The President's Daily Brief - December 19th, 2023: Israel's Tactical Shift, Ukraine's Leadership Clash, & Another ICBM Alert

Episode Date: December 19, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   We explore the significant shift in stance from Israel's most steadfast allies, pressuring the nation to end the initial phase of its military operations against Hamas and pivot to a strategy involving low-intensity warfare.   We dissect the escalating internal conflict in Ukraine, focusing on the country's top general's criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky.   We discuss North Korea's provocative move, launching a second intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere in the United States, following closely on the heels of an earlier missile test.   In the Back of the Brief segment, we delve into a test of freedom of speech as the European Union begins a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) over alleged inaction against illegal content and misinformation.   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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It's Tuesday, December 19th. Welcome to the president's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll lead off today's show with the shifting tone from Israel's staunchest allies as pressure mounts on the Jewish state to wrap up the initial phase of its conflict against Hamas and shift toward a more low-intensity form of warfare. Later in the program, we'll look at the latest internal drama in Ukraine, as the nation's top general takes aim at President Zelensky. And just hours after a previous launch, North Korea launches a second intercontinental ballistic missile, this one

capable of reaching any part of the United States. Finally, in today's back of the brief, a major test for freedom of speech as the European Union initiates a formal inquiry into Elon Musk's X for its alleged failure to combat illegal content and misinformation. But first up, the PDB spotlight. In recent days, there's been a noticeable shift in the stance of Israel's key allies regarding the ongoing conflict. Allies who have traditionally been staunched supporters of Israel are now urging them to conclude the initial phase of its military campaign. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, was in Israel yesterday to convey this message directly.

In high-level meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yov-Galant, Austin discussed the specifics of how Israeli forces might transition to a new phase of the conflict. This involves ending their extensive bombing campaign. According to U.S. officials, the proposed new phase would see smaller elite units conducting operations inside Gaza. These would be precision operations driven by intelligence and would aim to target Hamas leaders, rescue hostages, and dismantle tunnels. Now, the U.S. is not proposing a specific timeline for when this shift would occur, but behind the scenes, there's an increasing impatience within the Biden administration. Last week, officials speaking to the New York Times indicated a desire

for Israel to wrap up its extensive ground and air operations in the Gaza Strip within weeks, shifting to this more focused approach against Hamas. And the United States isn't alone in this perspective. Britain and Germany are also advocating for what they describe as a, quote, sustainable ceasefire. In a joint opinion piece in the Sunday Times of London, the British and German foreign secretaries outlined their vision. They wrote, quote, our goal cannot simply be an end of fighting today. It must be peace

lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable, end quote. Now, given the history of the conflict, that's quite the qualification. This statement marks a significant departure from their previous unwavering support for Israel. It seems that Israel is now heeding these messages. Following his discussions with Secretary Austin, the Israeli defense minister announced that Israel will begin a gradual transition to the next phase of operations in Gaza. This phase will focus on lower intensity combat and strategies to minimize civilian casualties, although it is worth noting that no timetable was given. When we come back, As Ukraine continues to struggle to fund its fight against the Russian invasion, the nation's top general makes some pointed remarks against President Zelensky.

And North Korea launches yet another ICBM, this one capable of hitting any part of the United States. 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. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply.

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It really is the recreational activity vehicle. The stylish 2026 Toyota Rav4 Limited. What's your Rav4? Welcome back. As we've mentioned previously on the PDB, there is growing discontent within Ukraine over the leadership of President Zelensky. Notably, he's facing mounting criticism from his own generals for his handling of the war with Russia. A long-standing dispute between Zelensky and General Valerie Zellugni,

the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, has boiled over into public view in recent weeks. In his latest critique of Zelensky's leadership, Zelluzni lambasted his decision to fire all of Ukraine's regional military recruitment heads in August in an alleged crackdown on government corruption. Speaking to the news agency Interfax Ukraine, Zaluzni said, the firings are negatively impacting mobilization efforts for the war. He said Ukraine's recruitment model needs to be returned to the old framework,

and he lamented the loss of the recruitment heads, saying, quote, these were professionals, they knew how to do this, and they are gone. Now, public anger is reportedly mounting as the government struggles to boost recruitment to strengthen their beleaguered frontline forces. A report from Reuters noted recent social media posts showing surprised Ukrainian citizens being served with draft notices inside resorts and gyms. Zilluzni has consistently rebuffed the rosy picture of Ukraine's war effort that Zelensky has championed publicly. He drew Zelensky's ire in early November when he said that the war had reached a stalemate.

Now, more and more, Zolensky has reportedly seen Zaluzni as a potential political rival. And to be fair, Zeluzzi sees himself as a potential presidential candidate, and that's a vision that no doubt helps fuel some of his criticism of Zelensky. All right, in a related story, Zillusioni's critical remarks, Cumm as we're learning that he's been the target of a mysterious surveillance effort within Ukraine. Ukraine's security service revealed on Sunday that they were launching a criminal investigation after discovering listening devices inside offices that were slated for use by Zoluzni and his staff. It's unclear how long the devices had been there and what if any conversations were recorded.

