The President's Daily Brief - June 13th, 2024: ISIS Threats In America, Israel On Brink Of War With Hezbollah, & Putin To Visit North Korea

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     Authorities in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia recently arrested eight migrants from Tajikistan with suspected ties to ISIS. They had reportedly been released into the U.S. under Biden-era immigration policies over the past year. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated again after an Israeli airstrike killed one of the militant group’s senior commanders, raising concerns Israel could soon find themselves in war on their northern border.  An update out of Ukraine, as the U.S. announces plans to send additional Patriot Missile Systems to help Ukraine defend against Russia’s relentless bombardment of their cities. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, we’ll take a look at the blossoming love affair between North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin announces the Russian leader will make an in-person visit to the hermit kingdom in the coming weeks. 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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illegal migrants from Tajikistan with suspected ties to ISIS, remember them? Now, you may not be surprised to learn that they came in through America's porous southern border. There's a shock. Later on, we'll turn to Middle East, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated again after an Israeli air strike killed one of the militant group's senior commanders. Plus, we'll have the latest out of Ukraine, as the U.S. announces plans to send additional Patriot missile systems to help Ukraine defend against Russia's bombardment of their cities. And finally, in today's back of the brief, we'll take a look at the ongoing and somewhat steamy bromance between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin announces

the Russian leader will make an in-person visit to the Hermit Kingdom in the coming weeks. Ooh, that's exciting. Guess who's coming for dinner? But first, today's PDB spotlight. We've talked a lot on this program about the national security threats posed by the Biden administration's current border policies, including recent warnings from the FBI of large-scale terror attacks. Well, authorities in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, recently arrested eight illegal migrants from Tajikistan with suspected ties to the Islamic State terrorist group, otherwise known as ISIS. The news broke on Tuesday after an unnamed official confirmed to the New York Post that the men had been apprehended over the past week in a series of coordinated sting operations carried out by ICE agents.

The ICE agents were reportedly working on a tip from the FBI who had the men under surveillance for the past several months as part of a multi-agency joint terrorism task force. Officials stressed that the arrests underscored the high risk of terror attacks currently facing the U.S. An unnamed official told the New York Post, quote, remember the Boston Marathon Bomb? I'm afraid something like that might happen again or worse, end quote. Disturbingly, all eight men crossed through the southern border over the past year, after apparently being vetted and released under Biden-era immigration policies. They were released with orders to appear in immigration court sometime next year

after they were judged to pose no national security risks. Oh. It seems like just days ago when I said here on the PDB that the vetting process for the tens of thousands of folks meandering across the southern border on a monthly basis is minimal at best. At least one of the men reportedly entered the country using the Biden administration's controversial CBP1 cell phone app, which allows migrants to apply for asylum from within their home countries or at American ports of entry.

Under the program, which began in January, 2023, nearly 530,000 illegal immigrants, have been flown into American cities, despite having no legal right to enter the U.S. Sometime after their entry, federal authorities began monitoring the eight men in relation to intelligence, indicating potential domestic threats coming out of Central Europe, and that's according to an NBC news report. Over the course of the surveillance, federal agents uncovered evidence that the men had ties to ISIS. They also heard one of the individuals discussing bombs during a wire-tapped conversation. Now, I'm not Inspector Clouseau, but something tells me that that's a clue. Authorities are currently working to deport the eight individuals, as they don't have

sufficient evidence to hit them with terrorism-related charges. They also stressed that they were not arrested in connection to any known active plots. That being said, officials said the men could still face terrorism-related charges at a later date. Well, that's good because I'm sure that if they are successfully deported, they'll be back soon enough. It's just the latest incident that highlights the threats posed by lax border policies. In early March, the U.S. Border Patrol agents captured a Lebanese national at the U.S.-Mexico border, who told agents he was a member of Hezbollah and was planning to make a bomb inside the U.S. Border Patrol has also caught at least 60 individuals on the terror watch list crossing between ports of entry since October, and they say encounters

