The President's Daily Brief
January 3rd, 2025: What We Know About The New Orleans Terrorist & Inside Israel's Covert Raid On Iran's Underground Missile Factory
Fri, 03 Jan 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We’ll begin with an update on the ISIS inspired terror attack in New Orleans, as details emerge regarding the background and potential motivations of the U.S. Army veteran turned terrorist who killed 14 and injured more than 30 in the New Year’s day rampage. Later in the show, Russia’s last major gas pipeline to Europe has been officially shut down, marking an end to Moscow’s decades long energy dominance over the continent. Plus, Israel has revealed that more than 100 members of their special forces executed a daring covert raid in Syria back in September that destroyed an underground missile factory funded by Iran. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, three terrorists who helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks may avoid the death penalty, after a military appeals court ruled that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin could not rescind controversial plea deals made over the summer. 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 happened during the New Year's Day terror attack in New Orleans?
It's Friday, 3 January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll begin with an update on the ISIS-inspired terror attack in New Orleans as details emerge regarding the background and potential motivations of the U.S.
Army veteran-turned-terrorist who killed 14 and injured more than 30 in the New Year's Day rampage. Later in the show, Russia's last major gas pipeline to Europe has been officially shut down, marking an end to Moscow's decades-long energy dominance over the continent. Plus, Israel confirmed on Thursday that more than 100 members of their special forces
executed a daring covert raid in Syria back in September that destroyed an underground missile factory funded by, can you guess by whom? Well, yes, you'd be right if you said the Iranian regime. And in today's back of the brief, three terrorists who helped orchestrate the 9-11 attacks may avoid the death penalty.
Yeah, after a military appeals court ruled that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin could not rescind controversial plea deals that were made over the summer. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. As the nation reels from the deadly ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, we're beginning to learn more about the former army veteran turned Islamic terrorist.
The attacker, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, killed 14 and injured 35 others on Wednesday morning after plowing a rented pickup truck flying an ISIS flag through a crowd of New Year's revelers on New Orleans' crowded Bourbon Street. He subsequently engaged in a shootout with police, injuring two officers before being killed.
Jabbar had also planted two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area that were later neutralized by authorities. The FBI said Thursday that Jabbar had been radicalized, though it's not clear when, and he'd posted five videos to social media in the hours before the attack in which he, quote, pledged allegiance to ISIS.
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Chapter 2: Who was the attacker behind the New Orleans incident?
In the videos, apparently addressed to his family and recorded while he was driving, he claimed to have officially joined the Islamic State sometime before last summer. That's according to a report from the New York Times. As of Thursday, FBI investigators were still working to determine the specific motivations behind his attack.
In one video, he said he originally planned to gather his family for a, quote, celebration with the intention of killing them, but later changed his mind. He apparently wanted to orchestrate a larger attack that would provoke media coverage of the, quote, war between the believers and the disbelievers, end quote.
Jabbar served in the Army for eight years, between 2007 and 2015, in human resources and information technology roles. He was deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010, and he continued as an IT specialist in the Army Reserves from 2015 to 2020, before being honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant.
He is said to have had a difficult time adjusting to life outside the military. He became a realtor in the Houston area after leaving the service and later worked in business development and data engineering roles at the consulting firms Deloitte and Accenture. According to his family, there were apparently few signs that Jabbar was nurturing extremist beliefs or that he was capable of violence.
Relatives and friends described him to the New York Times as a caring brother and a helpful neighbor. His 24-year-old half-brother said that he was in a state of shock over his actions. But there were also apparently mounting red flags about growing instability in his personal life.
Jabbar had become increasingly isolated in recent years following multiple divorces that led to growing financial difficulties. According to a report from the New York Post, Jabbar's first wife sued him for child support payments in 2012. His second wife took out a restraining order against him in 2020.
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Chapter 3: What were the motivations of the New Orleans terrorist?
And after their divorce in 2022, he racked up more than $16,000 in credit card debt, paying court fees and expenses related to a second home. He reportedly lost more money, some $28,000, in real estate ventures the previous year.
The husband of his first wife, who said they're cooperating with investigators, told the New York Times that Jabbar recently began acting erratically, saying he was, quote, being all crazy, cutting his hair, following a conversion to Islam.
