The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 11th, 2024: Iranian Drones Over New Jersey? & Israeli Forces Advance Into Syria

Episode Date: December 11, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, we begin with a mystery in the skies of New Jersey, where frustration is mounting among local officials regarding a deluge of drone sightings across the Garden State that have spooked residents and flummoxed federal agencies. One Congressman claims the mystery drones are of Iranian origin. Then, for the first time in 50 years, Israel has deployed ground troops into Syria beyond a demilitarized buffer zone in an attempt to protect their border region from extremist threats. We’ll discuss the implications, as well as the latest updates on Israel’s air campaign in Syria, which has now destroyed nearly 80 percent of the former Assad regime’s military capabilities.   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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Bad advice?

You talking to me? Kayak, got that right. kickstart your day with the delicious taste of blackout coffee it's family-owned premium coffee fresh roasted and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting think about that the beans are in the roaster and then before you know it well they're in your mug go to blackout coffee dot com promo code pdb for 20% off your first time purchase it's wednesday 11 december welcome to the pdb afternoon bulletin i'm mike baker your eyes and ears on the world stage let's get New Jersey's skies are buzzing with mystery. Frustration grows as drones flood the garden state, leaving local officials scrambling for answers. Then, for the first time in 50 years, Israel has deployed ground troops into Syria beyond a demilitarized buffer zone in an attempt to protect their border region from extremist threats. We'll discuss the implications, as well as the latest updates on Israel's air campaign in Syria. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

Mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey, including near-sensitive military sites, have left residents and officials scrambling for answers. Since mid-November, clusters of drones have been reported across the state, with sightings now extending into Pennsylvania and New York. New Jersey governor, Phil Murphy, confirmed that on this past Sunday alone, 49 drone sightings were reported, though he noted that some of those sightings may be duplicates. Murphy described the drones as, quote, sophisticated, adding, quote, the minute you get your eyes on them, they go dark, end quote.

Social media is a wash, or they literally a wash, with videos of the mysterious, possibly fixed-wing aircraft, intensifying public concern. Murphy convened a briefing with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas while he'll get to the bottom of it, won't he and other federal officials last week. to address the issue and the FBI has launched its own investigation of the phenomena. A spokesperson for the Newark FBI office confirmed, quote, We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks. Now, officials are urging residents to report sightings while they work to uncover the drone's origins.

In response, the FAA has imposed temporary flight restrictions over key locations, including the Picatinny Arsenal military base, which has reported 11 sites, just since 13 November, and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. Though authorities appear to be taking the incident seriously, they've also assured the public there is no immediate safety threat. Now, what sets these drones apart is their size and sophistication, exceeding the capabilities of typical hobbyist or commercial models. While recreational and commercial drone use is legal under FAA regulations in New Jersey,

these sightings suggest a different level of technology and purpose. leaving officials and residents questioning their intent. Local leaders are demanding action. Of course they are. A coalition of 20 New Jersey mayors has called for a full investigation and better communication with residents. State Senator John Bramnick has gone further, urging a limited state of emergency and a ban on drone use until more information becomes available.

Meanwhile, President Biden, remember him, has been briefed on the drone activity with the White House confirming close coordination between the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI in tracking the aerial phenomena. The New Jersey State Police and the State Office of Homeland Security are scheduled to hold a closed-door briefing on Wednesday to share updates on the federal investigation. Now, there's one more interesting development on this.

A New Jersey congressman claimed Wednesday that the mystery drones over the Garden State are from Iran, and they're being launched by a mother ship parked off the east coast of the United States. Congressman Jeff Van Drew said the drones, very possibly, could be from Iran. Oh, they very possibly could be from Iran during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday morning. Van Drew told Fox News, quote, I'm going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mother ship that contains these drones. It's off the east coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones, end quote. Now, Van Drew, the congressman,

citing confidential and, quote, high sources, well, they may well have been high, also ruled out the possibility that these drones are the work of hobbyists or even U.S. government operations. According to the congressman, this could indicate a deliberate and sophisticated operation aimed at surveilling or testing U.S. defenses. Well, okay, just a quick point on that. If the congressman's sources are, quote, confidential, then you would assume he would have already provided this information to federal authorities so they would have it, and have been working on it instead of an interview on Fox News.

