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MS DAILY BRIEF – July 15 th, 2024
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Biden urges US to reject ‘extremism and anger’ after Trump assassination attempt-The Guardian,Mon Jul 15 2024 04.04
In televised Oval Office speech, president strongly condemns political violence and says country must strive for unity
Joe Biden on Sunday strongly condemned political violence and called on a nation still in shock after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to reject “extremism and anger.”
In a prime-time speech from the Oval Office, Biden said Americans must strive for “national unity”, warning that political rhetoric in the US has become “too heated” as passions rise in the final months before November’s presidential election.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence – for any violence. Ever. Period. No exceptions,” the president said. “We cannot allow this violence to be normalized.”
Biden’s plea for Americans to “calm down” came as Trump said he would use his speech at the Republican National Convention to bring “the whole country, indeed the whole world, together.”
“The speech will be a lot different than it would have been two days ago,” Trump told the Washington Examiner, adding that the reality of what happened was “just setting in.”
Biden ordered an independent review into how a gunman managed to climb onto a rooftop overlooking a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and fire multiple shots at the former president from an “elevated position” outside the venue. The FBI warned Sunday that online threats of political violence, already heightened, have increased since the shooting.
The attack, which is being investigated as an assassination attempt and a potential act of domestic terrorism, left Trump wounded in the ear but killed one spectator, identified as a former fire chief, and seriously wounded two others.
“We cannot, we must not go down this road in America,” Biden added, citing a rising tide of political violence that has included the attack on the US Capitol, the attack on the husband of former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Biden also praised Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old former fire chief who was killed while diving to protect his wife and daughter. Comperatore, Biden said, was a “hero” and sent his “deepest condolences” to his family.
Investigators were still searching for the motive of the 20-year-old suspect, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
More than 24 hours after the attack, the investigation into how Crooks was able to open fire, reportedly using an AR-15 purchased legally by his father at the rally, remained fluid. Investigators have seized several of Crooks’ devices and are beginning to piece together his communications before the event. Authorities said they discovered potential explosive devices in Crooks’ car.
Meanwhile, details have begun to emerge about the suspect, who was shot and killed by Secret Service counter-attackers.
As a high school student, Crooks had donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a political action committee aligned with the Democratic Party, but eight months later he registered to vote as a member of the Republican Party.
Former classmates described the man as an intelligent and quiet student. A former classmate told Reuters that Crooks did not show a particular interest in politics in high school and would rather have talked about computers and games.
“He was really smart. That kind of blew me away: he was a very, very smart kid, like he excelled,” the classmate told Reuters. “Nothing crazy ever came up in any conversation.”
Another young man who described himself as a former classmate of Crooks’ at Bethel Park High School spoke to reporters on Sunday, recalling how his former classmate “was bullied almost every day” on campus.
Trump waves a fist after being shot in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The president, who was at church in Delaware at the time of the shooting, cut his weekend short and returned to Washington to deal with the situation, arriving at the White House after midnight. He and Trump spoke late Saturday.
Biden spoke briefly from the White House earlier Sunday, relaying a similar message from the Roosevelt Room after receiving a briefing on the Situation Room investigation.
In those comments, Biden urged the public not to “make assumptions” about the attacker’s motives or affiliation as conspiracy theories and misinformation swirl on the Internet.
The Republican National Convention will begin Monday in Milwaukee, where Trump is expected to receive a hero’s welcome from the party’s shaken but defiant rank-and-file members. Trump, who arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday night, is not scheduled to address the convention until Thursday night, after he is formally nominated as the party’s nominee.
The president’s remarks came at a fragile moment in the election, a new showdown between Biden and Trump already defined by exceptional tumult and deep political polarization.
For weeks, the president has been battling calls from elected officials in his own party to abandon his re-election campaign after a disastrous debate performance last month that underscored concerns about his age and fitness for office. The 81-year-old Biden has insisted he will not be ousted as the party’s nominee, but has done little to dispel doubts that he is the best candidate to defeat Trump in November.
Earlier this year, Trump became the first former president convicted of felonies and faces several other legal challenges related to his role in the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill and efforts to overturn the results of a losing election. At least one Republican senator, Mike Lee of Utah, has called for criminal cases against Trump to be dropped in light of the assassination attempt.
In his comments Sunday night, Biden was realistic about the challenge of walking back his words, accepting that national unity is “the most elusive of goals” in an America deeply divided along partisan lines. Republicans have already blamed the president for the violence, arguing that Biden’s attempts to portray Trump as a threat to American democracy have helped fuel a toxic political environment.
Still, the attack drew condemnation from Republican and Democratic officials across the country as well as world leaders.
“We need to turn the temperature down,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday in an interview with CNN.
The president acknowledged that he and Trump offer drastically competing visions and that their supporters have sharp differences. In Milwaukee, Republicans will offer sustained criticism of Biden’s record, the president said, as he planned to travel Monday to Nevada, where he will rally supporters around his agenda. Because of the attack, he postponed a trip to Texas, where he was scheduled to speak at the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson Presidential Library.
“We debate and disagree. We compare and contrast the candidates’ character, records, issues, agenda, vision for America,” he said, arguing that the dispute should be settled at the “ballot box” and “not with bullets.”
After Saturday night’s attack, Biden’s campaign reportedly took steps to pull its television ads “as quickly as possible” and to cut off all “outside communications.”
“Politics should never be a literal battlefield or, God forbid, a literal killing field,” Biden emphasized in his speech Sunday night. He urged Americans to “get out of our silos” and echo chambers where misinformation is rampant.
