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Go to blackoutcoffee.com, promo code PDB, for 20% off your first-time purchase. It's Thursday, 31 October.Now, some folks might recognize it as Halloween.
And as the old Gaelic saying goes, may every door you knock on for trick or treat be handing out full-size candy bars.At least, I think that's a Gaelic saying.Could be Welsh.Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.
I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.Let's get briefed. We'll kick off today's show with a United Nations General Assembly report exposing Russia's systematic use of torture since the start of its invasion of Ukraine.
The report highlights how their tactics are being used to suppress domestic opposition and instill fear beyond Russia's borders.We'll look at the disturbing details.
Later in the program, an update on Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran, with a new report claiming that the Islamic Republic is, quote, essentially naked against further airstrikes.Not that great a visual.
Then we'll turn our attention to the US domestic front, where a report from the House Judiciary Committee reveals that nearly a million illegal migrants are residing in the US indefinitely under what's being described as, quote, quiet amnesty.
And in today's back of the brief, a new push is underway for the European Union to establish its own CIA-style spy service.That's a move that's likely to stir up controversy, I imagine, among EU members.But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
I want to bring your attention to a United Nations report from Tuesday revealing a disturbing surge in state-sanctioned torture within Russia and abroad, wielded as a strategy to crush dissent and stifle opposition since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For decades, documented cases of torture have raised concern in Russia.
However, the latest findings from Maryana Katsarova, the independent investigator on human rights in Russia, reveal a systematic use of torture, outlined in her thematic report to the UN General Assembly.
The damning report reveals that the torture targeted conscientious objectors, soldiers refusing orders, journalists and vulnerable communities like women and girls, migrants and the list goes on.
These victims, subjected to psychological and physical horrors, face an atmosphere of relentless fear and repression that extends across Russia and into occupied areas of Ukraine.
Kotsarova describes specific torture methods that Russian law enforcement, military, and security personnel allegedly employ.Survivors recount mock executions, severe beatings, and prolonged solitary confinement.
More insidiously, detainees are subjected to electric shocks using modified field phones in a sadistic practice known as a call to a friend or call to Putin.
Other reported abuses include sexual violence, punitive psychiatry, and threats of castration.
It's important to add that a September UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine cites sexual torture occurring in nearly every Russian-run detention center and is increasingly recognized as a common strategy.
That report found that Russian forces employed sexualized torture against detainees, including rape, threats of castration, electric shocks, and humiliation. Notably, two-thirds of the victims are men and boys who were tortured in Russian jails.
One survivor, Oleskiy Sivak, detained in Karasan for resisting Russian occupation in 2022, recounted his ordeal with electric shocks, describing the torture as something so horrific, stating, quote, death felt preferable.
Similar testimonies underscore the horrifying depths of abuse used to silence dissenters.
Katsaurova, identified the brunt of these abuses, often falls on Russia's most vulnerable populations, including the LGBT community and ethnic minorities in regions like Chechnya and the North Caucasus.
In these areas, torture has taken on an even darker edge with state-sanctioned honor killings, meaning upon release, families are suggested to kill their newly freed kin with impunity at the state's behest.
I want to note that Russian law lacks a distinct criminal offense for torture, allowing such actions to be prosecuted as lesser offenses.
This legal loophole has normalized torture in Russian society, ultimately diminishing accountability and justice for victims.
The weaving of violence into the fabric of Russian society follows a terrorist attack that took place in Moscow in March 2024, when suspects were shown being tortured on national television. a sign of just how accepted such practices have become.
The ramifications extend beyond Russia's borders, with hundreds of Ukrainian detainees, including civilians and prisoners of war, forcibly transferred to Russian detention facilities, where they're held incommunicado and subject to brutal torture.
Katsarova's report identifies at least 15 covert detention sites along the conflict front lines.
Katsarova's findings conclude with calls for sweeping reforms to end Russia's culture of impunity, pressing the regime for a robust accountability framework.Okay, well, that's nice.Stand by for those sweeping reforms.
