The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 20th, 2024: Israel's 'Trojan Horse' Operation & EU Greenlights Ukraine Loan Using Russian Assets

Episode Date: September 20, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   We’ll start things off with an update on Israel’s covert operations inside Lebanon, as The New York Times reports that Israeli operatives didn’t just rig Hezbollah’s pagers to explode, they actually built the devices as part of a years-long "Trojan Horse" operation. Then, we’ll move to the war in Ukraine, as the European Union greenlights a massive $39 billion loan for Kyiv that will be paid for using Russia’s own assets frozen inside Europe since Moscow’s 2022 invasion. 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].  Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Say Mike Baker sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the... world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with an update on Israel's covert operations inside Lebanon. As reports emerge that Israeli operatives didn't just rig Hezbollah's pagers to explode, they actually built the devices as part of a year's long Trojan horse operation. Then we'll move to the war in Ukraine as the European Union greenlights a $39 billion dollar loan for Kiev that will be paid for using Russia's own assets frozen inside Europe since

Moscow's 22 invasion. But first, our afternoon spotlight. I want to return to the events this week in Lebanon as a clearer picture begins to emerge regarding just how Israeli operatives managed to remotely detonate thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah militants as part of an unprecedented intelligence operation. An exclusive report from the the New York Times, which spoke with 12 current and former defense and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attacks, reveals that the mysterious Hungarian company linked to the pagers, that would be BAC consulting, is actually a front company established by Israeli intelligence. Well, color me shocked. The operation, reportedly meticulously planned for years, allegedly involved

using this shell company to pose as a legitimate international manufacturer of pagers. They lured in Hezbollah leaders who were eager to pivot from smartphones to low-tech alternatives, fearing, of course, that Israel was exploiting their smartphones. As we touched on earlier this week, BAC Consulting, located in Budapest, Hungary, had a license to manufacture and sell pagers using the branding of a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo. But that was apparently, reportedly, simply a ruse to mask Israel's role in the menace. manufacturing process, according to the Times. They established at least two other shell companies to further obscure their involvement and even took contracts with regular clients who they provided

with normal pagers. Pagers that wouldn't explode. That would be considered a normal pager. But Hesbola was their target customer. They began engaging with the terrorist organization sometime back in 2022, separately manufacturing pagers laced with explosive material that could be triggered remotely. The first shipments began arriving in Lebanon in the summer of 2022, but Israel reportedly increased production after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah ordered his fighters in February to ditch their cell phones entirely. He and other leaders warned they were being used by Israel to pinpoint the location of operatives for assassinations and that even encrypted messaging apps were no longer safe. He banned the devices from official meetings and ordered all Hezbollah

militants to carry a pager at all times. The shipments subsequently increased with thousands of pagers arriving over the summer, which were then distributed to Hezbollah militants throughout Lebanon. While the terrorist organization remained blissfully unaware of the infiltration, Israeli intelligence officers were reportedly quietly waiting for their moment. According to the Times, they reportedly referred to the devices as buttons that were ready to be pushed at a moment's notice. They were finally. finally triggered on Tuesday, following the sign-off by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had vowed on Sunday to do whatever it took to return some 70,000 Israelis displaced by

Hezbollah's attacks in northern Israel to their homes. Lebanon's health ministry said at least 37 people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded in the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, which involved both the thousands of pagers, as well as thousands of walkie-talkies, though we we know less about their origin at this time. Chazbalah leader Nasrallah vowed retaliation on Thursday, while officials in Israel declared a new phase of the war had begun without confirming their role in the attacks. Despite calls from Western allies for restraint,

Israel appears eager to take maximum advantage of the blow they dealt to Hezbollah's ranks, unleashing an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, the largest targeting that the, Lebanese capital is seen in months. The strikes reportedly leveled a residential building that Hezbollah's elite Radwan force was using as cover to hold a meeting with senior leaders. Now, the strike reportedly killed Ibrahim Akeel, who served as the head of Hezbollah's military operations directorate and commander of the Rodwan force, along with other senior members of the

unit, reportedly up to 10 senior commanders also perished in that attack along with Akeel. Akeel had long been wanted by the U.S. in connection to, and you may remember this, the Beirut Barracks bombings back in October of 1983. That targeted barracks in Lebanon, housing U.S. and French troops, killing nearly 300 people, including 241 U.S. Marines. Yeah, Akeel was responsible for that. The Lebanese health ministry said at least nine people were killed in Friday's strike, while at least 59 suffered injuries. White House officials reiterated their calls for de-escalation. following the strike. But given the activity of the past week,

many are fearful that the situation with Hezbollah could soon erupt into a full-scale war. Coming up, we'll move to the war in Ukraine. As the European Union greenlights a massive $39 billion loan for Kiv. I'll be right back. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill? Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot.

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Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount. Safe driver discount. New vehicle discount. storage discount legacy how many discounts will you stack up tap the banner or visit usaa.com slash auto discounts restrictions apply welcome back to the afternoon bulletin moving to the war in ukraine leaders with the european union have announced a massive new aid package for kev that will be paid for using russia's own assets frozen inside europe since putin's 22 invasion european commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the loan worth roughly $39 billion during a trip to Kyiv on

Friday to meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The funds come at a critical juncture in the war as Ukrainian forces fend off Russian advances in the Eastern Danesk region and defend their position in Russia's Kursk region against a Kremlin counteroffensive. In addition to providing much-needed military relief. The funds will also help fortify and rebuild Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which has been devastated by relentless Russian bombardments. This is particularly critical as Ukraine prepares for their third winter of war. It is really dragged on with a beleaguered power grid operating at just one-third of its pre-war capacity. That's according to a report from the New York Times. The EU has been getting more and more creative on how to get Ukraine funds without overstretching the

budgets of European countries. The new loan will not require EU members to provide direct aid, instead relying on interest from roughly $300 billion in assets belonging to Russia's central bank that are currently sitting frozen in European accounts. While the loan still requires approval by the European Parliament, officials said they expect the funds to be sent by the end of the year. At a press conference alongside Zelensky, von der Leyen said, quote, we should make Russia pay for the destruction that it has caused. Notably, the loan will move forward without any initial contributions from the U.S. The Biden administration was set to contribute as much as $25 billion, provided the EU agreed to a provision barring them from revisiting sanctions against Russia

for a period of three years. Now, this is a critical point, as those sanctions are currently reviewed every six months, and any change could risk unlocking the frozen Russian assets that are being used for the loan. But those talks broke down earlier this week after several intense days of negotiations between European and American officials, leaving the EU to go it alone. The announcement comes just ahead of Zelensky's trip next week to the U.S., where he will address the U.N. General Assembly and meet with President Biden to discuss his plan to end the war, though details of his proposal are not currently known. Zolensky is also scheduled to meet with both former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris,

Biden's potential successors, one or the other. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 20 September. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. Also, as a public service announcement, remember that a new episode of our extended weekend show, the PDB situation report, hits the airwaves this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. Or you can catch it on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and, of course, on all the podcast platforms. We'll be digging into the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies operation with former military signals intelligence analyst, Kervin O'Quinn, and getting insight on the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump with Mike Patranga,

former Secret Service agent. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB situation report. Until then, well, you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.