TUESDAY PDB – There are no shortage of suggestions, but two key players appear to have very different views on the future.
Egypt floats ambitious plan to end Israel-Hamas war as death toll in an Israeli strike rises to 106. Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal that includes a phased hostage release and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.
MEANWHILE – US struggles to revive Palestinian Authority (PA) for post-war Gaza role. In its plan for the day after Israel's campaign to eradicate Hamas from Gaza, the U.S. hopes to pave the way for the beleaguered PA to take control, by encouraging the formation of a new government and launching training for its security forces.
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:
ISRAEL'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS TERROR
Netanyahu visits Israeli troops in Gaza and vows to continue war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to continue waging war against Hamas in Gaza, despite a growing number of international calls for a ceasefire.
Gadi Haggai: White House says US-Israeli hostage dead in Gaza. A dual US-Israeli citizen abducted by Hamas was murdered during the 7 October raid in Israel.
WELL DONE – An Israeli airstrike in Syria kills a high-ranking Iranian general linked to HAMAS. The strike was in a Damascus neighborhood Monday.
POLITICS
DEMOCRATS CREATED THIS MONSTER – Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate near homes of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The Muslim activists were hoping to disrupt Christmas morning for Joe Biden's top national security officials.
Trump hints at possible picks for Pentagon chief in a second term. The GOP frontrunner brought up Christopher Miller, who once said he couldn't wait to leave DOD.
Whelan claims he is being targeted by official at prison camp. Paul Whelan, an American former Marine who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for five years, is afraid for his safety after being assaulted by another inmate late last month.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
KEEP BLOCKING HIM – Just one promotion remains blocked due to officer's views on ‘diversity.' Sen. Eric Schmitt is blocking the promotion of Col. Benjamin Jonsson out of concern for his aggressive and inappropriate stance on the military's neo-Marxist DEI programs.
Discipline replaces ‘people first' atop Army leaders' agendas. The Army's two new senior leaders will be pushing “discipline” as the service's new watchword. FAR BETTER THAN DIVERSITY.
DOD to study whether COVID-19 vaccine helped or hurt troops. Lawmakers want researchers to determine whether the vaccine caused more harm than good.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Pentagon revamps how it prevents, handles collateral damage in strikes. It unveiled its new rules for reducing harm to civilians while striking military targets, a development inspired by 2021 reviews of the U.S.' erroneous targeting of civilians in Syria.
Fat Leonard, contractor in Navy bribery case, may face more charges. Leonard Francis, a defense contractor at the center of a Navy bribery scandal, returned to the U.S. as part of the Venezuelan prisoner swap.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Accused leaker Teixeira was seen as potential mass shooter, probe finds. Fellow airmen at the Massachusetts base where Teixeira worked warned superiors about his ‘fringe thinking' and called him ‘the active shooter kid.' Their concerns went unreported.
CHINA THREAT
AND WHAT? – Top US military officer speaks with Chinese counterpart. The video call between Gen. CQ Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli is the first senior military communications between the U.S. and China since August 2022.
Taiwan not seeing signs of large-scale Chinese military activity pre-election. But is keeping a close watch on China.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine claims to have destroyed Russian ship in Crimea attack. One person reported killed in attack that targeted the Novocherkassk, which Ukraine said was being used to transport Russian drones.
Ukraine says it shot down Russian fighters and drones as the country officially marks Christmas. It reportedly shot down two jets during the night along with two cruise missiles and 28 Shahed-type drones.
Ukraine's soldiers use cheap tech to hide from Russia's deadly drones. But the makers of lifesaving drone detectors can't keep up with demand.
Ukraine arrests senior Defense Ministry official accused of embezzling $40 million. He has been detained over allegations relating to an artillery shells contract.
Putin quietly signals he is open to a cease-fire in Ukraine. Despite its bravado in public, the Kremlin has indicated its interest in striking a deal to halt the war — so long as it could still declare victory.
IRAN THREAT
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE – Biden orders strike on Iranian-aligned terror group after 3 US troops injured in drone attack in Iraq.
USS Laboon shoots down four drones in Red Sea. The destroyer shot down the drones which originated from Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iranian drone struck chemical tanker in Indian Ocean. This, marking the latest escalation of tensions and risks to shipping routes in the wake of Israel's war with terrorist group Hamas.
Indian navy to deploy guided missile destroyer ships after strike off its coast. The Indian navy will deploy guided missile destroyer ships in the Arabian Sea after an Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck off the Indian coast this weekend.
SPACE THREAT
X-37B space plane now to launch this week after delays. The seventh lengthy mission for the Space Force craft is set for Dec. 28.
US POWER OVERSEAS
Are more Navy engagements in the Red Sea coming soon? U.S. military leaders had hoped to devote fewer resources to the Middle East in favor of countering China's advancements and helping Ukraine battle Russia.
Somalia says US drone strike killed mastermind of attack on Americans. The 2020 attack on a military base in Kenya killed three Americans.
The Air Force is trying to reclaim a World War II-era airfield. More than seven decades ago, the B-29s that dropped two atomic bombs on Japan took off from a small airfield on the Pacific island of Tinian in the Marianas. Then only two years later it was largely abandoned.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel. They were asked to leave Niger by the country's new junta, ending years of on-the-ground military support and raising concerns about a gap in the fight against jihadi violence in that region of Africa.
US MILITARY
Airmen turn C-5 into ‘huge floating gas station' with refueling experiment. At 247 feet long and with a 222-foot wingspan, the C-5M Super Galaxy is the largest aircraft in the U.S. military—and, as recently proved in the skies over northern California and Oregon, America's largest flying gas station.
Army tests long-range quantum radio communication. A new form of atomic radio detection could protect sensitive communications from hackers—or reveal hidden adversaries.
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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