Zillusioni noted that he had not used that particular office in a long time and said the unknown culprits of the surveillance effort were probably preparing for a meeting that he had planned this week. Officials within Zillusioni's office stressed that they didn't believe any sensitive discussions had taken place in the bugged offices. Now, he's a highly regarded figure in Ukraine, with some polls showing his popularity with Ukrainian citizens at the same level as Zelensky. Observers say Zelensky is threatened by this popularity and is eager to remove anyone from his path that could challenge his leadership in the future. Officials have publicly claimed that the pair were still on good terms, but insiders,

well, they tell a different story. Yvonne Stupak, an advisor to the Ukrainian parliament, on national security, told Newsweek on December 5th that Zelensky is two steps away from dismissing Zillusiony. It was inevitable that as the war drags on with Russia and more Ukrainians are drafted to shore up the military's ranks, that there would be a certain level of discontent building within the population. Look, Zelensky remains popular, but he's essentially playing beat the clock. The longer the war drags on, particularly if Ukraine loses financial support from the West, the more people will question his leadership and look to others, including Zaluzhny, as possible alternatives.

All right, next we return to our ongoing coverage of the conflict brewing on the Korean Peninsula, where Kim Jong-un is escalating tensions through a provocative display of his regime's ballistic missile capabilities. North Korea launched a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific yesterday, which can travel up to 9,300 miles, putting all of South Korea, Japan, and the mainland U.S. within its reach. It was the second ICBM test from North Korea in less than 24 hours. On Sunday evening, the regime launched a short-range ballistic missile off of its east coast that fell into the sea after a roughly 20-minute flight. The provocations are in clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions

that ban North Korea from employing ballistic missile technology. Now, Kim Jong-un flouted these rules as recently as November, when his regime used in ICBM to launch their first spy satellite into orbit with the help of Kim's new best friend Vladimir Putin. Unsurprisingly, North Korea has defended their belligeries, as defensive responses to provocations from the U.S. and the West. As we discussed yesterday on the PDB, North Korea lashed out at the U.S. and South Korea

in the statement following their initial ICBM launch on Sunday, calling the two nations military gangsters and accusing the U.S. of engaging in a preview of a nuclear war. Now, it's worth asking, what's got Kim so testy with the missiles? Well, following the U.S. collapse of an Inter-Korean military pact in November, South Korea resumed reconnaissance and surveillance flights along the DMZ and began engaging in joint military training operations with the U.S.

And last week, South Korea's top military brass held a meeting to prepare responses to potential provocations or attacks, including drawing up preemptive strike plans against North Korea. And this was followed by high-level security talks on Friday, Washington between the U.S. and South Korea, and those talks included discussions of respective nuclear deterrent strategies regarding the North. Now, after the meeting, the U.S. and South Korea issued a fiery joint statement, making it plain that any action towards nuclear conflict by North Korea will result in the swift and decisive destruction of their regime. Kim's response to the clear show of allegiance between the U.S. and South Korea,

has been to remind a world of his nation's arsenal. And that has been Kim's typical answer to any perceived slight on the world stage. To demonstrate either his displeasure with the West or his irritation of being ignored, he's typically launched a missile. And finally, the UN Security Council, they're slated to meet today

to discuss the latest provocations from North Korea. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief, the European Union takes aim at Elon Musk's X, formally launching an investigation into the social media platform for an alleged failure to, as the EU sees it, adequately combat hate speech and disinformation. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, a major test of freedom of speech in the European Union. The EU has launched a formal investigation into X,

the social media platform, recently acquired by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. This inquiry focuses on X's alleged failure to adequately combat illicit content and disinformation on its platform. The investigation centers on whether X has neglected to suppress illegal content, including hate speech and incitement to terrorism, potentially impacting its 112 million users in Europe. This move marks the first time that the EU has used its newfound authority under what's known as the Digital Services Act or DSA, which was passed last year. Now, the law grants regulators in Brussels vast powers to compel social media companies to monitor their platforms for hate speech, misinformation, and other divisive content. It's not a surprise that they chose X as their

first target. Following its multi-billion dollar acquisition by Musk last year, X has come under increased scrutiny to regulate its content. In September, an EU official denounced X as the largest source of fake news globally. A month later, the EU intensified its demands, pressing the company for details on how it handles hate speech, misinformation, and violent terrorist content related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. X has publicly stated its commitment to adhering to the DSA and is cooperating with the regulatory process. The company emphasizes the importance of this procedure being free from political influence

and strictly adhering to the law. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 19 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at the firsttv. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Wireless can feel like a world of traps, but not with Visible. It's one-line wireless with unlimited data and hotspot. Powered by Verizon for $25 a month, taxes and fees included. Plus, for a limited time, new members pay just $20 a month for one year on the Visible plan, using the code fresh Start. Refresh your wireless with Visible. Tap the banner to switch today. Terms apply, limited time offer subject to change. See Visible.com for plan features and network management details.