The President's Daily Brief - November 28th, 2023: Houthi Missile Menace, North Korean Military Moves, & Polish Border Blockades

Episode Date: November 28, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   A harrowing encounter in the Gulf of Aden: Iranian-backed Houthi insurgents launch missiles at a US Destroyer amidst a maritime hijacking crisis.   Tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula as North Korea embarks on a military escalation following its recent spy-satellite deployment.   Commercial chaos ensues as Polish truckers commence continuous blockades at crucial Ukrainian border crossings.   In the Back of the Brief: The Dublin riots take a new turn with Conor McGregor under investigation for provocative comments.   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, November 28th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. In today's PDB, a major maritime incident off the shores of Yemen as Iranian-backed Houthi militants fire a pair of missiles towards a U.S. destroyer that was responding to the hijacking of a commercial vessel. Later, North Korea starts a military buildup at its border with South Korea. following its successful spy satellite launch. And Polish truckers have initiated round-the-clock blockades at a number of key border crossings with Ukraine. Finally, in the back of the brief, an update on the Dublin riots that we've reported on this morning

as Connor McGregor, one of Ireland's most recognizable names, finds himself under investigation for comments he made in the wake of the unrest. But first up, the PDB spotlight. In a significant escalation of tensions in the Gulf of Aden, Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched an audacious attack towards a U.S. warship coming to the aid of a tanker that had been seized by Somali pirates. Now, if you're not familiar with the Gulf of Aden, it's the body of water that sits between

Yemen to the north and Somalia to the south. The Gulf is critical to international commerce because it connects the Indian Ocean. with the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and facilitates the transportation of goods between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It's also notorious for piracy, with both Somali pirates and those linked to the Yemeni Huti movement known to operate in these waters.

Now, the incident began with a distress signal from a commercial cargo ship called the Central Park. The call reported that the ship had been hijacked by five armed individuals. Now, maritime protocols require any ships in the vicinity of a distress call to come to the aid of that vessel, and it's worth noting, frankly, I guess just because I'm being cheerlish, that there were three Chinese Navy vessels within the vicinity of the Central Park, and none bothered to respond.

Now, responding to the distress call was the USS Mason, a guided missile destroyer, and part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. If you remember, this is the group that was recently deployed to the region with a mission to curtail Iranian influence, in particular, to prevent Iran and its proxies from directly intervening in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Upon reaching the Central Park, the USS Mason, supported by coalition forces, confronted the hijackers and demanded the release of the ship. Now, the hijackers promptly left the cargo ship on their tiny pirate ship and fled.

However, their freedom was short-lived as the Mason gave chase leading to their capture and surrender. The U.S. military suspects the hijackers now being held on board the Mason are all Somali pirates. However, they may have affiliation or were acting in coordination with Houthi militants based in Yemen. And this suspicion is fueled by the events that unfolded shortly after the pirates surrender. As the USS Mason finalized its operation, it found itself within the trajectory of two ballistic missiles that were launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. The missiles, not perceived as an immediate threat, fell into the sea missing the warship and the cargo vessel by about 10 nautical miles. Although the missiles did not hit their intended targets, their launch sent a clear reminder of the volatile situation in the region and is just the lady. example of how Iranian-backed groups continue to assault U.S. forces.

Now, this hijacking was not an isolated event. Just days prior, Houthi rebels had seized another ship, the galaxy leader, reportedly tied to an Israeli businessman, and this vessel, along with its crew of 25, remains under Houthi control. As mentioned, piracy is definitely not a new phenomena in the Gulf of Aden. A little over a dozen years ago, Intel and security companies, including mine, were doing a robust business providing anti-piracy support to shipping lines operating in the region. For the Pirates, it was a lucrative enterprise. You'll recall that the movie Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, highlighted the problem, telling the story of the Marisk Alabama hijacking in 2009 by Somali Pirates. All right. When we return,

a concerning military buildup at North Korea's border. And Polish truckers and farmers are blocking access to one of the busiest border crossings with Ukraine. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon.

Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Welcome back. We turn our attention to North Korea, where tensions are escalating along the border with South Korea in the wake of the DPRK's successful launch of a spy satellite last week.

The North Korean regime is reportedly building new guardposts along its border in areas previously abandoned under an agreement made with South Korea in 2018. They're also reportedly deploying troops and moving heavy weaponry into the region. The 2018 agreement had forced both North and South Korea to cease aerial surveillance and live fire exercises along the buffer and no-fly zones at the DMZ and to remove guardposts and landmines along the front lines. This left South Korea with 50 guard posts and the North Koreans with roughly 150. Following the launch of North Korea's new spy satellite this past Tuesday, South Korea announced that they would be suspending aspects of that 2018 Inter-Korean agreement.

