The U.S. military admitted on Monday that it failed to detect Chinese spy balloons that entered into U.S. airspace during the Trump administration.
The news comes after the U.S. military used an F-22 Raptor on Saturday to take out a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean using a single air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile that was fired at an altitude of approximately 58,000 feet. The decision to shoot down the spy balloon came after President Joe Biden allowed it to fly thousands of miles over the continental U.S. last week.
After the balloon was shot down, reports surfaced that there were similar incursions that happened during the Trump administration but that those incidents were undetected. Fox News <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-crashed-near-hawaii-last-year-one-flew-over-southern-u-s-states-under-trump-report">reported</a> that a Chinese spy balloon crashed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii late last year.
VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), told reporters: “Every day as a NORAD commander, it’s my responsibility to detect threats to North America.&#8221;
&#8220;I will tell you that we did not detect those threats,” said VanHerck. “And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out, but I don’t want to go into further detail.”
The Biden administration has reached out to key officials in the Trump administration and offered them briefings on how they discovered that these spy balloons had previously operated in U.S. airspace while not being detected. The Biden administration also wants to brief the former Trump officials about similar operations China is conducting in East Asia, South Asia and Europe.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/us-didn-t-know-about-chinese-balloons-during-trump-until-later?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=share&amp;utm_campaign=twitter">reported</a> that some Trump-era officials eventually learned that the balloons were a part of Chinese surveillance but that the officials would only learn about it weeks after the fact because the balloons carried jamming devices. The report <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/us-didn-t-know-about-chinese-balloons-during-trump-until-later?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=share&amp;utm_campaign=twitter">said</a> that Trump never had the opportunity to shoot them down.
The report added that the three incidents under Trump and an earlier incident in the Biden administration were smaller incidents because the balloons loitered over U.S. airspace for much shorter periods of time than what happened last week.
Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/05/trump-officials-deny-chinese-spy-balloons-00081257">reported</a> that U.S. officials have discovered similar incursions by much smaller Chinese spy balloons in recent years, including a radar-jamming device off the coast of Virginia.

Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Support Of Arizona GOP Candidates

U.S. Military: We Failed To ‘Detect’ Chinese Spy Balloons Under Trump, Are Briefing Trump Officials

China

Communist China

Military

National Security

World

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/national-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National security</a> experts believe the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> spy balloon which recently traversed the continental United States was a curveball for officials charged with guarding <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military</a> secrets and a test for American responses to unconventional threats.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3287173/dod-statement-on-high-altitude-surveillance-balloon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Thursday that the military observed “a high altitude surveillance balloon” above the nation. The vessel crossed Montana, the home of several defense assets and missile silos, then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-flies-out-of-montana-and-over-new-u-s-state" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled</a> over states such as Kansas and Missouri before the object was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-military-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-after-biden-let-it-travel-across-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot down</a> off the coast of the Carolinas.
The Biden administration received backlash for neglecting to down the balloon over the Aleutian Islands or Montana, where critics say threats from falling debris would have been minimized. Some reports indicated that the hesitancy to take out the asset came because Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to make a diplomatic trip to China that was later postponed.
Bryan Clark, the director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, told The Daily Wire that the balloon was “not a direct threat” but could have enabled China to “obtain close-up visual imagery from different angles” than its low earth orbit satellites.
“That could improve China’s ability to target U.S. missile silos and better understand the construction and layout of U.S. bomber bases in places like Montana and North Dakota where the balloon is flying,” he said. “It could have obtained signals intelligence by listening in on U.S. military radio and radar signals. Because satellite flyovers are known and predictable, U.S. forces avoid transmitting sensitive signals during those windows, but the balloon can fly an unpredictable route and show up unexpectedly.”
The balloon could have also been “a test of U.S. air surveillance and response to less obvious threats,” added Clark, who previously conducted studies on behalf of DARPA and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. “Russian bombers and surveillance aircraft regularly test U.S. responses in the high north, but unarmed uncrewed aircraft like this balloon present a situation U.S. air forces may not have a well-practiced response for.”
Lawmakers were surprised that the balloon was allowed to traverse portions of the country hosting sensitive military assets. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-am-alarmed-montana-gop-sen-steve-daines-wants-briefing-from-secdef-about-chinese-spy-balloon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the incident creates “significant concern” and called for a full security briefing to discuss the incident.
Victoria Coates, a senior research fellow for the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, told The Daily Wire that the surveillance balloon is similar to the national security threats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-ceo-will-testify-before-congress-as-national-security-privacy-concerns-grow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presented</a> by the social media platform TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company. She concurred that China has “more sophisticated satellite options for gathering information” but said that it could be “developing a redundant system” with less advanced technology to guarantee more steady information flows.
“Make no mistake about it, this violation of U.S. sovereignty on the eve of Secretary Blinken’s scheduled trip to China was not only about surveillance, it was also about testing whether or not the Biden administration would respond strongly and risk the diplomatic engagement,” she remarked. “Unfortunately, until the story blew up in the news they clearly prioritized keeping the trip over defending the national security of the United States, and even though it’s been delayed, Secretary Blinken said in his statement he expects it to be rescheduled and expressed his commitment to diplomacy.”

