The President's Daily Brief - December 29th, 2023: Border Battle, Red Sea Reluctance, & Putin's Retaliation

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We delve into the escalating situation at the US-Mexico border, where a significant surge in illegal arrivals persists, challenging border security measures. We assess the stability and effectiveness of the new maritime task force deployed in the Red Sea, aimed at safeguarding commercial vessels from the threat of Houthi attacks. We analyze Russian President Putin's command of so-called revenge raids following Ukraine's successful strike against a Russian warship in Crimea. In our Back of the Brief segment, we revisit the devastation of the Maui wildfires from August, exploring the ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts. 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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your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the latest from the U.S.-Mexico border where a major surge in new arrivals shows no signs of slowing down. Later in the program, the new Maritime Task Force meant to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi attacks is already showing signs of breaking. And Russian President Putin orders so-called revenge raids in response to Ukraine's sinking of its warship in Crimea. And finally, in today's back of the brief, an update on the wildfires that tore through areas of Maui back in August and current efforts to rebuild. But first up, the PDB spotlight. As we prepare to welcome in the new year, I wanted to kick things off by examining the ongoing crisis at the U.S. southern border.

Now, while the flow of illegal migrants has been a major issue in 2023, it's likely to become an even bigger one in 2024 as the presidential election revs into full gear. Let's start with a look at the current situation by the numbers. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents recorded over 191,000 including counters between ports of entry along the southwest border during the month of November. This figure is up slightly from October when authorities apprehended nearly 189,000 migrants. December is likely to be even worse. In just five days this past week, the Border Patrol processed nearly 50,000 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Notably, daily apprehensions

surpassed 10,000 on three separate days, a significant increase from the 6,400 per day average just last month, according to government data. And the crossings, well, they show no signs of slowing down. As you listen to this podcast, an estimated 8,000 strong caravan of migrants largely from Venezuela, Cuba, and Central America, are making their way to the U.S. border. In addition, more than 11,000 people are waiting in shelters and camps on the Mexican side of the border. Now, admittedly, I've thrown quite a few numbers at you already, but I want to give you a sense of the scale of what's happening here. In the first 11 months of 2023, at least 2,953,676 migrants cross the United States southern and northern borders combined, according to Customs and Border Protection. The number of migrants crossing the border from Mexico into the United States is greater than the populations of 17 different states, including Kansas, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

Now, obviously, this massive surge has pushed border cities to their limits as they scramble for shelter and resources to accommodate the influx. This is a humanitarian catastrophe that's only set to worsen if the government doesn't take some significant action. So what is the U.S. government currently doing to stem the flow? Well, first, there's the executive side of the equation. As we reported yesterday, there was a high-level meeting between Biden administration officials, including the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Mexican President Lopez Obrador. The meeting, frankly, appears to have achieved very little in terms of offering

immediate or short to even midterm relief. What we did get was a very pleasant-sounding joint statement released by the U.S. and Mexico. The two nations promised to, quote, address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, inequality, democratic decline, and violence, and continue the work to promote legal instead of irregular migration pathways. The statement also highlighted, quote, efforts that the Biden administration is pursuing through development assistance and humanitarian aid, as well as advancing new private investments in the region. End quote.

Now, to be clear, the root cause of the current problem is the inability of the White House to properly secure the southern border. It's not rocket science. Yes, for sure, people leave their homelands for a variety of reasons. Economic opportunity, local instability, violence, the dream of a better life. And yes, if their own countries were bastions of peace, stability, and prosperity, they wouldn't be surging into the U.S. across what are essentially open borders. But the problems the U.S. is facing as a result of the unprecedented numbers of incoming

migrants, well, those problems need to be dealt with now in the short term, not by large government programs that even if marginally effective will take decades to produce results. and countries currently dealing with poverty, inequality, democratic decline, and violence. Look, it makes politicians feel good and righteous and all warm inside to talk about curing these long-term root causes. But the harsh reality is that the U.S. cannot continue to absorb the numbers of migrants currently streaming across the border. Even Democrat mayors across the country have woken up to the downside of wrapping themselves in the righteousness of claiming to be sanctuary cities. They can't afford the bills that are now coming due.

