The President's Daily Brief - July 24th, 2024: Secret Gaza Talks, NATO on High Alert, & Maduro’s ‘Bloodbath’

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   We’ll start today in the Middle East, where details are emerging of a secret meeting between the U.S., Israel, and the United Arab Emirates reportedly to discuss plans for Gaza after the war ends. We’ll have the details.   Later in the show, we examine the rising risk of war in Europe as NATO announces it has placed half a million troops on high readiness to defend the alliance against potential Russian aggression.   Plus, the fallout from history’s biggest IT outage continues, with some airlines claiming that the turmoil could last for weeks.   In today’s Back of the Brief, ahead of Venezuela’s election later this month, the nation’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro is warning that a loss at the polls could lead to a “bloodbath” and civil war.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. 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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Go to blackout coffee.com. promo code PDB for 20% off your first-time purchase. It's Wednesday, 24 July. 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 start today in the Middle East, where details are emerging of a secret meeting between the U.S., Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, UAE, to discuss plans for Gaza after the war ends. We'll have those details. Later in the show,

we examine the risk of war in Europe, as NATO announces it has placed half a million troops on high readiness to defend the alliance against potential Russian aggression. Plus, the fallout from history's biggest IT outage continues, with some airlines claiming that the turmoil could last for weeks. And in today's back of the brief, ahead of Venezuela's election later this month, the nation's embattled president, Nicholas Maduro, is warning that a loss at the polls for him

could lead to a bloodbath and civil war. But first, today's BDB, spotlight. The U.S., Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, convened in Abu Dhabi last Thursday to discuss post-war governance plans for Gaza. The meeting signals a shift in Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's approach, recognizing the necessity for a practical strategy following Hamas and Fataz agreement on a unity government. Amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, discussions on Gaza's future governance have become crucial to prevent further chaos. hosted by Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayy, also known oddly as A.B.Z. The meeting saw key figures

from the U.S. and Israel in attendance. Representing the U.S. were President Biden's top Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, and State Department counselor Tom Sullivan. From the Israeli side, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dürmer, a close ally of Netanyahu, attended, accompanied by two senior Israeli defense officials who presented Israel's proposals. A day prior to the meeting, Lana Nassieaba, ABC's special envoy, outlined the UAE's proposals in an op-ed. She advocated for a temporary international mission to address the humanitarian crisis, establish law and order, and promote the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian state. The UAE expressed willingness to contribute troops to a multinational force that would govern

Gaza alongside a reformed Palestinian authority. However, friction points, as you might imagine, do exist. Nanyahu resists ending the war, rejects the idea of Palestinian authority rule in Gaza, and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, complicating, of course, potential peace efforts. Despite this, he is open to UAE involvement, such as sending troops, funding Gaza's reconstruction and overhauling its education system to, quote, de-radicalize the population. Interestingly, Netanyahu's defense minister, Jov Ghalent, had previously proposed a similar plan,

which Netanyahu initially rejected, but now seems more open to considering. This comes on the heels of a meeting between Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, in Beijing to form a unity government, marking the latest attempt to resolve a long-standing rivalry with significant implications for Gaza's governance

post-war with Israel. The joint statement from Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip for 17 years, and Fatah, the dominant force in the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority, revealed plans to form a government by agreement among the factions, but failed to provide specifics on the structure. This initial step is intended to follow up on previous reconciliation agreements. Israel and the U.S. swiftly denounced the pact, emphasizing that any Palestinian government, including Amas, a designated terrorist organization, must recognize Israel.

This position has historically undermined unity efforts. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the agreement was signed by representatives from Hamas, Fatah, and a dozen other Palestinian factions outlining broad goals for collaboration without detailed implementation plans. This move underscores China's growing involvement in Middle East diplomacy, following its mediation in the Saudi-Iran relations restoration. The unity announcement involves expanding the Fatal-led Palestinian Liberation Organization, the PLO, to include Hamas. And that's a significant step, as Hamas members have historically been excluded from the PLO.