CHINA-XI JINPING-PARTY SCHOOL-OFFICIALS-TRAINING SESSION (CN)

What Was China Trying To Accomplish With The Spy Balloon? National Security Experts Weigh In

National Security Experts Discuss What China Was Doing With Spy Balloon

Balloon

Biden Administration

Global Politics

Spying

Surveillance

New video emerged Saturday afternoon showing close-up footage of the moment that the U.S. military shot a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> spy balloon out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.
A senior U.S. military official <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-reveals-details-chinese-spy-balloon-taken-single-shot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that an F-22 Raptor took out the spy balloon with one air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile that was fired at an altitude of approximately 58,000 feet.
Officials waited until the balloon was several miles off the coast of South Carolina before taking the shot in an effort to avoid any damage that may occur from debris falling from the sky.
WATCH:
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🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Incredible HD footage of the Chinese surveillance balloon being shot down
🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyrtleBeach?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MyrtleBeach</a> l <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SC</a> 
Watch incredible HD video of the moment when the Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down by a single missile from an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base <a href="https://t.co/KjwTrgcvcb">pic.twitter.com/KjwTrgcvcb</a>
&mdash; R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/1621980596346953729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Biden tried to take a victory lap over the weekend after the spy balloon was shot down, claiming that he “ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible,” but that the decision was made to not shoot it down over land because debris could cause damage when falling to the ground.
U.S. officials were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-tried-to-conceal-chinese-spy-balloon-to-not-disrupt-blinken-trip-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> “well aware” that the balloon had crossed into American airspace on January 28 and that it was over Idaho on Tuesday, but decided not to inform the public to not upend Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s diplomatic trip to China.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3288535/statement-from-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the spy balloon was sent to the U.S. “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”
Biden faced intense <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-tries-to-take-victory-lap-for-shooting-down-chinese-spy-balloon-gets-slammed-by-top-officials" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutiny</a> from top lawmakers who said that the spy balloon should have been shot down last month when it crossed over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-responds-to-u-s-military-shooting-down-spy-balloon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Responds To U.S. Military Shooting Down Spy Balloon</a>

Fairford

New Video Emerges Of Chinese Spy Balloon Being Shot Down

Executive

U.S.

