The President's Daily Brief - May 23rd, 2024: Russia’s Space Threat, Baltic Borders, & Gaza Aid Grab

Episode Date: May 23, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A troubling report from the Pentagon reveals that Russia may have launched a “counter space weapon” into low orbit last week, potentially targeting US satellites. The Lithuanian government accuses Russia of another hybrid operation, escalating tensions with a plan to unilaterally change its maritime border with Lithuania and Finland. We examine US efforts to deliver aid to besieged Palestinians in Gaza amid reports that truckloads of aid aren't reaching the enclave’s civilian population. In today’s Back of the Brief, a disturbing report from the border shows an increase in suicides among border patrol agents, raising concerns about the impact on our law enforcement officers. 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 Patriot Gold Group.com or call 1-888-6213-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Thursday, 23 May. 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'll start things off with a troubling report from the Pentagon. They believe that Russia has launched what they're calling a, quote, counter space weapon into low orbit last week, which may be capable of targeting U.S. satellites. It's word is that it's not quite as diabolical as Dr. Evil's Alan Parsons project, but it's close. Later in the show, the Lithuanian government is accusing Russia of another hybrid operation and potential escalation after Russia revealed a plan to unilaterally change its maritime border with the Baltic nation and with Finland. Yeah, we'll just move that border and call it good.

Thanks, Lithuania and Finland. Plus, we'll examine the U.S. efforts to deliver aid to besieged Palestinians in Gaza amid reports that truckloads of aid aren't reaching the enclave's civilian population. And in today's back of the brief, we have a disturbing report from the border. As the crisis unfolds, suicides among U.S. Border Patrol agents are increasing, raising concerns about the impact of the porous and chaotic border on U.S. law enforcement officers. But first, today's spotlight. Russia has launched a satellite believed by U.S. intelligence officials to be capable of inspecting

and attacking other satellites. The U.S. Space Command reported this week that this Russian spacecraft is currently trailing a U.S. spy satellite in orbit. Seriously, there's just no end to Putin's shenanigans. A spokesman for the U.S. Space Command, which is similar somewhat to Starfleet, Command, told Reuters, we have observed nominal activity and assessed it as likely a counter space weapon, presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit, end quote. The spokesperson said the satellite, called the Cosmos 2576, that's a catchy name, was launched on 16 May from Russia's Plesesk Cosmodrome, say that three times fast, about 500 miles north of Moscow.

The Russian-launched craft has not gone near any U.S. satellites, but space analysts observed it to be in the same orbital ring as USA-314, and that's a bus-sized SIGAN satellite launched back in April of 2021. Now, for those of you who aren't satellite geeks, that's a satellite that intercepts communications and electronic signals for intelligence-gathering purposes. The Russian satellite appears to be trailing the U.S. spy satellite's orbital path at a faster speed, suggesting that the two will eventually come into closer proximity. Pentagon spokesman, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, said the new Russian craft had characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads from 2019 and 2022, so this is not Putin's first rodeo with a counter space weapon. The Kremlin has acknowledged the launch, but has been tight-lipped about what it launched,

with Russia's state space agency only saying that it was done in the interests of the defense ministry of the Russian Federation. Russians are, however, dismissing the idea that they've launched a weapon. The Russian deputy foreign minister told the Interfax News Agency, quote, I don't think we should respond to any fake news from Washington. He added that Moscow opposes the deployment of strike weapons in low Earth orbit. Now, earlier this year, the White House revealed that Moscow was working on a new satellite that could carry a nuclear device, and Russia's development of space weapons has led to repeated diplomatic clashes in recent days. Over the past month, the U.S. and Russia have both proposed rival non-proliferation motions at the U.N. Security Council.

