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The President's Daily Brief
March 16th, 2026: U.S. Rushing Marines To The Middle East & Chaos in Cuba
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It's Monday, the 16th of March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the US Is sending more firepower to the Middle east with a Marine Expeditionary Unit now heading to the region. I'll have the details later in the show. Protests erupt in Cuba as demonstrators attack a Communist Party office amid growing frustration over widespread blackouts and a crumbling Communist economy. Plus, Kim Jong Un supervises a live fire test of North Korea's tactical nuclear rocket launchers, capable of striking targets across the region. Well, it sounds like somebody's feeling neglected. And in today's Back of the brief, Chinese military aircraft returned to the skies around Taiwan after an unusual two week absence that had raised questions about Beijing's intentions. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. We're starting today with the news that the U.S. is sending additional firepower to the Middle east as the war with Iran continues to unfold, with the Pentagon announcing the deployment of a Marine Expeditionary Unit to the region. Now, according to reporting first highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from U.S. central Command to move elements of an amphibious ready group, along with its attached Marine Expeditionary Unit toward the Middle East. At the center of that deployment is expected to be the amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli, currently based in Japan, which will be joined by two additional warships. Now, together, those vessels carry a Marine Expeditionary Unit, or an meu, for those of you who enjoy acronyms and who doesn' that's one of the U.S. military's most versatile rapid response forces. A typical MEU includes roughly 2,200 Marines supported by another 2,000 Navy personnel operating the ships that carry them. Now, what makes these units so valuable in a crisis like this is their flexibility. Each MEU is essentially a self contained fighting force built around four integrated components. First, there's the command element, which serves as the headquarters directing operations across air, ground and logistics forces. The Logistics Combat element provides a support that allows the entire force to operate independently, everything from medical care and equipment maintenance to transport and resupply. The aviation combat element brings significant air power into the mix depending on the mission. That can include F35B stealth fighters capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, along with attack helicopters, utility helicopters and heavy lift aircraft like the MV22, Osprey and CH53. And finally, and this is drawing the most attention, is the ground combat element. It's built around an infantry battalion reinforced with artillery, engineers, reconnaissance teams and amphibious vehicles capable of launching assaults from the sea. Taken together, the Marine Expeditionary Unit provides commanders with a highly mobile force capable of striking targets inland, conducting amphibious assaults or rapidly inserting Marines anywhere within range of its aircraft. It also brings additional tools to deal with one of the central challenges of this conflict Iran's attempts to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, those attempts have been fairly successful. Aircraft from the MEU can conduct maritime patrol and strike missions against small, fast boats or other threats operating in the narrow waterway. Meanwhile, the ships escorting the amphibious force can add their own capabilities to the fight, including missile defense systems and Tomahawk cruise missiles. While aircraft carriers tend to draw the most attention, these amphibious forces are often the military's most adaptable tools for responding to fast moving conflicts, especially in maritime environments like the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, this weekend also marked one of the most significant American airstrikes of the war so far. US Forces launched a large scale strike against Iran's Kharg Island. That's a location that sits at the center of the country's oil export infrastructure. It is located roughly 15 miles off Iran's coast in the Persian Gulf and handles the vast majority of Iran's oil shipments to global markets. According to US Central Command, American forces struck more than 90 military targets across the island. Those strikes focused on facilities tied to Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the region, including naval mine storage areas, missile bunkers and other military installations. The attack also targeted infrastructure around the island's airstrip, used by the military. Of course, US Officials say the strikes were designed to eliminate military capabilities on the island while deliberately avoiding the oil export facilities themselves. And that distinction is significant. Damaging the energy infrastructure at Kharg could have immediate consequences for global oil markets, and officials appear to be trying, at least for now, to limit the economic shock of the conflict. In addition, if there were to be some form of popular uprising by the Iranian people, which currently frankly seems unlikely, the oil infrastructure at Kharg island would