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> postponed a scheduled trip to <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> after a suspected &#8220;surveillance balloon&#8221; was spotted flying above the western United States.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3287173/dod-statement-on-high-altitude-surveillance-balloon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Thursday that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">military</a> observed “a high altitude surveillance balloon” traveling above the nation this week. Blinken delayed the previously scheduled trip hours before he was scheduled to depart, an official <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/china-report-spy-balloon-us-96869979" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC News. Neither country had released details on the agenda for the diplomatic mission.
Ryder said that the United States continues to “track and monitor” the balloon closely and “acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information” once the object was detected. The balloon was spotted above Billings, Montana, after it traveled above the Aleutian Islands and through Canada. A top defense official said the device is still over the country as of Thursday afternoon but did not disclose its position, according to a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-found-northern-us-rcna68879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from NBC.
“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Ryder continued. “Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years.”
Montana is the location of several military bases and missile silos. Federal officials previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-quietly-probes-chinese-tech-firm-for-possibly-harvesting-data-from-military-bases-missile-silos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> Chinese technology company Huawei over concerns that cell towers in the area using the firm’s devices are transmitting data to the communist nation.
After the balloon was detected, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and Vice Chair Joint Chief General Christopher Grady recommended that no “kinetic action” be taken because of possible falling debris. A senior defense official confirmed during a background <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3287204/senior-defense-official-holds-a-background-briefing-on-high-altitude-surveillan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press briefing</a> that the United States had preemptively scrambled F-22 fighter jets as the Billings Logan International Airport issued a ground stop.
“The context for that was it would put some things on station in the event that a decision was made to bring this down while it was over Montana,” the official said. “So we wanted to make sure we were coordinating with civil authorities to empty out the air space around that potential area. But even with those protective measures taken it was the judgment of our military commanders that we didn&#8217;t drive the risk down low enough, so we didn&#8217;t take the shot.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-claims-suspected-spy-balloon-is-actually-civilian-airship-that-was-blown-off-course" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that the balloon was merely a civilian research vessel that had blown off course. “The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” officials remarked. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-am-alarmed-montana-gop-sen-steve-daines-wants-briefing-from-secdef-about-chinese-spy-balloon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that the incident creates “significant concern” that Malmstrom Air Force Base and the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fields were targeted for an “intelligence gathering mission.” He called for a full security briefing to discuss the incident.
“I am alarmed by the fact that this spy balloon was able to infiltrate the airspace of our country and Montana,” he wrote. “There is no higher priority for your administration than the safety and security of the American people and it is imperative that your administration reassure them of that fact at this time.”

D75CF769-078E-4AAF-BE14-4F34F5DD98D9_1_201_a

Secretary Of State Blinken Will Postpone China Trip Over Suspected Spy Balloon Incident

Blinken Will Postpone China Trip Over Balloon Incident

Antony Blinken

Foreign Policy

Chris Pratt dropped huge news on Thursday about the status of his hit show &#8220;The Terminal List&#8221; when he posted a clip on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CoKo3RSpvf1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a> of his character sailing away to a new destination.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chris-pratt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">43-year-old</a> actor didn&#8217;t caption the video he posted for his 41 million followers, but the shot picks up where the show left off at the end of the first season. In the clip, his character, Navy SEAL James Reece, is on board the same boat from the end of the first season — hinting at a new mission for the second season.
At one point the camera pans down to a map, making a reference to where he&#8217;s headed. Pratt&#8217;s character holds down the map with one hand and the camera focuses on the location &#8220;Mozambique&#8221; and &#8220;NIASSA.&#8221; The clip ends with him turning the wheel of the boat in a new direction as the shot fades out.
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Reading through the comments, followers seemed more than thrilled to learn that Reece was headed out on another mission after barely surviving his last one which started with the murder of members of his SEAL team and his family.
One comment that definitely stood out was from the official account for &#8220;The Terminal List&#8221; which read, &#8220;Do you believe?&#8221;
Former Navy SEAL and &#8220;The Terminal List&#8221; author Jack Carr also commented on the post with the emoji of the official flag of Mozambique, a southeast African country.
On Wednesday, <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/02/chris-pratt-the-terminal-season-2-prequel-s-taylor-kitsch-prime-video-1235246705/">Deadline</a> reported that it had learned that Amazon had indeed finalized a second season of the hit series.
The eight-episode first season was a huge hit for Amazon, scoring the No. 2 spot on Nielsen&#8217;s weekly Top 10 streaming ratings chart, the outlet noted. The show is about &#8220;a former Navy SEAL officer&#8221; who &#8220;investigates why his entire platoon was ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission,&#8221; a description on <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11743610/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IMDb</a> reads.
In September, Pratt and Carr hinted that fans would be getting another season when the Marvel star appeared on Carr&#8217;s podcast &#8220;Danger Close,&#8221; as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-pratt-has-message-for-rabid-fans-of-the-terminal-list-about-whether-another-season-is-happening" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
&#8220;To the rabid fans of &#8216;The Terminal List&#8217; out there, you have nothing to worry about,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/those-who-risked-their-lives-for-us-and-our-country-chris-pratt-remembers-those-who-died-on-9-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pratt</a> shared. &#8220;We love you and appreciate your support. It&#8217;s our life’s mission to make sure you can come back to the well. We are working away.&#8221;
Carr replied, &#8220;There may be some cool stuff on the horizon being discussed.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-pratt-sends-message-to-fans-and-amazon-after-the-terminal-list-soars-to-number-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Pratt Sends Message To Fans And Amazon After &#8216;The Terminal List&#8217; Soars To Number 1</a>