Specifically, they revealed plans to resume reconnaissance and surveillance operations along their border with North Korea. in North Korea responded by voiding the entire agreement. Their forces have been seen reoccupying numerous abandon guard posts since Friday in addition to building new ones. Kim Jong-un's regime lashed out at the U.S. and South Korea in a blistering statement Monday following international condemnation of their provocative rocket launch, which successfully put the new reconnaissance satellite into orbit with technical assistance from the Putin regime. Kim Songyong, a senior official in North Korea's foreign ministry, said the satellite launch was a, quote, just exercise of the right to self-defense

aimed at correctly seeing through and thoroughly coping with the grave military moves of the U.S. and its followers. I quote rolls off the tongue. North Korean officials added that no matter what critical statements and harshest ever sanctions the U.S. and its vassal forces may issue or impose, they can neither check the DPRK's exercise of its sovereign rights, nor get what they want. End quote. He then stuck out his tongue, wagged his finger, and walked away from the podium in a snit. Okay, I made up that last part. The Kim regime's successful satellite launch will advance North Korea's preemptive strike capabilities, allowing them to monitor the deployments of South Korean and U.S. forces in the region. Kim Jong-un has allegedly already viewed surveillance

photos of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier arriving at the Busan port in South Korea, along with images of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Honolulu. Now, the launch prompted swift rebukes from the international community last week for violating a number of U.N. Security Council resolutions. North Korea employed a ballistic missile to reach orbit, something that you would have. UN has long banned the country from using. A joint statement from the U.S. State Department and G7 foreign ministers released last week called the rocket launch, quote, a grave threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond. And as we know, Kim's behavior always improves after he receives a harshly worded memo from bureaucrats. Okay, moving our focus to Europe.

Polish truckers have blockaded one of their highest traffic border crossings with Ukraine in a bid to protect their domestic industries from being undercut by Ukrainian goods. Polish truckers began occupying the Medica crossing on Monday, which is now causing a roughly 91-hour traffic jam for trucks trying to enter the country. If you've ever driven in Los Angeles, you think, well, that's not that much. The Polish truckers have now successfully instituted round-the-clock blockades of four of the eight border crossings that they share with Ukraine. It's a continuation of protests that started back on November 6th, which are highlighting

the simmering economic tensions that Putin's war in Ukraine have caused to reverberate across the European continent. So why has this become such a point of contention with Polish truckers? Okay, at the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the European Union suspended a system that required all trucks crossing the border to have a permit. The EU's intention was to ensure that the Ukrainian economy could still compete while under assault by the Russian military. Polish truckers, however, say the effects of this free flow of goods have greatly damaged

their ability to compete. They say they're being undercut by cheaper prices from Ukrainian companies who now have unfettered access to the economies of the European Union. The truckers concede that the situation has become a burden to all sides, but they've vowed to continue the blockades. Polish Union officials say that so far they've been largely ignored by Polish leaders and representatives of the EU. Representatives of the Polish Truckers Union have noted that they are exempting trucks

carrying humanitarian aid and military supplies. Ukrainian officials, however, contend that the blockades are harming their war-torn economy by preventing essential supplies like vehicle gas from crossing the border, while also undermining their export business. They've also alleged that the truckers are not making good on their promise to maintain that flow of humanitarian and military supplies. Ukraine's ambassador to Poland called the latest move by truckers, quote, a painful stab in Ukraine's back and joined other Ukrainian officials in calling for an immediate end to the protests. Union leaders for the Polish truckers said Monday, however, that they have no intention of giving up and will stand until they get

their terms. The truckers have indicated that they could maintain the blockades through January. Now, these blockades are the latest example of the fraught economic situation that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has sparked in the region. Earlier this year, Poland's farmers rallied to protest the flood of cheap produce and grain from Ukraine, which they said was crippling their domestic industry. These protests led to the government banning local agricultural imports from Ukraine. This prompted months of contentious negotiations to ensure Ukrainian grain exports could continue to reach other countries in the European Union, particularly after Russia withdrew from a wartime agreement in July that ensured safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments in the Black

Sea. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief, former UFC champion Connor McGregor is now under investigation by police for comments he made following the Dublin rise. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, I wanted to return to the story of the recent riot in Dublin. As a recap, yesterday we discussed the violence that erupted late last week, when a knife attack occurred outside a primary school, leaving five injured, including three children.

Now, the individual accused of this attack has been identified as an Algerian immigrant. In the aftermath, Connor McGregor, the very well-known former UFC champion, issued a single scathing rebuke of the Irish government and law enforcement agencies. McGregor didn't miss words. He stated, There is grave danger among us in Ireland that should never be here in the first place, and there's been zero action done to support the public in any way, shape, or form with this frightening fact. Not good enough, make change or make way, end quote. His critiques didn't stop there.

McGregor took aim at the Prime Minister of Ireland, following a tweet by the PM about the kidnapping of Emily Hand by Hamas, in which he referred to her as being, quote, lost. McGregor fired back, telling the PM in his administration, quote, she was abducted by an evil terrorist organization. What is with you in your government and you're paid for media affiliates constantly downplaying, attempting to repress horrific acts that happened to children? You are a disgrace, end quote. Well, it now seems that McGregor's comments have gotten him into some legal trouble.

According to reports, the MMA Star is now under investigation for possibly breaching Ireland's laws against the dissemination of online hate speech. The investigation comes even as McGregor explicitly stated that he didn't condone the riots. He also took to social media to praise the efforts of a Brazilian immigrant to Ireland who intervened in the knife attack to protect the victims. Thursday's riot in Dublin is indicative of rising tensions over immigration in Ireland. Ireland and, frankly, in other parts of Europe. Ireland took in more than 140,000 immigrants in a 12-month period ending in April of this year, leading to anti-immigrant protests led by far-right elements of the population. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 28 November.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.