The President's Daily Brief - January 9th, 2024: Gaza War De-escalation, Austin’s Disappearing Act, & Ukraine’s Defense Crisis

Episode Date: January 9, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister, offers the most substantial hints to date, suggesting a shift towards a lower intensity conflict in Gaza. Uncovering the mystery behind Lloyd Austin’s recent three-day absence and the lack of communication with the White House during his hospitalization. A deep dive into the alarming shortage of Patriot missiles for Ukraine's defense forces, as they continue to battle the Russian invasion. The latest developments in the case of a man arrested by China’s top intelligence agency, accused of spying for British MI6. 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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I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll kick off today's show with new comments from Israeli defense minister Yov Ghalat. He's given the strongest indications yet that the war in Gaza is beginning to shift gears, moving possibly towards a lower-intensity conflict. Later in the show, we'll reveal new information about U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, three-day disappearing act. Plus, there's concerning news for Ukraine's defenders.

U.S. officials are warning that the supply of patriot missiles is running dangerously low. Sorry, we're all out of missiles. Finally, in today's back of the brief, we have some intriguing news from Beijing. China's top intelligence agency has announced the arrest of a man accused of spying on behalf of Britain's MI6. But first up, the PDB spotlight. We're getting our first indication from the Israeli government itself that the nation's offensive inside Gaza, which just entered its third month this week, is beginning to shift gears, at least in the northern part of the enclave.

Israel's defense minister, Yov Galat, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, revealed that Israeli forces would transition from what he called, quote, an intense maneuvering phase of the war to different types of special operations. Galant detailed that the military strategy will now pivot to a more targeted approach in Gaza's northern section, while simultaneously continuing its pursuit of Hamas leaders in the south. Operations in the north will now focus on targeted raids, demolishing Hamas's tunnel network, and deploying special forces operations. Galant clarified. that while this next phase will be less intense, it is expected to, quote, last for a longer time.

He emphasized that Israel is not relenting in its aim to eradicate Hamas and end its presence in Gaza. Adding to Galant's statements, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israeli military, also indicated the commencement of a new phase. This phase, he claimed, will involve fewer troops and airstrikes, marking a more restrained form of warfare, which is probably music to the ears of the Biden administration. The administration has been advocating for this change of approach for weeks now, in part due to intense pressure from the hard left side of the Democrat Party and concern over losing votes amongst the Arab American and youth populations. According to U.S. estimates, this already been a significant reduction in Israeli troop presence

in northern Gaza. The current number of soldiers is less than half of the approximately 50,000 that were stationed there during the peak of the campaign last month. Hagari added that Israel would continue reducing troop numbers, a process initiated earlier this month when it withdrew two combat brigades from northern Gaza. He noted that the intensity of operations in northern Gaza has already diminished as the military shifts focus to conducting targeted raids. Israeli officials, according to the New York Times, have privately communicated to their American counterparts their intention to transition to this new phase of warfare by the end of January, although they've given no guarantees. Despite the reduction in combat intensity in northern Gaza,

the situation remains critical in the southern part of the enclave. Israeli Defense Forces soldiers continue their hunt for Hamas leadership in the city of Ghan Yunus. Overnight on Monday, the Israeli Air Force carried out some 30 strikes on Hamas targets. These strikes targeted vital Hamas facilities, including underground sites, weapons depots, and other infrastructure. The IDF stated that the destruction of these targets would facilitate ongoing ground operations in the area. All right. Coming up, an update on U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's three-day absence during a hospitalization at Walter Reed, and bad news for Ukraine's defenders, as U.S. officials warned that the supply of Patriot missiles is running dangerously low. I'll be right back. Welcome back. I want to shift things back to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon has disclosed new information regarding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's extended hospitalization. and given some new insight into that three-day lapse in notifying the White House of his condition.

The Pentagon explained that Austin's hospitalization was the result of a medical procedure performed on December 22nd. He returned home the following day, but was then rushed to intensive care on January 1st when he began to experience what was described as severe pain. The statement from Air Force Major General Pat Ryder provided no specifics about the initial procedure or the events of New Year's Day that necessitated Austin's admission to the intensive care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This narrative contrasts sharply with the initial description of Austin's hospitalization as a result of a, quote, minor elective procedure, as previously stated by the Pentagon. Now, Austin remains hospitalized, but the Pentagon

