The President's Daily Brief
March 17th, 2025: Trump Unleashes Hell On The Houthis & ISIS Commander Eliminated In Iraq
Mon, 17 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: • The U.S. launched major airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen after the group vowed to resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. We break down the targets hit, the impact of the strikes, and how the Houthis are responding. • A joint U.S.-Iraq operation took out a senior Islamic State leader responsible for funding and planning global terror operations. • After seven months, Ukraine’s bold push into Russia’s Kursk region appears to be over—what this means for the battlefield. • In today’s Back of the Brief, negotiations to secure American hostages in Gaza have stalled as Hamas refuses to release a captive and four bodies unless Israel agrees to its ceasefire terms. 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 airstrikes did the U.S. launch against the Houthis?
It's Monday, the 17th of March. 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. First up, the U.S. launched airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen this weekend, just days after the group vowed to resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
Chapter 2: What was the impact of the U.S. strikes on the Houthis?
We'll break down the results of those strikes and how the Houthis are responding. Later in the show, the Trump administration clearly had a busy weekend on the national security front. A joint U.S.-Iraqi operation took out a senior Islamic State leader, one responsible for funding and planning global terror operations.
Plus, after seven months, it looks like Ukraine's invasion of Russia's Kursk region is coming to an end. And in today's back of the brief, negotiations to secure American hostages in Gaza have stalled. Hamas is refusing to release one captive and the bodies of four others unless Israel implements its ceasefire agreement. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
Chapter 3: How has President Trump responded to the Houthi attacks?
President Trump has unleashed the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since taking office, hitting the Houthi militants of Yemen and sending a blunt warning to their financial and military backers in Iran.
On Saturday, just days after the Houthis vowed to resume attacks on Israeli vessels, President Trump ordered a series of decisive airstrikes targeting the group and promised more to follow until they permanently cease their attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. That's according to a report from Reuters.
The strikes hit a Houthi stronghold in the capital city of Sana'a, several Houthi military sites in the southwest city of Taiz, and a power station critical to the group's operations in Yemen's northwest. The bombardment left at least 31 dead and more than 100 injured, according to local reports, even though those figures can't yet be independently verified.
White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Sunday that the operation took out multiple leaders of the Iranian-backed terror group, calling it a, quote, overwhelming response, as opposed to what he described as the feckless reaction of the Biden administration to the Houthis' provocations over the past 16 months.
Trump announced the action in a post on Truth Social, where else would you announce the action, where he criticized his predecessor's, quote, pathetically weak response to the Houthi attacks, noting that it's been more than a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship was able to safely traverse Mideast waters. Trump said, quote, the Houthi attacks on American vessels will not be tolerated.
We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective, end quote. He added a direct warning to the Houthi militants, saying, "...your time is up and your attacks must stop starting today. If they don't, hell will rain down upon you like nothing you have ever seen before." Now, despite the threat, Houthi leadership issued a typically defiant response.
A spokesman with the group's political bureau called the U.S. strikes a, quote, war crime, claiming they mostly killed women and children and vowed to continue attacks on commercial and military vessels until the blockade on aid coming into Gaza is lifted. In a statement, the Houthis said, quote, our Yemeni armed forces are fully prepared to respond to escalation with escalation, end quote.
As a reminder, since Hamas launched its terror attacks on Israel back on 7 October 2023, the Houthis have carried out at least 145 attacks on commercial vessels and 174 attacks on U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Suez Canal area, one of the world's most vital maritime corridors, of course.
Their attacks have rattled global trade, driving up shipping costs and disrupting critical supply chains across the world. Some 70% of global trade traffic is now diverting around South Africa to avoid Houthi attacks near the Suez Canal.
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Chapter 4: What is the significance of the ISIS leader eliminated in Iraq?
backing, has systematically dismantled ISIS terror cells over the past two years. Sudani framed the strike as yet another blow, quote, against the forces of darkness and terrorism.
President Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate the mission's success, asserting that Khadija had been, quote, The commander-in-chief also credited both the Iraqi government and regional authorities for their role in supporting the operation, before adding that Khadija's, quote, miserable life was terminated.
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, the killing of the senior ISIS figure in the region comes as the terror group has been regaining ground in Syria, conducting more attacks than at any point since its territorial collapse nearly six years ago. The UN reports that there were more than 300 ISIS-led attacks in Syria last year alone.
Chapter 5: What challenges does Ukraine face in the Kursk region?
The Islamic State once controlled large portions of Syria and northern Iraq after its lightning offensive back in 2014. Though Iraq officially declared victory over the group in 2017, ISIS remnants have continued to wage a brutal insurgency. Just last year, the terror organization also claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall.
Khadija's death marks the third time since 2019 that a top ISIS leader has been eliminated in Iraq or Syria. It's worth noting that, historically, the terror group is known for swiftly replacing its terminated commanders. Those successors often operate in the shadows, their identities sometimes unknown for months. Okay, turning now to the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war.
Kyiv's seven-month offensive in Russia's Kursk region is, frankly, all but over. A rapid Russian counteroffensive in recent days has shattered Ukrainian positions, reclaiming nearly all the ground lost since last October. On Sunday, Russian forces recaptured Sudza, the largest town Ukraine seized in Kursk, home to some 5,000 people before the war. The attack was swift and overwhelming.
Precision airstrikes, relentless artillery barrages, and infantry assaults forced Ukrainian defenders into a desperate retreat. By the time the dust settled, Ukraine's forces had fallen back to a narrow strip of land just 40 square miles, down from the 530 square miles that Ukraine controlled at the height of their offensive in Kursk. Ukraine's withdrawal was anything but orderly.
Russian advances cut off escape routes, leaving Ukrainian forces trapped in scattered pockets across the border region. Even attempts to evacuate the wounded were met with relentless Russian fire. By the time Ukraine's top commander arrived at the front, Any hopes of salvaging the operation had vanished. Battlefield maps released by both Kyiv and Moscow confirm the extent of Ukraine's losses.
What remains of its presence in Kursk has now been reduced to isolated holdouts. Meanwhile, Russian officials wasted no time consolidating control, clearing out extensive minefields left behind by retreating Ukrainian units. As we've discussed here on the PDB, Ukraine's Kursk incursion initially delivered a strategic and symbolic blow to the Kremlin.
Launched back in August of 2024, the offensive caught Russia flat-footed, forcing its forces into a frantic deployment. Ukrainian troops stormed across the border, seizing over 100 villages and towns, stretching Moscow's defenses thin and proving that Kiev could mount an attack deep inside Russian territory.
The early gains, driven by Ukraine's tactics and Western-supplied weaponry, rattled Russian commanders. Russian President Putin became the first Kremlin leader since Stalin to face the grim reality of having to expel a foreign army from Russian soil. But once Moscow regrouped, the response was overwhelming.
Russian forces began unleashing a punishing aerial bombardment, deploying glide bombs and fiber optic guided drones that shredded Ukrainian supply lines, armored columns and defensive positions. These drones gave Russian operators real time targeting precision, making resupply efforts nearly impossible for Kyiv. And then, of course, came the North Koreans.
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