“Remember: though we disagree,” he said, “we are not enemies.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/14/biden-trump-rally-shooting-oval-office
Donald Trump shooting: authorities try to determine motive as suspect’s devices seized-The Guardian,Mon Jul 15 2024 03.23
FBI says there is no evidence that alleged attacker Thomas Matthew Crooks was operating as part of a larger group, but motive remains unclear
Biden gives Oval Office speech after Trump assassination attempt: ‘Politics should never be a killing field’ – latest updates
FBI officials said Sunday that they are assessing the shooting of Donald Trump at a campaign rally Saturday as a possible domestic terror attack and assassination attempt, as federal investigators executed a series of warrants in an attempt to determine a motive.
Officials said there was no evidence that the alleged attacker, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was acting as part of a larger group. But his motives for climbing to the roof of a building overlooking the rally to shoot Trump remained unclear.
By Sunday evening, dozens of federal investigators from the FBI, ATF and all three Pennsylvania U.S. attorney’s offices were involved in a burgeoning probe that had seized several of Crooks’ devices and begun to reconstruct some of his communications before the rally.
The other major development was the discovery of potential explosive devices in Crooks’ car. Former prosecutors suggested that they might indicate that Crooks expected to survive the shooting.
The devices and the AR-15 rifle, which officials said was purchased legally, were sent to the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Virginia.
ATF identified the gun’s owner through its National Tracking Center and using a gun dealer’s business records. Results of the trace were provided to the FBI within 30 minutes, agency spokeswoman Katrina Mastropasqua said.
The shooting at the campaign rally has raised the stakes and significance of Trump’s appearance at the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will formally accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president and unveil his running mate.
It also threw the 2024 presidential race into uncertainty. Trump and Joe Biden’s campaigns stepped down from political functions over the weekend as they tried to deal with the immediate aftermath.
In Washington, Biden spoke with Trump in a conversation described by a familiar source as “brief and very respectful”, before receiving a briefing from senior US officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In a brief address to the nation at the White House, Biden called the assassination attempt “contrary to everything we stand for as a nation, everything. It is not who we are as a nation. It is not American. And we cannot allow this to happen.”
Biden said he had asked for a national security assessment that he would make public and that he had asked the U.S. Secret Service to review security measures for the Republican convention.
Later, in a prime-time address, the president called for unity. The shooting “invites all of us to step back,” Biden said. “We stand for an America of decency and grace … politics must never be a killing field.”
Trump, for his part, met with his senior advisers at his Bedminster club in New Jersey, sticking to his planned schedule as he prepared for the Republican convention, The Guardian previously reported. Trump’s next appearance is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday in Milwaukee, where he arrived Sunday night.
“Based on yesterday’s terrible events, I was going to postpone my trip to Wisconsin and the Republican National Convention by two days, but I have just decided that I cannot allow a “shooter” or potential assassin to force a change in schedule or anything else,” Trump wrote.
The assassination attempt has put the Secret Service under intense scrutiny, with lawmakers from both parties launching investigations into security measures and holding the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, accountable for her decisions.
The issue remains how a single man with a semiautomatic rifle managed to gain access to a rooftop 140 feet away from the stage where Trump was speaking at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The House Homeland Security Committee has ordered the Secret Service’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, to produce documents and communications related to the security apparatus for the rally and whether requests for additional resources were denied.
The armed attack at Trump’s rally comes after years in which the level of security risks in the US has been high: America faces a surge in political violence-Update date: 07/14/2024 17:24
Former President Donald Trump campaigns for re-election in Doral, Florida, July 9, 2024. Photo credit: GIORGIO VIERA/USA Today VIA GETTY IMAGES.
Shots fired during a US election campaign rally – part of an assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump – put a new spotlight on an already tense landscape of security threats that has kept US national security officials on high alert for more than three years. New York Mayor Eric Adams announced on Saturday night that he would send police to certain areas “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of Trump’s assassination attempt.
“The events that unfolded at today’s rally in Pennsylvania are appalling,” Adams wrote on social media platform X. “Political violence has no place in this country.”
The possibility of political violence has been a major concern for the US Department of Homeland Security since January 2021, when it issued a report warning that American extremists could mobilize again in the wake of the attack on the US Capitol earlier that month.
Homeland Security’s most recent assessment, in September 2023, warned of a “high risk” of a potential attack, pointing to the involvement of “lone criminals or groups of attackers”.
Read also: How did a sniper evade security at Donald Trump’s rally? Potential security lapses are now under the spotlight
The report also warned that the 2024 elections could be in their sights and that attacks could target “government officials, voters, and election-related personnel and infrastructure, including polling places, ballot drop-off locations, voter registration sites, election events, political party offices, and vote-counting sites.”
US security experts warn of “heightened domestic threat
It is “not at all surprising to see this,” Colin Clarke, investigations coordinator at the private intelligence firm The Soufan Group, told Voice of America (VOA).
, “Tensions have risen on both sides of the political spectrum and extremists have taken root,” he said, warning that the shootings could make the coming days and weeks more dangerous.
Rachel Kleinfeld, a research fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert on political issues, told VOA that some of the violence could affect lesser-known politicians.
, “America has for several years faced increasing threats of political violence against politicians and candidates at all levels, from school board to president,” she said.
Kleinfeld said it will take more than heightened security to prevent further violence.
, “Political leaders should also make statements condemning all political violence, which has no place in a democracy,” she said. “We know that leaders’ statements matter.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers in June that the domestic threat situation remains dangerous.
, “We believe the domestic terrorist threat is persistent, I should say, and significant,” Wray said.
An assessment by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released Tuesday accused Moscow of trying to “amplify internal divisions” ahead of November’s presidential election.
It also accused Tehran of acting as an “agent of chaos”, trying to “fuel social divisions and undermine confidence in American democratic institutions”.