Just this week, the UN Security Council shot down a resolution introduced by Russia and China that would ban member states from placing weapons of any kind in outer space. Seven nations, including the U.S., voted against the proposal, with U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood, calling it, quote, disingenuous. A similar ban was proposed back in April by the U.S. and Japan. Now, that resolution in the UN Security Council was also struck down with China abstaining and Russia voting no. The UN, as useful as side pockets on a cow. All right, coming up next, Russia is being accused of a hybrid operation and potential escalation over plans to unilaterally change its maritime border with Lithuania and Finland. I mean, if you're willing to invade another country and spend years engaged in brutal,

for a massive land grab, unilaterally redrawing international maritime borders, well, that shouldn't be any trouble at all. Plus, we'll have more on U.S. efforts to deliver aid to Palestinians amid reports that aid isn't actually reaching Gaza's civilian population. I'll be right back. Welcome back. A NATO member is warning that Russia has launched a new, quote, hybrid operation in the Baltic Sea in a move that appears to show that Vladimir Putin's territorial ambitions extend well beyond Ukraine. Well, that's shocking. A draft decree from the Russian Defense Ministry quietly posted on the Russian government's website on Tuesday seemingly revealed that the Putin regime's intention is to unilaterally alter their maritime border with Lithuania and Finland

in the Baltic Sea, specifically. It outlined plans to appropriate inland sea waters in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, as well as Lithuanian waters around the Russian province of Kaliningrad, according to a report from the Kiev Independent. The decree, which says the redrawn borders would be made official in January 2025, would be a significant escalation by Russia that would pose a direct threat to key NATO members. Officials in Finland said they were watching the situation closely and awaiting greater clarity on the potential threat. A spokesperson for the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, however, warned that Russia was engaging in a, quote,

deliberate, targeted escalatory provocation to intimidate neighboring countries and their societies, end quote. Lithuania's foreign minister later added, quote, another Russian hybrid operation is underway, this time attempting to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about their intentions in the Baltic Sea. This is an obvious escalation of NATO and the EU and must be met with an appropriately firm response, end quote. Well, I've got an idea. How about NATO tells Putin, no, you crazy bastard.

Kremlin spokesperson Demetri Peskov addressed the issue with reporters on Wednesday. He's always good for a laugh. Claiming any proposals under consideration regarding you, Russia's maritime borders, were not political in nature or directly related to the war in Ukraine. Oh, he painted the issue. as a security consideration for Russia, given the shifting power structure of the Baltic nations. State media in Russia also published identical articles on Wednesday morning, citing anonymous military sources who claimed Russia had no official plans to alter the borders in the Baltic, according to a Politico report. Now, just hours after Peskov spoke with reporters on Wednesday, however, Russia quietly deleted the decree from their government portal without explanation.

As a reminder, Putin has suffered a number of setbacks in the Baltic region since his invasion of Ukraine, and that's an area where Russia once enjoyed strong diplomatic ties. Sweden and Finland ditched their decades-long position of neutrality and applied to join NATO in May of 2022, following Russia's invasion. Finland was formally accepted to NATO in April of 2023 and Sweden in March of this year. The only foothold in the region left for Putin comes to the Russian province of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It holds a vital military function for the Kremlin,

serving as the home of the relatively now devastated Russian Baltic Sea fleet. Russia has also reportedly stationed nuclear weapons within the province. With the Baltic now virtually surrounded on all sides by NATO, Well, we suspect there's little that Putin wouldn't consider in his attempts to undermine stability in the region. All right. Now, I want to turn our attention to Gaza, where concerns are mounting regarding the effectiveness and long-term viability of the U.S. multi-million dollar floating pier meant for delivering aid into the devastated enclave. Construction on the pier was finalized last week at a cost of roughly $320 million. What a bargain. the stated goal of delivering some 500 tons of aid per day. Things got off to a rocky start this weekend, however, and officials of the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that none of the aid has reached

Palestinians in Gaza thus far. That's according to a CNN report. On Friday, some 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance was delivered through the pier to a staging area on shore. But as trucks were beginning to move the first batch of aid shipments to distribution centers in Gaza on Saturday, a majority were intercepted by groups of desperate Palestinians who stripped the vehicles of all their goods. Amid the chaotic scenes, one Palestinian man was killed, prompting the UN World Food Program to temporarily halt deliveries. Officials with the UN World Food Program warned that unless safer routes can be established, with the security support of Israel, the U.S.'s peer project is doomed to fail.

