The President's Daily Brief - January 23rd, 2024: Iran in the Crosshairs, SEALS Lost, & Ukraine's Crossroads

Episode Date: January 23, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A pointed accusation from the U.S. Navy's top Mideast commander: Iran is directly behind the Houthi rebel attacks on commercial ships. We dive into the repercussions for Tehran. The U.S. military has ceased its search for two Navy SEALS who vanished in the Arabian Sea. A contentious proposal from an EU country calls for Ukraine to cede its eastern regions to end the ongoing conflict with Russia. Our Back of the Brief segment offers insights and predictions for today's highly anticipated GOP primary in New Hampshire. 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

This podcast is sponsored by Blackout Coffee. Start your day off with a great cup of American-made Blackout Coffee, family-owned, premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB, for 20% off your first purchase. It's Tuesday, January 23rd. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed.

First up, the head of the U.S. Navy in the Middle East is pointing the finger directly at Iran over recent attacks by Houthi rebels, and never before in the history of finger pointing has there been a more deserved finger point. We'll take a look at his comments and examine what the U.S. is actually doing to fight back against Tehran. Later on in the program, a tragic update on the fate of two Navy SEALs who disappeared in the Arabian Sea earlier this month. And an EU member state is demanding Ukraine give up its eastern territory to bring an end to its conflict with Russia. Finally, in today's back of the brief, I'll give you a preview on today's GOP primary in New

Hampshire. But first up, the PDB spotlight. The U.S. Navy has accused Iran of being a driving force behind Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This, of course, is what we would call an obvious statement of the obvious. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the U.S. Navy's top mid-east commander, in an interview with the Associated Press, stated that Iran is, quote, very directly involved in the ship attacks conducted by Yemen's Houthi rebels. This involvement marks an expansion of threats associated with

Iran from the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to wider maritime areas in the Middle East. Admiral Cooper emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that the Houthi actions against merchant shipping are the most significant in two generations. During a telephone interview, Cooper said, quote, the facts simply are that they're attacking the international community, thus the international response, I think you've seen, end quote. Admiral Cooper's statement aligns with new intelligence from the U.S. and other Western countries, which indicates that the Houthiq's response, I think you've seen, end quote. and other Western countries, which indicates that the Houthi rebels are actively seeking more weapons from Tehran. This ongoing procurement of arms from Iran suggests a continued and possibly escalating threat to shipping in the Red Sea. Now, if you're a regular listener to the BDB, you're probably asking yourself, why does this matter, Mike? I mean, you say, don't we already know

that Tehran is behind all of this? And the answer is, of course we do. We've known it for months, and so as the U.S. government. But it raises the all-important question, what are we going to do to alter the behavior of the Iranian regime and the IRGC? Well, the answer is, at least for the time being, sanctions. The Biden administration announced a new round of sanctions yesterday, targeting Iran's funding for Hamas and Iranian-backed militias elsewhere in the Middle East. The sanctions aimed to cut off funding sources for the U.S.

these proxy groups, which are actively fueling the regional instability and chaos that we've been discussing here for several months. In coordination with the United Kingdom and Australia, the U.S. imposed sanctions on entities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Turkey. These sanctions specifically target money changers facilitating financial transfers between Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, and groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Additionally, the Biden administration announced sanctions on Fly Baghdad in Iraqi airline, along with its CEO. These sanctions are for providing assistance to the IRGC and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, which have attacked U.S. forces and allies. Looking ahead, the U.S.

is likely to target Houthi-linked financial networks. However, the Treasury Department's actions are currently limited until the new terrorist designation becomes official in mid-February. So the question, will any of this be effective? And the answer is, in the short term, no. But it is an improvement on the U.S. administration's past three years of soft diplomacy that misguided officials in the White House, State Department, and elsewhere, somehow imagined, would bring Iran into the community of nations. Over the past few years, the Biden administration staffed Iran-focused positions with Iran apologists, individuals who actively worked to coddle the Iranian regime,

convinced that the maximum pressure approach of the previous administration was wrong. Well, that approach clearly didn't work. So while the announced additional sanctions won't likely alter the current aggressive behavior of the Mullahs and IRC, it's better than a harshly worded memo. But at some point, an actual deterrent strategy will be required. Just don't look for that during an election year in the U.S. Now, as an aside, just yesterday, the U.S. and U.K. carried out the eighth round of attacks on Houthi infrastructure inside Yemen,

striking at missile sites, storage depots, and underground facilities. All right, after the break, the U.S. calls off its search for two missing Navy SEALs. And while the EU steps up its efforts to arm Ukraine, one member state is calling for the nation to surrender its territory to Russia to bring the war to an end. I'll be right back. Welcome back. I want to bring you an update regarding the two Navy SEALs that went missing after a recent operation seizing Iranian weapons in the Gulf of Aden.