Again, it's not rocket science. Secure the borders, discourage illegal entry, and enact policies that promote legal immigration. On the legislative side, there appears to be a deadlock. A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators has been working for weeks to strike a deal on the southern border, demanded by Republicans as a condition for backing Democratic. Democrats, $110.5 billion security package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, the Senate adjourned for the year without reaching an agreement, even as party leaders said the talks remain on the right track. I'll wrap it up with this. The current administration and politicians on Capitol Hill would have a hard time organizing panic in a doomed submarine. The idea that they'll focus on

solving generational problems in countries like Honduras, Venezuela, Haiti, and others, that they'll solve the U.S. border problem by ending poverty or violence and corruption in other countries? Well, it's laughable at best. They need to focus on what they can actually fix. When we come back, less than two weeks after the Department of Defense announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian to shore up Red Sea Commerce from Houthi attacks, some members of the task force already appear to be backing away from it. Plus, Russian President Putin is reportedly ordering revenge raids after Ukraine successfully sunk a warship in a Crimea port. I'll be right back. Olivia Rodriguez, the unraveled cross North America with special guests. Get tickets Thursday, May

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Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply. Welcome back. We turn our attention to the Red Sea, where U.S. efforts to deter further attacks on ships by Iranian-backed-Houti militants appear to be floundering. U.S. President Biden unveiled an initiative on December 18th to form a new maritime task force in response to escalating Iranian-backed-Hootie attacks on Red Sea shipping. However, reluctance from several U.S. allies is already threatening to undermine the effort, according to a report from Reuters.

While the task force dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian reportedly includes participation from 20 countries, many have not stepped forward to officially confirm their involvement and have asked the U.S. to refrain from acknowledging their contributions. Some countries, included in the initial announcement, have since publicly distanced themselves from the operation. Italy, for example, opted to send a ship to the Red Sea at the request of Italian commercial shipowners, but stressed that the vessel would remain under their own command. Similarly, France voiced a support for enhanced patrols of the Red Sea, but said any French vessels sent to the region would remain under French command.

Spain also refused to join the operation and balked at a proposal to use an existing EU anti-piracy mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea. And meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates the U.S. had hoped would participate in the task force, at least silently, have publicly distanced themselves from any involvement in the coalition. Now, this comes as roughly half of the container ships that usually move through the Red Sea in Suez Canal have actually abandoned the region, opting to take the path around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope. Traveling that route can cost a considerable amount of time and money and will cause an increase in the price of consumer

goods worldwide, according to a Bloomberg report. All in, new ship arrivals into the Gulf of Aden dropped by 40% between December 22nd and December 26th. Continued disruption of this critical shipping lane will likely have a profound global economic ripple effect. So with billions in global commerce at stake, why the reluctance to be officially linked to the U.S.-led task force? Well, it appears to stem, in part at least, from fears among European leaders of being linked to Israel's offensive in Gaza. Polls show that increasingly strong majorities of Europe's populations oppose Israel's current military response in Gaza, and their governments, of course, are wary of popular blowback from their electorates. Everybody wants to keep their job. Leaders are also worried

about making their own country a target of the Iranian-sponsored Houthi militants. in Yemen, fearing that their participation in the task force could lead to reprisals. Now, we should note that there are existing U.S.-led military coalitions in the Middle East that already cooperate with European Union groups in the region. This means that nations who are not a part of the new task force can still coordinate on patrols with the U.S. Navy. Still, the reluctance of U.S. allies to sign up to actually supporting Operation Procedure, prosperity guardian, speaks to the uncertainty currently gripping much of the world since the Israel-Hamas

