The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 11, 2024: NATO's Rare Rebuke Of China & UN Agency Under Fire For Employing Terror Operatives

Episode Date: July 11, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    With the NATO summit winding down, we’ll look at some of the key plans outlined by the alliance regarding their long term support for Kyiv, as well as a rare statement from NATO leaders condemning China’s ever deepening ties with Moscow. The U.N.'s agency in Gaza is once again under scrutiny for their ties to Islamic radicals, as Israel identifies another 100 current staffers that they say are terrorist operatives working for Hamas. 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 PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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condemning China's deepening ties with Moscow. Also, the UN's agency in Gaza is once again under scrutiny for their ties to Islamic radicals, as Israel identifies another 100 current staffers that they say are terrorist operatives working for Hamas. But first, our afternoon spotlight. As the historic NATO summit in Washington begins to wrap up, the alliance is directly targeting China in a rare rebuke that accuses the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, of facilitating Russia's attacks on Ukraine. In a fiery declaration approved by all 32 members on Wednesday evening, the alliance called Beijing a, quote, decisive enabler of Russia's war against Ukraine, you know, that sounds about right, and demanded that they immediately halt shipments of weapons

components and other military technology. It was a major shift for NATO allies who've largely spent the last decade downplaying the threat posed by China to the geopolitical order, according to a report by the New York Times. The declaration stated, quote, China cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation, end quote. Now, the carefully worded statement did stop short of accusing the CCP of directly supplying weapons to Moscow, like North Korea and Iran, which the alliance also singled out in their declaration. As regular listeners of the PDB will know,

Western anxieties have been riding high over China's ongoing political and economic support of Moscow, which frankly has allowed Putin to rebuild his military industrial base. China, of course, denies any link to Putin's war in Ukraine, hey, we don't know anything about it, and continues to issue statements promising that they'll never get directly involved. Well, that should do it, a promise from the CCP. Reports have surfaced just last week, however, that Chinese companies linked to the CCP

have recently partnered with Russian companies to build Iranian-style shahed drones for Moscow. And it appears NATO leaders have had more than enough now of China's doublespeak. Oh, look at that. Apparently, it only takes decades of double-speak to grow tired of the CCP's doublespeak. The CCP has done everything short of directly supplying weapons systems to Russia, instead providing computer chips, advanced software, and technological components that have allowed Putin to patch holes in the military and keep his war machine going. The Biden administration reportedly shared detailed intelligence regarding China's support of Moscow with NATO allies in recent months in a bid to sway members who were still on the fence about rebuking the CCP, and it was apparently enough to move the needle with skeptical European allies. Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, said, quote,

the Declaration demonstrates that NATO allies now collectively understand this challenge and are calling on the People's Republic of China to cease this activity. If China support continues, it will degrade its relations across Europe, and the United States will continue to impose sanctions, end quote. Now, outside of the threat of sanctions, the NATO Declaration vowed to boost support to allies in the Indo-Pacific, noting the state. CCP's belligerence in the South China Sea has a direct impact on European security. NATO leaders will meet today with officials from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South

Korea to discuss these security concerns. While China was the major focus of the declaration, the document, well, it did cover a lot of other ground. Regarding the war in Ukraine, NATO approved plans to send military aid worth $43 billion to Kiev next year. While members did not agree to NATO Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg's original request for a multi-year pledge, it includes a provision to reassess contributions at future NATO summits. The Declaration also pledged NATO's unwavering commitment to bringing Ukraine into the alliance in the coming years. Additionally, NATO formally agreed to take over coordination of military equipment to Kyiv from a U.S.-led coalition in an attempt to insulate Ukraine aid from possible shifting political wins.

Turning their focus to Russia, the alliance condemned Russia's nuclear escalation, particularly their station of nuclear weapons in Belarus. While the declaration said NATO will do everything to ensure the readiness and security of its nuclear deterrence mission, they also vowed to keep lines of communication open with the Kremlin in the hopes of avoiding wider escalation, and that's a good thing. All right, coming up after the break. The UN's agency in Gaza is once again under scrutiny for their ties to Islamic radicals, as Israel identifies another 100 current staffers that they say are terrorist operatives working for Hamas.

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and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East, or often known as UNRWA, alleging that it employs over 100 Hamas terrorist operatives raising more concerns about the neutrality and security of the agency. As a reminder, the UNRWA operates in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, providing education, health care, and social services to refugees. But you may recall, from previous reports on the PDB, that the agency has faced mounting accusations from Israel regarding its staff and facilities being exploited by militant groups, particularly the terrorist organization Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007. The alarming presence of terrorist operatives within UNRWA came to a head on July 4th when Israeli ambassador

Amir Wiesbrod sent a letter to the agency demanding the termination of 108 staff members identified as Hamas terrorists. Obtained by Fox News, the letter revealed that Israel's concerns about Hamas infiltration within UNRah were longstanding. But the extent of this threat, well, it obviously came more into focus after the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, which saw active participation by UNRWA employees, including facilitating logistical support and assisting in the kidnapping of Israelis. The Ambassador's letter included a document listing the names and military IDs of these operatives, noting that this is just a fraction of the total number within UNRA and that additional names would be provided in the future. He emphasized the security risks for Israel posed by these employees,

as well as the clear breach of UN neutrality principles. The IDF said in March, that, intelligence indicates some 450 terror operatives in Gaza are employed by UNRWA, and that approximately 1,200 of the UNRWA's total 12,000 or so employees in Gaza have ties to Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic jihad. Around 50% of the organization's employees also have close relatives within these Islamist militant groups. Earlier this year, the Israeli government presented evidence, including photographs, videos, and documents to support its claims that Hamas, terrorists have worked within UNRWA. In January, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini acknowledged the involvement of some staff members in the 7 October attacks and announced their immediate

termination, oh, you're fired for taking part in a massive terrorist attack, and the launch of an investigation. Despite these actions, Lazzarini defended UNR against recent accusations. In a recent UN meeting in Geneva, he stated that the agency is, quote, staggering under the weight of relentless attacks from Israeli criticism. Oh, sorry about that. that he warned that efforts to undermine UNR could extend to other UN entities and international organizations, potentially weakening the multilateral system. Seriously, UN staffers are actively engaged with Hamas and supporting and engaging in terrorist activity, and Lazarene is worried that Israel's criticism could damage the UN's reputation. What reputation? Look, Russia currently

holds the rotating leadership of the UN's Security Council, and they had Iran, chairing a human rights commission not that long ago. Unra staffers being Hamas operatives, well, that's just the latest example of how bloated, partisan, and feckless the UN has become over the years. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 11 July.

If you want to listen to the show ad-free, be sure to check out our premium membership at pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Not loving your AT&T or T mobile bill?

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