“The Terminal List” Los Angeles Premiere – Arrivals

Chris Pratt Drops Huge News About ‘The Terminal List’

Amazon Prime

Celebrities

Chris Pratt

Entertainment

Four-star Air Force General Mike Minihan sent a memo on Friday, warning the officers he commands that he sees war on the horizon — with <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/china-send-71-warplanes-around-taiwan-in-strike-drill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> — in less than two years.
Minihan, who reportedly sent the memo out to all of the air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders, is in charge of some 50,000 service members and 500 planes in the Air Mobility Command.
According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC News</a>, which obtained a copy of the memo, Minihan warned that upcoming elections in 2024 — both in the United States and Taiwan — could provide enough cover that China might feel emboldened to make a <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/taiwan-extends-compulsory-military-service-amid-rising-china-threat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move against Taiwan</a> while the rest of the world was distracted.
&#8220;I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.&#8221;
Minihan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/27/us-general-minihan-china-war-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directed his officers</a> to lay out a plan to prepare for potential war with China. He instructed them to report back to him with their plans — and any efforts they may have already made — no later than February 28.
Minihan also laid out a series of steps that officers should be taking in their efforts to prepare, saying that his ultimate goal was to build &#8220;a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain.&#8221;
He went on to lay out what they should be doing in the coming months, beginning with February: &#8220;Fire a clip into a 7-meter target with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head.&#8221;
In March, he suggested that they make sure their legal affairs were handled in case of a deployment, saying that they should &#8220;consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared.&#8221;
A spokesperson for the Air Mobility Command confirmed that the memo was real and had been sent to ensure that Minihan&#8217;s officers were ready to act if all efforts at deterrence should fail.
&#8220;This is an authentic internal memo from General Minihan addressed to his subordinate command teams. His order builds on last year’s foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready the Mobility Air Forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail,&#8221; the spokesperson told NBC News on Friday.
After NBC News went public with the contents of the memo, the Defense Department issued a statement, saying, &#8220;These comments are not representative of the department’s view on China.&#8221;

Military Training

U.S. General Predicts War With China By 2025: ‘I Hope I Am Wrong’

U.S. Air Force General Predicts War With China By 2025: 'I Hope I Am Wrong'

U.S. Air Force

The U.S. military killed a high-level <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/isis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ISIS</a> leader during an operation in Africa this week along with nearly a dozen ISIS operatives.
A senior administration official <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/26/politics/us-isis-leader-killed-somalia/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN that the operation took place in a &#8220;mountainous cave complex in northern Somalia&#8221; where ISIS was planning its expansion into Africa and beyond.
&#8220;Given the remote location of the operation, the assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed,&#8221; U.S. Africa Command <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/senior-isis-leader-in-somalia-killed-in-us-raid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote greater security for all Africans.&#8221;
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that U.S. forces killed ISIS leader Bilal-al-Sudani.
“On January 25, on orders from the President, the U.S. military conducted an assault operation in northern Somalia that resulted in the death of a number of ISIS members, including Bilal-al-Sudani, an ISIS leader in Somalia and a key facilitator for ISIS’s global network,&#8221; Austin said. &#8220;Al-Sudani was responsible for fostering the growing presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide, including in Afghanistan.&#8221;
The official who CNN spoke to said that U.S. forces wanted to capture al-Sudani alive, but the response from the terrorists ultimately made that impossible, and al-Sudani, along with 1o other terrorists, were killed.
Only one service member was injured during the operation when he was bitten by an American military canine.
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The U.S. military conducted a successful counterterrorism operation in Somalia. <a href="https://t.co/F6MCDYLqwP">https://t.co/F6MCDYLqwP</a> <a href="https://t.co/HHIW8VC3nZ">pic.twitter.com/HHIW8VC3nZ</a>
&mdash; US AFRICOM (@USAfricaCommand) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAfricaCommand/status/1618646739061465088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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ISIS

