The President's Daily Brief - December 15th, 2023: Hamas Plot Foiled, Ukraine Ultimatum, & South Korea Scrambles

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   We start with the latest details on a major Hamas-linked terror attack foiled in Europe, showcasing the ongoing challenges in global security.   A bold statement from Vladimir Putin: no peace in Ukraine until Russia's objectives are achieved.   Tension escalates as South Korea dispatches fighter jets in response to Russian and Chinese aircraft entering their air defense zone.   In today’s Back of the Brief segment, we delve into the controversy surrounding Boston's progressive Mayor, who faces criticism after her office issued a racially exclusive invitation for a holiday party.   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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a confident Vladimir Putin declares that there will be no peace in Ukraine until his nation's goals are met. And South Korea scrambles fighter jets as Russian and Chinese aircraft cross into their air defense zone. Finally, in today's back of the brief, Boston's progressive mayor is under fire today after her office sent out an invitation for a holiday party, clearly indicating that she wasn't in the mood for a white Christmas. But first up, the PDB spotlight. In a significant development in Europe's fight against terrorism. German and Danish police this week successfully disrupted two separate terror plots, both of which have been attributed to Hamas and both targeting the Jewish community. Information is still coming in at this point, but well, here's what we know so far.

A total of at least seven people were arrested across three different European nations. Three men were arrested in Germany, another in the Netherlands as part of one plot, and three in Denmark as part of another plot. Although initially thought to be interconnected, authorities have now clarified that both these incidents were distinct. Focusing first on the plot foiled in Germany, local authorities identified the arrested individuals as long-standing members of Hamas. These men, hailing from Lebanon, Egypt, and the Netherlands, reportedly had ties to Hamas' military wing and were involved in its operations abroad. German officials alleged that one of these individuals, under directive from Hamas leaders in Lebanon, began searching for an underground weapons cash

in Europe as early as spring 2023. Now the cash was intended for potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe, with Berlin being a primary target. In October, the same month as the Hamas attack on southern Israel, three of the four suspects made several trips from Berlin in pursuit of these weapons, while the fourth provided logistical support. All the men who are arrested in Germany are set to be brought before a judge today, accused by the German federal prosecutor of being members of a foreign terrorist organization. Meanwhile, over in Denmark, now less information is available about the plot there. Danish authorities have been tight-lipped, only stating that the arrests involved, quote, threads abroad,

and were conducted in collaboration with foreign partners. Now, I'm probably not going on a limb by speculating that the foreign partner in question is Israel. In fact, the Israeli Prime Minister's office has suggested that Israel's security services, Mossad and Shimbab, were instrumental in alerting Danish officials, leading to the arrests of operatives allegedly linked to Hamas. In response to these threats, Denmark has heightened security around Jewish and Israeli sites. Earlier this month, the Danish military was deployed to protect Israel's embassy in Copenhagen and the city's synagogue, reflecting the seriousness of the threat level and the commitment to

safeguard vulnerable communities. Now, there's heightened concern in the West over potential terrorist actions by Hamas and other like-minded groups, many of whom are supported to varying degrees by the Iranian regime and its IRGC. In the U.S., FBI Director Christopher Ray has previously warned that, in his words, there are red lights blinking everywhere. And that's a reference to a significantly heightened level of chatter and indications of potential terror threats. All right. When we come back, President Putin says, no peace in Ukraine until all of his nation's goals are met. And South Korean jets scrambled against a perceived threat from Russia and China. I'll be right back.

Welcome back. Turning to Russia, Vladimir Putin recently gave a rare public update on the war in Ukraine, reiterating that he has no plans to end the invasion until Russian goals are met. The remarks came yesterday as Putin held his first formal news conference with Western media in attendance since the war in Ukraine kicked off. It was part of the dictator's annual events called Direct Line with Vladimir Putin, where he answers highly curated questions submitted by Russian citizens. It's kind of like a call-in disc jockey radio program, except Putin doesn't take requests. The event was canceled last year amid intense fighting in Ukraine. However, Putin now appeared reinvigorated and emboldened by the recent setbacks the Ukraine is faced in securing further international

financial support for the war effort. During the nearly four-hour event, four hours, Putin discussed what he called Russia's, quote, special military operation in Ukraine, saying there will be peace when we achieve our goals. He further elaborated that Russia will, quote, either reach an agreement or resolve it by force. This is what we will strive for. Putin also addressed anxieties within Russia, that there could be a second draft of reservists,

saying a consistent influx of what he called volunteer fighters has helped replenish the military's ranks. And by volunteers, it's likely Putin means they're clearing out the prisons and sending inmates to the front lines. He claimed there are currently more than 600,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine, with roughly 1,500 new recruits signing up each day. That's a lot of prisoners. Putin likely highlighted these unconfirmed figures to push back against a U.S. intelligence report released on Monday that estimated Russia had lost a shocking 87% of the ground troops that they began the war with.

