TUESDAY PDB – All it needs are two sparks – US troops in Middle East brace for ‘significant escalation' of attacks. The Pentagon on Monday announced that troops in Syria had shot down two more drones, bringing the total number of confirmed attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria over the past week to four. WHY NOT GO ON OFFENSE?
AND THEN WHAT? The Pentagon says it will hold Iran responsible for attacks on US troops. The U.S. has ordered additional forces to the Middle East to protect personnel there.
ANOTHER POTENTIAL FOR WAR SPARK – US warns it will defend Philippines after Chinese vessels incidents. It warned it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
Philippines rethinks military modernization plan after China clashes. It is realigning its modernization program to strengthen territorial and coastal defense amid escalating tension with China.
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
Marine Corps 3-star general advising Israeli military on Gaza ground operation. Team Biden has sent him and several other U.S. military officers to help advise Israel's military's leadership. The U.S. is privately urging Israel to give hostage negotiations a chance before engaging in a ground offensive.
Hamas releases 2 elderly Israeli hostages from Gaza as war continues. Hamas released two more hostages on Monday, identified by Israeli officials as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, just days after releasing two American women on Friday.
Israel-Hamas War has smashed assumptions about Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here they are.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
GOOD – A retired general tweeted about first lady Jill Biden. It annoyed the Army but did not violate rules. An Army investigation has found that a retired three-star-general-turned-Pentagon consultant who mocked first lady Jill Biden for supporting abortion did not violate any legal or ethical rules.
NATIONAL SECURITY
THE LEFT'S WAR ON AMERICA IS SUCCEEDING – Americans' faith in institutions sliding even before chaos in Congress. Polls show the negative feelings include a loss of confidence or interest in institutions such as organized religion, policing, and the Supreme Court.
CHINA THREAT
China may struggle in electromagnetic spectrum fighting, Pentagon says. The Chinese military is wrestling with shortcomings in fights where access to and control of the electromagnetic spectrum is hotly contested.
SERIOUS BIDEN KOWTOWING TO CHINA – Top Chinese diplomat to visit Washington ahead of possible meeting between Biden and Xi. He will come to the U.S. on Thursday for a three-day visit, the latest move by Washington to keep high-level talks open amid tense bilateral relations.
MORE BIDEN ASS-KISSING – US defense department to send delegation to Xiangshan forum – China Daily. This is China's regional security dialogue.
THEY MAY BE RIGHT – Democrats seek briefing on whether House ‘dysfunction' is helping China. The members of the House Select Committee on China sent a letter Monday to intelligence officials asking for a classified briefing on the harmful effects the “current political dysfunction” in the House is having on the world stage.
RUSSIA THREAT– UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine continues to snap up Chinese DJI drones for its defense. Ukrainian said the country's forces are leaning heavily on Chinese DJI drones in the defense of their country, a claim that the manufacturer has since declared was news to them.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 608. Russian forces kept up pressure in the devastated city of Avdiivka as it sought to cut off its only supply routes. Ukraine's armed forces said its troops repelled about 10 Russian attacks on Avdiivka.
TRYING TO BLAME CIA – Ukrainian spies with ties to CIA wage shadow war against Russia. The cluttered car carrying a mother and her 12-year-old daughter seemed barely worth the attention of Russian security officials as it approached a border checkpoint. But a cat carrier was part of an elaborate, lethal plot. Ukrainian operatives were using the pet carrier to conceal components of a bomb.
NORTH KOREA
US, South Korea conduct anti-submarine warfare exercise near Guam. Their navies completed a combined theater anti-submarine warfare exercise this month aimed at improving submarine tracking and engagement.
US, South Korea and Japan hold first-ever trilateral aerial exercise. The drill involved a U.S. B-52 bomber and fighter jets from South Korea and Japan.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
US, German forces rehearse mobilization as Scholz watches. The scenario begins with 250,000 Russian troops armed with heavy weapons amassed on NATO's eastern borders.
Medics train to treat drone attack casualties at Air Force base in Japan. An imaginary drone strike had medics scrambling to treat dozens of mock casualties during training Friday at the home of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo.
DOESN'T NEED TO BE CLASSIFIED TO BE ‘AIDING AND ABETTING' – Sydney court postpones extradition hearing of former US military pilot. The Marine veteran has said the Chinese pilots he trained were civilians, and nothing he taught was classified.
US-Australia space launch accord likely on leader's agenda. This week's first official state visit to U.S. by Australia's Prime Minister will be accompanied by formalizing an agreement that will allow U.S. commercial space companies to use launch from ‘Down Under.'
A first-of-its-kind drone landing shows how the British navy plans to keep its new aircraft carriers in action for longer. In September, a drone delivered cargo to the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales before flying back to the British mainland, a Royal Navy first.
Britain is more bark than bite in Indo-Pacific, lawmakers warn. UK should either increase its military presence in the Indo-Pacific or curb its ambitions in the region, according to the parliamentary Defense Committee.
US MILITARY
The Army wants to see more ‘creativity' from special operations forces. The commander of 1st Special Forces Command thinks it's what will provide them with an edge in the next fight based on the rapid tactical innovations on Ukraine's battlefield.
Recon Marines on dirt bikes deploying to a theater near you. A Marine reconnaissance platoon has been testing an all-electric motorcycle that will help bolster its role as the eyes and ears of a Marine ground combat force in the expected future fight.
Army may add electronic warfare training as early as boot camp. From battlefield radios to Bluetooth trackers on supplies and equipment, soldiers may start training on electromagnetic warfare skills as early as basic training.
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: Conservative Congresswoman Files Motion To Censure ‘Squad' Dem Over Israel Remarks
