The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 16th, 2024: Feds Deploy Drone Detection System To Northeast & Assad Speaks

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has broken his silence from exile in Moscow, issuing his first public statement on the Islamist rebel uprising that toppled his family’s dictatorship after 50 years ruling over Syria. Then, an update on the unidentified drones that have baffled officials across the tri-state region, as federal authorities announce plans to deploy a state-of-the-art radar detection system in New York to solve the mystery. 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  Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Monday, 16 December. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. Let's get briefed. First, former Syrian president Assad is speaking out from his exile in Russia for the first time since the collapse of his regime this past Sunday. Although you have to ask yourself why anyone would care, what an overthrown, brutal, despotic dictator has to say. But we'll have those details.

Then, from the U.S., an update on the unidentified drones that have baffled officials across the tri-threaties. state region as federal authorities announced plans to deploy a state-of-the-art radar detection system in New York to solve the mystery. But first, our afternoon spotlight, deposed Syrian President Assad as broken his silence from exile in Moscow, issuing his first public statement on the Islamist rebel uprising that toppled his family's dictatorship after 50 brutal years ruling over Syria. Assad, who fled the country on December 8th, as the rebels took control of the capital city of Damascus, attempted to push back on what he called a flood of misinformation and false narratives regarding his departure. Ooh, I see a rewriting of history in the making here.

He also condemned those casting the rebels as a liberation movement, arguing that they are nothing more than terrorists, intent on subjugating the people of Syria. That's according to our report from ABC News. Well, if anybody knows anything about subjugating the people of Syria, it would be Assad. While it's true that the groups who overthrew Assad, particularly the leading militant organization, HTS, are recognized internationally as terrorist organizations. The irony of his statement is still hard to ignore. He made no mention of his own storied history of oppression and war crimes, including longstanding

accusations that he used chemical weapons on his own citizens. Instead, he tried to paint himself as a man who worked tirelessly to save his nation from malign influence, saying he, quote, refused to barter the salvation of his nation for personal gain, seriously, or to compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and enticements, end quote. The dude is actually playing the victim card here. I mean, it would be funny if there weren't so many dead Syrians left in his wake. Regarding his hasty escape to Russia last Sunday, which we detailed on Friday's PDB afternoon Bulletin, Assad claimed that he did not choose to abandon his country, but left Syria after an urgent

request by his allies in Russia. Assad said, quote, my departure from Syria was neither planned, nor did it occur in the final hours of the battles. Official reports say he schemed to flee Damascus for safety in Moscow via a Russian air base in northwestern Syria and kept his inner circle in the dark about his plans. Well, not so, according to the exiled dictator. Assad claims he traveled in the dark of night last Saturday to the Russian air base in the Latakia province in order to oversee combat operations.

Oh, well, that's a different story, isn't it? But upon arrival on the morning of December 8th, Assad said it had become clear that the front lines had fallen and their forces had completely withdrawn. As the situation continued to deteriorate, with the Russian air base coming under drone attack, Assad claimed the Kremlin requested that the base's command arranged for his immediate evacuation to Russia. Notably, he said the evacuation request came after the fall of Damascus and collapse of the military. Assad continued, quote,

At no point during these events did I consider stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such a proposal made by any individual or party. The only course of action was to continue. fighting against the terrorist onslaught, end quote. Well, in his statement, no doubt intended to burnish his tattered image with his remaining Syrian loyalists, Assad went as far as to claim that as the rebel offensive swept through the country, he, quote, stood alongside the officers and soldiers of the army on the front lines, well, they were actually in retreat, just meters from terrorists in the most dangerous and intense battlefields, end quote. He added that the overthrow of his regime, quote, does not diminish my profound sense of belonging to Syria and her people.