have rapidly increased in recent years. And of course, lest we forget, conservative estimates are that there have been upwards of 2 million known godaways entering the country during the past three years. And of course, because they're known gotaways, we have no idea who they are. According to government data, agents stopped 169 people whose names matched those on the watch list in fiscal year 2020. That's the terrorist watch list. Compared with just 98 in 2022, 15 in 2021, and in 2020, the number was only 10. As we've previously covered on the PDB, FBI Director Christopher Ray has been sounding the alarm for months about the looming threat of an attack on American soil. Just last week, during testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Ray told lawmakers that he was,

quote, hard-pressed to think of a time where so many threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at once, end quote. Ray said that over the past several years alone, the FBI has disrupted multiple terrorist attacks in cities and communities across the country. Well, it's simple, really. That's what you get when you don't make the effort or take the time to know who's coming into your country. All right. Coming up after the break.

We'll turn to the Middle East, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate, sparking fears Israel could soon find themselves in a war on their northern border. Plus, we'll have the latest out of Ukraine, as the U.S. announces plans to send additional Patriot missile systems to aid Keeves' defenses. I'll have those stories when we come back. Thanks, yours too! What does Ravs stand for anyway? To me, it's the remarkably advanced vehicle. Really?

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As we've been discussing, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has rapidly intensified over the past few weeks, and there's no apparent sign that the escalation will end anytime soon. Hezbollah further inflamed the situation on Tuesday by launching some 80 rockets at northern Israeli communities throughout the day. The barrage triggered some local fires, but no injuries were reported, according to a report from the Times of Israel. Israel responded with an airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night that took out Sammy Teleb Abdullah, a senior commander with Hezbollah, along with three other Hezbollah operatives. Taleb Abdullah, who served as the terror group's commander for the central region of the southern border strip, is believed to be the highest ranking member of Hezbollah killed over the past eight months of fighting along the border. As a reminder, Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants began firing rockets into Israel's northern territory

following the 7 October Hamas attacks, and they've been exchanging near daily cross-border fire with Israel ever since. Regarding Taleb Abdullah, an official with the IDF said, For many years, he planned, advanced, and carried out a large number of terror attacks against Israeli civilians. The Iranian-backed militants were quick to respond, firing a barrage of more than 200 rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday. While Israeli officials said no one was injured during the attack, some of the rockets

did spark local fires. Officials noted the scale of the attack from Hezbollah was unprecedented. Israel responded later on Wednesday by targeting rocket launchers along the southern Lebanese border, as well as Hezbollah facilities deeper inside Lebanon, according to the BBC. Now, during the funeral of Teleb Abdullah in Beirut on Wednesday, a senior Hezbollah official told hundreds of mourners that Hezbollah would ratchet up their attacks on Israel, saying Israel Israel had, quote, not learned from the experiences of the past. He added, Experience has proven that the more leaders are martyred, the more stable and entrenched the resistance

becomes, we will increase our operations in intensity, strength, quantity, and quality, end quote. In a sign that Israeli leaders are increasingly expecting a full-scale war with Hezbollah, their military has been stepping up covert airstrikes in Syria on weapon sites, supply routes, and on militants with links to Iran. They are reportedly trying to disrupt the smuggling of weapons and other supplies into Lebanon from allied militias in Syria. An unnamed Israeli government official told the Times of Israel, quote, The statements of our leaders have been clear that escalation could be imminent in Lebanon. Okay, turning our attention to Ukraine.

The U.S. has announced its decision to send a second Patriot missile system as Keev continues to struggle to defend the skies above its nation. The move was confirmed by a pair of anonymous U.S. officials, who added that the White House backed the transfer of the system over to Ukraine. The Patriot Battery is set to be transferred from Poland, where it currently safeguards an American rotational force that will soon return home. Officials said that the U.S. is not wasting any time in getting the system deployed and expects it to arrive in the coming days. Other allies, including Germany, are also said to be contributing new air defense systems and munitions

to support Ukraine. The announcement coincides with defense leaders from the U.S., Europe, and other nations preparing for their monthly meeting on Ukraine's security needs. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host the meeting in Brussels this week. Ukrainian President Zelensky's recent plea for more patriot systems highlights the country's ongoing struggle against Russian attacks, particularly on critical infrastructure and civilian areas. While speaking in Madrid, Zelensky emphasized Ukraine's urgent need for a total of seven more of these systems to fend off Russian strikes, specifying that two of the systems are needed to

