The President's Daily Brief - May 21st, 2024: ICC Warrants, NATO Troops, & Island Unrest

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The International Criminal Court seeks arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. Reports reveal that several NATO countries are actively lobbying for member states to send troops to Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces. French police are struggling to restore order in New Caledonia, a French island territory, after days of deadly riots by pro-independence demonstrators. An update on the American military presence in Niger, where the Pentagon has announced an agreement to extract close to 1,000 American personnel from the African nation. 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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Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we begin with a not completely unexpected announcement from the International Criminal Court, the ICC. The prosecutor's office is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yaya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity related to

the October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, because apparently in the world we currently live in, the ICC sees equivalency between a brutal terrorist organization backed by the Iranian regime and the Israeli government. Later in the show, we'll take a look at reports that several NATO countries are actively lobbying for member states to send troops to Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces. I don't see how that can go wrong. Plus, we turned to New Caledonia. When was the last time you turned to New Caledonia? It's a French island territory. where French police are struggling right now to restore order after days of deadly riots by pro-independence demonstrators. And in today's back of the brief, we have two stories from Africa. An update on the

American military presence in Niger, where the Pentagon has announced an agreement to withdraw nearly 1,000 American personnel. They're, okay, they're calling it an agreement. It was less an agreement and more a demand from the military junta that the U.S. troops leave. And we're also covering a deadly coup attempt thwarted in the Democrat Republic of Congo, the DRC. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, announced on Monday that his office was seeking five arrest warrants for senior officials in the Israel-Gaza conflict, including members of Hamas and the Israeli government on charges of war crimes and

crimes against humanity. On the Israeli side, the ICCC's side, the ICCC's. prosecutor said he was seeking warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and defense minister Yov Ghalent for crimes including starvation of civilians, willful killing and murder, and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population. In a statement released on Monday, Khan asserted that while Israel has the right to defend itself, that right did not absolve the country from its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. As for Hamas, Khan is seeking a warrant for the terror group's leader Yachya Sinwar, as well as two other top Hamas leaders,

Mohammed Dief, commander-in-chief of the military wing of Hamas, and Ismail Hanyi, the head of Hamas's political bureau. The ICC prosecutor's office said it has grounds to believe the trio, really, we have grounds to believe the trio are criminally responsible for the killing of over a thousand Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups on October 7, 2023, of course, and the taking of at least 245 hostages. We have grounds to believe that. Khan said the warrants will, quote, prove tangibly that the lives of all human beings have equal value. Ah, see, he's playing the either-war. If you take both sides, then you're not really taking a side. The announcement was met with outrage on both sides. Israeli officials rallied around the

Prime Minister in the wake of the announcement, even one of Netanyahu's domestic antagonists, Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet, came to his defense, saying Israel is, quote, waging one of the just wars of history and maintains one of the strictest moral codes while complying with international law, end quote. Meanwhile, Hamas denounced the ICC, saying in a statement that the warrants were without a legal basis and equated the victim with the executioner. Now, Hamas, pretending that they are somehow being victimized, is, um, Well, well, never mind. The PDB is a family-friendly show. President Biden has also weighed in on the court's announcement. In a statement, and quite a good statement, Biden said, quote, let me be clear,

whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence, none, between Israel and Hamas, end quote. Now, this is only the first step in the process of the ICC issuing an arrest warrant. Next, the matter will be taken up by the court's pre-trial chamber, which will launch an investigation to see if the warrant is appropriate. In that process, could take months or even years for the court to complete. As we've discussed on the PDB before, Israel never signed on to the Rome Statute, that's the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. The ICC has no mechanism to enforce its warrants, but it would prevent Netanyahu and Ghaland

from traveling to nations that are members of the court where they could have faced arrest and ultimately prosecution. All right. Coming up after the break, some NATO countries, including Estonia, are urging allies to take bolder steps in sending soldiers to Ukraine. Plus, we'll look at New Caledonian, a French island territory, where police are struggling to restore order after days of deadly pro-independence riots. I'll be right back. The crispy chicken sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know. I'm crispy.

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combat. Officials in the Baltic states, however, are encouraging their fellow NATO members to expand their role in the conflict, arguing that Russia's threats are largely empty, and that's according to a report from the business insider. Cajalas, the prime minister of Estonia, said Monday that NATO members should consider sending troops into Ukraine to help train Kiev's soldiers, and that they shouldn't fear a Russian backlash. Currently, at least officially, training of Ukrainian troops by NATO members is done outside of Ukraine, but leaders in Kiev, along with members of NATO, have long argued that it would be more effective to train Ukraine's fighting force within their own territory. The concern, however, is that if NATO troops were caught in a Russian attack, it would automatically

trigger Article 5, and that's NATO's collective defense clause. That clause stipulates that if a single member is attacked, it's an attack on the entire alliance. Collis poured cold water on those anxieties, telling the financial times, quote, I can't possibly imagine that if somebody is hurt there, then those who have sent their people will say, oh, it's Article 5, let's bomb Russia. He said, it's not how it works, it's not automatic, so these fears are not well-founded, end quote. Kallis also stated that unofficially, there are countries who are training soldiers on the ground already.

