The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 13th, 2024: Kremlin Threatens Broader War & U.S. Agrees to Iraq Troop Exit

Episode Date: September 13, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: The Kremlin reacts to news that Western nations are planning to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles within Russia, expelling diplomats and threatening a broader conflict with NATO. A potential turning point in the Middle East: U.S. sources indicate a deal has been struck with Iraq, which could see American troops begin pulling out next year, with a full exit by 2026. 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. Email: [e-mail]  Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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promo code PDB for 20% off your first-time purchase. It's Friday, September 13th. the 13th of September, Friday the 13th, as a matter of fact, in case you're superstitious. Just keep an eye out. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the Kremlin is responding to news that Western nations plan on lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles inside of Russia. They're expelling diplomats and threatening a broader war against NATO. Also, a potential game changer in the Middle East. The sources say the U.S. and Iraq have struck a deal that could see American troops pulling

out as early as next year with a full exit by 2026. Well, if American troops are withdrawing, you can count on that vacuum being filled by Iran and their militias and terror proxies. And I realize that makes me sound cynical. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Russian President Putin is issuing a clear message to the West, warning that his nation would consider lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-made long-range missiles, an act of war. The comments come as the U.S. and U.K. appear increasingly open to the possibility of allowing Ukrainian forces to use the long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets. That's something that Kiev has openly lobbied for for quite some time.

Putin told reporters on Thursday, quote, this will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia. And if this is the case, then bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us, and quote. Now, Putin, to be fair, keeps forgetting how this whole conflict started. He wants to be the aggrieved party in this equation. he doesn't want to be the dude who launched an invasion of another country and started this mess. Putin also raised doubts as to whether Kiev could carry out long-range strikes alone, telling reporters that the Ukrainian army is not capable of using cutting-edge high-precision long-range systems that would be supplied by the West without NATO assistance and targeting.

Now, it wasn't just harsh rhetoric coming out of Russia. This morning, the situation escalated, as Russia's Federal Security Service, that's the FSB, announced the expulsion of six British diplomats from Moscow, accusing them of espionage and sabotage. In a statement, the FSB accused the diplomats of coordinating what it called, quote, the escalation of the political and military situation, adding that they were tasked with ensuring Russia's strategic defeat in its war against Ukraine. Britain, however, described the accusations as completely baseless, saying that it was a tit-for-tat action after the UK expelled the Russian defense attache and removed diplomatic status from several

Russian properties back in May. Russia announced the expulsions just hours before UK Prime Minister Kirstehrmur is set to meet with President Biden in Washington. The pair are expected to discuss the issue of long-range missiles and will likely announce any policy decision in the coming days. As we reported earlier this week, the Biden administration appears to be preparing to loosen restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western supplied long-range weapons inside Russian territory after reports emerged that Iran is now arming the Putin regime with a fresh stock of ballistic missiles. That would likely include from the U.S. side the use of attackums, and those are ballistic missiles launched from the Hymar systems, and they have a range of roughly 190 miles.

Adding to the pressure on Biden, this week, the bipartisan congressional Ukraine caucus called on the White House to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with the long-range weapons. The U.K. is reportedly also considering similar measures, which would allow Ukraine to use British storm shadow missiles, long-range air-launched cruise missiles, and they have a range of around 155 miles. Coming up after the break, a major shift in U.S. Middle Eastern policy could be on the horizon. Reports suggest that the U.S. and Iraq are closing in on a deal, that could slash American troop presence next year with a full withdrawal by 2026. I'll have those details when we come back.

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you need the Intuit ERP. Intuit Enterprise Suite. All your data in one place with built-in AI for real-time insights. Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Some major news regarding the American presence in the Middle East. Reuters is reporting that the U.S. and Iraqi governments have reached a significant understanding. regarding the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq. This decision, shaped over months of discussions, could see hundreds of U.S. troops leaving Iraq by September of next year, with the remainder expected to depart by the end of 2026. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the plan is essentially agreed upon, but both Washington and Baghdad are still

finalizing the exact timing for an official announcement. A senior U.S. official has to be a confirmed that the agreement is in place telling Reuters, quote, we have an agreement, it's now just a question of when to announce it. End quote. While both governments have broadly settled on the terms, an official statement has been delayed due to the escalating conflict in Gaza and the need to work out a few remaining details. Sources say the deal could be made public later this month, though no specific date has been confirmed. Now, the withdrawal plan marks the culmination of over six months of negotiations. That began when Iraq's prime minister, Muhammad al-Sudani, initiated talks in January. His move came in response to increasing rocket and

drone attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq by Iran-backed armed groups. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of three American troops and left dozens more wounded. In retaliation, the U.S. conducted several rounds of airstrikes, which further complicated Baghdad's efforts to stabilize the country after obviously decades of conflict. Currently, the U.S. maintains roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in neighboring Syria as part of a coalition initially formed back in 2014 to combat the Islamic State, ISIS. But wait, didn't Vice President Harris tell the American public during the recent presidential debate that under the Biden-Harris watch, the U.S. doesn't have troops in war zones?

Well, okay, to be fair, she may have just been playing semantics, because the truth is that the U.S. definitely has troops in harm's way. Is it a war zone? I don't know. That's a bureaucratic thing, perhaps. But I digress. While the planned troop drawdown is significant, the U.S. and Iraq are also exploring the possibility of establishing what they're referring to as a new advisory relationship. And this could see some U.S. forces remain in a non-combat role, providing support and expertise to Iraqi military efforts after the withdrawal is complete. This understanding between Washington and Baghdad reflects a delicate balance, that's putting in mildly, seeking to reduce the U.S. military footprint in the region while maintaining enough of a presence to support Iraq's ongoing fights against extremist threats, and we haven't even touched on Iran's fairly solid and growing influence within the

Iraqi government, and the fact that Iran maintains powerful proxy militantly. inside Iraq to further their own agenda. We'll explore that complex situation some other day. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 13 September. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. Now, to listen to the show ad-free, if you're hankering for an ad-free experience, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com and by all means, Please don't forget. Now, as you probably realize, when you hauled yourself out of bed this morning, it's Friday.

And that means a brand new episode of the PDB Situation Report hits the airwaves this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. Also, of course, available on our YouTube channel, and that's at President's Daily Brief, and all podcast platforms. This weekend's guests include immigration law and policy expert Art Arthur from the Center for Immigration Studies. We'll be talking basically border issues and immigration policy. We'll also be sitting down with Kjul Vias, and he's a Wall Street Journal reporter with terrific, significant experience covering Venezuela in the surrounding region. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe.

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