PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 17th, 2024: Israel Eliminates Hamas Leader Sinwar & The Secret Service's 'Systemic Failures'
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It's Thursday, 17 October. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, significant breaking news out of Israel, where the IDF has just confirmed that they've killed Hamas leader and 7 October mastermind Yahya Sinwar. I believe the term is good riddance.

Later, an independent panel has issued a damning report of the systematic failures of the U.S. Secret Service that led to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump. We'll discuss the panel's recommendations for a complete overhaul of the agency, well, that's not happening, which are now under review by the Department of Homeland Security, DHS. And as I said, here's a spoiler alert, don't expect to see the recommendations followed.

But first, our afternoon spotlight. Israeli officials report that IDF forces have killed Hamas leader and 7 October mastermind Yahya Sinwar in a firefight with soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. While details are still unclear regarding the circumstances of his death, the IDF and the Shembet issued a statement earlier Thursday saying that three Hamas terrorists had been eliminated in a firefight with Israeli troops.

Notably, they said that the incident was not the result of an intelligence operation, that's interesting, but rather a chance encounter during a routine patrol by IDF soldiers.

Now, the IDF stressed that no hostages were involved in the incident. Members of Israel's security cabinet had been informed by the IDF of Sinwar's possible death early Thursday morning, and images began circulating on social media showing what was believed to be his remains.

According to Axios, officials with the Israeli police made the initial determination that one of the bodies belonged to Sinmar after its forensics team analyzed photographs of his teeth. A subsequent DNA and fingerprint analysis, which the IDF matched against records that they have from Sinmar's time in Israeli prison, confirmed his death.

Now, his termination represents one of the biggest victories for Israel since the war began last year. As I mentioned, Sinwar was the mastermind of those brutal 7 October attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in the group taking more than 250 hostages.

Sinwar had reportedly been hiding in Hamas's extensive tunnel networks under Gaza since the attacks, using some of the Israeli hostages and, in a broader sense, the Palestinian population as human shields. While Israeli intelligence had long tried to target Sinwar and at times located his exact position, the IDF had been unable to strike due to the risks posed to hostages.

Ooh, such a brave terrorist leader.

Sinwar, who was also known by the nickname the Butcher of Khan Yunus, was officially named the new leader of the terrorist outfit back on the 6th of August, following the death of the group's political chief, Ismail Khanyeh, in Tehran on 30 July.

Now, as a reminder, Sinwar had in the past callously referred to dead Palestinian civilians as, quote, necessary sacrifices, while also lining his pockets and the bank accounts of other Hamas leaders with money stolen from the Palestinian people. So, yeah, good riddance.

Now, the next question will be, to what degree will Sinwa's removal impact Hamas's ability to function and to continue as an effective terrorist organization? And, of course, who will replace him? Hamas is definitely degraded and in disarray, but they're not destroyed. And, of course, they're still under the wing of the Iranian regime and the IRGC. While Sinwa's removal represents a major victory for Israel, the fight continues.

continues. And it will continue as long as the Iranian regime and the IRGC, as long as their prime directive is the removal of Israel. Coming up, an independent panel has issued a scathing report on the systematic failures of the U.S. Secret Service that led to the July 13th assassination attempt on former President Trump. We'll have those details when we return.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. An independent panel is calling for sweeping changes within the Secret Service following the attempted assassination of former President Trump back in July. The panel's report, released on Thursday, suggests replacing the agency's leadership

with those from the private sector and narrowing its mission to protective duties. The report, commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, scrutinized the Secret Services handling of the 13 July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where rooftop gunman Thomas Crooks fired airs

eight shots at former President Donald Trump, grazing his ear. The attack left two others injured and, of course, killed attendee Cory Campitore. The attempted assassination exposed lapses in the agency's protocols, you think?

some mirroring previous failures, such as a 2014 breach of the White House. The report cites a, quote, culture of complacency within the agency, which has been slow to reform despite repeated warnings. A key issue was the inexperienced agents tasked with protecting Trump during the rally, including the agent who was in charge of the event. Panel members cite a lack of, quote, critical thinking among agents and supervisors.

For example, the report reveals a site agent in charge of security had only graduated from the Secret Service Academy back in 2020 and only joined Trump's detail earlier in the year. The report reveals the agent was selected due to availability rather than expertise, leading to numerous oversights, including the lack of rooftop surveillance.

Another failure that is important to spotlight from the report involves the agency's drone detection system, which was handled by an agent with only informal training on the system. The 13 July Butler, Pennsylvania rally was reportedly only the third time that that agent had used the equipment, and technical issues rendered the system inoperable. This allowed, of course, the gunman to fly a drone over the rally site unchallenged.

It's important also to note, the agent's response during the attack was also criticized. Trump's upper body was left exposed and agents failed to follow proper procedures to protect him. These mistakes prompted recommendations for further training.

In the aftermath, six Secret Service agents were placed on restricted duty, and Kimberly Cheadle, the agency's director, resigned during growing divisions over who should be held accountable. Well, not to mention her inability also to display any leadership qualities.

The report underscores broader institutional challenges. Panel members, including former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, noted that the agency has become "insular and stale." Napolitano also called for leadership from outside the government, stressing that the agency is overdue to bring in external talent, noting that the agency has had only one director from outside the agency in over a century.

The panel's recommendations are specific. Recommendations include mandatory aerial surveillance at all outdoor events, yeah, well, that would make sense, and more rigorous training programs.

Another key suggestion is for the Secret Service to focus on its core protective mission, even if it means reducing its role in investigating financial crimes. The panel emphasized that increasing funding alone will not solve the agency's issues. Well, that runs counter to the standard Washington, D.C. practice of just throw more money at it. While other inquiries into the Secret Service's handling of the 13 July assassination attempt remain underway, the

The independent panel's report offers the most comprehensive critique of the agency's failures to date. Now, I don't want to sound cynical, I guess I often do sound cynical, but there is little to no chance that the panel's recommendations will be followed, particularly the outside leadership concept and the advice that they focus on protective services and remove the agency's financial investigations responsibilities.

And it's not because the panel is wrong. They've made very good recommendations. It's because Washington, D.C., meaning the federal government, well, hates change. And it doesn't just hate it. It's allergic to it. Some of these problems cited by the panel have been previously highlighted by others going back at least 10 years and will likely be dealing with some of the same issues and concerns in another 10 years' time.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 17 October. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by simply visiting pdbpremium.com. Couldn't be simpler.

Now, word on the street is that the PDB team is currently hunkered down in our global corporate secret lair, busy producing the latest episode of our extended weekend show, The PDB Situation Report.

Well, word on the street is correct. The latest episode will drop tomorrow. That's what the kids say. They say it'll drop tomorrow evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. And as always, we'll be up over the weekend on our YouTube channel. Check that out. It's at President's Daily Brief, as well as, of course, all podcast platforms. Make sure to tune in and learn stuff. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.