The President's Daily Brief - February 2nd, 2024: US Confirms Retaliation Plan, Biden Cracks Down On Jewish Settlers, & Putin Targets Dissidents

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     U.S. officials confirmed on Thursday that an official retaliation plan has been settled on after an attack killed three American service members in Jordan, which will include multi-day strikes in Iraq and Syria against militias and Iranian personnel. The Biden administration is cracking down on Jewish settlers linked to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank Four Chinese nationals have been charged by the U.S. for aiding the Iranian regime’s weapons program. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin plans to punish any Russians aboard who speak out against the war in Ukraine or criticize his regime with harsh financial penalties. 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 Friday to February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We're starting things off in the Middle East, where U.S. officials confirmed to CBS news on Thursday that an official retaliation plan has been decided on after an attack killed three American service members in Jordan. This, of course, will be the least surprising retaliation in the history of retaliation planning, given that the White House has spent the past several days, advising anyone who wants to listen, that the U.S. has now decided how to respond to the deadly drone attack in Jordan. Later, the Biden administration is cracking down on Jewish settlers linked to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Plus, we'll look at the cases of four Chinese nationals recently charged by the U.S. for aiding the Iranian regime's weapons program. And in today's back of the brief, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin plans to punish any Russians abroad who speak out against the war in Ukraine or the regime with harsh financial penalties. But first up, the PDB spotlight. Let's begin with the situation in the Middle East, where the U.S. is expected to launch retaliatory strikes

any day against Iran-backed militias after an attack killed three American service members in Jordan last weekend and injured at least 40 others. After much speculation, U.S. officials confirmed CBS News on Thursday that they have settled on a plan of action, which will see the U.S. military engage in multi-day strikes in Iraq and Syria against multiple targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities. It's good that they're laying all this out for everyone. He wouldn't want this to be a surprise. The report comes just days after President Biden said he had made up his mind about how to respond to the deadly drone attack, which is believed to have been conducted by the most powerful of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq,

Katay Besbollah, they're part of the Islamic resistance in Iraq. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday in remarks at the Pentagon, quote, This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East. We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests, and our people, end quote. Now, according to the CBS News report, whether in the region will be a major factor in determining when exactly the U.S. carries out their retaliation. Officials said that while they certainly have the capability to operate under any conditions, they prefer better visibility to limit the risk of inadvertently harming civilians.

officials noted that Khatim Hesbalah's announcement on Tuesday that they were suspending all military operations against U.S. forces in the region has not factored into any delays regarding a military response. The group was reportedly pressured by both the Iraqi government and the Iranian regime to curtail their operations in the wake of their deadly attack in Jordan. The militant group went to great lengths to distance Iran from attacks on U.S. troops. in their statement, claiming their group operates, quote, without any interference from others. Now, here's a pro tip. Any time an Iranian proxy group, funded, supplied, and trained by Iran, goes out of its way to claim that Iran had nothing to do with anything, they're lying.

Iran appears to be increasingly nervous about the forthcoming U.S. retaliation, claiming this week that they had nothing to do with a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Jordan, said, one Iranian regime spokesperson, look, I know we fund Khatib Azulah. Do we provide them with weapons and training? Well, sure. I mean, do we encourage them to carry out our primary objectives of destroying Israel and removing the U.S. from the Middle East?

Well, okay, maybe we do. But does that make us responsible for their actions? All right, fine, I guess we're responsible, end quote. Now, if you're keeping score at home, I made that entire quote up. The chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps did say Wednesday that Tehran is, quote, not looking for war. He did, however, warn that Iran was ready to respond if they came under direct attack. The commander said, quote, we hear threatening words from American officials. You have tested us, and we know each other, we will not leave any threat unanswered, end quote.

In another surprising move, officials with the IRGC said Thursday, that they would be scaling back deployment of their senior officers in Syria, instead relying more on Shiite militias in the region to maintain their power in the country. The move comes in the face of increasing Israeli airstrikes in Syria that have killed more than half a dozen Iranian officials. It's just another sign that Iran is increasingly fearful of blowback from their provocative actions since the 7 October attacks through their use of regional proxies,

be it Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah and Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, or militant groups in Iraq and Syria. Iran's axis of resistance, as we've discussed before, has been carefully cultivated by Iran over decades, with the Quds Force, the elite and overseas wing of Iran's IRGC, training and arming these organizations. All right, coming up after the break, we'll discuss the latest action by the Biden administration regarding Jewish settlers linked to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and the case of four Chinese nationals recently charged for aiding Iran's weapons program. I'll be right back. Welcome back.