I'm sure they're just around the corner. Coming up after the break, new reports claim Iran is, quote, essentially naked against further Israeli airstrikes.Plus, details on a quiet amnesty allowing nearly a million illegal migrants to stay in the U.S.
indefinitely.I suppose the administration could make them feel more at home by just letting them vote.I'll have those stories when we come back. Mike Baker here.
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Continuing our coverage of the Israeli strike on Iran, as details continue to trickle out about the extent of the damage to the Islamic Republic's war machine caused by last weekend's retaliation.According to our report from Fox News.
Israel took out three of Iran's Russian-made S-300 defense systems during the strike, significant considering that at the start of the year, Iran only had four of these systems.
In April, Israel took out one of the missile systems in response to Iran's first ballistic missile attack. Now, for those of you who aren't mathematically inclined, 4 minus 3 minus 1 equals, let me see, yeah, zero.
Fox News also reported that Israel had knocked out multiple radar systems that Iran needs to guide its ballistic missiles.
During a call with President Biden, his advisor for the Middle East, Amos Halkstein, reportedly said, quote, Iran is essentially naked with no more missile defense. Israel Defense Forces' Chief IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.Gen.
Herzi Halevi, issued a stern warning to Iran, affirming that Jerusalem retains both the right and the capability to strike critical sites within Iran.
Halevi stated, quote, If Iran makes the mistake of launching another missile barrage at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran.
with capabilities that we did not even use this time and strike very, very hard at both their capabilities and specific locations that we have set aside for now."
As noted earlier this week, this incident should be a significant embarrassment for Russian air defense technology, which has repeatedly shown vulnerabilities in its deployment within Ukraine.
These weaknesses not only highlight technical flaws, but also raise questions about the efficacy and reliability of Russian military exports, potentially affecting their standing on the global defense market.
It's also essential to recognize that no air defense system is 100% effective.
For instance, back in January, two US officials confirmed that a Ukrainian-operated Patriot system sustained damage in a Russian missile strike, revealing limitations even in advanced Western technology.
Similarly, Hezbollah managed to strike an Israeli Iron Dome launcher in June.All right.
Shifting stateside, a House Judiciary Committee report exposes what it calls, quote, quiet amnesty for nearly one million illegal migrants under the Biden-Harris administration.
The Republican-led committee uncovered dismissals, terminations, and closed cases, allowing migrants to remain in the U.S.indefinitely. The report from last week reveals a steep rise in immigration case closures since January of 2021.
Between then and June of 2024, over 459,000 cases were dismissed, 173,000 were terminated, and 71,000 were administratively closed.That's an incredible 575% increase in closed cases compared to the Trump administration.
This brings the total to over 700,000 migrants whose cases have been dismissed or closed during an unprecedented surge in border crossings.
In contrast, former President Trump's policies saw just 90,000 immigration cases dismissed or terminated and over 13,000 cases administratively closed.
Trump's stricter approach, including the Remain in Mexico policy requiring asylum seekers to await immigration hearings south of the border, reportedly reduced crossings by as much as 70 percent.That's according to border officials.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told the New York Post last week he had urged President Biden to bring back the program, but Biden declined, citing, quote, it's complicated.Hmm.Well, Really, it's not that complicated.
You just reinstate programs that had previously worked. Republicans argue Biden's policies offer a, quote, quiet amnesty, allowing migrants to stay without facing deportation.
The report further claims around 200,000 cases never even reached court because the Department of Homeland Security, the DHS, failed to file documentation.DHS's delay or avoidance in filing notices to appear simply adds, of course, to the backlog.
Republican lawmakers argue that by prioritizing certain cases and dismissing lower-priority ones, the Biden administration has undermined immigration enforcement.
this policy change, they say, has contributed to an immigration court system now overwhelmed by over three million pending cases as of December 2023.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged in January that 85 percent of asylum seekers apprehended at the border were released into the U.S.to await their hearings, further adding to the strain.Eighty five percent.Yeah, you're free to go.
Make sure you come back for your court date. In response to this mounting backlog, Attorney General Merrick Garland reinstated administrative closure in July 2021, reversing a Trump-era restriction.
Garland contends that this policy allows immigration judges to focus on quote, higher priority cases involving national security or public safety threats.Now, that would be a fine idea.
if in fact the government was able to actually vet or thoroughly background check individuals and effectively identify the higher-priority cases.But the vetting system is ineffective at best.
