The President's Daily Brief - August 8th, 2024: New Hamas Leader, Russian Arms to Iran, & Maduro's Military Support

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Hamas has announced October 7th mastermind Yahya Sinwar will become its new political leader, just weeks after its last political leader was involuntarily retired by a Mossad bomb. We’ll take a look at the terror groups’ new boss. In the latest signs of deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran, Russia is reportedly transferring advanced weaponry to Iran ahead of its expected retaliatory strike on Israel. More bad news for opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the nation’s top military official reaffirms his loyalty to the socialist despot. In today's Back of the Brief, an update on the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk Region, with Russian President Vladimir Putin offering his first comments on the invasion To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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First up, Hamas has announced that one of its key planners and leaders of the brutal seven-October attacks on Israel, Jaya Sinwar, will become its new political leader just weeks after its last political leader was terminated, reportedly by a Mossad bomb. We'll take a look at the new leader, and I'll give you a hint, as the great Roger Daltry from the Hu sang, Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Later in the show, in the latest signs of deepening ties between my friends. Moscow and Tehran, Russia is reportedly transferring advanced weaponry to Iran ahead of its expected retaliatory strike on Israel.

Correct. Let me repeat that. Putin is sending advanced weaponry to the Mullus and IRGC in Iran that could be used in their promised attack on Israel. Plus, more bad news for opponents of Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro as the nation's top military official reaffirms his loyalty to the socialist despot. and that's called maintaining job security. And in today's back of the brief, an update on the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region,

with Russian President Putin offering his first comments on the Ukrainian military's move into Russian territory. But first, today's PDB spotlight. We'll begin in the Middle East, where Hamas has officially named a new leader of the terrorist outfit, following the death of their political chief in Tehran last week, and the choice suggests that Hamas is prepared to dig in their heels and continue fighting in Gaza. On Tuesday, the militant group tapped Yalya Sinwar, Hamas's most senior member inside Gaza, to take over leadership from the deceased Ishmael Hanyi, who previously led the group from exile in Qatar, where, you might recall, the billionaire,

live the life of Riley. The move signals a formal transfer of power from the group's leadership in exile to their forces inside Gaza, particularly the Qasam brigades, cementing the position of Sinwar as the sole decision-maker for the terrorist group, and that's according to a report from the Associated Press. As a reminder, Sinwar was the mastermind of the brutal 7-October attacks alongside Mohamed Dief, the former head of Hamas's armed wing, who was killed in July by an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The leadership reshuffle was a bit of a surprise to regional observers, as many had thought Hamas would turn to Khaled Mishal, a seasoned figure within.

in the organization, who previously led the group from exile between 1996 and 2017. While Mishal was certainly viewed as the man with the most experience, his relations with Tehran were reportedly strained in recent years. Sinwar's rise to the top leadership post is a dramatic sign that Hamas's hardline wing is firmly in control and prepared to keep the war in Gaza going, even after 10 months of intense fighting. The deaths of so many of Hamas's top leaders in recent months reportedly cleared a path for Sinwar's ascendancy. Hanye's death, according to analysts at the European Council on Foreign Relations, was the final catalyst,

tipping the group into an even more hard-line direction. So you're taking a terrorist group, and they're tipping into more of a terrorist group. For some background, Sinwar became the head of Hamas' security arms shortly after the group's founding in 1987. In that role, he led brutal purges of Hamas' ranks to ferret out suspected Israeli infiltrators, earning him the nickname the Butcher of Khan Yunus. He was arrested in 1989 by Israel and spent the next 22 years inside Israeli prisons before being released in 2011 in a prisoner exchange. Following his release, Sinwar ruthlessly rose through Hamas' leadership ranks,

killing a fellow top Hamas commander in 2016 to gain control over the group's operations in Gaza. Once he cemented his power, he worked extensively with the group's leaders in exile to strengthen their ties with Iran and the regime's network of terrorist proxies throughout the region. Ever since the 7 October attacks, Sinwar has evaded justice by hiding in Hamas' expansive tunnel networks under Gaza, using the Palestinian population as human shields. Sinwar has callously brushed off the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, referring to dead Palestinians as, quote, necessary sacrifices for the cause. As you may recall, Sinwar told ceasefire mediators in Egypt and Qatar in June that he felt Hamas had the upper hand on Israel, particularly due to the level of