He added that he and his wife stopped allowing the two teenage daughters she shared with Jabbar from spending time with him due to his increasingly bizarre behavior. Roughly a year ago, Jabbar began renting a home at a trailer park in a Muslim immigrant neighborhood north of Houston, where sheep could be seen roaming in his yard on Wednesday.
Neighbors appeared to know very little about Jabbar, with one describing him to the New York Post as a, quote, simple man that mostly kept to himself. Investigators swarmed the property on Wednesday, where they reportedly found videos Jabbar made referencing the Quran, Islam's holy text. Jabbar was seen at the property on Dec. 30 loading up the rented Ford 150 Lightning electric truck
that he used in the attack. He departed Houston on the morning of December 31st, telling a neighbor that he was moving to New Orleans for a new job. While the FBI had originally said on Wednesday that they suspected Jabbar had accomplices, officials said Thursday that they were now confident he acted alone.
Christopher Rea, deputy assistant director in the FBI's counterterrorism division, said the investigation remains ongoing and that they're working to track down every possible lead. Officials told congressional lawmakers Thursday that Jabbar was not a not on a terror watch list prior to the rampage. Rea said, quote, Let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism.
It was premeditated and an evil act, end quote. All right. Coming up next, Russia's last major gas pipeline to Europe has been officially shut down, dealing a major financial blow to the Putin regime.
Plus, Israel has revealed that more than 100 members of their special forces executed a daring covert raid in Syria back in September that destroyed an underground missile factory funded and operated in part by the Iranian regime. I'll have those stories when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants. Oh, and don't forget shrubs.
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Chapter 4: What impact does the closure of Russia's gas pipeline have?
According to AFP, airstrikes preceding the ground operation targeted a scientific research center in the area, further underscoring Israel's resolve to prevent advanced weaponry from falling into hostile hands. Military Chief Herzi Halevi, who oversaw the operation, contextualized the raid within Israel's ongoing efforts to cripple Iran's missile production network across the Middle East.
Halevi stated, quote, For years, Iran formed a ring of rocket and missile fire around Israel's borders, and we have struck both the ring and its head, citing previous raids in Gaza and South Beirut. Prime Minister Netanyahu lauded the mission as a critical blow to the Iranian axis.
In a statement posted on X, Netanyahu emphasized Israel's readiness to act decisively to safeguard its security, calling the raid a testament to the IDF's, quote, determination and audacity to act anywhere to protect ourselves, end quote.
Chapter 5: What details emerged about Israel's covert operation in Syria?
Netanyahu's statement was echoed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who emphasized Israel's commitment to preemptive defense, declaring, quote, We will not allow another October 7th on any front, end quote. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief.
Three terrorists who helped orchestrate the 9-11 attacks may now avoid the death penalty after a military appeals court issued its latest ruling. I'll be right back. In today's Back of the Brief, a U.S.
military appeals court has ruled that controversial plea deals that were struck earlier this year with the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and two of his accomplices can proceed. The court rebuked U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in their ruling earlier this week, saying he acted improperly when he intervened in the cases and rescinded the agreements back in early August.
The plea agreements involve Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused planner of the 9-11 attacks, as well as Waleed bin Atash and Mustafa al-Hausawi. according to a report from the New York Post. The deals allow the three terrorists to plead guilty to the attacks in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table.
They'd avoid full trials and instead be sentenced to life in prison over the attacks, which, of course, killed nearly 3,000 people and were the deadliest on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor. It's been a whiplash-inducing ordeal for the families of 9-11 victims who heavily lobbied against the plea deals when they were first revealed on July 31st.
Defense Secretary Austin said at the time that the plea deals caught him by surprise and that he was not consulted because the legal proceedings were a, quote, independent process. He rescinded those deals on August 2nd following a significant public outcry. But in November, a U.S.
military judge ruled that Austin had acted too late in revoking the plea agreements, as the pretrial process had already gotten underway. The order this week from the U.S. Military Appeals Court upheld that ruling, But the process is not over yet.
As the Pentagon reviews their options, they filed a request on Tuesday asking the military commission to pause the matter until 27 January, including any submission of pleas under the deal.
Still, the court's decision came as a blow, as you can imagine, to the victims' families, who have been patiently holding out hope for more than two decades now that the 9-11 plotters would eventually face justice. As a reminder, all three terrorists have been held at the Guantanamo Bay Military Prison since 2003.
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