It is still being investigated whether and how these factors played a role in the shooting at Trump’s rally on Saturday, but some analysts say it was probably only a matter of time before anger turned to action.
”There’s so much we don’t know about what happened, so there’s only speculation,” Clarke said.
“My main concern,” he said, “is that this could lead to a spiral of violence and could end up characterizing the rest of the election campaign
How did a sniper evade security at Donald Trump’s rally? Potential security lapses are now in the spotlight-Update date: 14.07.2024 13:42
Secret Service agents surround the stage as other agents cover former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally Saturday, July 13, 2024. Photo credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.
Congressional Republicans said they will launch a swift investigation into how a sniper apparently managed to evade Secret Service agents and climb to the roof of a building near where Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign rally and fire several shots before being killed. Although information about the incident is still scarce, early media reports have claimed that the shooter was outside the security perimeter of the rally venue in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the Trump assassination attempt.
At least one person interviewed by the BBC said they tried in vain to alert police and the Secret Service about the apparent sniper.
Trump supporters have criticized the Secret Service, which has primary responsibility for protecting Trump as a former US president. More and more US officials and public figures have called for the resignation of the Secret Service agency’s leadership.
,”How was a sniper allowed to crawl on the roof closest to a presidential candidate?” asked conservative activist Jack Posobiec on social network X.
Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said on social media that the House will call the Secret Service director and other officials before committees to answer questions.
The Secret Service said shortly after the shooting that it had begun an investigation and briefed Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump’s opponent in the Nov. 5 election, though the agency did not immediately respond to additional requests to provide information with its protocols.
Pennsylvania State Police referred questions to the Secret Service, which did not immediately respond.
Ben Maser, a US citizen, was outside the perimeter of the rally listening to Trump when he noticed two officers who appeared to be looking for someone.
“I saw the guy on the roof. I told the officer he was up there. He went looking for him,” Maser said.
Possible security lapses take center stage after Trump rally shooting attack
The attack will certainly lead to a review of the level of protection Trump now enjoys, and from now on he will likely receive a level of protection closer to that of a sitting president, said Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who was part of the presidential team, according to The Express Tribune.
“There will be a thorough review” of the incident and “there will be a major reorganization,” LaSorsa said. “This cannot happen.”
The Secret Service said in a statement that it had recently added “protective resources and capabilities” to Trump’s security team, without providing further details.
A retired agent who worked in the protective services, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident should trigger an internal review and, ideally, an external one as well.
“The gravity of the situation requires a thorough review to prevent such failures in the future and to ensure accountability at all levels,” the former agent said.
How are areas where election rallies are usually secured?
During Trump campaign rallies, local police assist the Secret Service in securing the venue. Agents from other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, such as the Transportation Security Administration, occasionally help.
Not an easy task. Many Trump rallies are attended by thousands, take place outdoors and last for hours.
Before the event, agents scan the venue for bombs or other threats, and Trump arrives in a column of armored cars.
Law enforcement agents typically erect barriers as a perimeter and require all attendees to pass through a metal detector to enter the theater. Armed Secret Service and Protective Service agents search the purses and even wallets of all attendees. Many rally participants are searched by hand.
Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent who retired in 2020, said agents should have surveilled all rooftops in the area ahead of time.
, “This person was either hiding until he became a threat or he wasn’t a threat until he really revealed his intentions,” Eckloff said.
In the moments after Trump was wounded, the former president was quickly surrounded by Secret Service personnel who formed a human shield, while heavily armed agents wearing body armor and carrying shotguns also took the stage and appeared to scan the area for threats.
Images emerge of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who shot at Donald Trump, opening fire and being killed seconds later-Update date: 14.07.2024 16:07
The shooter has reportedly been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Photo Credit: Business Today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, has identified the alleged shooter of former US President Donald Trump as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was fatally shot at the scene of the failed attack. According to CNN, Crooks lived in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh, about 70 kilometers from Butler, the town where the shooting took place, from which Trump was slightly wounded. Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a local media report.
The young man was registered to vote as a Republican, according to a list in the Pennsylvania voter database that matches his name, age and address in Bethel Park, according to CNN.
CNN contacted Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, who said he is trying to find out “what’s going on” but would “wait to talk to authorities” before talking about his son.
According to a video presented by California news website TMZ, Crooks is seen lying on his stomach on a rooftop with a rifle in his hand.
, “The guy has longer brown hair and appears to be wearing a gray shirt/khaki pants – and as you can see, he’s carefully trying [to] identify a target from a distance before pulling the trigger,” TMZ reported.
Trump said on social media that a bullet “pierced the top” of his right ear before officers removed him from the stage. He also offered condolences to the family of the rally attendee who was killed by the suspect.
What was his motivation?
US security agencies are investigating why he decided to shoot Trump and whether anyone else was involved. “At this time, we don’t have an established motive,” Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of FBI Pittsburgh, told a news conference.
The investigation into what happened could take months, and investigators will work “tirelessly” to identify what Crooks’ motive was, Rojek said.
Speaking to CNN, Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, said he is trying to figure out “what’s going on,” but will “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before talking about his son.
What’s next.
The FBI said investigations are ongoing to determine the motive for the attack by Crooks, which occurred months before the presidential election.
, “We’re looking at the photos right now and trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge, said during a news conference.
USA Today reported that dozens of law enforcement vehicles were stationed outside a residence listed as Crooks’s voter registration address.
Meanwhile, the perimeter of the suspect’s residence has been cordoned off with yellow police warning tape, and the Federal Aviation Administration has also closed airspace over Bethel Park for “special security reasons.”
The attacker at Trump’s rally was killed by a Secret Service sniper, according to US officials -Update date: 14.07.2024 09:44
A 20-year-old named Thomas Matthew Crooks has been identified as the suspect who shot Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania. Photo credit: X.