This move, if successful, could reshape the potential landscape for Palestinians. All right, coming up next. Tensions between NATO and Russia. What? Tensions between NATO and Russia? Well, they continue to mount. with news that Russia scrambled fighter jets after U.S. Air Force bombers approached Russian borders. Plus, more on the crowd strike IT outage, and the cybercriminals and hackers reportedly taking advantage of the online chaos.

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And in the blue corner, the challenger, extra strength, Hattery! Eye drops and work all day to prevent the release of histamines that cause itchy allergy eyes. And the winner, by knockout, is Hatternay. Padiddy! Bring it on! Welcome back to the PDB. Turning our attention to the conflict in Ukraine. the specter of a wider war in Eastern Europe is once again rearing its head in the wake of the historic NATO summit two weeks ago in Washington, D.C. NATO's senior spokesman, Farad Daklala, confirmed on Sunday that to protect against the aggression of the Putin regime in Russia, the alliance has amassed a force of 500,000 troops that have been placed at high readiness, and that's according to a report from Newsweek.

The NATO official said that Vladimir Putin's belligerence in Ukraine has forced the alliance to make major adjustments to their defensive strategy and that NATO members have risen to meet the threat. Duglala said, quote, NATO has undergone the most significant transformation in our collective defense in a generation. We have put in place the most comprehensive defense plans since the Cold War with currently more than 500,000 troops at high readiness, end quote. Now, despite the large force at the ready, Dahlia also touched on the fact that some NATO members, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, are considering reintroducing mandatory military service, fearing a looming war with Russia, could be just over the horizon.

While NATO does not wade into the military decisions of individual members, Deglala said it was critical that every member is individually prepared in the event of escalation. As we've been discussing on the PDB, NATO members have been rapidly strengthening their collective defense against Russia in recent weeks and have taken steps to insulate the flow of military aid to Ukraine from potential shifts in American politics. Regarding their collective defense, these measures include the stationing of long-range U.S. missiles in Germany that are capable of striking Russia as well as an agreement with Poland that grants them authority to shoot down Russian missiles and drones within Ukraine's airspace.

NATO also revealed at the summit that a new U.S. Air Defense Base in northern Poland designed to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of a broader NATO missile shield, while it has gone operational. Russia has responded with their own countermeasures, announcing plans to resume production of short and intermediate range land-based missiles that can be equipped with conventional or nuclear warheads and threatening to deploy nuclear missiles close to NATO borders near collision. Lindengrad. On Sunday, Russia scrambled jets along their border near the Barron Sea to prevent two U.S. military long-range bomber aircraft from getting too close to their territory. That's according to a

statement from Moscow's defense ministry. The U.S. Air Force has declined to comment. Russian officials continue to saber-rattle at the West, accusing them of fomenting escalation by expanding their collective defense, and by pushing for Ukraine to join the NATO alliance. Of course, you could argue, that Russia fomented escalation by invading Ukraine. The Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council warned last week that Ukraine joining NATO would be akin to a declaration of war, saying, quote, the more such attempts there are, the harsher our answers will become. All right, shifting focus to the ongoing technological meltdown from last week,

Delta Airlines passengers continue to bear the brunt of service disruptions. Hundreds more flights were canceled early Tuesday, extending the chaos caused by last week's global tech outage into a fifth day. The situation shows no signs of improvement, and cybercriminals are capitalizing on the chaos. Of course they are. As we've been covering here on the PDB, the disruption originated from a software update issued late Thursday night by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which then crashed Windows software. This incident caused a cascade effect throughout the global airline industry last Friday.

Now, while most airlines manage to recover and resume normal operations by the end of the weekend, Delta, well, they've struggled to recover. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta-based airline canceled 466 flights and Endeavour Air, its regional carrier, canceled another 28 flights. These cancellations follow over 1,250 flight cancellations on Monday and 4,500 from Friday through Sunday. According to Flight Aware, Delta and Delta Connection, get this, accounted for nearly 70% of all flights canceled within to or from the U.S. on Monday. No other U.S. airline had canceled as many flights. The issues prompted Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to announce an investigation by the Department of Transportation to ensure Delta is complying with passenger protection laws.