Now, the entire report said that the colossal personnel and equipment losses, which included the destruction of more than two-thirds of their armored tanks, have set Russia's military modernization efforts back by roughly 15 years. As we recently discussed on the BDB, Russia launched their invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, with roughly 360,000 ground troops. Since the invasion, the U.S. intelligence community estimates that at least 315,000 of those ground troops are now dead or injured. Now, despite the losses, Putin appears eager to persist based on what he sees as an increasingly vulnerable Ukraine. At the press conference on Thursday, Putin said, quote, the enemy has declared

a big counteroffensive, but he hasn't achieved anything anywhere. He added that the Western Financial and Military Support for Ukraine appears to be coming to an end little by little. Now, on that score, the U.S. Congress remains deadlocked on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned on Tuesday during his visit to Washington, D.C., that any lapse in funding would risk giving Putin the advantage. But that apparently failed to move the needle with U.S. lawmakers. And in Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, an ally of Putin's, has been delaying a $53 billion aid package for Ukraine from the EU. Now, the European Union, despite Orban's efforts to obstruct the aid package on behalf of his pal Putin,

well, they do seem confident that they can eventually get the money flowing to Ukraine. All right. Turning our attention to the Pacific, South Korea and Japan were forced to scramble fighter jets on Thursday after an unannounced incursion by Russian and Chinese warplanes into Seoul's air defense zone. Now South Korea's joint chief of staffs confirmed in a statement that it had spotted two Chinese and four Russian aircraft flying toward the East China Sea along the channel between Japan and South Korea. And this area is part of what's called the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone. It's a designated region where South Korea requires foreign aircraft to take steps to identify themselves.

It's worth noting that such areas are not governed by international law, and flying into these spaces does not constitute a violation of a nation's territorial airspace. Still, flying unannounced into a country's defense zone is largely seen as a proactive, aggressive action. Russia and China, however, do not formally recognize Korea's air defense zone, and they've made a habit of flying military aircraft through the region without prior notice. Both Japan and South Korea, they dispatched their own jets to monitor the foreign aircraft until they moved out of the area. Officials in South Korea said they had communicated their displeasure with their counterparts in China, though they have not confronted Russia over the incident. I'm sure a memo communicating your displeasure.

will do the trick. The provocations came at a time of rising tensions between North and South Korea, following a series of escalations by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. North Korea violated a number of UN resolutions in November of this year, when they used an ICBM to launch their first spy satellite into orbit. North Korea accomplished this with the technical assistance of Russia, which has grown increasingly reliant on Kim Jong-un's regime for resupplies of missiles and artillery shells for their war in Ukraine, and in return have been gracious enough to provide North Korea with military technology assistance. South Korea responded to the satellite launch by suspending aspects of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement and resuming reconnaissance and surveillance flights along the DMZ,

and this prompted North Korea to pull out of the agreement entirely. Ever since, rhetoric between the two nations has intensified, and as we discussed yesterday on the PDB, South Korea has warned the North this week that they have only two choices, peace or destruction. Coming up in the back of the brief, Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu is under fire after an email for the so-called Electeds of Color holiday party

accidentally went out to white city council members. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, I want you to imagine, you're sitting at your desk at work, and you get an email, inviting you to your company Christmas party. Fun times, right? Very festive. Well, there you sit, pondering which Christmas sweater you'll wear,

and whether to bring the jello salad or your infamous 12-layer holiday dip. Now imagine that 15 minutes later, there you are still sitting at your desk, and you get an email clarifying that only people of color are invited. Well, that's what happened at Boston this year, where the city government thinks, apparently, that it's appropriate to segregate holiday parties by race. It all started with an email sent out by a city employee on Tuesday

on behalf of progressive mayor Michelle Wu, inviting all 13 city councilors to the so-called electeds-of-color holiday party being held the following night. So, what's the electeds of color holiday party, you ask? It's exactly what you think it is. It's a holiday party that excludes white people. And that email invitation caused quite a stir because, well, seven of Boston City counselors are Caucasian.

About 15 minutes later, the same staffer sent out an email clarifying the situation and apologizing for any offense that sending out the invite may have caused. The mayor has also since apologized for the email and said that the sending of the party invitation to the white people was, quote, an honest mistake. What Mayor Wu didn't do was apologize for holding a racist holiday party. As a matter of fact, she defended it. Wu said, quote, and I'm not making this up, this is Wu's quote. There are many, many events that are private events for all different sorts of groups. So we've clarified that and look forward to seeing everyone at one of the dozens of,

other opportunities to celebrate the holidays together. That's a holiday Waldorf salad of words right there. Honestly, the mayor's non-apology, racist attitude, and divisively moronic behavior as an elected official, they're so front and center, there's really nothing to add here. If it was the private sector, she'd be shown the door, but it's politics, where stupidity knows no bounds and has few consequences. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 15 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin.

Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.