An alleged attacker who opened fire during a rally for former US President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper, authorities said. One rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously wounded, the Secret Service said in a statement Saturday evening.
The suspect was shot and killed by a member of a Secret Service counter-assault team, two law enforcement sources told CBS News.
The attacker was outside the rally area, about 200-300 meters from the stage where Donald Trump was standing, and was on top of a metal structure believed to be a shed, the two sources said. The attacker was armed with an AR-type rifle, the sources said.
Several shots rang out as Trump spoke on stage at around 18:15 local time. Video footage shows the former president immediately touching his ear and then crouching on the ground as Secret Service agents rushed to the stage.
A little blood could be seen on his face as he raised his fist to the crowd to show he was alive. He was rushed to his motorcade and the Secret Service later confirmed he was safe.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the top of my right ear”.
, “I immediately knew something was wrong in the sense that I heard a hissing sound, gunshots, and immediately felt the bullet pierce my skin,” he continued.
Authorities are investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt. The FBI said in a statement that it is leading the investigation, with support from the Secret Service and state and local agencies.
In a statement Sunday morning, the FBI identified the assailant as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, which is just outside Pittsburgh.
In a news conference Saturday night, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, declined to speculate on a possible motive.
,,The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the subject involved in the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. This remains an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that could contribute to the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or video online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
, “At this time, we do not have an identified motive,” said Kevin Rojek, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, during a briefing Saturday night.
Federal investigators said the attacker had no identification on him, so they analyzed his DNA to provide biometric confirmation of his identity.
Ben Macer, an attendee at the rally, told CBS Pittsburgh that he saw the suspect “moving from rooftop to rooftop” and told an officer that the attacker “was on the roof.”
Who is Mohammed Deif, Hamas commander targeted in Israeli attacks on Al Mawasi? Israeli media reports that he was killed-Date updated: 13.07.2024 17:39
Israeli airstrikes on the Al Mawasi camp in southern Gaza have reportedly killed dozens of civilians and wounded hundreds more. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 71 people were killed and 289 wounded. Israeli army radio said the target of the strikes was Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas military commander. A Hamas official denied that Deif was the target and said it was an attempt to “justify a massacre”. Israel claims Deif played a key role in Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7 and vowed to kill him.
Israeli media reported on Saturday that among the victims of the Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip that killed at least 71 people was the leader of the armed wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, Mohammad Deif, DPA reports. Israeli daily Haaretz reported that military sources believe that Mohammed Deif, leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed in the attack.
”The army targeted Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama, who were two masterminds of the October 7 massacre,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, without specifying whether the two were dead.
“The strike was carried out in a closed area run by Hamas and where, according to our information, only Hamas terrorists were present and no civilians were present,” the IDF added.
The current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement erupted after the terrorist attack of unprecedented scale carried out on October 7, 2023 by Palestinian militant commandos in southern Israel, when at least 1,195 people were killed. Around 250 others were taken hostage and taken to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army retaliated with a bombing campaign, followed by a major ground operation, against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza authorities, Israeli military action had killed 38,443 Palestinians and wounded 88,481 by midday on Saturday.
Senior Hamas military commander
Deif’s real name is Mohammed Diab Al Masri. Deif is a “nom de guerre” meaning “guest” in Arabic, referring to his habit of constantly changing his location to avoid assassination.
He was born in a refugee camp in Khan Younis in 1965 and first became involved with Hamas in Gaza in the 1980s, when he headed the Islamists’ syndicate at the Islamic University of Gaza. He was a biology student and had become close to the Muslim Brotherhood, with which Hamas has close ties.
Deif became involved in Hamas military operations over the next 20 years. He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source told Reuters. Rising through the ranks at Hamas, Deif developed the group’s tunnel network and its bomb-making expertise.
In 2002, he was appointed head of Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades. His predecessor, Salah Shehade, was killed in an Israeli raid.
Israel considers him behind the campaign of suicide bombings that targeted buses and public places in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the second Intifada between 2000 and 2005, and holds him responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians.
There are only three known photographs of Deif: one taken at the age of 20, another of him masked, and an image of his shadow, which was used to broadcast the audio recording.
His survival while leading the armed wing of Hamas has created an element of mystique around him. In the videos, he is masked or just a silhouette of him is shown.
Ukraine war briefing: ‘Hottest situation’ around Pokrovsk, says Ukrainian military-The Guardian,Mon Jul 15 2024 02.31
Russians claim capture of village of Urozhaine; Zelenskiy says 700 planetary bombs hit Ukraine last week. What we know on day 873
Ukraine’s military General Staff on Sunday reported intense Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk area of the Donetsk region, creating “the hottest situation” along the front line as the invaders pushed for gains. In an update, the General Staff said: ‘The enemy has already attacked our positions 35 times today in the Novooleksandrivka, Vozdvizhenka, Progress, Lozuvatskyi, Novoselivka Pershoya and Yasnobrodivka areas … The situation remains tense near Novooleksandrivka, Novoselivka Persha and Progress, where six clashes are still ongoing. Our defenders are holding the enemy.”
In the Kharkiv area, Russian forces attacked positions in the Hlyboky and Vovchansk districts three times, the update said. “On the Kupyansk direction, the enemy was also pushed back three times near Pishchany and Stelmakhivka. He suffered casualties and retreated.” In the Lyman area, there were eight Russian assaults in the Makiivka and Grekivka areas. Other attempts to advance took place around Seversky, Kramatorsk, and in the Toretsk area it was “tense”, with locations near North and New York under attack.