It is a belonging filled with hope that Syria will once again be free and independent, end quote. Now, look, here on the BDB, I do sincerely try to avoid adding opinion or pontification to the news we discuss, just bring you the facts. But when it comes to Assad's version of all of this, well, what a load of crap. And the people of Syria do not. Do not. not appear too broken up, of course, about the dictator's sudden departure from power. Syrians across the country have taken to the streets to celebrate the collapse of his regime over the past week, particularly the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners from Assad's notoriously brutal government detention centers.

To fill the void, the rebels have named Mohamed al-Bashir, who previously ran parts of northern Syria on behalf of the rebels as the new caretaker prime minister. In that role, he'll oversee a transitional Syrian government until March of 2025, when the rebels claim they will establish a more permanent administration, purportedly chosen by the Syrian people. But let's just remember the old adage, actions speak louder than words. Coming up, the federal authorities have announced plans to deploy a state-of-the-art radar detection system to solve the drone mystery that has left officials across the tri-state region baffled. I'll be right. right back.

wings, 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. Returning now to the U.S. and the drone sightings across the tri-state area. New York Senator Chuck Schumer is demanding the deployment of advanced radar systems to track and identify the aerial swarms. At the center of Schumer's appeal is the Robin Radar System, a cutting-edge Dutch technology, recently declassified and touted for its ability to detect and track drones with precision. So how exactly does this system operate? Well, the radar system uses artificial intelligence to three-dimensionally map drone flight paths and can reportedly track drones within a three-mile

radius. The CEO of Robin Radar Systems elaborates that the system's 360-degree mapping can track a drone's precise movements, adding, quote, you could also see the flight path and find out where the drone came from or where it lands, and that is usually the place where your operators stand, end quote. This offers what Schumer described as an unparallel advantage in identifying operators and deciphering intentions. Additionally, the system's portability, whether mounted on drones or aircraft, enables authorities to monitor areas that are otherwise difficult to access. But one does wonder whether Schumer has invested money into the robin radar systems. The Senate Democratic leader underscored the urgency of adopting this technology immediately.

Maybe there's a clue, stating, quote, you should not have to shake an eight ball to see what it is. There ought to be better technology, and there is. And quote, he sounds like he's doing a commercial. It seems odd that folks. are turning to Chuck Schumer for drone advice. New York Governor Kathy Hokel announced on Sunday that the federal government is deploying a drone detection system to the state to aid in investigations into the drone sightings. However, there's no indication yet that this is the same system being touted by Schumer. I mean, who knows? Maybe they're shilling for different commercial companies. Now, perhaps I'm just being

churlish, but wouldn't you think that the U.S. military would have the absolute most advanced drone related technology and would be able to get this sorted out straight away. And speculation that the drones might be tied to U.S. military operations, well, that was quickly dismissed by Schumer, who confidently stated, quote, the military would have told us that, end quote, or would they have? If it's part of a secretive government effort, look, the last person you'd want to tell would probably be Senator Schumer. As they say in Washington, the most dangerous place to be in D.C. is standing between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera. Federal authorities have similarly ruled out connections to foreign governments, though the lack of concrete answers, well, that's intensified public and legislative demand for action.

Both Schumer and Hockel are backing new legislation that would mandate drone registration and expand the state's authority to detect, track, and neutralize unmanned aircraft systems. Schumer's office indicated that the bill, which he is co-sponsoring, could pass before the end of 2024 after previous efforts stalled in committees. Whether Schumer and Hockel's efforts will yield definitive answers or merely add to the confusion, well, that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to downplay the mystery, attributing many sightings to misidentified planes or helicopters. Yet Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has acknowledged that Some of these sightings are confirmed drones. Mayorkas added that the federal government is deploying additional resources,

personnel and technology to support the New Jersey State Police in addressing the issue. We're getting right on it. Honestly, the current level of ineptitude in properly dealing with this problem, along with the apparent inability to handle the messaging and communication with the public, it does remind me of that infamous Chinese spy balloon in its long march across the U.S. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin from Monday, 16 December. If you have any questions or comments, please, reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's easy.

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