The President's Daily Brief - October 21st, 2022. Iranian Boots Are Allegedly on the Ground in Ukraine.

Episode Date: October 21, 2022

It’s October 21st. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ The Military of Iran has boots on the ground in Ukraine this morning. That is the allegation being made by governments in the US and Europe. We’ll discuss what Iran is allegedly doing, plus whether it’s an alarming development or something we would expect to see in war. As always, I’m keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put these two on your radar. First, a tiny little toad in Nevada is creating some very big trouble for fans of Dirty Green Energy.  Second, and also in Nevada, a new solar farm is about to go live just outside Las Vegas, with a major partner from China helping them do it.  And as always, we’ve got a listener question. Today it’s about how Russia might use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, but in a way that nobody’s talking about. ------ 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 October 21st. You're listening to the President's Daily Brief. I'm your host and former CIA officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning intel starts now. First up, the military of Iran has boots on the ground in Ukraine this morning. That is the allegation being made by the governments in the U.S. and Europe. We'll discuss what Iran is allegedly doing, plus whether it's an alarming development or something that we would expect to see in war. As always, I'm keeping an eye out for a lot. developing stories, put these two on your radar. First, a tiny little toad in Nevada is creating some very big trouble for fans of dirty green energy. Second, and also in Nevada, a new solar farm is just about to go live outside of Las Vegas with a major partner from China helping them do it. And as always, we've got a listener question. Today, it's about how Russia might use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, but in a way that no one is talking about. But first, First, let's get started with today's main brief.

It's time, folks, for a new update on the drone wars. European and American leaders are alleging this morning that the government of Iran and its military have boots on the ground in Ukraine. All of course in support of the drones that Iran previously sold Russia a couple months back. Now, those drones to refresh our memories have had a devastating effect in Ukraine since October 10th when Moscow first launched a fleet of them to target electricity generation and distribution lines throughout Ukraine. So here's a quote from the U.S. State Department's spokesman who issued the first public statement yesterday spelling out the general accusation. We can confirm

that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian drones and using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine. We assessed that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations. When asked for details or proof, The spokesman said that we do have credible information, but he didn't want to provide it. Not long after that, the White House National Security spokesman added that apparently the Russians were struggling on how to use these drones for a while. So the Iranians sent trainers to guide them along. The White House then added this statement. Quote, Iran and Russia can lie to the world, saying that they're not working together, but they certainly can't hide the facts.

And the fact is this. Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground in Ukraine, end quote. Now, I should say that like his colleague at the State Department, the White House spokesman did not provide details or evidence. Still, from what I'm seeing and the folks with whom I've spoken, the allegation here from the United States government is correct. Iranian forces are, in fact, on the ground in Ukraine, helping to train Russian forces.

And that includes actually piloting the drones and destroying Ukrainian targets as a form of, of teaching and demonstration. And to be clear, those targets are largely civilian. Ukraine has lost about 30, 35% of its power production, either totally or substantially, do these drone strikes. And in case there were any doubt about that, Russia's defense ministry yesterday confirmed

that it was targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, calling it a legitimate military target. So how big of a deal is this, having Iran in Ukraine to help out the, Russians. Because what we're hearing from politicians on Capitol Hill, the White House, and military folks within the Pentagon is that this is a really big deal. It's a notable escalation. So as we consider whether or not that's true, I'm going to remind you of this. American and Canadian military and intelligence officers are also on the ground in Ukraine,

helping Ukrainian forces target and kill Russians. Folks, we have boots on the ground too. So let's recap what we know about that. As you might remember from my brief on August 2nd, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, a fellow named Vadim Zabinsky, spoke with Britain's telegraphed newspaper. And during that interview, Mr. Sibitsky was very much clear. In fact, he was bragging about how effective the new American provided high Mars artillery system was on the battlefield. He added that the real secret for success was that he and his Ukrainian colleagues would first consult with U.S. intelligence officers on the ground before any strike. So that group of Americans and Ukrainians would then pour over satellite imagery and real-time intelligence, most likely

from loitering drones, and then collectively they would choose the Russian targets and obviously shoot. Well, ultimately, Mr. Sibitsky said that the U.S. intelligence officers and the Biden administration could veto any of the intended targets. So to be clear, I'm not. American intelligence boots are on the ground in Ukraine and killing Russian targets. Plus, consider this. A few days after that report in early August, in fact, during the weekend of August 6th, Canadian press reported that Canada's special forces were also in Ukraine, boots on the ground, embedded with and training local Ukrainian forces.

Now, in response to those media leaks, Canada's chief of the defense staff, General Wayne Eyre, made very clear that he was not happy with these public confirmations of Canadian boots on the ground. So here's what he said. Quote, we are never going to talk about discrete or sensitive special operations or confirm or deny them. But if it were true, it would put our troops at risk. Why would anyone deliberately want to put Canadian troops at risk? The point, folks, is this. And fair warning, this is where I'm moving from facts to analysis.

an opinion. Whatever we might think of the war in Ukraine, either we're for it or we're against it, the fact of the matter is both sides have friends. Ukraine has America and Europe, while Russia has China, India, and Iran. It should come as no surprise then that these friends show up on the battlefield. Nor should it be any surprise that nobody frankly wants to acknowledge it. Our country's leadership here in America has said that we have no boots on the ground. And that's a lie. Canada's leadership has said the same, and that's a lie. And yes, Iran is saying that it has no boots on the ground this morning, nor is it selling Russia any drones. And yes, that's all a lie too. In other words, we're dealing with an increasingly global war and each side has its allies,

just nobody wants to acknowledge it. So I offer this to you with absolutely no value judgment. You can decide as always if it's different that we are there versus Iran is there. I just want to ensure that as this debate fires up of the next number of days and weeks about Iran being in Ukraine, that we are all very clear that lots of nations are embedded into this conflict with boots on the ground. And that includes us. And we should be honest about that. Even if it leads to some uncomfortable conversations, especially and including our own leaders in Washington, D.C. Coming up, ladies and gentlemen, a closer look. and what's on my radar.