He's not wrong about that. This echoed statements in March by Poland's foreign minister, who said it was an open secret that some NATO soldiers are already operating inside Ukraine. Estonia has been a steadfast supporter of Ukraine since the war broke out and is consistently called on NATO to do more to contain Putin's advances. Estonia's Baltic neighbor, Lithuania, has also recently advocated for sending troops to Ukraine. Everybody's getting on board. According to Business Insider, their prime minister said last month that Europe cannot make decisions

based on the fear of how Russia may respond. The prime minister said, quote, if we just thought about the Russian response, then we could not send anything. Every second week, you hear that somebody will be nuked, end quote. The remarks from Baltic leaders come after French people. President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this month that he would consider sending French troops to the front lines of Ukraine if leaders in Kiev requested such assistance, and that NATO leaders should seriously reconsider their role in the war if Russian forces were to break through

Ukraine's frontline defenses. Russia responded, as you might expect, by announcing the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a large-scale military exercise along Russia's southern border. They've accused Western leaders of engaging in a, quote, dangerous tendency toward escalation. Well, let's not forget, of course, that Putin started this war with his invasion of Ukraine. So maybe it's not germane to listen to his admonitions about what qualifies as escalation. Okay, I want to turn our attention to a story that's getting little to no coverage, and that's the riots currently consuming the French Pacific Island territory of New Caledonia, as a hardline local political movement pushes for independence.

The unrest was sparked last week after French lawmakers approved a new law that would grant more French residents living in the Pacific Territory their right to vote in local elections. Indigenous leaders said it would dilute the political power of the native population and threaten their control over New Caledonia's massive reserves of nickel. Ah, now we're getting to the crux of the story, according to our report from the Wall Street Journal. Local hardline groups seeking independence from France began rioting in the streets to protest the law. The riots quickly deteriorated into all-out anarchy, with rioters setting fire to municipal buildings, libraries, and schools. Well, that'll help the community. The mayor of the nation's capital

said over the weekend the New Caledonia was, quote, under siege. The riots turned bloody in the northern part of the territory on Saturday as rioters exchanged gunfire with authorities at a roadblock. Six people were killed in the incident while another two were injured. All told, hundreds have been injured amid the unrest, while authorities have arrested roughly 200 rioters. The Interior Minister said Sunday that some 1,000 police officers had been deployed to secure a critical road between the airport and the Capitol as French authorities attempt to restore some semblance of order. So how did things get so out of control, you asked? Well, I'm glad that you ask. According to the journal's report, it began in March when France unveiled a plan to leverage

New Caledonia's large nickel reserves in their push to secure raw materials that could help them compete with China on clean energy technologies like EVs, electric vehicles. Specifically, the plan would lift restrictions on exporting unprocessed nickel while also giving priority to European factories manufacturing electric vehicle batteries. so how colonial of you. Local leaders immediately condemned the plan, calling it a, quote, colonial pact to regain control of New Caledonia's resources, end quote. New Caledonia, if you don't already know, is the world's third largest producer of nickel, and that's, of course, a critical component in clean energy technologies, particularly the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries.

According to the Wall Street Journal, demand for that mineral is expected to more than quadruple by 2030, as the world pivots to renewable technologies. Despite being a hub for the mineral, prices have recently cratered amid competition from Chinese-backed nickel ventures in Indonesia, putting the local industry into a contraction. Now, that contraction, along with France's proposal to increase control over nickel resources, had already put the territory on edge. Last week's law expanding voting rights for the non-indigenous population,

well, that appears to have been the final straw that sparked the riot, authorities in New Caledonia have declared a state of emergency and opposed a nighttime curfew as they work to restore order. They've temporarily banned public gatherings, alcohol sales, what, and the carrying of weapons amid the ongoing violence. Regarding independence, it appears the majority of New Caledonia's residents oppose such a move. They've rejected three referendums for independence in the past, most recently one in 2021. All right, in today's back of brief. I'll bring you two stories from Africa. The Pentagon and Niger's Ministry of National Defense have agreed to withdraw U.S. military forces, that's a diplomatic way to put it, and several

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Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. In today's back of the brief, I wanted to touch on two stories out of Africa. First, an update on a story we've been following here at the BDB, and that's the nearly 1,000 U.S. troop. and personnel stationed in Niger. U.S. officials have been negotiating the withdrawal of U.S. forces with Niger's military junta, and it now appears that they've come to an agreement. In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the two countries announced that all U.S. personnel would leave

the country no later than September 15th of this year. In a press briefing, a senior defense official said that the withdrawal is already underway, and about 100 non-essential personnel have already left. Nizier has agreed. to protect American forces while they withdraw and help with some of the logistics. Oh, that's nice. Don't let the screen door hit you on the way out. The announcement should bring an end to months of drama at Niger Air Base 201, which was used as a counterterrorism hub for troops in the region. The air base was a massive investment by the Pentagon, costing more than $100 million to construct.

And now, well, the Pentagon is basically trying to put lipstick on a pig here by referring to this as an agreement to withdraw troops. The reality is the military hunter demanded the U.S. personnel be removed as they move away from the West and closer to Russia. As we reported earlier this month, Russian paramilitary forces, including members of the Wagner Group, now occupy part of the base alongside American forces. They're likely to take over once the U.S. withdrawal is complete in September. And finally, we've got a strange story out of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC. According to the Congolese military, an attempted coup was thwarted this weekend after a gun battle in the capital city of Kinshasa. At least three people were killed in the

shootout, including two security officers and the leader of the attempted coup, who's a naturalized American named Christian Malanga. The Congolese government also reported that around 40 attackers were arrested, including three American citizens. Now, reports in local media suggested the arrested men were CIA operatives. Of course, of course they did. Of course the local media suggested that. Possibly, they arrived in the DRC on a spaceship from Area 51, although no evidence has been given to support that. In a statement posted to X, Lucy Tamlin, the U.S. ambassador to the DRC, said, quote, I'm shocked by the events this morning and very worried by the reports of American citizens allegedly being involved, end quote.

And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Tuesday, 21 May. 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. Ryan Reynolds here from 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, you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three

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