The President's Daily Brief - October 16th, 2023: Israel’s Gaza Challenge, China Chimes In, & Refugee Controversies

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   We dive deep into the current situation in southern Israel as the IDF gears up for its offensive into the Gaza Strip. With the Hamas terrorists' rampage going on for more than a week, the challenges of evacuating civilians from an imminent war zone come into focus.   China's stance on Israel comes under the spotlight. They've been vocal about their concerns, specifically targeting Israel's response to Hamas, questioning if it's just self-defense.   With experts predicting a million refugees in Gaza, we discuss the American response. Progressives, spearheaded by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, are rallying for the US to step in and provide refuge.   And for our dedicated Back of the Brief segment, we're revisiting two ongoing investigations: The rising pressure on Senator Robert Menendez as he faces yet another indictment, and the growing concerns around President Biden’s former special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, and his potential ties to the Iranian regime.   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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Start selling on Deepop, where Taste recognizes taste. It's the start of a new week, and the world is still at war, both in the Middle East and in Europe. It's Monday, October 16th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. It's been over a week now since the Hamas terrorists rampage across southern Israel, and the IDF continues preparing for its anticipated main offensive into the Gaza Strip. We'll examine this situation in Gaza and discuss the channel. of evacuating civilians from an area soon to become a war zone.

A little later in the program, China is speaking out on the escalating situation, criticizing Israel's response to Hamas' invasion as, quote, extending beyond self-defense. That, of course, coming from the CCP, which has made a practice of exterminating its weaker population, so perhaps moralizing by Xi's regime isn't really noteworthy. Meanwhile, as experts forecast at least a million Gaza refugees, progressives, including Representative Jamal Bowman, push for the U.S. to offer sanctuary. You may remember Democrat Representative Bowman. He's the fellow in Congress who, just the other week, couldn't tell the difference

between a fire alarm and a push to open button. So the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might just be beyond him. And wrapping up with our back of the brief segment, We revisit a pair of investigations that we're keeping an eye on. First, the pressure has gone up significantly for Senator Robert Menendez, as prosecutors unveil yet another indictment for the New Jersey Democrat. And given that he was just until recently, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the new indictment is stunning. Then we'll turn our attention to President Biden's former special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley,

who's facing scrutiny from congressional investigators over alleged ties to the Iranian regime. Now, is it really that hard for government officials and politicians to know which side they're supposed to be on? Apparently so. But first, jumping right into the latest on the Israel-Hamas conflict, the numbers are staggering. The IDF reports the death toll in Israel from Hamas' surprise terrorist attack has surpassed 1,400. scores more were injured in the attacks, and at least 120 Israelis and other nationalities are known to have been abducted and being held hostage. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza states their casualties at 2,450 deaths

and over 9,200 injuries. It's worth noting, included in that body count, of course, are an undisclosed number of Hamas terrorists. And the number of American fatalities in the attack on Israel continues to rise as well. The State Department has now confirmed a total of 29 American deaths. That's a jump from the 27 reported just last week. Now, Israel is not just focusing on the south. Up north, it's getting heated, too.

After a week of skirmishes along the border, Israeli fighter jets have now hit Hezbollah military sites in Lebanon. The message from the Israeli defense force to the Lebanese group, essentially, you see what's happening to Hamas, take note. Shifting our focus south to where the action is, the clock is ticking. The IDF is gearing up for a significant move into Gaza, aiming to dismantle Hamas from its core. There have already been small team operations inside Gaza, acting on specific targeting intelligence in pursuit of Hamas leaders and personnel. But that's not all. With Gaza entirely blockaded, the situation inside the enclave is being described as catastrophic.

Israel is encouraging Gazans to evacuate south, and hundreds of thousands from the Hamas-controlled enclave, with about half in Gaza's city, have already done so. Israel designated safe passage routes for those heeding the call to evacuate to the south. And for many, their destination is the border with Egypt, which is ostensibly there are only viable exit there at the Rafa crossing. But things aren't quite that simple. A question on many minds might be, well, why isn't Egypt opening its borders to these refugees? In short, Egypt doesn't want the refugees any more than Israel does. The nation has been wary of allowing free passage into Egypt for decades, fearing that the Palestinian problem could become their problem.