The thinktank Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces had recently regained lost positions near Vovchansk, northeast of the city of Kharkiv, while Russian forces advanced near Avdiivka, north of the city of Donetsk.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Ukrainian bloggers also said Ukrainian forces had ceded control of the village, located southwest of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk. The Ukrainian military said fighting was still ongoing. Reuters, which reported the development, said it was unable to independently confirm the Ukrainian or Russian reports.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Russia had launched 18 attacks on Urozhaine and other nearby towns. It made no mention of the village in a later report. DeepState, a popular Ukrainian military blog, on Sunday reported the capture of Urozhaine, saying Russian forces had launched “mass attacks in the south of the village.” It described the loss as a “defense collapse” whose cause should be investigated.
Returning toUkraine from the NATO summit in Washington, Zelenskiy landed in Ireland to meet with Taoiseach Simon Harris. Zelenskiy’s office said on social media that they discussed support for Ukraine, demining cooperation and cybersecurity. “Thank you Ireland for supporting the peace summit in Switzerland! I thank the Prime Minister for his great personal attention and involvement in efforts to bring children home.”
The naval forces of China and Russia have begun a joint exercise at a military port in southern China, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The drill comes days after NATO allies called Beijing a “decisive facilitator” of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Chinese Defense Ministry said forces from both sides had recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and did not target any third party.
Russia last week used more than 700 plane bombs, more than 170 attack drones and nearly 80 missiles against Ukraine, Zelenskiy said. “The scale of life-protecting decisions should correspond to the scale of this evil. Each partner can influence the situation, strengthen the defense against terror. And Ukraine is grateful to all our friends who do exactly that. Together we will defeat evil”.
Sikorski: Next year we will spend 5% of GDP on defense – Defence 24 Poland – 13 July 2024
The head of the Polish Foreign Ministry has announced an increase in the defense budget, answering a question about Donald Trump’s possible second term in the White House. The head of Polish diplomacy recalled that he publicly supported the former US president’s pressure to increase defense spending of allies and even his own style, “because when other presidents did it politely, he did not act”.
“This year, we’re spending more than 4% on defense. GDP, next year we will spend 5%,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Bloomberg television on Friday. The minister also revealed that he has been in contact with Donald Trump’s people.
“Poland spends 4% and we will spend 5% next year. We are number one in NATO, including the United States (…) because we are no longer in the era of eternal peace after the Cold War,” Sikorski said. However, he emphasized that defense spending should not be the only point of reference when it comes to NATO countries, as, for example, Iceland does not have an army and is still useful due to its strategic location. He added, referring to the former president’s statement that he will not defend countries with the necessary amount – that NATO is not a residential security company.
The minister noted that President Andrzej Duda, “coming from the more pressurized side of Polish politics”, has been in contact with the former US president’s environment from the very beginning, as well as himself.
On Friday, Sikorski will meet with former US national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien. He is one of Trump’s advisers who recently wrote a paper laying out a second-term foreign policy vision. O’Brien said he would push NATO to move ground and air forces to Poland, but said that “the further defense of Europe depends on whether Europe will do its part, including Ukraine,” he said.
In Friday’s interview, the foreign ministry chief also touched on China’s role in the conflict in Ukraine. He noted that despite its support for Russian industry, Beijing has so far respected the West’s “thickest red line” and has not sent weapons to Russia.
“Yes, China could bring its vassal Putin to order and tell him to end this war. And we convey that position to Chinese leaders,” he added.
Source: https://defence24.pl/polityka-obronna/sikorski-w-przyszlym-roku-wydamy-5-pkb-na-obronnosc
India embraces Russia, engages China, partners US! How Delhi juggles its ties in the New World Order – The EurAsian Times – July 14, 2024
The Indian Prime Minister’s recent visit to Russia has raised many eyebrows among nations and comments from the strategic community, especially in the West. They face the fear of India as a swing power but miss the reality of India as a balancing strategic power with its destination Viksit Bharat 2047.
While the strategic debate is about a new world order (or disorder), the truth seems to be unfolding in several multi-aligned directions. Today, we see a broadened multi-order agenda, encompassing a new trade order, a new energy order, a new financial order, a new economic order, a new environmental order, a new human rights order, etc.
So it is not the model that is important, but its elements that will determine not only war and peace, but also global stability. Here India emerges as a balanced and mature democracy that seeks peace, security and global growth with benefits for all.
International relations in the 21st century
The 21st century has been redefined by the US-led Western brand of exceptionalism/unilateralism, Chinese belligerence, Russia’s resurgence and India’s unprecedented rise in the global arena, sowing the seeds of a multipolar strategic contestation, multilateralism and national interest driven bilateral relations.
This has led to greater dynamism and volatility in international relations (IR) between states. The art of IR 2.0 is to harness geopolitical opportunities to advance the national interest, and the science of IR is to decentralize globalization.
IR and the liberal international order is not a linear trajectory, it is about slits and crosses. Strategic relationships are often driven by economic interests in addition to security concerns, including access to resources, expanding influence, trade connectivity and markets.
This can lead to economic competition, confrontation and trade disputes that affect global economic growth and strategic security. Thus, they present a complex global landscape that requires careful analysis and engagement.
Indian national interests, particularly economic growth, and national security require a multi-aligned diplomatic approach for managing regional and global geopolitics. Its unprecedented growth thus poses both challenges and opportunities in managing multiple bilateral, triangular and multilateral relationships.
India’s foreign policy acumen lies in balancing the strategic rhombus with Russia, China and the US, minimizing contradictions, balancing competition and encouraging cooperation.
Geopolitical opportunism and strategic balancing
The evolving geopolitical landscape has placed India at the center of a complex and dynamic strategic rhombus of the United States, Russia, India and China (URIC). This configuration is an extension of the inter se relationship between India, Russia and the United States, with China serving as the crucial common denominator.