A spokesman for the group told the Associated Press, quote, without sufficient supplies entering Gaza, these issues will continue to surface. Community acceptance and trust that this is not a one-off event are essential for this operation's success. Unless we receive the necessary clearance and coordination to use additional routes, this operation may not be successful, end quote.

It appears the community acceptance, noted by the official, played a big role in the looting of aid trucks over the war. weekend. A local Gazan said the population is skeptical of U.S. motives and anxious the peer will somehow be used against them, telling CNN, quote, is this aid or something else? We know that the U.S. has never supported the Palestinian cause, so it's implausible that it's giving us aid without something in return, end quote. As of Tuesday, the U.S. officials said they're working with the U.N. and Israel to find alternative routes and to determine how much aid can be safely kept at staging areas inside

Gaza at any given time. Currently, U.S. officials said most of the aid is being held at an initial staging area in Cyprus, which is situated in the eastern Mediterranean in order to keep it safe. The U.S. has also been negotiating with Israel on finding other ways to accelerate aid. Israel reportedly agreed this week to allow aid that has already been inspected in Cyprus to bypass additional screenings in Egypt so it can reach the Gazan population directly. The U.S. also, continues to deliver aid by air with the most recent drop occurring on May 9th. All right, in today's back of the brief, we'll examine a troubling and sad report. Suicides among U.S. Border Patrol agents are skyrocketing as deteriorating conditions take a toll on

their mental health. I'll be right back. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and auto. and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usaa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. In today's back of the brief, the media's coverage of the crisis at the border tends to typically focus almost exclusively

on the well-being of those attempting to make their way into the United States. A lot of ink is spilt on the plight of the migrants, the struggles they face in their home countries, and their dangerous trek north. Now, while these stories are important, it doesn't give us a complete picture of the border crisis. An investigation by the free press is focusing on a growing and somewhat invisible problem at the border, and that's the toll that the current crisis is taking on the mental health of U.S. Border Patrol agents and a rise in suicides within their

ranks. There were 14 suicides among the agency's 25,000 agents in 2022, nearly double the amount from 2020 before Biden took office and three times the amount recorded in 2014. The suicide rate is double that of U.S. law enforcement agencies overall. According to a number of agents interviewed by the free press, much of the struggle has to do with the horrors that these men and women regularly see in the line of duty, everything from dead bodies to extreme cases of child abuse. One veteran agent told the outlet, quote, we regularly see things that people should never see, like rotting human remains,

abuse of every kind, babies and kids dying, or dead, end quote. He added that over time, agents have to shut down a part of themselves to keep going. Another agent identified as Juan recounted one of the many stories of rape on an almost daily basis. Juan told the free press, quote, I had to sit there and listen to a 13-year-old girl from El Salvador, tell me how she'd been raped twice, by her smuggler. She was traveling with her nine-year-old brother, and the smuggler said he would hurt the boy if she didn't cooperate, so she let him do what he wanted, end quote. Juan went on to say that this is not the job that Border Patrol agents were trained to do. Instead of spending their time

protecting America from criminals and potential criminals, they often spend their days processing migrants who've crossed the river, sometimes in groups of a hundred or more. According to the free press, The agents they spoke to universally believe that the Biden administration has no interest in protecting the border, with some calling their treatment by the White House, quote, a betrayal. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Thursday, 23 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium, dot com. Also, remember what your mother told you. Every weekend, we feature the PDB situation report. I'm

sure she's talked about this with you. It's an extended weekend version of the PDB with news analysis and outstanding guests. And it's all in living color with moving pictures and surround sound and everything. It's just like TV. In fact, it is TV. Available on all podcast platforms, the first TV, and our YouTube channel, Ad President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Now, I'll be back later today with the BDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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