of its own hardware, the country may nudge the balance of power in Asia.
Using Russian aircraft, Myanmar steps up strikes against rebels. Myanmar’s military has been stepping up aerial attacks in its campaign against resistance fighters, relying more heavily on Russian-supplied aircraft, watchdog groups and resistance leaders say.
SPACE THREAT
‘Space troopers’ are real and US Space Command has 300 of them. Semper Supra, troopah.
Air Force Research Lab awards $76 million for lunar experimentation. The Air Force Research Laboratory chose Colorado-based Advanced Space to build a spacecraft that will observe, detect and track objects around the moon.
SUPER SECRET SQUIRREL SPACESHIP – Uncrewed, solar-powered US space plane back after 908 days in orbit. An uncrewed U.S. military space plane landed Saturday after spending a record 908 days in orbit for its sixth mission and conducting science experiments.
Safety panel: NASA needs a plan to de-orbit the International Space Station. The U.S. and Russia need to work together on a plan to de-orbit the International Space Station, a plan needed both in case of an emergency—a growing likelihood—and to prepare for the station’s retirement, according to an independent NASA advisory board.
Why the Space Force is getting serious about on-orbit servicing. With fresh requirements in hand and a new unit focused on in-space servicing and maneuver, the U.S. Space Force is making moves to leverage a growing commercial market for on-orbit logistics, according to the head of the service’s mobility enterprise.
US MILITARY
‘Marines do it different,’ Corps’ leaders say during moto birthday run. The commandant asserted that service members in other branches don’t even know when their birthdays are.
What happened to the original Tun Tavern, birthplace of the Marine Corps. As every United States Marine can tell you, the Corps was birthed in a Philadelphia bar called Tun Tavern in 1775. Although that is a true statement, ye olde drinking establishments were a lot different from the watering holes we know today.
Army announces next three brigades deploying to Europe. The Army announced fresh deployments for three brigades and a division headquarters Wednesday afternoon, revealing which units will take up positions in Europe as part of the long-running Atlantic Resolve deterrence mission.
Watch this US Air Force cargo plane launch a cruise missile in Norway. The U.S. Air Force has for the first time in an overseas test used its Rapid Dragon system, in which cruise missiles on pallets are launched from the back of a mobility aircraft.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
Pentagon and Army sued over decades-old policy barring recruits with HIV. The suit, filed by the advocacy group Lambda Legal, comes as every branch of the U.S. military struggles to meet its recruitment goals this year.
Where VA’s efforts to help LGBTQ+ vets and their families fall short. The VA needs to honor all veterans and their families by amending its new policy and treating LGBTQ+ veterans and their loved ones no different from any of their brothers and sisters in arms.
VETERANS
This is what the US military’s first ‘DD-214’ looked like. The most important sheet of paper you’ll ever get from the Continental Army.
What Americans are getting wrong about veterans. The size of the military veteran population in the U.S. is declining.
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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Last time US & Japan sailed together was in WW1
I would be very concerned about the concentrated military power in the Pentagon’s geographic single location.
All the concentric buildings under one close knit umbrella.
Should our Pentagon be in different geographic locations so one” big one” can’t obliterate all the concentric buildings and service members inside ? Remember, our enemies have the necessary intercontinental supersonic tools to what they wish in this day and age.
Something to think about.