October 28th, 2024: Israel’s Strike on Iran, China’s Taiwan Threat, & Taliban’s New Rules for Women
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It's Monday, 28 October. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Coming up on today's show, Israel strikes back. Following Iran's October 1st missile assault, Israeli fighter jets launched a massive air campaign deep into Iranian territory, hitting key military targets. We'll break down exactly what was in their target package and why.

Later in the program, China issues a stern warning to the U.S. after Washington approves a multi-billion dollar arms sale to Taiwan, including, for the first time, surface-to-air missiles. Well, maybe if the Chinese regime would stop surrounding Taiwan with their warships and aircraft, then Taiwan wouldn't need to stock up on defensive hardware. Plus, the Taliban can

continues their pathetic and oppressive war on women, instituting a new rule that forbids adult women from speaking to one another. Yep, you heard me correctly. And in today's back of the brief, a bit of good news amidst all the global conflict and assorted crap.

Elon Musk's SpaceX returned four astronauts to Earth on Friday who had been left stranded for months due to issues with Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule. Welcome home, space dudes and dudette.

But first, today's PDB Spotlight. This weekend marked the long-anticipated retaliation for Iran's October 1 ballistic missile strike on Israeli territory. Dubbed Operation "Days of Repentance," the action began in the early hours of Saturday, Israeli time, and involved around 100 Israeli jet fighters, spy planes, and refueling aircraft. The initial wave of jets reportedly targeted air defense batteries in Syria and Iraq,

clearing a path for subsequent sorties to reach Iran. By the end of the operation, the Israeli Air Force had conducted precision strikes across at least three Iranian provinces, including locations within the capital city of Tehran.

Iran's state news agency reported that four members of its armed forces were killed in the attacks. Now, notably, Israel did not lose a single aircraft in the attacks, meaning that Iranian air defenses were largely ineffective. Now, they may be asking Putin for a refund on those Russian surface-to-air systems and radar arrays, but who knows? That'll be their decision, whether they want to go to him and say, look, the things didn't work. Can we get some money back? I mean, that just seems fair.

While some had predicted the strikes could target Iran's nuclear and oil production facilities, the strike ultimately focused entirely on military targets. A report in the Arabic newspaper El-Aff said that Israel targeted a secret ballistic missile factory in Iran, destroying a large number of heavy fuel mixers used to power the Khaybar and Haj Qassem missiles, both of which were used by Iran against Israel at the beginning of the month.

The report said that the ballistic missile factory, which was described as, quote, the backbone of Iran's missile industry, was completely destroyed. Another target was a drone factory in the city of Shamsabad. Unverified reports on social media say that three workers were killed at the factory. One interesting aspect of this weekend's attack was Israel's focus on knocking out Iranian air defenses. Now, their targets included Iran's Russian-made S-300 batteries.

advanced long-range surface-to-air missile systems built to detect, track and intercept incoming aircraft or missiles.

According to an Iranian official speaking with the New York Times, these strikes specifically targeted batteries around Tehran's international airport. Another report noted that four batteries were positioned strategically to protect nuclear and energy facilities. So, while the attacks did not directly target Iran's nuclear and energy sectors, they served as a shaping operation intended, possibly, to set the stage for potential future assaults

and to weaken Iran's defensive infrastructure without escalating to full-scale strikes. One Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal, "...the message is that we don't want an escalation, but if Iran decides to escalate and attack Israel again, this means that we have increased our range of freedom of movement in the Iranian skies."

Now, it's important to note that, like previous exchanges between Iran and Israel, this appears to have been, for lack of a better term, stage-managed to a certain degree. What I mean by that is, hours before the strikes began, Israel alerted the U.S. and several Arab nations and European capitals about the nature and scope of the attack. That's according to people familiar with the matter. Officials in some of those countries then alerted Iran, which, of course, Israel knew they would,

meaning that Iran would have a brief period to prepare and minimize casualties. Iran, for the moment anyway, is seeking to downplay the attacks, saying they caused minimal damage.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Sunday said that Israel's strikes should, quote, neither be exaggerated nor minimized and described them as a, quote, miscalculation. Now, speaking of the Ayatollah, there's one more interesting thing to mention here before we move on. The New York Times reported this weekend that the 85-year-old Khamenei is, quote, seriously ill due to a severe medical condition. Now, the report went on to suggest that his 55-year-old son,

Moshtaba Khamenei is rumored to be the frontrunner to replace him. The situation has sparked a significant power struggle over his succession, with speculation that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, will also play a decisive role in selecting Iran's next supreme leader. Now, given that the IRGC has its tentacles in every aspect of the Iranian economy, they have a very vested interest in who takes over.

