The President's Daily Brief - March 26th, 2024: Ceasefire Drama, Terror Alerts, & Japan-North Korea Summit

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We examine the United Nations' recent resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following the U.S.'s decision not to veto, signaling a widening gap between the Biden administration and Netanyahu's government. The program delves into Europe's heightened security measures, with France elevating its terror alert after the shocking massacre in Moscow. Japan extends an olive branch towards North Korea, as the Japanese Prime Minister proposes a summit with Kim Jong Un amidst the regime's provocative weapons tests and unresolved issues of past abductions. In today's Back of the Brief, we explore the United Kingdom's accusations against China for orchestrating cyber-attacks that compromised the personal data of millions of UK voters. 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

It's Tuesday, 26 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. For the first time since October 7th, the United Nations passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the U.S. refused to use its veto power to scuttle the resolution. It's the latest evidence of the growing rift between the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government. the resolution calls for the ceasefire, a release of hostages, and, unsurprisingly, since it's a UN resolution, makes no mention of Hamas. Later in the program, Europe is responding to Friday's massacre in Moscow, with the French government raising its terror alert to its highest level. Plus, an olive branch extended in the Far East, as Japan's prime minister has proposed a summit with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, aiming for dialogue, despite North Korea's contention. weapons program and historical abductions of Japanese citizens. And in today's back of the brief, the U.S. and U.K. are lashing out at China,

blaming the communist nation for a series of cyber attacks, which targeted American lawmakers and accessed personal details of millions of UK voters. I, for one, am aghast, which, of course, is today's PDB word of the day, aghast at the idea of the Chinese regime engaging in cyber shenanigans. But first, today's PDB spotlight. U.S. Israeli relations have now hit a new low since the 7 October attack, with the U.S., allowing a U.N. Security Council resolution to pass on Monday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Now, the resolution states that the Security Council, quote, demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, respected by all parties, leading to a permanent, sustainable ceasefire and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, end quote. This is the first resolution demanding a ceasefire to pass at the council after four previous failures. The most recent failure came on Friday when China and Russia vetoed a U.S. proposal that contained similar language. Unlike previous votes, the U.S. abstained this time rather than using its veto. the other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the resolution. Now, the U.S. did not veto Monday's resolution because it somewhat links the two issues, though the language is different than the

resolution the U.S. put forward. At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the only reason the U.S. didn't vote in favor of the resolution was that the final text did not include language condemning Hamas. Kirby added that the U.S. still has Israel's back, adding that the abstention doesn't amount to a shift in U.S. policy. Of course, they said the same thing after Senator Chuck Schumer the other day called for elections in Israel in a not-so-subtle swipe at Prime Minister Netanyahu. But, yeah, of course, no shift in U.S. policy. Netanyahu was furious at the U.N. vote, calling the U.S.'s failure to block the proposal

a, quote, clear retreat from its previous position. Now, on Monday, the prime minister made good on a threat that he had made before the vote, announcing he would be canceling a planned delegation to Washington, a trip President Biden personally requested a week ago. American officials planned to present the Israeli delegation with alternative strategies to target Hamas and Rafah aiming to prevent a potential humanitarian disaster from a full-scale Israeli ground invasion, not to mention to placate the Democrats' progressive and loudly anti-Israel base. This latest split between the U.S. and Israeli governments comes a day after Vice-President Kamala Harris. Now, someone that, to be fair, we rarely talk about on this program because

she's, well, rarely relevant when it comes to foreign policy or national security matters, leveled a veiled threat against Netanyahu. During an interview with ABC News, Harris warned of potential consequences if Israel invades Rafah. Harris told ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, quote, we've been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake. She went on to add, and I am not making this up. Quote, let me tell you something. I have studied the maps. There is nowhere for those folks to go, end quote. Well, I for one am glad that the vice president has taken the time to study the maps. Now, I'm not so sure that she could score well in a pub quiz when it comes to the history of