be critical to the new government's economy. But even without targeting the oil terminals directly, the strike carries major strategic implications. Kharg island is not only the hub of Iran's oil exports, it's also surrounded by a network of Iranian military positions across nearby islands and the mainland, which Tehran uses to support naval operations in the Persian Gulf. U.S. officials say the operation was partly intended to prevent Iran from reinforcing those defenses, particularly as the fighting around the Strait of Hormuz intensifies. The island's military facilities have also been tied to Iran's ability to store naval mines and support the small boat operations that have harassed commercial shipping since the conflict began. Taken together, the deployment of a Marine expeditionary unit and the strikes on Kharg Island's military infrastructure highlight the direction this war seems to be heading. The US Is clearly building additional military flexibility in the region while continuing to target the infrastructure that Iran relies on to threaten the world's most important oil shipping route. Now, if you want to know more about the battle for the Strait of Hormuz and the importance of Carg Island, I recommend listening to this past weekend's PDB Situation Report. Oh, look at me. Marketing, huh? I've heard from members of my family that it's one of the finest podcasts they've listened to in quite a while. Now, we spoke with retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery during this weekend's PDB Situation Report about the growing fight over the strait and why that narrow waterway has become such a critical flashpoint in the war. We also spoke with Daniel Turner, Executive Director of Power the Future, about the energy side of the conflict, including the risks to global oil supplies, shipping and pricing. You can listen to that full conversation on the PDB podcast feed, or of course you can catch it on our YouTube channel. All you got to do there is just go to YouTube, of course, and search up at President's Daily Brief. All right, coming up next, protests in Cuba as demonstrators target a Communist Party office over worsening blackouts. And Kim Jong Un supervises a new test of North Korea's tactical nuclear launch systems. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here with some very good news from our friends at CB Distillery. Now, did you know? Maybe you didn't hear this yet. The VIP sale is happening now at CB Distillery. For a limited time, you can save up to 50% on everything when you use the code VIP. It's that simple. If you're looking for better sleep or managing daily stress or easing stubborn post workout discomfort, CB Distillery has plant based options to support sleep and mood and focus and and yes they even have CBD products for pets. My own favorite is their sleep gummies with a combination of melatonin and cbd. Now I spent a lot of time traveling right and constantly moving through different time zones. Well that can definitely mess with your sleep. 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Welcome back to the pdb. The unrest we've been tracking in Cuba appears to be escalating quickly. In an extraordinarily rare act of defiance, protesters attacked a Communist Party office amid anger over blackouts, and in the chaos, police reportedly shot one individual. The latest wave of protests comes after about a week of uninterrupted nightly blackouts across the island. Late Friday night, residents in the coastal city of Meron, which is about 250 miles east of Havana, gathered to rally against power cuts and the worsening food crisis, conditions that have been making life increasingly difficult for ordinary Cubans. At first, the unrest appears to have been a fairly typical continuation of the protests. But according to reporting from a Cuban state newspaper, the demonstration eventually turned violent on Saturday. So you ask, what pushed things over the edge? Well, at some point in the early hours of the morning, protesters turned their attention toward one of the most visible symbols of the regime's power that would be the headquarters of the Communist Party. In videos posted online, protesters broke into the building, smashing windows and dragging furniture into the streets. Some threw furniture from the upper floor of the party's building, piling it outside before setting it all on fire. And if you watch those videos circulating on social media, you can hear People chanting, quote, liberty and down with communism. Now that's something you almost never hear openly in Cuba. As you might imagine, it's a country where criticizing the government can land you in prison or possibly worse. Which raises an important question. Is it still just anger over blackouts, or are we now seeing something deeper, such as frustration boiling over with the communist system itself? Several videos show residents moving through the streets of Meron in near darkness, lit mostly by cell phones and flashlights. As the blackouts continue, then the situation appears to take an even more dramatic turn. In one of the clips, two men can be seen lighting palm branches on fire and throwing them into the party's local headquarters. Moments later, a single gunshot r out and someone can be heard shouting, quote, they hit him. Footage appears to show one individual lying on the pavement bleeding from the leg before a handful