U.S. Military Kills Top ISIS Leader Along With Nearly A Dozen ISIS Operatives In Africa

Africa

Somalia

According to a Tuesday report, United States officials have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-formally-requests-german-permission-to-send-tanks-to-ukraine-11674558492">said</a> that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> is <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-may-deliver-significant-number-abrams-tanks-ukraine-despite-pentagon-misgivings">moving</a> in the direction of delivering a number of Abrams M1 tanks to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> with a potential update on the plan this week.
The news would come in coordination with a move from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germany</a>, which would also send some of its Leopard 2 tanks, as well as allowing more tanks made by Germany to be sent by other countries, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Tuesday, Spiegel Politics <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/krieg-in-der-ukraine-deutschland-schickt-leopard-panzer-a-e2dde871-88d0-4cf5-8aae-482d58fd850f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is now also planning to send tanks to Ukraine. Poland has also officially <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/24/u-s-approving-abrams-tanks-ukraine-00079218" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested</a> approval from Germany to send Leopard tanks to the country. 
“The Germans have already received our request for consent to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine,” Poland Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said. “I also appeal to the German side to join the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.”
The United States, Germany, and other countries have contended over the delivery of tanks to war-torn Ukraine in order to help the nation in its fight against Russia. 
Last week, at the World Economic Forum, the chancellor privately <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2023/01/19/scholz-to-lawmakers-us-must-move-first-on-tanks-00078507" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> legislators that he was not going to give Leopard tanks to Ukraine until the United States said it would send the Abrams tanks. After speaking with Scholz last week, President Joe Biden said he would examine sending Abrams tanks, even though the Pentagon was against it. 
A top German official said that the topic had been debated for over a week and seemed to be headed towards a solution, according to the Journal.
Military authorities had pushed back against the notion of sending the Abrams tanks due to how the military equipment uses gas and the effort that goes into their maintenance. 
“The Abrams tank is a very complicated piece of equipment. It’s expensive, it’s hard to train on. It has a jet engine, I think it’s about three gallons to the mile of jet fuel. It is not the easiest system to maintain,” Colin Kahl, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/24/u-s-approving-abrams-tanks-ukraine-00079218" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the press last week after traveling to Kyiv. “It may or may not be the right system.”
Officials in Germany have noted that Scholz was worried about Ukraine having so many of the military tanks that were made in Germany, since it could make it look like Germany was a main player in the war. The country wants to take action with the allies, specifically the United States since it does not have its own nuclear deterrent, the officials noted.
However, Germany <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2022/10/germanys-nuclear-weapons-policy-and-the-war-money-for-nukes-words-for-disarmament/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keeps</a> <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/11/19/nuclear-weapons-debate-in-germany-touches-a-raw-nato-nerve/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nuclear</a> <a href="https://www.icanw.org/germany" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weapons</a> of the United States on its land.
“We absolutely want to have German tanks in Ukraine but they need to be part of a broad coalition that would provide a mix of hardware, including the Abrams,” one official reportedly stated.

15051F63-7EFE-48FB-9CF0-1CCEF5D2F287_1_201_a

Report: U.S. Moving Towards Delivering Abrams Tanks To Ukraine, Germany To Also Send Tanks