It's interesting to note for what it's worth. you never really hear of any free Palestine protests in Egypt, which, as mentioned, shares a border with Gaza. Yet while the situation becomes more desperate and many rush to flee the anticipated invasion, some Palestinians are making the decision to stay. Their fear? Well, it's that if they leave, they may never return, drawing parallels to events in 1948, when Palestinians faced displacement during the invasion of Israel by neighboring Arab countries. And adding another layer of complexity, reports suggest that Hamas isn't just standing by and letting their human shields flee south. On Saturday, the IDF shared videos and photos

showing large objects obstructing roads they had designated as humanitarian corridors, causing significant traffic jams visible from above as thousands tried to evacuate. once again, demonstrating that Hamas cares less about the safety and security of Palestinians than they portray. Preventing those civilians from moving south out of Gaza City almost guarantees a higher number of casualties. Preventing those civilians from moving south out of Gaza city almost guarantees a higher number of casualties, which, as Hamas counts on, will generate condemnation of Israel. All right. When we come back, China is promising to remain neutral on the Israel Hamas conflict, even as it claims Israel's response has gone too far.

Meanwhile, as Gaza residents flee the battlefield, progressives here at home, led by Representative Jamal Bowman, push for the U.S. to welcome them with open arms. 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 home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner. to learn more and get a quote at usaa.com slash bundle restrictions apply some follow the noise bloomberg follows the money whether it's the funds fueling ai or crypto's trillion dollar swings there's a money side to every story get the money side of the story subscribe now at bloomberg dot com welcome back to the president's daily brief let's take a look at china's reaction to the israel hamas conflict while china touts a new

neutral stance, their actions paint a different picture, suggesting a move to take advantage of the situation and improve their standing and influence within the Arab world. China's foreign ministry has spoken out against the violence affecting civilians in the war, yet they stopped short of actually naming Hamas in their criticism. Instead, the nation voiced support for an independent Palestinian state, soon after the initial attack commenced. Apparently, condemning the Hamas brutality was a bridge too far for the CCP. And over the weekend, China took it a step further. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Saudi officials that in his view, Israel's reaction to Hamas' recent actions has surpassed self-defense. But let's not forget, China isn't exactly

soft-handed when it comes to its own issues. They've been on their own anti-terrorism crusade for decades, particularly against the Muslim Uyghur population. Now, as for how this is all being portrayed within China, their state media and the controlled chatter on their social platforms points fingers at the U.S., suggesting our Middle East involvement has fueled the current Israel-Gaza unrest. The Chinese regime, meaning Xi and the CCP, are implying that U.S. brokered normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab nations, the so-called Abraham Accords,

and the U.S.'s longtime support for the Israeli government, well, they're the source of the current issues between Hamas and Israel. Now, look, it doesn't get more self-righteous and cynical than the CCP moralizing to others that the Israeli response to the Hamas brutality has gone too far. As with other parts of the world, notably central in South America and Africa, Xi is working overtime in an effort to reorder the global stage, attempting through Belt and Road initiatives, essentially engaging in exorbitant usury practices, to extend the CCP's sphere of influence,

and that includes through the Arab world. Not to mention, the CCP's brutal treatment of its minority, weaker population, which I guess, thinking about it, I did mention it earlier, but it's worth mentioning again. Earlier, we touched on the alarming situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of refugees are converging in the southern part of the region and along the Egyptian border. With the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the UN and others are warning of a potential humanitarian disaster as the refugee movement grows.