Israeli-Palestinian relations or the realities and actions of Hamas or how to conduct successful counter-terrorist operations, but at least she's given the maps a look-see. So we have that going for us. As mentioned last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer strongly criticized Netanyahu on the Senate floor, labeling him an obstacle to peace and advocating for new Israeli elections. But yeah, no shift in the Biden administration's policy towards Israel. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Hamas, Iran, jihadists everywhere, and much of the UN are delighted. to see daylight open up between the U.S. and Israel. And frankly, if I, if I may be frank, it's because the Biden White House is a simpering puddle of worry over their progressive

basis displeasure with the concept of supporting Israel. It's an election year, and the Biden team is really trying to play both sides here, claiming that they fully support Israel, while their actions are designed to placate those who do not support Israel, but are viewed as important to winning in November. Are they legitimately worried about civilian cast in Gaza, well, of course they are, as is everyone, including Israel, which frankly, in terms of urban combat, despite what young keyboard warriors with no-life experience may bloviate about, has demonstrated restraint in their effort to degrade Hamas. Hamas started this war. They knew what the cost would be in innocent lives, which is why they embed themselves within the population

and resident infrastructure. Leaving Hamas intact, not removing them from Gaza, only ensures more death and destruction in future years. All right, coming up next, we dive into Europe's reaction to the tragic events in Moscow and examine France's decision to elevate its terror alert. We also explore the potential for diplomacy in the Far East, as Japan's Prime Minister reaches out for a summit with Kim Jong-un. I'll be right back. Welcome back.

The world is, again, on edge and focused on terrorism, with countries reassessing their own vulnerability to terrorist attacks following the massacre in Moscow on Friday by Islamic State militants. France was the first to adjust their security preparedness, officially raising the nation's terror alert to the highest level on Sunday, meaning intelligence indicates an attack at home or abroad, is believed to be imminent. Raising the threat level gives the state much broader security powers, allowing them, for example, to deploy armed forces to vulnerable public spots

like train stations, airports, and religious sites. France has already been under what officials called a, quote, atmosphere of jihadism following the killing of a French teacher in October and the fatal stabbing of a German tourist outside the Eiffel Tower in Paris in December, both by suspected Islamic extremists. French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal said in the statement Sunday that the decision to raise the threat level was made out of an abundance of caution, quote, given the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the attack and the threats weighing on our country, end quote.

Leaders in France are particularly concerned with the risks going into the summer when they'll be hosting the Olympics in Paris. Undisquoring the anxiety earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron moved to limit the capacity at the Olympics' opening ceremony in July due to security concerns about a potential attack. The games are expected to draw millions of visitors to the country, making it a somewhat obvious target for extremist groups and lone wolf-style attacks. Fears have been steadily increasing across Europe regarding the risks posed by Islamic extremists ever since the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas. Recently, as the war drags on, security officials in the UK warned that the Israel-Hamas conflict has served as a, quote, recruitment advertisement for disaffected extremists within the UK.

The security officials briefed British MPs on the security threats in early March, telling leaders that the risk of a terrorist attack on UK's soil is the highest it's been since the 9-11 attacks more than two decades ago. The threat level in the UK has now been raised to substantial, and that's the UK's third highest level. This means security officials consider a terror attack to be likely. Meanwhile, in Russia, the suspects behind the deadly attack in Moscow were formally charged charged on Sunday with committing an act of terrorism. The suspects have been remanded into

pretrial detention through May 22nd and faced life in a Russian prison. And anyone who thinks the ISIS-K attackers will die of old age in a Russian prison, well, they're either naive, supremely misinformed, or working for Putin's public relations firm. As mentioned, the four attackers are believed to be members of ISIS's affiliate, ISIS-Corassan, or known as ISIS-K, which, primarily operates out of Afghanistan and Central Asia. As of Monday, at least 137 people have been confirmed dead, including three children, while 182 suffered injuries. All right, shifting our focus to the Far East.

