The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 19th, 2024: Mass Graves Expose Assad's 'Machinery Of Death' & Zelensky Admits Ukraine Cannot Reclaim Lost Territories

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, we’ll bring you some truly horrifying discoveries from Syria, where mass graves uncovered since the overthrow of the Assad regime are exposing some of the worst war crimes and human rights abuses since the Nazis. Then, an update on the war in Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky warns the west that Kyiv does not currently have the military strength to retake their captured territory from Russia. 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

Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective. At home or on the go. Stay connected when it counts. Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today.

This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Now, protect your retirement assets and safeguard your future. Pick up the phone and speak with the experts over at Patriot Gold today. You may have heard me say this before, but I'm going to say it again because it's important. They have been the top-rated gold IRA dealer for seven years in a row. So go to Patriot Gold Group.com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Thursday, 19 December. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, disturbing discoveries from Syria, where mass graves found following the downfall of the Assad regime, suggests hundreds of thousands of people were tortured and killed under the repressive regime since the Civil War began back in 2011. Then, an update on the war in Ukraine, as President Zelensky warns the West that Kiev doesn't currently have the military strength to retake their captured territory from Russia. But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to begin with an update out of Syria, where mass graves,

uncovered since the overthrow of the Assad regime, are exposing some of the worst war crimes and human rights abuses since Nazi times. Officials with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a U.S.-based Syrian advocacy organization said they believe there are more than 100,000 bodies buried at a mass grave discovered on the outskirts of Damascus, and that it's likely just a portion of the victims tortured and killed under the Assad regime. So far, the group has identified at least three other mass grave sites, along with two smaller ones, and estimate the total number of victims of the Assad regime since the Civil War began in 2011 to be in the hundreds of thousands. That's according to our report from Reuters. Opposition groups and rescue workers are still sifting through the sites and collecting

evidence of the many human rights abuses committed by Assad's government over his 24-year reign. They say more than 150,000 people are still considered missing, though many were likely tortured and killed by what international war crimes prosecutors have called Assad's state rule. machinery of death. Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. war crimes ambassador at large, toured the mass gravesites in Syria on Tuesday and said what he saw was, quote, sickening. Assad reigned over his country with a bloody fist and engaged in a level of brutality, not seen since Hitler.

Rap told Reuters, quote, we really haven't seen anything quite like this since the Nazis, from the secret police who disappeared people from their streets and homes, to the jailers, and interrogators who starved and tortured them to death, to the truck drivers and bulldozer drivers who hid their bodies, thousands of people were working in this system of killing, end quote. Rapp, who is working with serious transitional government to document war crimes evidence for future trials, described it as a highly organized system of state terror. Separately, the International Commission on Missing Persons in the Hague said they'd received data indicating that there are as many as 66 mass grave sites scattered throughout Syria,

though these reports remain unverified. The scale of the crimes are staggering, and officials say it will likely take a considerable amount of time for a full picture of the abuses perpetrated by the Assad regime to emerge. Currently, they're working to collect DNA samples to identify the regime's many victims. Residents living near one of the mass gravesites said that since 2020, there was a regular stream of refrigeration trucks delivering bodies which were dumped into long trenches dug by bulldozers. They said the military oversaw the operation and anyone who got too close to the activity would end up a victim themselves. No one who opposed the regime was spared, with rescuers

finding men, women, children, and the elderly in the graves. One resident told Reuters, quote, this is the place of horrors. Now, as we discussed on last week's Syria's rebel coalition has also focused international attention on the Assad regime's infamous prisons and detention centers described by locals as, quote, human slaughterhouses. The prisons, or more appropriately, death camps, stood as a reminder of the violent consequences that faced those opposing the regime. Human rights groups say the regime engaged in systematic torture and secret mass executions. Others were tortured to death by being deprived of food, water, and medicine, their bodies then dumped into the mass graves, now being uncovered. As mentioned, more than 150,000 people are still believed

to be missing throughout Syria. Some may still be trapped in secret detention centers, though local residents say they have little reason to hope that their relatives and friends are still alive. Rebel leader Abel Muhammad Al-Jalani has vowed to bring the perpetrators of Assad's reign of terror to justice, telling supporters last week, quote, we will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people, end quote. Coming up, Ukrainian President Zelensky is warning the West that Kiev doesn't currently have the military strength to retake their captured territory from Russia. We'll discuss what this means for the future of the conflict after the break. I'll be right back. Looking to see what's

happening around your home? Ring's battery doorbell helps you track packages and see who's at your door in real time. The outdoor cam plus protects your yard at night with a wide field of view and clearer retinal 2K video. Or upgrade to 4K cameras and doorbells with retinal vision for ultra clear zoom in detail.

Your door, your yard, your home. With Ring, it's protected. Shop cameras, doorbells, and more at ring.com now. I wrote a little song to remind you, Choice Hotels, get you more of the experiences you value. The Cam, Be a The hotels got it all.

A rooftop ball, have a ball. Bring a date, your squad, or even your mom. Book direct at choiceotails.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In a striking admission, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated on Wednesday that Keeve lacks the military capacity to reclaim all Russian-occupied territories captured since 2014, a rare public admission of the challenges that Ukraine faces in its counteroffensive

efforts. Despite his sobering acknowledgement in an interview with French outlet Le Parisian, Zelensky remains consistent in his refusal to legitimize Moscow's control over these regions, asserting that any recognition of Russian sovereignty would amount to condoning Kremlin aggression. Zelensky stated, quote, this is not about compromise. This means Putin will get away with everything again, and this is impossible, end quote. It's important to note that Ukraine's constitutional prohibits the surrender of its territories, a point Zelensky emphasized during the interview, stating, quote, legally, we cannot give up our territories, end quote. But the Ukrainian leader also expressed hope that Western nations can exert pressure on Russian President Putin to engage in meaningful

negotiations, suggesting diplomacy could offer a way forward. Reflecting on the war's early stages in the interview, Zelensky criticized the West for failing to provide Ukraine with adequate military support, implying that a more robust response might have altered the current front lines. For context, according to data from the Ukrainian Monitoring Project Deep State, Russia presently controls roughly 43,000 square miles or 18 percent of Ukrainian territory, and that's an area comparable in size to the U.S. state of Virginia. Notably, this includes Crimea and parts of the Donbass region. Territories seized back. in 2014. Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow has annexed additional territories

through basically sham referendums, claiming sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions, even though its forces only partially occupy them. Although faced with these grim realities, Ukraine has still managed to reclaim over 16,000 square miles of land since 2022, yet progress as basically stalled since since 2023, despite Kiev's summer counteroffensive that year and its August 2024 incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Moscow's forces still maintain control over critical areas and are even advancing in regions such as Dhenetsk and Kharkiv, the ongoing relative territorial deadlock underscores the challenges of achieving a decisive military victory.

In compounding matters, Politico reports that Putin insists that Keith's a key. must withdraw from all four annexed regions as a precondition for peace talks. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 19 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, should you be so inclined, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdb premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. 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. Best Network based on Route Metrics, Best Overall Mobile Network Performing to U.S. second half, 2025. All rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill. My name of the person, redeeming me the deal. Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.