conflict kicked off. So for the time being, it does appear that the Iranian regime, using their proxy group, the Houthi militants, will continue to disrupt international waters and destabilize global trade. At some point, perhaps, the various countries involved in the supposed coalition will collectively grow a pair and engage in actual deterrence. All right. I want to shift our focus to Russia and the fallout from Ukraine's destruction of a Russian warship in Crimea in an airstrike on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly incensed

that Ukraine managed to slip through their defenses and has ordered revenge raids in Crimea to punish those he views as responsible, according to a report by the Independent. The claim comes from, Ukraine's partisan Ateche Group, who said Russian forces were conducting raids throughout the city and that Putin was expected to severely punish the Crimean Air Defense Forces for their failure to prevent the attack. Attesh wrote on Telegram, quote, the flywheel of repression is spinning up.

Since yesterday, local residents have been raided throughout the city, their phones are being taken away and their houses are being searched. The group added that, quote, Putin is completely furious over the destruction of the Nova Turkasque. and has issued orders to punish the Crimean Air Defense Forces. It's expected that many commanders will be removed and sent to the front to participate in assault groups, end quote. As we discussed yesterday on the PDB, a Ukrainian cruise missile struck the Nova Turkasca landing ship in Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Tuesday. Initial reports suggested that the attack killed at least one Russian sailor and left the ship with significant damage. However, subsequent reporting revealed the Kremlin was severely downplaying the incident.

Video footage emerged online, showing a massive explosion that appears to have destroyed the entire ship. The independent outlet, Astra, said at least 23 people on board were injured and said another 33 were missing. The strike was a major success for Ukraine's Air Force, as the Russian warship was reportedly used to carry ammunition and personnel to the Southern Front in Ukraine. Having said that, it will likely do very little to change the stalemate currently on the front lines of the war. Now, Ukraine also continues to face financial insecurity for their war effort. Aid packages worth tens of billions of dollars from both the European Union and the U.S. remained stalled amid intense political divisions. And the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that they were sending Kiev the last of their funds allocated for Ukraine,

totaling roughly $250 million. With that payment, U.S. coffers for Ukrainian aid are officially empty. Coming up in the back of the brief, two towns in Maui are still struggling to rebuild four months after being hit by the deadliest U.S. wildfires in over 100 years. I'll give you an update on those efforts. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, I wanted to take a moment to give you an update on a story that disappeared all too quickly from the headlines this year. The wildfires that tore through the

towns of Lahaina and Kula in Maui, Hawaii over four months ago. The devastation wrought by these fires was historic. The death toll currently stands at 100, marking it as the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in over a century. The impact extends beyond the tragic loss of life. Over 2,000 buildings and 2,100 acres were consumed by the flames. This includes not just family homes, but also historical structures, some dating back to when Lahaina was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Currently, Lahaina and Cooler are still in the thick of cleanup operations aided by the Army Corps of Engineers.

This process is long and difficult involving the removal of ash, hazardous trees, and the remnants of concrete foundations. One of the significant challenges faced by the cleanup crews is the disposal of debris. Officials are grappling with the dilemma of finding a suitable location for the ash and debris, much of which is contaminated with arsenic, lead, cobalt, copper, and other harmful substances. It's estimated that around 400,000 cubic yards of this contaminated material exists enough to fill over roughly 120 Olympic-sized swimming pools. For now, there are plans to establish a temporary facility in a neighboring town to store this debris.

But the challenges don't end there, of course. Homelessness is pressing. Hawaii Governor of Josh Green has reported that there are still 6,297 residents without homes. Some are temporarily residing in hotels while others have been forced to camp out on local beaches. The road to recovery remains long and costly for the victims of the wildfires. To fully rebuild and replace all lost structures, the estimated cost stands at a staggering 5.5. billion dollars. We wish the people of Maui all the very best for this coming year. This story deserves continuous coverage. And if folks want to donate to wildfire relief efforts, you can do so at

Maui-Nui-N-E-Sstrong.info. That's Maui-M-A-U-I-N-U-I-Sstrong. Info. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 29 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.