reports that he is recovering well and is in good spirits, though a specific district date has not been set. Now, there's another part of this story, and that has to do with the internal workings of the Department of Defense while Secretary Austin was laid up. As we reported yesterday on the PDP, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon Second in Command, who would ostensibly take over Austin's duties while he's unable to fulfill them, well, she was on vacation in Puerto Rico when Austin was first admitted to the hospital. According to two defense officials speaking to ABC news, Hicks was also kept in the dark about Austin's whereabouts until Thursday. That's around the same time that the White House learned of Austin's condition,

and a day before Congress was informed. She reportedly had to be taken to a secure location to help fill in for her boss at one point. Secretary Austin resumed his official duties on Friday evening. Now, a U.S. official has indicated that there will be an inquiry into the unusual manner in which Austin's medical treatment was communicated, suggesting potential repercussions for those responsible. Some officials, including several members of Congress, are demanding accountability for the communication failure. However, the Pentagon has stated that Secretary Austin does not intend to resign over the incident, and the White House also continues to stand by Secretary Austin. Four senior administration officials informed

Politico, that President Biden has no intention of dismissing Austin, even if he were to offer his resignation. All right. Turning our attention to the war in Ukraine. While the Russian military continues to lob hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, U.S. officials are warning Keeve that the U.S. may not be able to supply one of its key means of defending itself for much longer, namely the Patriot missiles, Ukraine uses to down Russia's ballistic missiles. According to the New York Times, the White House and the Pentagon

have warned the Ukrainian government that the supply of Patriot Interceptor missiles may soon be unsustainable. Heart of the problem lies in the price tag, Patriot missiles reportedly cost $2 million to $4 million a pop, pop, of course, is a technical military term. The Patriot system has been pivotal for for Ukraine's air defenses amidst Russia's intensified winter bombardment, which is making use of a variety of missiles and drones. Now, the narrative of this war often highlights the need for tanks, aircraft, and artillery. However, with congressional funding for Ukraine at a standstill, air defense is actually the country's most pressing issue, particularly since Putin has been busy, ensuring a consistent supply of missiles and drones from his Evil League of Evil BFFs, Iran and

North Korea. The reason Russia has been able to stay in the fight, despite massive casualties, command and control problems, morale issues, and poor intel is because Putin maintains air superiority in Ukraine, and the only way Keeves managed to mitigate that advantage is to maintain a robust air defense system. However, the Ukrainian military is already raising alarm bells and warning that they're running low on vital air defense supplies following weeks of intensive Russian aerial bombardments. A ground commander, speaking to the AFP, reveals that Ukraine possesses just enough ammunition for its man-portable air defenses to withstand a few more powerful assaults. Man-portable air defenses are part of a wider network of defenses that include the Patriot

batteries and are often used to shoot down the Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Moscow was launched almost nightly for close to two years. Coming up in the back of the brief, China's top intelligence agency announced the detention of a man accused of spying for the British government, allegedly collecting Chinese state secrets. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, some cloak and dagger news out of Beijing. China's top intelligence agency, the minister's Ministry of State Security announced on Monday the detention of the head of an overseas consulting agency. Now, this individual, identified only by the surname Huang, is accused of spying for the British government, allegedly collecting Chinese state secrets. The ministry stated that

Huang, who hails from an unspecified third country, was recruited and trained by MI6, the British intelligence agency. This training reportedly took place in the 1990. Kingdom, among other locations. According to a post on the ministry's official we chat account, now that's the popular Chinese social media platform that, frankly, looks nothing like the Chinese social media platform TikTok, meaning the Chinese regime, of course, would never allow their youth to access TikTok. Anyway, I digress. Huang was engaged in gathering China-related intelligence and recruiting new agents for MI6. The post to further claims that the

The National Security Agency uncovered compelling evidence of Huang's espionage activities. He is said to have provided the British government with 14 state secrets and three pieces of intelligence. That's very specific. However, details regarding Huang's company or nationality remain undisclosed. Adding a cinematic twist to this, the ministry alleges that the British government supplied Huang with, quote, special spy equipment, reminiscent of a James Bond. movie. Ah, well, one can only hope that the special equipment included, I don't know, a shoe phone, the cone of silence, and an Aston Martin, maybe even a couple of them pots. Interestingly, this is the first time Beijing has publicly accused the British of espionage, although it has

previously alleged that individuals were caught spying for the U.S. government. Now, when approached for comment on this matter, a representative for the foreign office in London said, oh behave okay no no he didn't he actually had no comment and that my friends is the president's daily brief for tuesday nine january if you have any questions or comments please reach out to me at pdb at thefirst tv.com i'm mike baker i'll be back later today with the pdb afternoon bulletin until then stay informed stay safe stay cool