of the crowd carries the person away to seek help. Now, I want to point out that Reuters said it could not independently verify the videos, but it's widely interpreted that the individual was shot by Cuban police. And the tension, of course, didn't end there. Some protesters were also seen gathering outside a nearby police station where officers stood guard at the entrance. As the widening confrontation continued, regime authorities later acknowledged that five people were taken into custody. Cuba's Interior Ministry has since opened an investigation into what officials describe as acts of vandalism during the protest. Of course, notably, the state run newspaper reporting on the unrest did not directly address the shooting. That's a surprise. Instead, it said that one individual who had fallen while intoxicated was receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. Now, if you've been following our coverage of the chaos unfolding on the communist island, you know that the protests in Meron are not in isolated event. As we discussed last week, residents across Cuba, particularly in Havana, have been taking to the streets and banging pots and pans in protest of the prolonged blackouts and continuing worsening situation. And the blackouts themselves have been severe. In some parts of the island. Power outages are now stretching as long as 15 hours a day, leaving entire neighborhoods in the dark. As our regular PDB listeners know, Cuba's power grid is buckling under a severe fuel shortage, leaving the country struggling to generate electricity. And that's where Washington enters the picture. Cuba has gone roughly three months without oil shipments after the Trump administration cut off Venezuelan crude, which has long been the island's primary energy lifeline, while warning other countries they could face stiff tariffs for selling fuel to Havana. So as blackouts worsen and living conditions deteriorate, the anger spreading across the island appears to be turning toward the communist regime itself. And this all comes as Trump suggests. Cuba's government may be nearing collapse and suggesting that the regime is increasingly eager to strike a deal with Washington that could loosen its authoritarian grip in an effort to keep the lights on. Okay, I want to shift to North Korea, where Kim Jong Un is once again flexing his regime's military muscle. Now, to be fair, anytime Kim feels neglected on the world stage, overshadowed by other global activities such as the Iran conflict or ongoing Ukraine conflict, well, he tends to throw his teddy out of crib, usually by conducting missile tests. This time, Pyongyang says it successfully tested an upgraded rocket launcher capable of delivering tactical nuclear weapons during a live fire exercise overseen by Kim himself. Well, how festive. According to North Korean state media, the drill involved roughly a dozen of the regime's 600 millimeter ultra precision rocket launchers backed by two artillery companies. During the exercise, the rockets reportedly flew more than 220 miles before striking an island target in the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan. And of course, Kim made sure the entire demonstration doubled as a propaganda event. The North Korean strongman attended the exercise alongside his young daughter. It's a detail that Pyongyang has increasingly publicized as the regime hints of an eventual successor to the regime. Standing before the launchers, Kim boasted about the weapons capabilities, declaring, quote, it's indeed a very deadly yet attractive weapon, end quote. Now that's funny because I too have been described in that manner. He went on to insist that North Korea's, quote, powerful attacking capability exists purely for defense. That's a familiar line, of course, from Pyongyang, even as the regime continues expanding a nuclear arsenal designed to threaten the US and its allies. So how did the region react to the exercise? Well, that's a very good question and I'm glad you asked. South Korea's military says it detected around 10 ballistic missile launches during the test. While Japanese officials reported the projectiles landed in waters just outside the country's exclusive economic zone. Now, to understand why Kim is placing so much emphasis on the system, you have to look at how North Korea's military strategy has been evolving in recent years. The regime is increasingly focused on developing so called tactical nuclear weapons, shorter range systems designed not for striking the US Mainland, but for threatening American allies such as South Korea and Japan. Military analysts who spoke with the Wall street journal say the 600 millimeter launchers that were tested in this drill, which Pyongyang claims can reach a distance of 260 miles are specifically intended to target military bases and infrastructure across the region. And this isn't some experimental program quietly moving through development. Kim highlighted the launchers as a top priority during a rare workers party meeting last month. In fact, rows of the systems were parked outside of the venue where that gathering took place, underscoring just how prominently the regime is showcasing its weapons program. And of course, the timing of this test is no accident. Pyongyang has long criticized the annual spring military exercises conducted by the US And South Korea, which are currently being conducted