civilian deaths. Given his past rhetoric and history of tacking on last-minute demands to ceasefire proposals, his rise threatens to doom the ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas. Sinwar, however, claimed through a spokesman on Tuesday that he plans to remain engaged in the negotiations. The spokesman blamed Israel and the U.S. for the hold-up in a ceasefire, and said Hamas, quote, remained steadfast in the battlefield and in politics. Hamas' puppet masters in Iran and their colleagues in terror, Hasbullah, praised Sinwar's appointment, with Hamas' representative in Iran calling him the, quote, consensus choice among all the various factions. Israel, on the other hand, vowed on Tuesday to kill Sinwar for his many crimes. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari

did not mince words, saying, quote, there is only one place for Gyalya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohamed Dief and the rest of the October 7th terrorists. That is the only place we're preparing and intending for him, end quote. Hmm, Sinwar should probably check with the HR office for Hamas to see if his new position comes with life insurance. And if I were him, I'd probably top up my policy. Coming up next, as the world continues to await Iran's retaliatory strike on Israel,

Russia has reportedly begun to transfer advanced weaponry to Iranian armed forces. Plus, Venezuelan dictator Maduro continues to consolidate power and, surprise, he's found a scapegoat for the unrest plaguing his nation. We'll have those stories when we come back. Exema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebbglis, a once-monthly treatment for moderate-to-sphere eczema. After an initial four-month-month-longer dosing phase, about four and ten people taking ebbglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. Ebglis, Librikizumab, LBKZ.

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and radars to Iran amid their tense standoff with Israel. Iran had reached out to their allies in the Kremlin to request the equipment following the death of Hamas's political chief in Tehran last week, a sign that the Mullahs are wary that their planned retaliation could spark further responses by Israel. The arms package reportedly includes Iskand their missile systems and electronic warfare systems that Iran has not previously been known to possess, though the details are difficult to confirm, and the package could include other unknown munitions. It's a bit of a gamble by the Kremlin, as it could risk exposing vulnerabilities and weaknesses

in their advanced weapons systems. After Iran retaliated against Israel back in April, Israel, Israel responded with a strike in the Isfahan region near Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility, destroying a Russian-built defensive radar system. Iran is reportedly also pushing Moscow to deliver Russian-made SU-35 fighter jets, though they've been after those for more than a year. The news of the weapons transfer came as Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shorugu traveled to Tehran earlier this week to discuss the fallout from the assassination, While the Kremlin may be bolstering Iran's weapon stores,

Shoygo has also reportedly delivered a message from Putin, urging Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini to practice restraint, according to a report from Reuters. Specifically, Putin reportedly requested that Iran avoid civilian casualties in any retaliation that they mount and instead focus their strikes on military targets. The words of caution underline Russia's concerns that the situation risks devolving into a wider regional war, particularly if a retaliation involves Iran's less disciplined proxies, like the Houthis in Yemen and Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Reports suggest any response will at least involve Hesbullah, as they have also avowed revenge over the death of one of their own senior military commanders in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last week. On Tuesday, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, quote, whatever the consequences, the resistance will not let these Israeli attacks pass by. Putin's call for restraint follows similar efforts from leaders in Qatar and Egypt. Iran faced further pressure to temper their response on Wednesday at an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, an intergovernmental group, made up of 57 member states.

While the OIC issued a statement on Wednesday unanimously condemning the assassination of Hanye on Iranian soil, along with Israel's operations in Gaza, they also stressed the need to avoid igniting a, quote, full-scale regional war. All right, moving on to the continuing political unrest in Venezuela. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has affirmed the military and law enforcement's unwavering loyalty to dictator Nicholas Maduro, even his continued accusations of election fraud and now anti-Semitic rhetoric spark turmoil and international condemnation. In a broadcast on state television, Defense Minister Padrino, flanked by military and police

leaders, reaffirmed the military's, quote, absolute loyalty to the Maduro regime. Padrino condemned the opposition's actions as desperate and seditious attempts to undermine the military unity. As you can imagine, this is a major blow to the opposition, essentially drowning any hope that the military would intervene to remove Maduro from power. Meanwhile, the dictator appears to have found a new scapegoat for the situation. Surprise. In a recent speech, Maduro blamed, quote, international Zionism, oh, of course, for the continued unrest, accusing it of financing and supporting the demonstrators who he called, quote, the extremist right. Maduro blamed a shadowy cabal, of course he did, for controlling social networks, satellites, and supporting a coup d'etat against his government.

