US News
- Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has hit out at Americans who prefer a less interventionist foreign policy, smearing them as isolationists who want to see the US “retreat from responsibility.” AWC
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has scheduled a vote for Wednesday to advance President Biden’s massive $106 billion emergency spending request that includes military aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as additional funding for the border, POLITICO reported. AWC
- Adm. Christopher Grady: US Can Handle Middle East, Russia and China All at Once. YouTube The Institute
China
- Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called for tighter export controls on advanced technologies going to China and labeled Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had.” AWC
Russia
- White House Will Run Out of Funds to Arm Ukraine By the End of the Year. FT AWC
- US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt explained that Washington was plotting a decade-long economic war targeting Moscow. The US has maintained sanctions on Russia since the 2014 Washington-backed coup in Ukraine sparked Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the economic war on the Russian economy was significantly intensified. The Institute
- Bulgarian President Blocks Weapons Transfer to Ukraine. Newsweek
- Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is turning Ukraine into an authoritarian state as public criticism of Ukrainian leadership is becoming more common. AWC
- Zelensky Cancels Address to US Senate. Forbes
Israel
- Biden Admin Says US Intel Had No Knowledge of Hamas Battle Plans for October 7. Axios
- The UK announced on Saturday that it would begin surveillance flights in the skies above Gaza in search of captives held by Hamas. Over the past month, the US has conducted drone operations seeking hostages. Both Washington and London have engaged in a military buildup in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in support of Tel Aviv. The Institute
- UN Warns Israel Against Exacerbating the Already Catastrophic Humanitarian Situation in Gaza. VOA
- Israel Hayom reported last week that some members of Congress have reviewed a plan to condition US aid to Arab countries on their willingness to accept refugees from Gaza, which would facilitate the Israeli goal of cleansing the territory of Palestinians. AWC
- Israel intensified airstrikes in southern Gaza on Monday and bombed areas where it told Palestinians to seek shelter, Reuters reported. AWC
- Amnesty International: “US-made Weapons Facilitated the Mass Killings of Extended Families” in Gaza. Press Release The Institute
- Polling continues to show that the majority of Americans favor a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, a position the Biden administration has rejected. AWC
- The IDF Ignored Warnings Hours Before October 7 Hamas Attack. Haaretz
- The House on Tuesday passed a resolution that says “anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” the chamber’s latest piece of legislation conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. AWC
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Tuesday that he wants Israel’s military to maintain an open-ended occupation of the Gaza Strip after the current war. AWC
Middle East
- Officials Tell Politico that US Ships Under Threat in Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Politico
- The US Approves Arms Sales to UAE and Saudi Arabia. MEE
- US officials are considering forming a Red Sea task force with other nations after a series of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis against commercial shipping that’s come in response to the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. AWC