protect Kharkiv, where Russia launched a cross-border offensive on May 10th, leaving Ukrainian troops reeling. Zelensky told reporters in Spain, quote, if we had these modern Patriot systems, Russian airplanes would not be able to fly close enough to drop the glide bombs on the civilian population and the military, end quote. It's worth noting that Patriot systems are incredibly scarce in the U.S. arsenal, with only 14 deployed worldwide. They're also, well, frankly, an expensive piece of hardware. Each Patriot battery costs approximately $1 billion, that's billion with a B, and missiles go for about $4 million a pop. Now,

let me just repeat that. Each Patriot battery system costs about a billion dollars, and each missile has a sticker price of approximately $4 million. As Ukraine struggles to defend its airspace effectively, residents in Kiev are experiencing frequent power cuts due to Russia's targeting of Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The city's population of around 3 million people is experiencing more frequent disruptions following Russia's increased missile attacks since late March, which resulted in a loss of half of the grid's generating capacity. The disruptions are impacting water supply and daily life and have led families to consider moving to safer areas ahead of winter. Now Moscow claims that Ukraine's energy infrastructure is a valid military target, but they deny intentionally targeting civilians.

Well, I guess that would make Russia's energy infrastructure a valid military target for the Ukrainian military. Which begs the question, if oil revenues are the single most important source of income for Putin, and Putin considers Ukrainian energy facilities to be fair game, well, why wouldn't the Ukrainian military target Russian energy facilities that are within reach? Well, one answer is pressure from the White House. The U.S. administration is deeply afraid of poking the bear too much. All right, coming up in today's back of the brief, we'll take a look at the relationship between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin,

as the Kremlin announces that the Russian leader will have another play date with Kim, making an in-person visit to the Hermit Kingdom in the coming weeks. I'll be right back. As the crispy chicken sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know. I'm crispy. Did you expect me to whisper? If you want quiet, go eat some soup and reflect.

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Download today. In today's back of the brief, the broad... The romance between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un is set to continue as the Russian president is preparing a visit with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang in the coming weeks. The Kremlin's aim, well, solidifying its alliance with North Korea and maybe, just maybe, making a pitch for more munitions and hardware to fuel Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's ambassador to North Korea confirmed to the newspaper Vettamosti that Putin's trip is being actively prepared with a stop later in Vietnam. However, the exact dates are not yet confirmed. Now, Kim praised the strong bond between the two countries on Wednesday, saying their ties have, quote,

developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades in arms. Kim's rhetoric is similar to when he made a 20-23 trip to Russia, where the North Korean leader said ties with Moscow were his country's number one priority. Well, okay, maybe right after staying in power and maintaining his lavish lifestyle and suppressing dissents. Okay, so maybe it's as number four priority. Analysts suggest that Putin's upcoming trip to Pyongyang may be designed to boost the country's weapons exports

in return for importing food and energy from Russia. Analyst's not really going on a limb with that prediction. Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has intensified its relationship with North Korea, which has a massive stockpile of Soviet-era arms and equipment that Putin is using to supplement domestic production. reports indicate that North Korea has shipped between 6,700 to 7,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia. The transfer has involved everything from ammunition to artillery shells, rockets, and other military supplies.

Satellite imagery and intelligence reports have confirmed a dramatic increase in rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border, and also numerous dark vessels ships with their automatic identification system turned off, being used to transport supplies, aiming, of course, to avoid detection. As we've reported on the PDB, North Korea is essentially using Ukraine as a testing ground for its own domestically produced weapons. Back in January, the U.S. and Ukraine accused Russia of launching short-range ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea at Ukraine, and that's an allegation that Moscow chose not to confirm or deny. We just don't know. North Korea, of course, faces U.S. Korea, of course, faces U.S. UN sanctions preventing it from conducting ballistic missile tests. However, in March,

Moscow utilized its UN Security Council veto to halt UN oversight of violations. Oh, a move for which North Korea has expressed gratitude to Russia. Putin and Kim, honestly, they're so compatible. It's like a marriage made in heaven. Well, okay, not heaven. Maybe further south. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 13 June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And don't forget, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB premium.com. It's really that simple. I'm Mike Baker.

I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Cool. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch.

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