Khamenei has been Iran's leader for 35 years, making him the longest reigning head of state in the Middle East. But if these reports are true, well, his era may be coming to an end.

All right, coming up, China warns the U.S. over a major arms sale to Taiwan. I'm surprised that the Chinese regime has time to issue warnings, what with all the time that they're spending on disinformation and hacking campaigns related to the U.S. election. And the Taliban imposes a shocking new rule, banning Afghan women from speaking to each other. And by shocking,

I mean, there's nothing shocking, really, about anything that the women-hating, education-fearing Taliban does anymore as they work to relive the glory days of the Stone Age. I'll have those stories when we come back. Here's a question for you. Do you think you know who will win the presidential election? Or how many seats the Democrats or Republicans will win in the House or Senate?

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Welcome back to the PDB. Turning to the US, Washington approved a $2 billion-plus arms sale to Taiwan, marking the first time it will deliver an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system to the self-governing island. This move, intended to bolster Taiwan's defenses against Chinese military threats, has drawn, as you might imagine, sharp criticism from Beijing.

Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-da, has increased defense measures in response to Beijing's military threats, positioning Taiwan for stronger resistance should tensions intensify.

Beijing considers Taiwan, of course, part of its territory and has held war games encircling Taiwan for the second time since Lai took office in May. As we reported on the PDB earlier this month, these drills included a record deployment of 153 aircraft, 14 naval vessels, and 12 government ships practicing strategies to block critical ports and regions around Taiwan.

The approved arms sale, confirmed by the Department of State's Bureau of Political Military Affairs on Friday, includes three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems. Now, do you imagine, given that it's the U.S. government and military, that there might be an acronym for that system? Of course there is. It's NASEMS, valued at nearly $1.7 billion, along with radar systems costing an additional $828 million, which, of course, will significantly enhance Taiwan's air defense capabilities.

Taiwan's defense ministry underscores the NASEM's effectiveness in Ukraine, emphasizing its potential to strengthen Taiwan's military readiness. Presidential spokeswoman Karen Kuo from Taiwan's presidential office publicly thanked Washington, stating, "...strengthening Taiwan's self-defense capabilities is the foundation for maintaining regional stability."

China's response was swift as they launched their teddy right out of the crib. The foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday condemning the arms sale, calling it a violation of U.S.-China diplomatic agreements, and accusing Washington of undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The ministry said, quote, "'Damn it, if anyone is going to undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it should be us,' end quote."

All right, that's a fake quote. They didn't actually say that. What they did actually say at the Chinese Foreign Ministry was, China will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, end quote. Now, those specifics were not detailed. The ministry's comments suggest the likelihood of further diplomatic or economic retaliation.

China's reaction aligns with its past responses to U.S. arms deals with Taiwan. Last month, Beijing imposed sanctions on several U.S. defense companies following Washington's approval of military equipment sales to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterates these arms sales "seriously damage China-U.S. relations" and pose a threat to cross-strait peace, preserving its refusal to rule out military action to bring Taiwan under its control.

The Biden administration maintains that the arms sales to Taiwan are part of a broader strategy to uphold regional stability. With this deal marking the 17th sale to Taiwan under Biden, the U.S. is highlighting its commitment to the self-governing island's defense under the Taiwan Relations Act, which obliges Washington to equip Taiwan for self-defense.

The administration views a fortified Taiwan as essential to counterbalance China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific. As the U.S. deepens its commitment to Taiwan's security, China's unyielding stance on sovereignty issues emphasizes the Taiwan Strait, of course, as an increasingly critical flashpoint in U.S.-China tensions.

Okay, shifting to Afghanistan, where a new decree from the Taliban's Minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and no, I didn't make up that title, Khalid Hanafi, declared Afghan women must not recite prayers or Quranic verses aloud, even in the presence of other women.

So, look, you know, first of all, that you've got trouble when there's a ministry for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice. And, honestly, if experience tells us anything, it's that the folks working at that ministry are the least virtuous in town.

Now, the intensification of restrictions on women further silences, of course, their voices, even within the confines of their homes. The statement by Hanafi, the leader of the self-righteous Stone Age morons, who happens to be blacklisted, by the way, from the UN and sanctioned by the EU, expands on the Taliban's comprehensive 114-page Vice and Virtue Laws document issued in August.

They got 114 pages worth of vices that they figured out. Wow. Marking a sweeping policy shift targeting Afghan women's behavior and everyday freedoms.

The document, overseen by the Taliban Supreme Leader, Hibatullah al-Kunzada, includes strict guidelines mandating that women cover their bodies and faces at all times in public to, quote, "...avoid temptation. Clothing must not be thin, tight, or short, and women are required to veil themselves, even in front of non-Muslim men and women. These dudes are complete tools."