Two quick briefs for you, both on Dirty Green Energy in Nevada. We'll be right back. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill. Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal.

So get away from that unfortunate phone bill and get to Verizon. Run, ride, canoe. Whatever it takes, we'll be here. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to a Verizon store today and we'll give you a better deal on the best network.

A better deal. No surprises. That's Verizon. Best network based on root metrics, best overall mobile network performance U.S. second half 2025. All rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person, reguming me the deal, additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.

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 usa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. Welcome back to the PDB. As always, I'm watching a few other stories this morning. Put these two on your radar. We've got two dirty green energy updates, both out of Nevada.

So first, let's go up towards Reno. We've got a tiny little frog called the Dixie Valley Toad that's giving fans of dirty green energy a pretty big problem. But first, some context. As listeners know, dirty green energy is built on this idea that fossil fuel is bad. And we need to transition away from that stuff towards renewable energy, things like solar and wind. but it also includes things like geothermal energy,

which simply put, it involves taking hot water from deep in an aquifer and then using the steam to spin some turbines and create electricity and then inject that water back down into the aquifer. Well, that was actually the plan for an electricity plant about 100 miles east of Reno. The company building that geothermal plant, a company called Ormat,

has spent over $60 million on that price, project and was actually set to begin producing electricity in December. But not anymore. Environmentalists and indigenous tribes were opposed to this plant have said that the operations will jeopardize the Dixie Valley Toad. This little frog, which is about the size of a dime, it swims around in a nearby hot spring or wetland, which are both fed by the same source as would be used in the geothermal plant.

Well, the fear apparently is that the water table would be lower to the point that it would jeopardize the toad. So the project has been put on hold and may very well be dead in the water, so to speak. Interestingly, this same company is trying to build another geothermal plant further north in Nevada, but the same environmental group involved, the Center for Biological Diversity, well, they're saying that that geothermal plant, well, it jeopardizes a creature there too. But this time it's a butterfly. It's called a bleached sandhill skipper. Anyway, I flagged this for you because it underlines something that I've mentioned repeatedly when we discuss not just dirty green energy, but energy of all kinds.

Every form of energy production comes with a cost. For example, digging in the ground for lithium or cobalt for the minerals that go into your batteries or electric vehicles, well, that all comes with a cost. Drilling for oil and natural gas, that comes with a cost too. And so when we see these environmental groups and indigenous folks making these claims about animals and such, it makes a reasonable person wonder, where can we get our energy? Because every location will come with some sort of butterfly or toad or flower. Unless, of course, we live naked and eat leaves.

Although maybe I shouldn't give them any ideas. Anyway, let's move on to our second radar brief this morning, but let's actually not go too far. We're going to stay in Nevada, but just go a little bit south to just outside of Las Vegas. That's where a $1.2 billion solar project is being installed. It's called the Gemini Project. Now, once finished, the solar farm will total 5,700 acres and produce enough electricity for 400,000 homes. Of course, only when the sun shines, which begs the question, what happens at night?

well, our good friends from China have offered to help us out. On Tuesday, China's largest battery manufacturer called the Contemporary Amperics Technology Limited Company or Cattle, they announced that they had reached an agreement with the solar company operating that project to serve as the sole provider for industrial batteries. So that means if you are in Las Vegas enjoying this electricity, you should know that you are being powered by Chinese batteries. Batteries that are either built by slave labor or child labor. One final aside on this, environmentalists actually tried to kill this project too. Apparently, there are some endangered Mojave Desert turtles that are going to have to be

dug up and relocated. Half, unfortunately, will probably die in the process of doing so. That's according to the Bureau of Land Management, which of course is very sad. maybe they should have spoken to the toads up north, hired their attorneys. Seems like they got better luck. Anyway, with that one more thing before I let you go, a listener question this morning. We'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB, ladies and gentlemen. One more thing before I let you go.

Mark in Northern Michigan wrote in, and he had a comment about what a nuclear strike in Ukraine might look like. But instead of a traditional attack, he highlighted something that, you should be thinking about and looking for. It's called an electromagnetic pulse attack or EMP attack. Now, I won't get into the exact science of how this works, but here's the upshot. If you explode a nuclear weapon, not on the ground but in the air, and I mean way up in the atmosphere, it creates a burst of energy. And that energy doesn't harm people as much, but it does harm electronics and electric systems of all kinds. That's due to massive surges and voltages

and electricity currents. That means some very important things get fried, like a country's electricity grid and backup generators and so on. By the way, the Russians and the Soviets before them know very well about this EMP technology. In fact, they have very good data on it following their nuclear test from many decades ago. So, Mark, I think you're quite Right. This raises an underappreciated way for the Russians to use a nuclear weapon, but without the same devastation that we might see from a ground explosion. So instead of immediate human carnage, it would leave Western military weapons in Ukraine mostly disabled. Plus, the whole country would be immediately thrown back in time.

Life would return to what it was 200 years ago before electricity. And as you can imagine, that would cause tremendous chaos, which at any time, of the year would be awful, but most especially in the dead of winter. And that's why, like Mark, I will keep an eye on this very unusual threat, and so should you. In that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show, reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world. It's the creed of every good spy and every smart American. It's from John, Chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Good day. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th. anniversary. UN must be 21 to enter.