It encapsulates the complicated balance of power, strategic instability and the quest for geopolitical expediency in contemporary times. India seeks to cement its strategic ties with the US and strengthen its military and economic ties with Russia while managing the fragility of its relationship with China. This multi-partner approach allows India to counterbalance China’s growing assertiveness and pursue its national interests.
India’s strategic balance
Russia-India: Enduring Relationship: India’srelationship with Russia remains enduring and is evolving strategically on the basis of historical trust, shared national interest, deep defense ties and a deepening energy relationship.
However, since the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia has become isolated, vulnerable and pushed closer to China, affecting India’s national security concerns in this transactional partnership. The new détente between Russia and China has different priorities from those for India and hence discomfort for India. It would be unrealistic for India to expect the same ‘high-value’ strategic partnership from Russia, as both Russia and China are leaning towards a ‘no-holds-barred’ partnership with each other.
As China’s belligerence manifests itself in the Himalayas and the Indo-Pacific, India has strengthened its political, diplomatic, economic and military ties with the United States to protect its national security and reduce asymmetry with China.
This has diluted dependence on Russia, but mutual respect and understanding prevail. India’s neutral stance in the Russia-Ukraine war further illustrates its delicate balancing act between Russia and the US, seeking to secure its interests without antagonizing either.
India-India: Evolving partnership: India and the US have recently displayed a growing harmony in their bilateral relationship and concerns about limiting the rise of a belligerent China. Both have an adversarial relationship with China, ranking China as the gravest threat to global stability.
Consequently, the US-India strategic relationship has matured to consolidate a robust Indo-Pacific architecture through bilateral trade and military engagement. While India looks to the US as an important strategic partner in its multi-alignment strategy, the US looks to India as a counterweight to China and to tilt the balance in its favor.
The US is also becoming important to India in its quest for technology and defense decentralization, besides enhanced trade. Thus the partnership, while evolving strategically, must be sustainable beyond contradictions, with a better understanding of each other’s national interests.
China-India: Mistrust and instability: The India-China relationship is fraught with mistrust and instability, mainly due to Chinese hegemonic design. India needs stability with China for an Asian balance of power and to sustain its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
The Pakistan-China collusive threat and Russia’s involvement in the US-China dynamic further complicate this relationship. India uses its ties with Russia and the US to manage China, trying to balance its interests with both global powers.
EU-India relations: As India pursues its global footprint and the EU seeks to protect its interests, working together is essential for global stability and development. Despite initial differences over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, India has balanced its relationship with the EU with pragmatism and mutual benefit.
The Indo-Pacific dynamic further underlines the importance of jointly addressing security concerns. This long-standing EU-India partnership, based on shared values and common interests, continues to be a key factor for stability and economic growth.
Strategic implications
India’s geopolitical expediency and strategic balancing act are crucial in navigating the complexities of this diamond. Engaging with Russia and China through organizations such as RIC, BRICS and SCO while simultaneously strengthening ties with the US through QUAD, G-20 and JHA exemplifies India’s nuanced approach.
The relationship is also important for India’s global footprints and connectivity initiatives such as INSTC and IMEC. The underlying principles of this strategy include balance of power, ideology, regional security architecture and deterrence against China’s aggressive revisionism.
The geopolitical dynamics within this strategic rhombus resemble a new Cold War, with ideological contests between democracy (represented by the US) and autocracies (represented by Russia and China), with India balancing the two.
This competition has intensified the regional arms race, especially in the maritime domain. QUAD has also emerged as an irritant to China, categorically rejecting the Indo-Pacific idea and viewing it through the prism of China’s isolation.
The US is also concerned about the rise of China-Russia-Iran as a pole to counterbalance the US and dilute its status as a global power.
Thus, while the evolution of India’s bilateral ties with both nations has been independent of each other, its power-balancing role has gained importance in ensuring regional peace and prosperity.
Conclusion
India’s role in this strategic balancing is essential. By maintaining strategic defense and trade ties with Russia, leveraging partnerships with the US and engaging China, India aims to strike a balance that contributes to strategic stability and global peace.
This complicated dance of geopolitical opportunism and strategic balancing underscores India’s attempt to navigate its national interests amid a complex and evolving global landscape.
1. Lieutenant General Ashok Bhim Shivane is the former Director General of the Mechanized Forces and Commander of the Indian Army Strike Corps. He has been honored by the President of India, PVSM (2017), AVSM (2016) and VSM (2009) and was appointed Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the President of India in July 2017.
Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/india-hugs-russia-engages-china-partners-the-us-how-delhi-juggles-its-ties-in-the-new-world-order/
China worries about THAAD radar, Russia calls it dangerous – why is Raytheon’s AN/TPY-2 haunting US adversaries? – The EurAsian Times – July 14, 2024
The deployment of US missile defense systems such as Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) has provoked strong responses from US adversaries such as China and Russia. More than defense systems, missile defense radar is the real nightmare for US adversaries.
The Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2) is a Raytheon product that supports system defenses against a wide range of threats and provides support for enhanced protection. TPY-2, a high-resolution X-band phased-array radar, can be transported by truck, ship and air.
The AN/TPY-2 was designed in tandem with the THAAD missile defense system and has the ability to track targets at considerable range, as well as trigger other U.S. missile defense systems.
The AN/TPY-2 is a missile defense radar that can detect, track and discriminate ballistic missiles to facilitate their shoot down. This radar operates in two modes: advanced mode for booster phase surveillance, terminal mode for terminal phase surveillance, and Terminal High Altitude Area Area Defense (THAAD) for fire support. Each mode is designed to fulfill a distinct set of needs. The Aegis platform is one of the systems that can provide space domain awareness.