Tragically, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday that they were calling off their search after an exhaustive 10-day rescue effort and declared that the U.S. Navy SEALs are now presumed deceased. The military is now engaged in recovery operations for the lost warriors. Their 10-day search and rescue efforts covered more than 21,000 square miles. The U.S. military was aided in these efforts by the militaries of Japan and Spain, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and specialists at the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. General Corrilla, the sentgams commander, said Sunday,

quote, We mourn the loss of our two naval special warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example. Our prayers are with the SEALs families, friends, the U.S. Navy, and the entire Special Operations community during this time, end quote. The two Navy SEALs went missing on January 11th off the coast of Somalia during the interdiction of a small fishing vessel or Dow that was smuggling Iranian-made missile parts bound for Houthi militants in Yemen. As we previously discussed on the BDB, while the team was executing a complex boarding of the vessel, one seal fell into the water. Another seal immediately jumped into the waves after his teammate and brother-in-arms. Now, if you want an example of

selfless dedication, loyalty, and courage, well, that would be it. The names of the two Navy SEALs have not yet been released, as the military is still in the process of notifying their family members. Regarding the operation, the Navy SEAL team found Iranian-made missile guidance and propulsion systems, as well as warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles aboard the smuggling vessel. Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen continue to wreck havoc in the Red Sea, targeting shipping vessels and Western naval forces in the critical international shipping channel. All right, I want to shift our focus to the war in Ukraine and rising tensions among some NATO members regarding what path Ukraine should pursue when it comes to ending the conflict.

Robert Fico, the recently elected Prime Minister of Slovakia, ruffled feathers on Saturday when he said Ukraine must seed territory to Russia in order to end the war and reiterated his opposition to Ukraine becoming a NATO member. Fico, a member of the left-wing populist smear party, previously served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018. He returned to power in September, promising a hardline approach regarding Ukraine. Fico said, quote, there has to be some kind of compromise. What do they expect that the Russians will leave Crimea, Dombas, and Lhansk,

that's unrealistic, end quote. His remarks come as Fico prepares to travel to Ukraine on Wednesday to meet with the Ukrainian Prime Minister. Slovakia's culture ministry also announced this weekend that they would resume cooperation with Russia and Belarus after suspending ties following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Regarding his meeting with the prime minister and his position on NATO, Figo said, quote, I will tell him that I am against the membership of Ukraine in NATO. and that I will veto it. It would merely be a basis for World War III, nothing else, end quote. He went further, claiming that, quote, Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country, but rather under the total influence and control of the United States. He added, quote,

sure, I sound like I'm licking Putin's boots, but yeah, whatever, end quote. All right, that last bit that was made up by me. While Fico's butt kissing will be music to Putin's ears, Ukraine was less than pleased with the Slovak President's slobbering statement. In a strong rebuke, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nicalenko said, there can be no compromise on territorial integrity, not Ukraine, not Slovakia, not any other country. Nicalenko continued, let's be honest, no security in Ukraine means no security in Slovakia or Europe as a whole. We must work together to bring Ukraine's victory closer. Now, the Slovak Prime Minister is known for his pro-Russian leanings and has recently aligned

himself with Hungarian President Viktor Orban, another European leader who remains enamored with the Putin regime. The pair continue to block the EU's proposed 50 billion euro aid package to Ukraine. Fico said he cannot support sending more money and weapons to what he calls, quote, one of the most corrupt nations in the world. He added, I mean Ukraine, not Russia. And again, I made that last bit up. Despite the Paris opposition, the European Union is finding other ways to aid Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia.

The EU announced Sunday that they will increase their production of ammunition amid Ukraine's increasingly desperate calls for greater military aid. EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, and yes, I pronounced it Thierry Breton, because I'm fancy like that, said Friday, we are at a crucial moment for our collective security in Europe and in the war of aggression run by Russia and Ukraine. Europe must and will continue to support Ukraine with all its means. Now, it remains to be seen whether Ukraine and Slovakia can make any diplomatic inroads during Wednesday's meeting. However, for now, it appears that Putin regime can count on Slovakia and Hungary

to further complicate the EU's efforts to support Ukraine. Coming up in today's back of the brief, we turn to U.S. politics, where folks in the Granite State, that of course would be New Hampshire, are headed to the polls today to cast their vote in today's first-in-the-nation presidential primary. I'll give you a preview of the contest and explain why one name is conspicuously absent from the ballot. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, Republican voters are heading to the polls in New Hampshire today to cast their ballots with just two GOP candidates left to compete for the state's

22 delegates, and that's just a drop in the bucket of the 1,215 delegates needed to capture the nomination. Today is technically the first primary of the season, since last week's contest in Iowa was a caucus, and I'd explain what a caucus is, but frankly, there are only seven people who understand the process, and they're all in Iowa and unavailable. Heading into primary day, the real clear politics polling average has former president, Donald Trump with a commanding 17-5-point lead against former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Before dropping out, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was polling at around 7%. It's likely that DeSantis voters will migrate to Trump, given that upon bowing out, the Florida

governor endorsed Trump. Trump thanked Governor DeSantis for endorsing him after he suspended his campaign this weekend, saying he ran a really good campaign and calling him gracious. Of course, Nikki Haley came in third place in Iowa behind Trump and DeSantis and has vowed to finish stronger in New Hampshire after receiving the endorsement of the state's governor Chris Sununu. Now, the New Hampshire primary is not a winner-take-all contest, meaning that all candidates who secure more than 10% of the vote are allocated delegates, which means Haley could still earn a handful of delegates even if she loses to President Trump. Now, you might be wondering

what's happening on the Democratic side? Well, they technically have a primary as well, but President Biden's name won't be appearing on the ballot due to a dispute between the party, the DNC, and the state over the date of the election. The DNC has worked to take away New Hampshire's status as first in the nation primary and award that dubious honor to South Carolina. So essentially, on the Democrat side, today's New Hampshire primary is an unsanctioned event. That, of course, has irritated the fine Democratic voters of New Hampshire. Now, with Biden not on the ballot, Democrat voters will be presented with choosing between long-shot candidates to Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota and self-help guru Marianne Williamson. The Biden campaign,

Despite not wanting to be on the ballot, is urging Democrat voters to write in the president's name. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Tuesday, 23 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. Now, I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%.

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