And if Congressman Jeff Van Drew picked up this confidential information as a result of his position and access on Capitol Hill, well, then you would assume he wouldn't be authorized to reveal it on Fox News. The congressman's comments are almost as odd as the drones themselves. And by the way, the Pentagon has released a statement saying that there is no Iranian mothership parked off the East Coast launching drones. Coming up, for the first time in 50 years, Israel has deployed ground troops into Syria beyond a demilitarized buffer zone along their border. We'll discuss the implications as well as the latest updates on Israel's air campaign in Syria, which is now destroyed reportedly nearly 80% of the former Assad regime's military capabilities.

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. Because behind every headline is a bottom line.

Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings, there's a money side to every story. And when you see the money side, you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. I want to provide an update on Israel's strategic operations inside Syria following the fall of the Assad regime.

As reports confirm that Israeli ground troops have advanced beyond the demilitarized zone on the Israel-Syria border for the first time in 50 years, it's 5-0. As we discussed earlier on the PDB, Israel sent troops into a demilitarized buffer zone, zone in the Golan Heights over the weekend after armed men attacked UN peacekeeping forces. The move sparked immediate international controversy with the UN accusing Israel of violating a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria that established the demilitarized zone following the

Yam Kapoor War. Of course, Israel could argue that the agreement is no longer in effect since the Syrian government of Assad with which they made the agreement is, well, no longer in effect. And that's exactly what happened. Israeli officials countered that due to the collapse of the Assad regime, they considered the agreement void until order is restored in Syria and discussions are held with its new rulers. Still, they stressed that their presence is solely focused on safeguarding Israeli security and ensuring extremist elements inside Syria don't use the chaotic moment to attack across the border. According to two Israeli sources who spoke with the New York Times, the Israeli military has since moved deeper into Syrian territory, their first known ground entry into the country since the

Yom Kippur War in 1973. Now, just how deep is unclear, as little details have been released about the nature of their operations. But sources said Israel had taken control of the mountain summit of Mount Hermon on the Syrian side of the border, along with several other areas deemed essential for stabilizing that border region. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said they intend to create a, quote, security zone free of heavy strategic weapons and terrorist infrastructures, end quote. Now, as of Tuesday, reports indicate Israeli forces had advanced as far as Bacchassum, a village in southwestern Syria lying just 15 miles from the capital of Damascus, though Israel has not confirmed the activity. But Israel did staunchly deny claims on Tuesday that

their forces intended to advance on Damascus, with a military spokesman insisting that Israel, quote, is not interfering with the internal events in Syria." The limited ground operations come on top of Israel's historic air campaign across Syria, which began on Sunday in the immediate wake of President Assad's downfall. While Israel has celebrated the collapse of what had essentially become an Iranian proxy state, there are widespread concerns about the extremist ties of the rebel coalition, and Israel is using every tool in their arsenal to ensure Assad's military stockpiles don't fall into the rebel hands. The IDF provided an update Tuesday evening, revealing that over the previous

48 hours, their forces had carried out roughly 480 strikes on strategic military targets throughout the country, destroying most of the Assad regime's strategic weapons stockpiles, including stores of chemical weapons like mustard and VX gas, and decimating the Syrian Navy and Air Force. The IDF estimates that roughly 70 to 80% of the former Assad regime's strategic military capabilities have now been eliminated in this campaign. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday, 11 December. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And word on the street is that to listen to the show ad-free,

you can easily become a premium member, the president's daily brief, by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. 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. network based on route metrics best overall mobile network performance us second half 2025 all rights reserved must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person who gave me the deal additional terms conditions and restrictions apply