The U.S. Army uses the TPY-2 to provide the Ballistic Missile Defense System’s (BMDS) Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system, utilizing regional and strategic ballistic missile threat data in collaboration with its allies.
The main advantage of using the X-band frequency is that it can distinguish between threats such as a warhead and other small objects such as space debris. The TPY-2 radar can provide BMDS with accurate tracking data thanks to a discrimination feature known as “range resolution”.
AN/TPY-2 can operate in two modes: forward-based mode (FBM) and terminal mode (TM).
AN/TPY-2: Transportable radar surveillance of the Army Navy (via Raytheon)
With layered sensors and advanced TPY-2 TPY-2 radars, the ballistic missile defense system can engage the target more frequently and track and discriminate ahead of time, increasing the probability of a successful intercept. It can operate alone or in tandem with other sensors, sending target data to the command and control system so that other sensors can use it.
In forward mode, by placing itself in close proximity to potential launch sites, the AN/TPY-2 provides other assets with access to missile tracking and discrimination data via the MDA’s C2BMC interface. The system’s short wavelength and antenna design allow it to photograph targets at high resolutions to differentiate targets from decoys and debris.
For example, data for Aegis and THAAD intercepts in the MDA FTO-01.16 FTO-01.16 flight test MDA was provided by the radar in 2013. Moreover, the Missile Defense Defense Agency effectively showcased the AN/TPY-2’s capability to guide a Patriot missile intercept in 2020.
When deployed with THAAD, TPY-2 enters terminal mode, allowing it to identify missile threats throughout the terminal phase of its trajectory and provide fire support for missile intercepts.
When in terminal mode, TPY-2 works directly with THAAD to provide fire control operations against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles as they approach the target through monitoring, detection, tracking and discrimination. After identifying and monitoring a terminal phase threat, TPY-2 assists THAAD fire control operations by deploying a TPY-2 guided interceptor to intercept the targeted missile.
The United States has deployed the THAAD radars and batteries it uses in several locations around the world based on threat perception. It is worth noting that all US adversaries have vociferously opposed the deployment of THAAD or Aegis BDS Aegis near their territories.
Not only does this radar render their missile launches “useless,” but it is believed that it could also transmit intelligence about missile programs inside these territories and launch elaborate and extensive surveillance missions.
However, China has become the flag-bearer of this opposition. Deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea has been roundly condemned by Beijing over suspicions of foul play.
Opposition from China and Russia
THAAD is a missile defense system designed to fire short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their mid- and terminal (descent or re-entry) phases by intercept with a hit-to-kill approach.
A complete THAAD battery comprises six launchers, a fire control unit, the THAAD system’s AN/TPY-2 radar and a support unit. The US has claimed it deployed THAAD in South Korea to counter North Korean missile threats.
China has launched a strong campaign against the deployment, not for fear that a THAAD battery would target its missiles. The THAAD system intercepts missiles only in the final stage, so it would not pose a threat to Beijing unless it launched a ballistic missile toward South Korea.
The AN/ TPY-2 radar system, part of THAAD, has raised concerns in Beijing because it can monitor missile launches within a range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometers if aimed at China. Operating in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum, the radar has been criticized by China because it could be used as a surveillance tool rather than for defensive purposes.
China opposed Seoul’s choice to install THAAD systems in South Korea in 2016, even imposing trade and cultural sanctions that resulted in substantial economic losses.
Analysts noted that the deployment posed a difficult issue for China, which is concerned that advanced radar capabilities could allow the US to conduct surveillance of Chinese missile activities.
The US has also deployed radar in Japan, in addition to South Korea, causing China to react somewhat disproportionately. According to publicly available information, the radar was stationed in Japan to gather strategic-level intelligence on North Korean missile advances and to alert Japan to the presence of incoming warheads. Russia’s border with Japan can also be scanned by the AN/TPY-2 radar in the Shariki area.
File image: THAAD
THAAD and its radar can accept cues from Aegis, satellites and other external sensors to extend its range. They work in conjunction with Patriot/PAC-3 missiles and the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system.
Besides, China is not the only adversary rattled by the AN/TPQ-2 radar. When Ukraine asked the US for a THAAD battery to bolster its air defenses against Russian air strikes, sources in Moscow warned Washington to avoid foolishness and not to further deteriorate the situation.
An unnamed source told Russian state media TASS: “Ukraine has approached the US with a request to deploy several battalions of THAAD mobile missile defense THAAD radar-based missile defense mobile launchers near Kharkiv on Ukrainian territory. An AN/TPY-2 radar that is part of the THAAD system is capable of tracking the aerospace situation over a substantial part of Russian territory and will allow Kiev and its NATO allies to “look deep” into Russian territory up to 1,000km away.
An AN/TPY-2 has also been deployed in Alaska as part of the development of US national missile defenses. This has prompted a strong reaction from President Vladimir Putin, who said in 2017 that the presence of a US anti-missile system in Alaska and South Korea poses a challenge to Russia.
Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/used-in-thaad-aegis-why-raytheon-an-tpy-2/
Top 3 Royal Navy programs for new UK government – Naval Technology – July 13, 2024
A new Labour government will have a lot to prove to its floating voters when it comes to defense, after a welcome return from the days when the party advocated nuclear disarmament.
Labor leader – and newly elected prime minister – Keir Starmer argued that Trident, the UK’s nuclear deterrent, forms the “cornerstone” of the country’s national security agenda during an April visit to the nation’s nuclear submarine site at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
Here lies the spearhead of the Royal Navy’s ongoing nuclear deterrence at sea: the nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), the future Dreadnought-class, comprising four boats and believed to be the largest submarines in the history of the force. It has a length of 153.6 meters (m) and a displacement of 17,200 tons.