As you can imagine, the DOT received numerous consumer complaints. were complaining about Delta's actions since Friday, and they may penalize the airline for inadequate customer assistance. The software issues caused significant frustration among Delta's customers and crew members alike, and for that, I award myself today's BDB statement of the obvious award. Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded, many forced to sleep in airports without hotel accommodations. Crew members faced similar predicaments, stranded far from home and unable to secure flights due to the malfunctioning crew tracking system. To mitigate the staffing problems, Delta is offering crew members premium pay and additional

assurances of travel back to their homes at the end of their work periods. These measures are expected to be in place through Friday of this week. Delta's operational meltdown has already caused the airline about $163 million through Monday, with losses expected to increase as additional staff pay and customer reimbursements are factored in. Meanwhile, cybercriminals are capitalizing on Friday's massive global tech outage by promoting fake websites filled with malicious software designed to compromise unsuspecting victims. The U.S. government and multiple cybersecurity professionals are issuing warnings about the surge in fraudulent activities. Effected systems from the global IT meltdown

displayed a blue-screen error upon booting up, causing widespread disruption. Now, most of the malicious actors are setting up phony sites that often use domain names with keywords like CrowdStrike and Blue Screen to appear legitimate. Once visited, of course, these sites then harvest information or breach devices. The Department of Homeland Security has observed, quote, threat actors taking advantage of this incident for fishing and other malicious activity. Their cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency urges vigilance and adherence to guidance from legitimate sources. Crowdstrike has also issued warnings and advice for affected organizations. Currently, well, there's no automated fix for the crowd strike glitch, making recovery long and costly. Look, I've got family members and

colleagues that have been stranded in various airports over the past few days. Luggage gone walkabout, flights canceled, massive lines. If you've got a travel tale of woe or misery resulting from this IT meltdown, do us a favor. Send us a note with details to PDB at the first TV. com. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, we'll continue our coverage of the coming election in Venezuela with President Nicholas Maduro, warning of a bloodbath in civil war if he loses. More on that when we come back. Excema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebbglis, a once-monthly treatment for moderate-tiss disappear eczema. After an initial four-month-month- or longer dosing phase, about four and ten people taking ebbglis achieved itch relief and clear or

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Well, well, that seems rather petulant. The remarks from Maduro came at a campaign. campaign event on Tuesday, alarming members of the international community and prompting rebukes from regional leaders, according to a report from the Guardian. Maduro declared, quote, the destiny of Venezuela depends on our victory. If we want to avoid a bloodbath or a fracticidal civil war triggered by the fascists, then we must guarantee the biggest electoral victory ever, end quote. So said the fascist. Maduro, who has clung to power for 11 years, said his party is the only one in Venezuela that can ensure long-term peace and stability, but observers, well, they saw a darker motivation behind his predictions of violence. As we discussed recently on the PDB, for the first time since the election

in 2013 that brought Maduro to power, Maduro's government in Venezuela appears genuinely threatened. Election experts believe that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez-Zerusha has a legitimate chance at winning at the ballot box on July 28th, and that Maduro is now, of course, trying to scare voters into abandoning him. Brazilian President Lula de Silva said he was, quote, frightened by Maduro's remarks and implored his neighbor in Venezuela to respect the outcome of the election. Lula said, quote, Maduro knows that the only chance for Venezuela to return to normality is to have an electoral process that is respected by everyone.

He has to respect the democratic process, end quote. Lula also said he was sending one of his top advisors and two members of Brazil's electoral court to observe and monitor Sunday's election. The U.S. State Department has also waded into the controversy, raising concerns about the recent arrests of Venezuelan Democratic opposition figures and journalists and demanding their immediate release. Now, as part of what's known as the October 23 Barbados Agreement, Maduro committed to Democratic electoral guarantees with the U.S. and regional allies in exchange for sanctions relief. While it had the stated goal of fostering free elections in Venezuela, Maduro quickly violated the agreement in January 2024 when his Supreme Court

barred an opposition candidate from entering the race. All lies will be on Sunday's vote, as Maduro continues to make a concerted effort to steer the election in his favor, whether through bureaucratic manipulations or threats of violence. Many remain skeptical of. Many remain skeptical of course, that Maduro will accept the result and relinquish power, fearing, of course, imprisonment or political destruction. And that, my friends, is the president's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 24 July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdb premium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the

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