North Korea revealed on Monday that Japan's prime minister offered to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, quote, as soon as possible. It was an odd public acknowledgement of Japan's ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure a face-to-face summit between Kim and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishita, particularly as the North Korean regime continues to inflame regional tensions with missile tests and provocative statements aimed at South Korea. As we've previously discussed on the PDB, the Japanese Premier is reportedly seeking the release of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea

decades ago. It's also reportedly part of a political play to boost Kashida's approval numbers amid a political scandal. Now, if a meeting materializes, it would be the first summit between Japan and North Korea in approximately 20 years. However, it appears that the North Korean regime is less than serious about actually making it happen. The public comments about a potential summit came through Kim Jong, Kim Jong-un's sister and a senior official in the regime who said that Kashita had reached out through back channels to express his desire for an accelerated meeting. She said that if Japan wants a diplomatic breakthrough with the North, however, they must shift their stance on the regime's weapons

program, as well as the historic issue of Japanese hostages. Now, she said, quote, if Japan truly wants to improve the bilateral relations and contribute to ensuring regional peace and stability as a close neighbor of the DPRK, it is necessary for it to make a political decision for a strategic option conform to its overall interests, end quote, and frankly, I have no idea what that sentence means. She appears to be suggesting that for a summit to occur, Japan would need to fundamentally alter their stance on North Korea and break with their international allies. Leaders in Japan have called these preconditions unacceptable, and Kashita has vowed to

maintain his stance on the hostage issue. For some brief context, North Korea admitted in the year 2002 that it had abducted 13 Japanese nationals between 1977 to 1983. At the time, they allowed five to return home, but claimed the others had died. Japan, however, suspects that some of the hostages are still alive. Resolving the abduction issue continues to be a priority in Japanese politics, and it remains an emotional topic for Japanese citizens. We should note that Western officials have been skeptical of the North's motives for engaging with Japan, and have warned that the Kimrishim is likely hoping to drive a wedge between Japan and South Korea. And honestly, you don't need to be a Western official or even be able to spell the word diplomat to come up with that notion.

In January, North Korea effectively cut off diplomatic ties with South Korea and ended their decades-long commitment to the idea of reunification. Over the weekend, Kim dissolved the cleverly named Democratic Front for the reunification of Korea, or the DFRK, an organization that promotes eventual reunification with the South. It's sort of like a bad relationship breakup, except Kim is saying, hey, it's not me, it's you. Coming up in the back of the brief, the U.S. and U.S. and U.K. governments are fighting back against Chinese cyber attacks, announcing indictments against key members of one of the most prolific hacking groups in the world.

I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, the U.S. and U.K. are fighting back, somewhat, against China after blaming a string of cyber attacks targeting both nations on hackers that are reportedly linked directly to Chinese intelligence services. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted seven Chinese nationals, who it said were members of a Wuhan-based hacking group called Advanced Persistent Threat 31, or APT-31 for short. The group is one of the most prolific hacking organizations in the world. They're believed to be responsible for a series of data breaches across the U.S. and Europe, and is run by China's main spy service, the Ministry of State Security. The indictment,

claims that APT 31 dispatched over 10,000 harmful emails containing concealed tracking links to officials throughout the U.S. federal government. They went after officials working in the White House at the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Treasury, and State, as well as U.S. senators and representatives of both political parties. The group also allegedly hit journalists and key leaders in a number of business sectors, including national defense. On the U.K. side, they're accusing Chinese hackers of orchestrating cyber attacks meant to target Britain's elections, oversight body, and its lawmakers, prompting the government to impose sanctions. Targets of the year's long campaign included critics of China's government, including 43 U.K. parliamentary accounts. In announcing the indictments and sanctions,

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department, quote, will not tolerate efforts by the Chinese government to intimidate Americans who serve the public, silence the dissidents who are protected by American laws or steal from American businesses, end quote. Of course, China is denying everything. In a statement, the Chinese embassy in London said, the so-called cyber attacks by China against the UK are completely fabricated and malicious slanders. We strongly oppose such accusations. Of course you do.

End quote. Well, their denials, they're obviously to be expected. They've been denying their traditional and now cyber espionage activities for decades. But the reality is that the Chinese regime is the number one perpetrator of cyber shenanigans, whether it be espionage, theft of intellectual property, malicious targeting and mapping of critical infrastructure, or other targeting activities. Calling them out on their activities is important. The more focus on their behavior, the better, but nobody should expect them to change that behavior because of DOJ indictments. The U.S. government and allies need to be aggressive and vigilant

in counterintelligence operations, and increase their dialogue with the private sector, advising and working with companies in the public to better understand the threats and how to protect themselves. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Tuesday, 26 March. 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.