ICE Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle echoed this rationale in an April 2022 memo recommending the closure of non-priority cases in order to manage caseloads.
Just, you know what, let's just shove all of those in the back drawer and just focus on what we think are the high-priority cases.Again, in reality, they have no idea. How many of these supposed non-priority cases are actually high-priority cases?
Because, again, they lack the ability to properly vet these individuals.
Former Executive Office for Immigration Review Director David Neal issued guidance for judges to approve agency requests for case dismissals, leaving many migrants in an indefinite legal limbo.
As we reported on the BDB, in response to rising border encounters, Biden issued a June executive order temporarily restricting border crossings when daily numbers exceeded 2,500 over a week-long period.
Still, up to 1.8 million migrants entered the U.S.through alternative pathways, including the Biden-Harris humanitarian parole process.
While intended as a temporary protection measure, Republicans argue that this process has been overused to allow broader entry, circumventing standard immigration procedures.
And honestly, if you're confused by the numbers, wondering, OK, just how many millions of migrants are we talking about? Well, don't feel bad.The government doesn't have any real idea either.
Up next in the back of the brief, European Union leaders face calls to establish their own CIA-style spy service, sparking potential controversy across the bloc.I'll have the details when we return. Here's a question for you.
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In today's back of the brief, the European Union faces an urgent need to bolster defenses against espionage and foreign threats, prompting European Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen to consider establishing its own CIA-style spy agency.
In a draft report commissioned by von der Leyen, former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö proposed transformative changes to bolster the EU's defense and intelligence capabilities.
Niinistö's report underscores the rising risk landscape with Russian interference, migrant influxes and sabotage attempts, such as drones monitoring EU army sites in Germany and attacks on undersea infrastructure, emphasizing the EU's vulnerability.
NINISTA proposes a centralized EU intelligence agency to proactively gather and analyze intelligence from outside the bloc, coordinating closely with allied countries in the Five Eyes intelligence network to strengthen cross-border threat detection.
The outline proposes the agency would avoid encroaching on member states' sovereignty by working in conjunction with their national intelligence services rather than superseding them.
Ninista's blueprint stresses managing both immediate risks, like sabotage, and longer-term threats through a dedicated, quote, anti-sabotage network.
This network would protect critical EU infrastructure from hostile actors and would coordinate closely with EU institutions and national security agencies.Well, yeah, that would be a good idea.
The report also recommends tightening internal security within EU institutions.Now, there's a thought.Particularly in Brussels, which has become a focal point for espionage due to its concentration of diplomatic missions.
To fund these initiatives, NINISTA introduced the European Preparedness and Readiness Investment Plan, consolidating EU and national security investments.
This unified fund would reportedly allow member states to allocate a specific GDP percentage toward EU security, creating a stable financial foundation for defense.
Central to NINISTA's proposal is the EU preparedness law aimed at standardizing defense and intelligence cooperation across member states.This legislation would establish aligned principles and targets for security.
All that all sounds great in theory.Von der Leyen's likely second term would include appointing the EU's first defense commissioner Who would oversee these initiatives and draft a defense white paper by spring?
Because nobody loves a white paper more than the EU bureaucrats in Brussels.
Despite growing support, the proposal faces resistance from member states concerned about centralized intelligence operations and sharing sensitive information across borders.Yes, that is a legitimate concern.
For background, senior EU officials and lawmakers previously called for enhanced information sharing among EU states following the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016.
However, little progress was made in carrying out such a feat.This resistance underscores the ongoing challenge, of course, of balancing national sovereignty with collective security, particularly as the EU grapples with threats disregarding borders.
Ninista is expected to fully release his blueprint as early as next week, and the draft is still subject to changes, meaning it will be changed significantly.And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 31 October.Look at that.
We've made it to the end of the month, and it's Halloween.If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com.Now, if you've said to yourself, You know, I love the PDB, but I'd love it more without the ads.
Well, we've got you covered.Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by simply visiting pdbpremium.com.I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later in the afternoon with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
Until then, well, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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