Dreadnought is due to enter service in the early 2030s, as the Vanguard fleet begins to retire after four decades of Operation Relentless, the UK’s strategic deterrence mission. Like Vanguard before it, Dreadnought will be equipped with eight operational missile tubes for launching Trident II D5 missiles that can carry nuclear warheads. Four additional tubes will be ballistically configured.
The Dreadnought class will be the first British submarine to have X rudders. Control and safety improvements enable the technology, which is designed to reduce craft noise, particularly at high speeds.
The Royal Navy has completed a section of the first Dreadnought-class nuclear deterrent Dreadnought-class ship. This segment is the largest ‘mega unit’ of the Dreadnought completed to date. Credit: UK Royal Navy.
In October, 2023, the Royal Navy announced that BAE Systems had built the largest segment of the first craft. A month later, the UK’s only nuclear shipbuilder, Babcock, won two contracts collectively worth £121 million ($153.8 million) to help develop the class.
Britain’s SSBN ambitions have continued to grow ever since, as Babcock has been tasked with providing deep maintenance and life extension for HMS Victorious, one of four Vanguard-class SSBNs; it will continue to operate until the 2030s.
Fleet of solid support ships
Britain’s security commitments have expanded rapidly in recent years as the country’s values and objectives and those of its NATO allies and partners are continually challenged on the world stage.
In a series of defence reviews – enshrined in successive integrated defence reviews and defence command documents – Britain has recognized that it needs to project a credible force posture, nowhere more so than in the maritime domain. If the Royal Navy intends to deliver such an ambitious level of capability then it must be able to sustain its efforts.
This has prompted the need for new FSS (Fleet Solid Support) ships that can provide ammunition, stores and supplies to the wider combatant fleet, including aircraft carriers, destroyers and frigates.
In December 2023, former Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps announced the deployment of a Royal Navy Carrier Strike Group ( CSG) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to Japan in 2025.
After the inaugural deployment in 2021 – which covered 55,000 nautical miles – CSG 2025 will bolster the country’s deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, a theater characterized by a “gray zone” conflict between China and the West.
The UK could operate more regularly on a global scale in the coming years and, to paraphrase Napoleon, professionals should think logistically when it comes to waging conflict, especially when it is on such a vast scale.
An artist’s impression of a future Fleet Solid Support Ship (FSSS), which will deliver ammunition, stores and provisions to the Royal Navy fleet. Credit: General Electric via Naval Technology.
‘Team Resolute’ – made up of Navantia, Harland &; Wolff and BMT – will deliver three FSSS vessels to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), which currently operates six support ships.
Construction of the first ship is scheduled to begin in 2025, with all three support ships expected to be operational by 2032. The new ships will replace RFA Fort Austin and RFA Fort Rosalie, which were sold to Egypt, and RFA Fort Victoria, which is due to be decommissioned in 2028.
The ships will have 9,000 m² of storage capacity for supplies and stores. They will have a flight deck capable of accommodating all helicopters operated by the British Armed Forces, while its hangar can accommodate two Merlin rotorcraft, along with additional space for current and future unmanned systems.
Amphibious assault ships
Equally, Britain’s two amphibious assault ships – technically Landing Platform Docks, HMS Albion (L14) and HMS Bulwark (L15) – provide a vital logistical enabler for the Royal Navy’s combat efforts.
However, the Albion class faces the prospect of decommissioning as Navy personnel numbers dwindle and recruitment levels are affected.
Capable of accommodating hundreds of Royal Marines or Royal Marines, the ships can launch and recover amphibious attacks from an extended aft deck and a two-point helicopter deck. Each landing platform dock can operate eight landing craft, four of which can carry and land main battle tanks. The docking system is located aft.
Pictured, HMS Bulwark during the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (JEF(M)) in the Mediterranean Sea. September 28, 2016. Credit: UK Crown Copyright / UK Ministry of Defense.
Source: https://www.naval-technology.com/news/top-3-royal-navy-programmes-for-new-uk-government/?cf-view
Maritime piracy on the rise in Somali waters, violent attacks on crew a major concern – Maritime Insight – July 13, 2024
However, the biggest concern is the increase in violence against seafarers. In the same period, 85 were taken hostage, compared with 36 last year. 11 were kidnapped and 2 threatened. The use of weapons, such as knives and guns, was recorded in 34 of 59 incidents, another increase from the same period last year.
John W.H. Denton AO, secretary general of the ICC, said that although there is a decrease in global piracy incidents, the increase in violent attacks makes it crucial for the international community to remain vigilant, especially at a time of uncertainty in the sector.
The IMB noted that after a decade of calm in Somali waters, piracy has rebounded with 8 incidents reported in the first half of 2024, however, Somali pirates can now attack ships that are even 1000 nm off the coast of Somalia, something that has never happened in the past.
One notable case of piracy in Somali waters this year was the hijacking of the Abdullah, a bulk carrier sailing under the Bangladesh flag. The 23 crew and ship were freed after a ransom of five million dollars was paid.
Michael Howlett, IMB director, urged shipowners and seafarers to be cautious and follow guidelines while transiting Somali waters.
Although Somali pirates have returned, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has decreased, but crew safety and general welfare remain a concern. In the first half of 2024, incidents dropped from 14 to 10.
The Singapore Strait also saw a decrease from 20 to 13 such cases this year, although ships are still a target in this region. 10 crew members were taken hostage in 6 different incidents using guns and knives in 11 incidents.
The Indonesian archipelago recorded 12 incidents, the most since 2021 when 15 such cases were recorded. In Bangladesh, incidents rose to 10 compared to 1 in 2023, the biggest jump since 2015.
Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/maritime-piracy-on-a-rise-in-somali-waters-violent-attacks-on-crew-a-major-concern/