Germany

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

A U.S. Army soldier who was fired last year for refusing a COVID vaccine has been forced to pay back his signing bonus, totaling thousands of dollars, the veteran claims.
At the Biden administration’s direction, the Defense Department discharged more than 8,400 troops from the military, including some 3,300 Marines, 1,800 soldiers, 1,800 sailors, and 900 airmen who chose to decline the vaccine.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve deployed multiple times, and I feel like the last thing I had was selling leave days that I earned and was never able to take due to me being deployed or needing that time to prepare for the training cycle,&#8221; the service member <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/service-members-forced-pay-back-signing-bonuses-fired-covid-vax-kick-face.amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News Digital. &#8220;I was about to enter a new world with no income, and that extra bit would have been a nice buffer in my rainy day fund to keep me afloat until I was able to find new employment.&#8221;
The soldier received a $7,000 bonus when he signed up to serve in the U.S. Army for six years. After he was canned for refusing the vaccine, he was reportedly notified by the U.S. Military that he had to pay back $4,000, a prorated figure of the bonus. The veteran said he was forced to sell 60 of his unused vacation days to make up for the debt.
&#8220;The appalling treatment these individuals endured broke the trust that is owed to our citizens and our volunteers. America’s sons and daughters,&#8221; the Army member said in a statement. &#8220;Until true efforts are made to establish trust, the recruiting and retention shortfalls will only continue. The individuals who make public statements that they are unsure what has contributed to the current recruiting and retention shortfalls need to take a look in the mirror; and perhaps they should resign for the betterment of our Nation.&#8221;
Another service member slammed the Department of Defense for falling short &#8220;on reestablishing trust for wrongdoings,&#8221; calling the signing bonus pay-back &#8220;icing on the cake.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to the Department of Defense but did not immediately receive a response.
Pentagon officials finally ended the coronavirus vaccine mandate for the U.S. Military, which was instituted in August 2021, after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) forced an end to the program after Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier this month signed a memo that will update records and remove letters of reprimand from troops whose exemption requests to the vaccine were denied, Fox noted.
The DOD has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/pentagon-backtracks-on-back-pay-for-service-members-discharged-over-covid-19-vaccine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicated</a> backpay for fired service members is not being considered. Meanwhile, recruitment for the military is at a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/every-branch-us-military-struggling-meet-2022-recruiting-goals-officia-rcna35078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record low</a>.
Brandon Drey contributed to this report. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-house-leader-kevin-mccarthy-the-covid-vax-mandate-on-our-military-is-ending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy: ‘The COVID Vax Mandate On Our Military Is Ending’</a>

Joe Biden

‘Appalling’: Soldier Fired For Refusing Vax Forced To Pay Back Most Of Signing Bonus: Report

Service Member Fired For Refusing Vax Forced To Pay Back Most Of Signing Bonus: Report

COVID-19 Vaccine

Politics

U.S. Military

Vaccine Mandate

An American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/navy-seal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Navy SEAL</a> who went AWOL nearly four years ago was killed earlier this week while fighting in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a>.
A U.S. Navy official told <a href="https://time.com/6248929/navy-seal-killed-fighting-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TIME</a> that Daniel Swift, a Navy Special Warfare Operator First Class, died from injuries he sustained when a Ukrainian unit he was a part of came under attack from Russian forces.
“We can confirm the recent death of a U.S. citizen fighting in Ukraine,” a U.S. State Department statement said without confirming Swift’s identity. “We are in touch with his family and providing all possible consular assistance. Out of respect for the privacy of the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”
Swift, listed as an active deserter since March 11, 2019, formerly deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and received three medals for his service, according to TIME. The AWOL Navy SEAL was most recently <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-seal-daniel-swift-killed-ukraine-official-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stationed</a> in Coronado, California.
Swift is among at least eight Americans who have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion last February, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/navy-seal-daniel-swift-killed-ukraine-official-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Last summer, Americans Luke Lucyszyn and Bryan Young were killed while fighting the invading Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Last March, State Department spokesman Ned Price warned Americans about traveling to Ukraine or attempting to join the fight against Russia.
&#8220;U.S. citizens who travel to Ukraine — especially with the purpose of participating in fighting there — they face significant risks, including the very real risk of capture or death,&#8221; Price said. &#8220;The United States, as you know, is not able to provide assistance to evacuate U.S. citizens from Ukraine, including those Americans who may decide to travel to Ukraine to participate in the ongoing war.&#8221;
While President Joe Biden has made it clear that the United States will not send American troops into Ukraine, the administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-sending-zelensky-more-offensive-weapons-create-an-iron-fist-to-penetrate-russian-linear-defenses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boosted</a> its support for the European country earlier this month by sending President Volodymyr Zelensky more offensive weapons.
The Biden administration announced that the U.S. is sending Ukraine 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles along with long-range rocket systems. The administration’s announcement came less than one month after Zelensky visited the White House and begged Congress for more aid.