Maduro's rhetoric has been met with strong international opposition and condemnation. That'll do it. U.S. Special Envoy to monitor in combat anti-Semitism, Deborah Lipstadt, condemned the dictator's rhetoric is, quote, absurd and anti-Semitic. Well, that's going to hurt him, emphasizing that the Venezuelan people are demonstrating to have their votes counted and rejecting all forms of anti-Semitism. Maduro is also urging a boycott of social media platforms. This guy has gone full dictator, including WhatsApp, accusing the platform of enabling threats against his supporters. He's also criticized other social media platforms for fostering division, including Facebook and, of course, X. And not to forget, he's even just

challenged ex-owner Elon Musk to some fisticuffs. Now, the contested election continues to draw international attention. The U.S. and Argentina recognized opposition candidate Gonzalez as a legitimate winner, while the EU continues to demand transparency and voting records. Yeah, that'll happen. In reality, look, the international community is fairly impotent. Maduro has survived years of sanctions and has seen little to no meaningful pushback from the U.N., the U.S., and international community to this latest assault on democracy and the will of the Venezuelan people. Harsh statements, strongly worded memos, and calls for transparency will not unseat Maduro. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief, it's day three of the Ukrainian military's

incursion into Russian territory, prompting comments from Putin. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount. Safe driver discount. New vehicle discount. Storage discount, legacy. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply.

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who described the military operation as a large-scale provocation. I'm sorry, I tried to do that with a straight face. Let me repeat that. Putin upset that the Ukrainian military has moved into Russian territory calls that move a provocation. What a putts. You know what actually could be considered a large-scale provocation?

Ah, yes, correct. Invading Ukraine. In a meeting with his security council, Putin broke his silence, condemning Keeves' actions, accusing them of, quote, firing indiscriminately with various types of weapons,

including missiles at civilian buildings, residential buildings, and ambulances, end quote. Alexei Smirnoff, the acting governor of the Kursk region, reported via telegram that five civilians had been killed and 20 others injured,

during the clashes. Now, despite reports of significant Ukrainian advances involving up to 300 Ukrainian militants, nearly a dozen tanks and over 200 armored vehicles, pushing upward of six miles into the Kursk region, Russia's defense ministry and Putin himself, while they dismissed such claims. The ministry stated that airstrikes, missile forces, artillery fire, and border defense units successfully prevented Ukrainian forces from penetrating deep into Russian territory. Now, that has not been independently verified, and conflicting reports emerged from various Russian telegram channels. Rybar, a channel founded by a former defense ministry employee, claimed that Ukrainian forces

seized gas transit hubs. Military bloggers described the situation as, quote, hell on earth, criticizing the Russian military's lack of preparation, despite knowing about the impending assault. Pro-Russian blogger, Anastasia Keshverova, echoed these sentiments, accusing Russia's defense Ministry of inaction, despite field reports about the Ukrainian forces movements. Other channels have emphasized the absence of Russian artillery, tanks, and equipment, leaving only aviation, operators, and forward air controllers to respond to the incursion. While Kiev has not acknowledged the cross-border incursion, Ukrainian officials ordered the

evacuation of around 6,000 residents from the Kursk bordering Sumi region as a precautionary measure. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby is reaching out to Ukrainian counterparts for more information. Kirby reiterated the restrictions on Ukraine's use of American supplied weapons, quote, to target imminent threats just across the border, assuring the attack was within U.S. policy. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the U.S. was not aware of Ukraine's incursion before it happened. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Thursday, 8 August. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at

PDB at thefirstTV.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by simply visiting PDB premium.com. It really is just that simple. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the BDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, honey, it's mom. Did you know if we switched to Verizon, we can get four phones for zero dollars, plus four lines for $25 a line? Call me back. Me again. That's just $100 a month for four lines on unlimited welcome. Plus four phones, no trade-in needed. Call me.

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