President Biden has announced that he will impose sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of West Bank violence. This move, one could argue, is a sign that the U.S. is losing patience with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. whom. Biden signed the executive order on Thursday, which establishes a system for imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on Israelis found to be involved in attacks and intimidation against Palestinians in the region, including those unlawfully seizing Palestinian property, according to our Reuters report. The Biden administration said Thursday that they had already put the measures into action, imposing sanctions on four Israeli men allegedly linked to settler violence, freezing their U.S.-based assets. Now, the U.S. has been aggressively pushing Israel

to curtail violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Daily attacks by settlers have reportedly more than doubled since the deadly 7-October attacks on Israel by Hamas. President Biden has reportedly made personal appeals to Netanyahu, who has long championed Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu is reportedly reticent. to engage on the issue, calling the administration's latest executive order, quote, unnecessary. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday, Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it. The United States will continue to take actions, he said, to advance the foreign policy objectives of the U.S., including the

viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to the safety security. and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike." On that score, a spokesman for the State Department said Wednesday that the U.S. is actively seeking the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that includes security guarantees for Israel. To put this fresh push for a Palestinian state into context, let's briefly revisit the history around a two-state solution in the region. Now, the United Nations first adopted the principle of the two-state solution back in 1947 as part of their partition plan for Palestine.

However, Arab leaders rejected the proposal. Palestinian support for the idea didn't really crystallize until the mid-70s, though most proposals from the Palestinian Liberation Organization or the PLO have failed to recognize Israel's right to exist. Over the years, Palestinian leaders have been great to be great. granted several opportunities to pursue a two-state solution, but the process has repeatedly been derailed by hardliners, such as Hamas, who fundamentally reject Israel's right to exist. Israel and Palestine came close to achieving some form of detent following the historic 1993 Oslo Accords, which formally recognized Israel's right to exist and led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which currently governs.

at the West Bank. However, destabilizing terrorist attacks would eventually derail those efforts. An agreement also failed to materialize at the 2000 Camp David Summit, despite Israeli leaders offering Palestinian leaders Gaza and 97% of territory in the West Bank. Hardliners again rejected the right of Israel to exist, leading to the Second Intifada uprising against Israel. Efforts to revive a two-state peace deal, since then have failed to make any meaningful progress. All right, shifting gears. U.S. authorities announced criminal charges against four Chinese nationals, accused of aiding the Iranian regime's weapons program for more than a decade.

Officials with the U.S. Justice Department revealed the charges on Wednesday, which alleged that the Chinese nationals helped smuggle U.S.-made electronic components to Iran that could be used in the production of attack drones, ballistic missile systems, and other military hardware. That's according to a Fox News report. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said, quote, our indictment alleges a years-long complex conspiracy to violate U.S. laws by procuring U.S. technology with military uses for entities in Iran who would do us harm, a serious offense that endangers our national security, end quote. The group reportedly operated their criminal scheme between May 2007 and July 2020.

They allegedly used a network of front companies in China to funnel a vast amount of dual-use U.S. origin commodities with military capabilities to Iran. The accused would allegedly misrepresent the endestination of these electronic components to U.S. companies, routing the shipments through China, and concealing the fact that they were bound for Iran. Arrest warrants have been issued, however authorities said the four Chinese nationals are all currently in hiding. They face up to 35 years in prison for their various violations of international and U.S. law. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olson said, quote, Such efforts to unlawfully obtain U.S. technology directly threaten our national security,

and we will use every tool at our disposal to sever the illicit supply chains that fuel the Iranian regime malign activity, end quote. The revelation comes as the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, fueled by Iranian proxy groups that employ Iranian-made missiles and drones. All right. Coming up in today's back of the brief, leaders in Moscow are planning a crackdown on anti-war Russians living abroad who criticize the Putin regime. It's surprising to think that Putin might be a thin-skinned despot who can't handle criticism. I'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection,

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Discover the euphoria elixir collection by Calvin Klein. In today's back of the brief, we're learning that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is planning to aggressively pursue his own citizens living abroad if they criticize his administration or the regime's war against Ukraine. Russia's parliament passed a measure on Wednesday that would allow the government to seize the property of Russians living abroad if they, are found to, quote, besmirch our country. That seems pretty heavy-handed, just for the simple act of besmirching. The law also targets the assets of any Russians living in exile who commit purported

crimes against national security, according to a report by the New York Times. The law is aimed at clamping down on the hundreds of thousands of Russians who have fled the country since Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Many have high visibility on platforms such as YouTube, where they they err their grievances against the Putin regime. Putin reportedly said Wednesday, quote, All this scum that's always present in any society is being slowly, slowly washed away, end quote. At the same time, Putin has been increasing pressure

on countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East to restrict the freedoms of Russians speaking out against the Putin regime. An anti-war Russian language rock group was recently imprisoned in Thailand as they fought efforts by Moscow to forcibly deport them back to Russia for prosecution. In another example, a popular Russian-born rapper was recently banned from re-entering his adopted home in the UAE due to pressure from the Putin regime. Dmitri Goodkhov, the exiled Russian opposition politician, told the New York Times that Russia's aggressive pursuit of anti-war citizens abroad is aimed at sending the message that no one is safe

from Putin and that they can, quote, grab anyone anywhere. Now, Putin's manic efforts to control and punish his critics, while not surprising, do reflect the reality that the Russian military has not been able to meet Putin's expectations and objectives. And his primary concern is internal social unrest. A Russian policy, increasingly dissatisfied with the progress of the war and the high casualty rate. The last thing Putin needs is a rising chorus of anti-war influencers operating outside his reach. With Putin's latest efforts, he's attempting to prove that nobody is, in fact, outside his reach. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Friday to February.

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.