The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 26th, 2023: Christmas Conflicts & Pro-Palestinian Protests

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

In this episode of the PDB Afternoon Bulletin: We unpack a tense Christmas morning as US troops in Iraq faced a drone attack, prompting a forceful response against an Iraq-based militia. The latest in the tit-for-tat exchanges with Iranian-backed factions in the region.   Turning to the home front, we dive into the wave of major protests that swept through New York City and Washington DC. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators' chants of “Christmas is canceled” echoed as they clashed with law enforcement, resulting in multiple arrests.   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 Tuesday, December 26th. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off with reports of a Christmas morning drone attack on U.S. troops in Iraq that led to a retaliatory strike against an Iraq-based militia. It's all part of the ongoing back and forth between U.S. forces in the region and Iranian-backed groups. Also, major protests in New York City lead to arrests as pro-Palestinian demonstrators chant, Christmas is canceled and clash with police. But first, our afternoon spotlight. It was a deadly Christmas for an Iranian-backed militant group as an attack on U.S. forces in Iraq drew a retaliatory strike from the U.S. military.

The conflict began on Monday morning when three U.S. servicemen were injured, one critically, during a one-way drone attack on Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq. This hostile act was executed by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group, known for its ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or the IRGC. The U.S. response was swift this time around. Just hours later, U.S. forces launched precision airstrikes, targeting the Iran-backed group.

According to the U.S. National Security Council, the airstrikes hit three locations utilized by Kataybhazbullah and affiliated groups, focusing specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities. According to U.S. Central Command, the strike likely eliminated several militants from the group. Now, General Michael Karela, head of U.S. Central Command, stated, quote, these strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability. ability to continue attacks, end quote. Now, not to put too fine a point on it, but those elements

directly responsible for the attacks on the coalition forces would be the Iranian regime and their IRGC. General Corella's comments were reinforced by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who tweeted, quote, while we do not seek to escalate the conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities. However, the airstrikes, well, they didn't sit well with the Iraqi government, at least publicly. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani condemned the U.S. response as, quote, hostile acts, labeling them unacceptable at an infringement upon Iraq's sovereignty. So who is this group that carried out the initial attack on Erbil Air Base?

Kataib Hezbollah, also known as Brigades of the Party of God, has deep ties with the Iranian government, particularly with the IRGC in its goods force. The group, part of the Haastal Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Force, has received significant support from Iran, including weapons, funding, and military training. This relationship has been critical in defining Kataybz Hezbollah's operations and objectives. The United States, among other countries, has designated the group as a terrorist organization. This designation stems from the group's involvement in the attack. against U.S. and coalition forces. As we've been reporting here, the recent attack on Urbiel Air Base is not an isolated incident. The U.S. military has reported facing over 100

attacks in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began in October with a mixture of rocket and drone assaults. All right. Coming up after the break, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters converged on Midtown New York City on Christmas Day, chanting, long-lived, the Intifada. I'll be right back. 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

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Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Deepop, where Taste recognizes taste. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. There were some major Christmas Day protests here in the United States over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. We'll start off in New York City, where the normally festive holiday mood was disrupted by around 500 pro-Palestinian protesters who took to the streets. Now, in their efforts to be as self-righteous and provocative as possible, they carried a mock nativity scene covered in what appeared to be blood and chanted Christmas's canceled here. The protesters also shouted slogans like long-live the Intifada and equated the

NYPD, the KKK, and IDF, saying they're all the same. It's not clear just how many of the protesters could actually explain the history of the Intifada, or spell the word Intifada, or could explain exactly how the NYPD, the KKK, and the IDF are all the same, or if they supported Hamas's use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, or if they had any idea that Hamas has been the occupying force in Gaza for a couple of decades, but, you know, maybe I'm just being churlish. Amidst the festive backdrop of the Rockefeller Center and its iconic Christmas tree, protesters carried signs with messages such as, while you're shopping, bombs are dropping, and no joy in genocide. As night fell, tensions escalated into physical confrontations,

Scuffles broke out near St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, causing the police to intervene. The confrontations continued leading to several arrests near Grand Central Station and Union Square. A particularly tense moment was captured on video, showing an officer clutching his throat after being punched by a protester. In total, the NYPD reports that six demonstrators were arrested while one officer was injured. Now, in addition to the protests in New York City, demonstrators also targeted the personal residences of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, because nobody enjoys doxing people they disagree with and showing up at their homes more than progressives. Their aim was to disrupt the Christmas morning of these high-profile officials with chants like Austin Austin Rise and Shine, No Sleep During Genocide. admittedly, that one doesn't rhyme particularly well, but, you know, they tried. And of course, the anti-Semitic chant was also popular from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

According to posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, the protests were organized by a group called the People's Forum, which describes itself as, quote, a movement incubator based in New York City for the working class, political education, cultural work, internationalism, and movement building. end quote. Now, you may think from that that the People's Forum sounds like a Marxist organization out to stick it to the man. But like many socialist progressive groups, they, well, they also dig the man's money. The People's Forum leadership have managed to build an organization with millions of dollars in assets. Looking at just one year, let's look at 2019, the self-avowed working class incubators reported revenue of over $15 million, expenses of over $3.5 million,

no indication as to how much of that is salaries, and net assets over $17 million. And in that same year, 2019, our comrades at the People's Forum received $12 million through the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund. So clearly, instead of sticking it to the man, they're sticking the man's money in their pockets. and that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 26 December. If you have any questions or comments, reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.