Azov Regiment Forces Train In Kharkiv Region

AWOL Navy SEAL Killed Fighting Russian Forces In Ukraine

AWOL Navy SEAL Killed In Ukraine While Fighting Russian Forces

Navy SEAL

U.S. Navy

The following book excerpt is taken from “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Aziz-Mission-Calling-Thousands/dp/1400238137/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1673890231&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saving Aziz</a>&#8221; by Chad Robichaux with David L. Thomas, (Thomas Nelson, January 2023).
<h2>Bashir’s Return </h2>
With the Taliban’s takeover imminent, my concern for Aziz’s life, on a 1–10 scale, climbed to 9.
If he had been alone, I would not have worried as much because Aziz could find a way to evade the Taliban and get to a safe location. But he had his wife and six kids with him. And when Aziz and I communicated, his usual steady tone was missing. He was scared for his family.
The velocity behind the Taliban’s momentum forced us to repeatedly adjust our plan of going into Afghanistan with the media story cover. We found a potential work-around for obtaining a business visa for Aziz as his reason for wanting to live in the UAE. To provide legitimacy for the business visa, Aziz needed a stand-up company in Dubai. The project’s cost kept rising. But each time the dollar amount increased, someone compelled by Aziz’s story stepped forward to offer a donation, including Dave Barton and Rick Green from WallBuilders. Another friend kicked in $100,000, giving us a $185,000 budget for saving Aziz’s family.
The media attention on Afghanistan forced the Taliban to try to control its mob, if you will. The Taliban had become more PR savvy, and they knew all they needed to do was run out the clock and the country would be theirs. They could claim that the execution of those twenty-two commandos in Dawlat Abad was part of war. But killing innocent civilians was not, and if reports and videos of the Taliban killing women and children got out, that was perhaps the only thing that might cause the United States to delay its withdrawal.
But controlling barbarians is no easy task.
Atrocities were being handled discreetly by Taliban standards. But the Taliban was known to be systematically seeking out interpreters and other allies for interrogation. Some were killed. Aziz told me that one interpreter had pleaded for help getting out of the country because the Taliban had threatened his life. He was out driving with his young son one day and came upon a Taliban checkpoint. Knowing his fate if he stopped, he sped through the checkpoint. The Taliban shot up his car to stop him. Then they pulled him out of his car and, with his son watching, cut off his head.
Aziz’s greatest fear was that the Taliban would take his wife and kids and force Aziz to watch as they raped his daughters. Only then would they kill Aziz.
Aziz had achieved a high profile around Kabul. We paid interpreters well, and his business smarts had allowed the companies he ran after I left to be profitable. His natural leadership made him a respected figure in his community, so he was easy to find.
Plus, Bashir, the person responsible for the execution of my ten Afghan teammates and the bombing of my house, had been freed. He had become a Taliban leader and now targeted Aziz.
During the Obama administration, prisoners of war were usually released to Afghanistan, and Bashir transferred from the Bagram Air Base prison to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. He served five years there. As Aziz tells the story — and his anger is still evident when he tells it — when Bashir was released, some Americans gave him money and shipped him to Saudi Arabia.
Aziz balked.
“You guys could have killed him,” Aziz said.
“We don’t kill people like that. That’s not in our rules,” came the reply. 
“But he’s one of the bad guys,” Aziz countered. “He told everything about our operations to the Taliban.”
Aziz was assured that Bashir was sent out of the country so he couldn’t reveal more information.
As the Taliban started capturing provinces, Aziz received an alert from a friend who recognized Bashir among the Taliban. Bashir was now a Taliban commander. Aziz knew Bashir would seek revenge for Aziz’s role in his spending six years in prison.
“They are headed to Kabul,” Aziz’s friend warned. “You need to change your location.”
Aziz contacted me to tell me about Bashir and said he and his family were on the move, staying in a different house every night. They lived out of their backpacks, and I spoke to him daily to keep posted on their status and movements.
As good of a plan as our media cover was, it was no longer feasible. Aziz’s family didn’t have that much time.
Securing SIVs for Aziz’s family remained Plan A, but I held out no hope for those chances. We didn’t need a Plan B — we needed a second Plan A. And that plan was to go save Aziz and his family.
<a href="http://savingaziz.org"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-489423 size-medium" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-1360x2040.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/9781400238132.cover_.001-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a> 

