FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – With the many national security and intelligence topics that American Defense News (ADN) cannot adequately cover every day – in collaboration with the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) – we are providing our readers a PDB:
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – Paul’s Daily Briefing.
Today’s PDB includes a variety of critical issues such as –Win or lose, US war against China or Russia won’t be short. NATO leaders declare China a global security challenge. Philippine president again delays abrogation of key security pact with US.
US aircraft carriers now at risk from hypersonic missiles.
Afghan air force could be grounded after US pullout.
New Pentagon watchdog facing ‘significant challenges’ in internal anti-extremism effort.
Responding to a call for chaplains to reconcile and properly support LGBTQI+ soldiers.
Key GOP senator pushes for Biden to leave 1,000 troops behind in Afghanistan as a safety net.
US Navy’s Zumwalt destroyers to carry 12 hypersonic weapons in 2025.
And MORE…
TODAY’S PDB:
Pentagon ‘Woke Watch’
New Pentagon watchdog facing ‘significant challenges’ in internal anti-extremism effort. A new effort to track the extent to which extremists have infiltrated the U.S. military may be in trouble even before it has the chance to produce any results.
Responding to a call for chaplains to reconcile and properly support LGBTQI+ soldiers. The oath I have taken to support and defend the Constitution of the United States means my charge as a chaplain — a religious leader — is to champion the free exercise of religion that the First Amendment to the Constitution protects.
National Security
Win or lose, US war against China or Russia won’t be short. The U.S. may be able to repulse an assault on Taiwan or the Baltics. But what comes next?
NATO leaders declare China a global security challenge. NATO leaders on Monday declared that China poses a constant security challenge and is working to undermine global order, and they said they’re worried about how fast the Chinese are developing nuclear missiles.
NATO says attack in space could trigger mutual defense clause. NATO says attack in space could trigger mutual defense clause.
MDA: US aircraft carriers now at risk from hypersonic missiles. U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said last week before the Senate.
Afghanistan
Afghan air force could be grounded after US pullout. The one advantage the Afghan army had on the Taliban looks set to slip away with the hasty U.S. withdrawal.
CENTCOM head says us will not support Afghan forces with airstrikes after troop withdrawal. The United States is not planning to support Afghan forces with air strikes after the U.S. troops withdrawal is complete, and counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan will be limited to instances when attack plans have been discovered to strike the U.S. homeland or the homelands of our allies, according to the top U.S. commander in the Middle East.
Key GOP senator pushes for Biden to leave 1,000 troops behind in Afghanistan as a safety net. A key Republican senator wants President Joe Biden to leave a military force of about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan until early 2022 to minimize the “chaotic transition” expected when U.S. forces fully withdraw from the country.
China Threat
US Navy carrier group operating in S. China Sea. A U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan has entered the South China Sea as part of a routine mission, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday, at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, which claims most the disputed waterway.
Philippine president again delays abrogation of key security pact with US. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday again suspended his decision to terminate a key defense pact with the United States, which he has asked to provide more aid and coronavirus vaccines in exchange for retaining the agreement.
Military
US Navy’s Zumwalt destroyers to carry 12 hypersonic weapons in 2025. The 2022 U.S. Navy budget plans add details about hypersonic deployment.
Hawaii-based F-22s scrambled on FAA’s request but nobody will say why. A pair of F-22 Raptors were launched on an alert scramble out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Sunday at around 4:00 PM local time. A third F-22 joined the mission about an hour after pair’s departure.
END of PDB
Paul Crespo
Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Defense News. A defense and national security expert, he served as a Marine Corps officer and as a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at US embassies worldwide. Paul holds degrees from Georgetown, London, and Cambridge Universities. He is also CEO of SPECTRE Global Risk, a security advisory firm, and President of the Center for American Defense Studies, a national security think tank. - paulcrespo.substack.com - PAULCRESPO.COM
Is this another case of the Biden administration keeping information from the American public? I thought Democrats were SUPPOSED to be transparent; like, the black racist Obama administration, “The most transparent administration in American history”! The ONLY thing transparent about the Democrat Party is their lies; and the only thing more hard-over racist is….nothing.
Why no supersonic missiles on the Zumwalt destroyers until 2025? I hope we have these already on our Aircraft carriers.
LISTEN UP… I AGREE with the SENATOR. WE Need to KEEP SOME of the U.S. TROOPS in AFGHAN…thats WHY U.S. Has NOT Had ANOTHER 911. The U.S. MILIT ARY Should STRIKE BEIJING..Mai n City in IRAN..N.KOREA etc. HIT Their MAIN FOCAL POINTS..inside OUT. The U.S. Can BEAT Alot of Their ENE mIES Using the RIGHT STRATEGY. IT Takes GOOD TEAMWORK Too. From SamuraiQueen. 😄😄😄