Now, some American politicians, like New York Congressman Jamal Bowman, are making the case to open our doors to Palestinian refugees. Bowman emphasized a stark fact, half of Gaza's population are children. He believes the U.S. should be ready to provide a safe haven for Palestinian refugees. Now, of course, he added that they should be thoroughly vetted to prevent any potential entry of Hamas members. Yeah, that would be a good idea. Now, a side note, if you're trying to place where you've heard Bowman's name before,

he's currently under investigation for an incident involving a fire alarm at the House office building. It's alleged he pulled it to disrupt and delay a vote on a Republican-backed bill. Now, the debate on the refugee issue isn't one-sided. Florida's Governor Ronda Santas wade in over the weekend. He's firmly against the idea, fearing that it could lead to an influx of anti-Semites. And as for the White House, well, they're playing their cards close to the chest. They've yet to give a clear stance on whether they'd be willing to accept refugees from this conflict. Look, as we often say here at the PDB, in fact, the phrase has become part of a PDB drinking game,

two things can be true at the same time. First, the plight of the Palestinians is awful. They've been dealt a bad hand, and those living in Gaza in particular see little hope, if any, in their future. Now, it's easy to make this into a two-party problem, the Israelis and the Palestinians. But in reality, for generations, the Arab world has not only done little to help, they have at times used the Palestinians as pawns in their regional geopolitical game. And now the residents of the Gaza Strip have been used and victimized by Hamas, ever since Hamas took control in 2007.

And of course, Iran controls Hamas, as they do Hezbollah. At the same time, you can believe that Israel has a right to defend itself and live in existence free from the constant threat of Hamas or Hezbollah incited terrorism. Here's what I'd like to know. I want to know what you think on this issue. Should the U.S. be accepting refugees from Gaza? Email me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. That's pdb at thefirsttv.com.

Let me know your thoughts on this. All right, in today's back of the brief segment, I've got an update on a pair of investigations that we've been keeping an eye on here at the PDB. First, things are going from bad to worse for Senator Bob Menendez as he now faces charges of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent of Egypt. That, of course, was while he was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Plus, the increasingly strange and disconcerting case of Biden's ex-Iran envoy,

Robert Malley, who's now under investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability for allegedly compromising ties to the Iranian regime. I'll be right back. Welcome back. In today's back of the brief, a couple updates on two investigations we're keeping an eye on. First, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez's troubles have deepened considerably over the past few days. You might recall that Menendez and his wife were indicted last month, accused of bocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars and bribes from some Egyptian businessman for the senator's influence. There was also some gold bars and a car and, I suppose, other things thrown in. Well, the plot thickets. Prosecutors have now tagged on another charge, suggesting the duo

was trying to make Menendez a foreign agent for Egypt. The couple is holding firm to their not guilty stance, there's a surprise, and they'll be defending that claim in court come May. Switching gears a bit, but still in the realm of officials under scrutiny and potentially forgetting which side they're on, there's Robert Malley. If his name rings a bell, it's because we've covered him recently here on the PDB. He was the Biden administration's special envoy to Iran.

Now, Malley found himself sidelined earlier this. year amid whispers of mishandling classified intel. And by sideline, I mean, they pulled his security clearances and suspended him. But that's not all. Some of his team, those who were part of the Iran negotiations, are suspected of being intertwined with an Iranian spy ring. Now, just when you thought there couldn't be more layers to the Mali story, recent revelations claim that he had a unique childhood connection. The Palestine Liberation Organization leader, Yadai or Arafat was apparently his informal godfather. Malley's written work from the past reflects his viewpoint, criticizing Israeli treatment of Arabs. And if this isn't enough to raise eyebrows,

he's been a proponent of the U.S. normalizing relations with Hamas. Yes, the same Hamas, linked to the recent slaughter of 1,400 Israelis. Now, if the U.S. was home to a more curious or inquisitive, objective media, we probably would have been thoroughly investigating the situation for months. But perhaps for much of the media, and certainly for the Biden White House, a U.S. envoy to Iran, who had his security clearances pulled, may have been improperly disclosing classified material, having perhaps unauthorized or unreported conversations in contacts with Iranian regime members and has been a proponent for normalizing relations with Hamas, well, I guess maybe that just wasn't something worth looking into.

And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Monday, 16 October. If you have any questions for me that you'd like me to address on the air, reach out at pdb at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.