The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 21st, 2023: The Conspiracy To Aid Iran's Drone Program & Life In The Trenches Of Ukraine

Episode Date: December 21, 2023

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A shadowy international criminal network has been unmasked for their role in the illegal procurement of U.S. technologies for the Iranian regime��s drone program. With the war in Ukraine raging for just under two years, we’ll take a look at the brutal conditions Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are facing on the front lines. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Shop Ultima on Amazon or in store at Target and Whole Foods Market. It's Thursday, December 21st. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First up, we'll take a look at a shadowy international criminal network that has been unmasked for their role in the illegal procurement of U.S. technologies for the Iranian regime's drone program. Also, for today's bulletin, we'll discuss the brutal conditions that soldiers are facing on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We begin today with a criminal conspiracy involving an Iranian national, a Chinese national, and the illegal transfer and export of sensitive U.S. technology to the Iranian regime.

An indictment from September of 2020, but unsealed by the Justice Department on Tuesday of this week, accuses Iranian national Hossein Adikani and Chinese national Gary Lamb, also known as Linjing, of illegally procuring microelectronics for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' drone program, according to a report by ABC News. The activity reportedly occurred from 2014 to 2015 and involved the pair using a web of foreign companies to obfuscate their technology exports and then reroute them to the Iranian regime. In one example of their calculated fraud, the duo allegedly tricked an unwitting fraud. French company into purchasing analog to digital converters with wide-ranging military applications

and shipping them to a company in Hong Kong. Once the shipment arrived in Hong Kong, the equipment was re-exported to Iran. Homeland Security Special Agent Michael Kroll said the pair, quote, crafted a sophisticated web of front companies to obscure the illicit acquisition of U.S. and foreign technology to procure components for deadly UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles. The Justice Department charged the men who do not reside in the U.S. with conspiracy to export U.S. goods to Iran, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to engage in international money laundering. Separately, on Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against a network of ten entities reportedly led by Ardicani.

and several individuals from Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, also for helping Iran obtain electronic components for their one-way attack drones. So why is this shadowy international conspiracy important? Well, Iran has in recent years built up significant capabilities in the production of drones for military use, and they've done this despite numerous sanctions in place by working through illegal tech transfer networks, such as the one described in the unsealed DOJ indictment. The Iranian regime now exports their drones to conflict zones around the world, including

significant exports to Russia to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and to their various proxy groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi militants in Yemen. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been making good use of drone technology in their ongoing attacks in the Red Sea. The militants appear to have a large supply of these one-way attack drones, which they've used liberally to target commercial shipping vessels and to harass U.S. Navy warships. Their easy access to advanced military technologies is facilitated by Iran, despite the Iranian regime's feigned ignorance. Regarding the technologies exported to Iran, Homeland Security Special Agent Kroll said Tuesday that these very components have been found in use by Iran's allies in current conflicts. As we've covered extensively on the PDB, Houthi militants have rapidly escalated their attacks on merchant vessels and U.S. naval ships in the Red Sea. They have attacked

or seized commercial ships roughly a dozen times in just the last four weeks. This week, the U.S. established a 10-nation coalition that will patrol the Red Sea in the hopes of deterring further attacks. Now, the Red Sea's shipping channels are vital to international trade and its continued disruption would have a major ripple effect on economies throughout the world. All right. Coming up after the break, we'll discuss the harrowing conditions that soldiers in Ukraine are facing on the front lines of the war. I'll be right back. Hey, honey, it's mom.

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That's the one we're talking about. I'll send you text. America's Best Network based on Root Metrics, best overall mobile network performance, U.S. second half, 2025. Four new lines and a limit and welcome and auto pay. See Verizon.com for details. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. The war in Ukraine has been raging for just under two years,

with troops bracing for the conflict's second winter. I wanted to take a closer look at the conditions that Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are going to be facing in the trenches in the coming months. Now, obviously, winters in Ukraine are cold and can be brutal, with the ground turning iron hard and temperatures often plunging below zero. Soldiers lacking essential winter gear, such as thermal uniforms, sleeping bags, insulated boots, well, they can quickly fall victim to frostbite and hypothermia. Now, it's widely believed that Ukraine holds the upper hand in winter equipment, thanks to Western supplies, contrasting with the well-documented logistical problems of the Russian military. However, as winter sets in, the Ukrainian forces are beginning to encounter a different challenge,

and that is the aging of their frontline troops. With a shrinking reserve of young, eager recruits, Ukraine now must rely on a draft system that doesn't always yield the ideal soldiers. The draft often pulls in middle-aged men from rural villages and small towns that are frankly too poor to buy their way out of service. It's not uncommon now to see men in their late 30s, 40s, even 50s fighting alongside young men in the World War I-style trenches that define the front lines of the battlefields. This demographic issue is going to be a major challenge for Ukrainian President Zelensky, whose military is asking him for up to half a million more troops to continue to fight. Russia, with a much larger population, maintains the manpower advantage,

even if many of their new conscripts are being pulled from the nation's prisons and hit the front lines with little or no training. Now, another grave concern for those in the trenches is disease, and Russian trenches in particular are reportedly battling an outbreak. of what's called mouse fever. It's a collection of diseases transmitted through contact with infected rodent droppings. The CDC outlines symptoms as severe headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever chills, nausea, blurred vision, and they could escalate to shock and kidney failure if untreated. Ukrainian intelligence suggests that Russian frontline complaints of fever are often dismissed by commanders, viewing them as an excuse to avoid combat.

Both Ukrainians and the invading Russian soldiers are facing increasingly difficult conditions as Winter sets in, and the war nears the start of a third year. Putin has thus far shown no interest in wrapping up his military adventurism. Despite a host of logistical, command and control, morale, and performance issues, Putin believes he has the upper hand as he watches the West debate the extent of their future support for Ukraine. Now, but, Barring significant dissent within the Russian population, or internal political strife that could threaten his position, Putin seems content with the status quo, even while suffering extensive troop losses as he waits for the West to grow tired of the conflict.

And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 21 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.