Chad Robichaux is a former Force Recon Marine and Department of Defense contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan as part of a Special Operations Task Force. After overcoming his own personal battles with PTSD, Chad founded the Mighty Oaks Foundation, a leading nonprofit that has served veterans through their faith-based, combat resiliency programs. His new book is &#8220;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Aziz-Mission-Calling-Thousands/dp/1400238137/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1673890231&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saving Aziz</a>: How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban.&#8221;
Adapted by permission from Thomas Nelson. ©2023 by Chad Robichaux. Published by Nelson Books. Coming January, 2023 <a href="http://savingaziz.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wherever books are sold</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT

How One Marine Risked His Life To Save His Afghan Interpreter From The Taliban

Afghanistan

Books

Marines

Readers Pass

Taliban

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/department-of-defense">The Department of Defense</a> said last week that Pentagon officials began working on renaming military infrastructure tied to the Confederate States of America by the start of 2024.
Officials announced plans to rename nine U.S. Army bases, two U.S. Navy ships, and more than 1,000 items on American military installations.
&#8220;Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante, today directed all DOD organizations to begin full implementation of the Commission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense, a.k.a. the Naming Commission and those recommendations,&#8221; Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday, according to <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/news/renaming-confederate-bases-ships-starts/">Task and Purpose</a>.
Crews have already begun disassembling the 108-year-old monument of Southern troops marching to war with enslaved people following along at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
&#8220;I think we are confident, you know, each of the services has clear instructions in terms of what it is that they need to focus on, and where the secretary is confident that the services are and will continue to take that seriously,&#8221; Ryder said as reported by <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/01/06/get-ready-fort-liberty-pentagon-begins-changing-confederate-base-names.html">Military.com</a>.
Ryder did not disclose the total cost of the project. However, the Naming Commission&#8217;s <a href="https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/report">final report</a> calculated the amount to be approximately $62.5 million.
About $21 million of the funding would be directed toward renaming the nine Army bases located in Southern states named after Confederate figures, including forts Benning, Gordon, Bragg, Hood, Rucker, Polk, A.P. Hill, Pickett, and Lee.
The commission will recommend new names for the bases, such as renaming Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty.
Commission officials have reportedly recommended Benning be renamed Fort Moore, after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, who served during the Vietnam War.
Although commission officials did not provide new names yet for the two Navy ships set to receive a new title, commission officials identified the USS Chancellorsville and the the USNS Maury.
The USS Chancellorsville received its name after the Confederate army won a Civil War battle, while the USNS Maury was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, who left the Navy to sail for the Confederacy, Military.com reported.
Approximately $41 million of the funding will be designated for various roads, signs, buildings, and street names.
The announcement comes after West Point Academy officials removed monuments and references last month that &#8220;commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy.&#8221;
The 220-year-old U.S. military academy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/west-point-begins-removing-confederate-monuments-from-campus-robert-e-lee-portrait-and-bust-cleared-out">said</a> it had begun a &#8220;multi-phase&#8221; process over the holiday break to remove all 13 references and monuments that West Point says honor the Confederacy, including a portrait and bust of former West Point Superintendent Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The removal is in response to an October order from the Department of Defense (DOD) mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act.
A massive outcry against Confederate monuments hit the nation following the death of George Floyd in May of 2020, resulting in numerous statues being taken down. In September of 2021, the largest Confederate monument on display in the U.S., a statue of Lee, was taken down in Richmond, Virginia.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

Fort Bragg Home To U.S. Army Airborne

U.S. Military Begins Multi-Million Project Renaming Army Bases, Navy Ships Linked To Confederacy

Confederacy

U.S. Army

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