The President's Daily Brief
December 27th, 2024: Israel Unleashes On Houthis, Putin's Christmas Day Attack, & Kim Jong Un Doubles Down In Ukraine
Fri, 27 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First, with Iran’s Axis of Resistance in tatters across the Middle East, Israel is intensifying their focus on the Houthi militants of Yemen, unleashing their largest strikes against the terror group in more than a year of fighting on Thursday. Later in the show, following Vladimir Putin’s brutal Christmas Day attacks across Ukraine, President Joe Biden is pledging to use his final days in office to accelerate the delivery of critical weapons systems to the war-torn nation. Plus, an update out of Syria, where rebel leaders just launched a major security crackdown after loyalists of the deposed Assad regime killed 14 interior ministry troops in an ambush on Tuesday. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, despite suffering massive personnel losses on the battlefields of Ukraine, North Korean despot Kim Jong Un is reportedly preparing to double down on his military support of Russia’s Putin regime. 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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main focus of Israel's recent military actions?
First, with Iran's axis of resistance in tatters across the Middle East, Israel is intensifying their focus on the Houthi militants of Yemen, unleashing their largest strikes against the terror group in more than a year of fighting on Thursday. Later in the show, following Vladimir Putin's brutal Christmas Day attacks across Ukraine, U.S.
President Biden is pledging to use his final days in office to accelerate the delivery of critical weapons systems to the war-torn nation. Plus, an update out of Syria, where rebel leaders just launched a major security crackdown after loyalists of the deposed Assad regime killed 14 Interior Ministry troops in an ambush on Tuesday.
And in today's back of the brief, despite suffering massive personnel losses on the battlefields of Ukraine, North Korean despot Kim Jong-un is reportedly preparing to double down on his military support of the Putin regime. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. After decimating Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Israel is now focused on the Iranian-backed Houthi militants of Yemen.
In response to the Houthis' escalating attacks on the Jewish state over the past week, Israel unleashed their fourth and largest strike yet against the group on Thursday, targeting critical military infrastructure sites used by the militants to conduct attacks and smuggle weapons from Iran.
The IDF operation included strikes on the airport in the Houthi-held capital city of Sana'a for the first time, along with two power stations, and that's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The strikes at the Sana'a International Airport hit the main runway, the control tower, and idle aircraft, some of which subsequently caught fire.
At least three people were killed in the operation, and dozens were left injured. including a crew member of a United Nations plane carrying the Director General of the World Health Organization, the WHO.
Casualty figures were not immediately available regarding other sites hit by the IDF, which included the aforementioned power stations and several Houthi-controlled ports along Yemen's western coast. All told, there were at least 10 separate strikes carried out by dozens of IDF aircraft, which traveled more than 1,000 miles to drop the payloads.
The strikes came just days after Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed to bring destruction to the doorstep of the Houthis. As a reminder, over the past week, the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Israel, firing ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv and the surrounding region on four separate occasions, some of which did slip through Israel's missile defenses.
Last Thursday, a Houthi missile hit a school in Tel Aviv, causing part of the building to collapse. While no one was injured, Israel responded with a series of deadly strikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen that killed nine and temporarily crippled operations at their ports.
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Chapter 2: How is the U.S. responding to Russia's attacks in Ukraine?
An HTS fighter acknowledged incidents but denied organizational involvement, suggesting that rogue elements may be at play. Further complicating matters, a protest in the city of Holmes erupted on Wednesday over a video allegedly showing an attack on an Alawite shrine.
Authorities dismissed the footage as outdated, but tensions did boil over, leaving one demonstrator dead and prompting an overnight curfew into Thursday. As we recently reported here on the PDB, HTS has pledged to protect minority groups, including Alawites and Christians. but many remain wary of potential retribution.
The Alawite community, historically associated with Assad's regime, now, of course, grapples with accusations of complicity in war crimes. Calls for a general amnesty from Alawite religious leaders have been largely ignored, with Syrians demanding accountability for atrocities committed during Assad's regime.
Analysts warn that the government's push to arrest Assad loyalists could destabilize already fragile regions, particularly as former officers refuse to disarm. Meanwhile, Iran, a longtime ally, of course, of Assad, voiced criticism, oh really, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. on Sunday condemning the instability and labeling Syria, quote, unsafe.
The Iranian regime condemning instability. That's rich. It remains to be seen whether Shiraz's government can unify a fractured nation and address demands for accountability, while also preventing deepening sectarian divisions. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief, North Korean despot Kim Jong-un. Remember him?
Well, he's doubling down on his support of Russia, despite his forces suffering massive losses on the battlefields of Ukraine. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants. Oh, and don't forget shrubs. Now, did you know that Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the U.S.? It's true.
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Chapter 3: What recent developments are happening in Syria?
In today's back of the brief, we turn to North Korea, where Kim Jong-un is reportedly preparing to double down on military support for his friend Vladimir Putin, despite the staggering losses that his forces have already incurred in Ukraine.
Now, South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimates that some 1,100 North Korean special forces have already been killed or injured on the battlefields of Ukraine since teaming up with Kremlin forces in October. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Zelensky put that figure even higher, estimating that at least 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed or injured so far.
accounting for roughly a quarter of the estimated 12,000 North Korean special forces sent to Russia. That's according to our report from Radio Free Europe. But Kim appears unfazed by the rapid losses suffered by his military personnel. Of course he does.
Officials in the South Korean military warned on Tuesday that the Kim regime is gearing up for a fresh deployment of troops, along with new shipments of military equipment for their friends in Moscow. In exchange, North Korea will reportedly receive additional shipments of critical supplies of oil, cash and military technology from the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy said he received a similar intelligence assessment from the head of the Ukrainian army earlier this week, who told him that the risk of North Korea sending additional troops into Ukraine was significant. Zelenskyy criticized Western leaders for doing, quote, almost nothing to counter Russia's growing military cooperation with Kim Jong-un's hermit kingdom.
Last week, the Biden administration and the U.S. hit North Korean banks, senior military officials, and Russian oil shipping companies with new sanctions over their military trade, but Zelensky has warned that it's not nearly enough.
He said the growing cooperation between the two belligerent powers not only jeopardizes Ukraine's future, but also increases the, quote, risk of destabilization around the Korean peninsula and in neighboring regions and waters.
The news comes at a critical juncture in the nearly three-year-old conflict, as Putin's forces gain ground in Ukraine's eastern provinces at their fastest pace since the start of the war. A new wave of North Korean troops could help the Kremlin further sustain this offensive push.
Notably, we learned this week that despite Russia's longstanding manpower shortage, it was reportedly not Putin who requested that North Korea send troops to Ukraine. According to the New York Times, it was Kim who offered up his troops unprompted, an offer that Putin gladly accepted.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of Biden's weapon deliveries to Ukraine?
Notably, we learned this week that despite Russia's longstanding manpower shortage, it was reportedly not Putin who requested that North Korea send troops to Ukraine. According to the New York Times, it was Kim who offered up his troops unprompted, an offer that Putin gladly accepted.
As a reminder, the two belligerent powers signed a landmark mutual defense pact back in June, which formalized the role of North Korea as a crucial supply base for Russian military needs. All right. friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 27 December. I do hope you're having a terrific holiday season.
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, as your mother always told you, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, well, simply become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. And if it's Friday, and my sources tell me that it is indeed Friday...
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