Further, a woman's voice has now been categorized as, quote, intimate, prohibited from being heard publicly in any form, whether singing, reciting, or reading out loud. Hanafi's recent audio statement reinforces this view, declaring, quote, if a woman is not permitted to perform takbir, an expression of faith, then how could she be allowed to sing, end quote.

Afghan women's rights advocates, that's a tough job. They argue these policies threaten fundamental freedoms of movement, speech, and work, especially for women who are sole providers for their families. Really? You think so? The Taliban's repressive stance has even impacted healthcare access. According to a midwife in Herat, Taliban officials now prevent female healthcare workers from interacting with male companions of female patients

which complicates their ability to provide care. The midwife stated, quote, they don't even allow us to speak at checkpoints when we go to work, adding, quote, and in the clinics, we're told not to discuss medical matters with male relatives. The midwife's sentiment was echoed by a women's rights activist who stated, quote, these orders immobilize women and have made life exhausting for all of us, end quote.

The United Nations condemned the Taliban's intensified control, calling it a coordinated rollback on women's rights, as if there was a lot of rights there to roll back. Fiona Fraser, head of the Human Rights Service at the UN mission in Afghanistan, expressed deep concern, well, that should do it, noting the ministry's, quote, climate of fear and intimidation as it enforces these strictures on daily life.

Now, as Afghan women grapple with physical confinement, Hanafi's recent decree also basically erases their voices, constricting their roles, of course, in public and private life. Up next, in the back of the brief, SpaceX returned four astronauts to Earth on Friday that had been left stranded for months due to issues with Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule. I'll have those details when we return.

Stay informed. Stay engaged. See you there.

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In today's back of the brief, I want to close out with a bit of good news. Four astronauts that were stranded for months on the International Space Station have returned safely to Earth aboard one of Elon Musk's reusable SpaceX Dragon capsules. The three American astronauts, along with a Russian cosmonaut, were originally scheduled to return more than about two months ago.

but had their homecoming stalled due to the mechanical failures of Boeing's new Starliner astronaut capsule, which came back empty in September because of significant safety concerns. Their stay in orbit was further extended by Hurricane Milton, but they finally made it home on Friday, splashing down in the pre-dawn hours just off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico.

As you may recall, Boeing, in partnership with NASA, launched two astronauts into orbit in early June in what was supposed to be a brief test flight of their Starliner craft, supposedly lasting only one week. But shortly after the launch, the vessel began experiencing a cascade of technical malfunctions, including thruster failures, and nobody wants a thruster failure, and a radiator leak. I didn't know there was a radiator on this spaceship.

forcing the two astronauts into an extended stay aboard the International Space Station. After three months of deliberation, NASA ultimately decided that it was too risky for the two astronauts to return aboard the Boeing capsule. Instead, they announced the astronauts would be brought home next year aboard a more reliable SpaceX craft. That was a decision that will leave them in space for a total of eight months.

But that decision also came with repercussions for the four astronauts who were already aboard the space station. They had arrived in March for what was supposed to be a roughly four-month mission.

A SpaceX capsule, docked with the space station at the time, was scheduled to bring them home in August, but NASA had to first prioritize what to do with the troubled Starliner capsule. The fully automated craft was ultimately piloted back to Earth without a crew in early September, causing embarrassment, of course, for Boeing in their quest to compete with Elon Musk for space dominance. That sounds very cool, if you end up being the one who has space dominance.

After the return of the Starliner, NASA shifted their focus back to bringing home the other stranded astronauts. Upon splashdown on Friday, the astronauts thanked the support teams on the ground, who they said had to, quote, "...replan, retool, and kind of redo everything right along with us, and helped us to roll with all those punches," end quote.

Now, the two Starliner test pilots will have to wait until February of next year for the next available SpaceX flight. In the meantime, they took over responsibilities aboard the International Space Station from the departing astronauts. Despite the problems with the Starliner, NASA and Boeing remain committed to the program. NASA officials have expressed confidence that the issues can be resolved and that Starliner will eventually become a reliable vehicle for crewed missions.

After a summer of problems, the space station is now back to its normal crew size of seven, which includes four Americans and three Russians. And it appears that NASA will be solely reliant on SpaceX for missions to the International Space Station for the foreseeable future. I wonder if they listen to the PDB up there on the International Space Station. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 28 October. If you have any questions or comments, please...

reach out at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And hopefully over the weekend, you had the chance to listen to our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report, our extended weekend show. If not, check it out on our YouTube channel, that's at President's Daily Brief, or you can find it on any of the podcast platforms. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com.

I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.