even as I speak, routinely describing them as dress rehearsals for an invasion. Every year, those drills trigger predictable responses from the regime, missile launches, weapons demonstrations, and a wave of threats aimed at Washington and its allies. So what does all this mean for the broader strategic picture? Well, US intelligence estimates North Korea possesses roughly 50 nuclear warheads, along with enough fissile material to produce dozens more. And I want to point out that despite periodic speculation that diplomacy could restart, Kim has shown little interest in returning to negotiations with President Trump unless talks begin with Washington accepting that North Korea will retain its nuclear arsenal. All right, coming up next in the back of the brief, China resumes large scale military flights near Taiwan after a mysterious two week pause. More on that when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment of your time to talk about security, specifically your online security, and to tell you about a great company out there working hard to make people safer online. That, of course, would be delete me. DeleteMe makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online at a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable. Look, it's easier than ever, right, to find personal information about people online. You know that. But having your address, your phone number, your family members information just hanging out on the Internet, well, that can have actual consequences, of course, in the real world and can make you vulnerable to all sorts of scams. If you're like me, privacy and protecting your online presence is important. 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In Today's Back of the Brief Chinese military aircraft are back in the skies around Taiwan after a two week silence in what was a suspicious break in Beijing's near daily pressure campaign that left Taipei wondering just what China may have been scheming. Now, we've been closely monitoring the skies of the Taiwan Strait since we first brought you this story because when China's military suddenly changed its behavior around the self governing democratic island, people in Daibei and Washington began asking questions. To better understand why that silence raised eyebrows. You have to know what the skies around Taiwan normally look like. For years, Beijing's military has been flying fighter jets and drones and surveillance aircraft near the island almost every single day. It's part of a steady pressure campaign meant to intimidate Taiwan's democratic government and remind the world that the Chinese Communist Party still claims the island as its territory. The latest update from Taiwan's Ministry of Defense suggests that whatever pause we were seeing is now over. Officials in Taipei say they detected 26 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island Sunday, most of them flying in the straits. And that marks the first time that Taiwan has reported a large scale Chinese air presence since 25 February, when Beijing sent 30 aircraft during what it called a, quote, joint Combat Readiness Patrol. But beginning on February 27, Taiwan reported no Chinese military aircraft near the island for more than a week, a break from the near daily patrols. Of course, the first planes didn't reappear until March 7, when Taiwan detected two aircraft southwest of the island. After that, they were only sporadic sightings until the surge that we're seeing now. So naturally, that does raise the question, what was Beijing doing during those quiet weeks? At this point, Chinese officials have not offered any explanation for the pause. Well, that's unusual. They're normally just so transparent. Beijing did, however, issue a warning over the weekend. China's Taiwan Affairs Office lashed out after a speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching Te, who called for stronger defense spending and renewed efforts to protect the democratic system from outside pressure. The statement read, quote, people like Lai Ching Te should not miscalculate. If they dare to take reckless risks, they will dig their own grave. End quote. Now, beyond the rhetoric, officials and defense analysts in Taipei have been exploring several possible explanations for that lull in air activity. One theory is timing. Some analysts believe Beijing may have temporarily reduced military pressure ahead of the potential visit to China by President Trump later this month. Another possibility points inward to China's own military leadership. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been carrying out sweeping purges of senior officers in recent months, launching corruption investigations that have shaken the upper ranks of the People's Liberation army, the pla. But of course, there's also the scenario that makes security officials the most uneasy. In more extreme cases, a pause in routine patrols can raise concerns that aircraft are being repositioned for a potential operation, such as a limited strike to Taiwan's leadership or military infrastructure. But to be clear, there is no evidence that such an operation was ever underway. Regardless, while the aircraft may have briefly disappeared, the underlying reality hasn't changed. China continues to pressure and intimidate Taiwan, while Taipei's democratic government remains firm that the island will determine its own future. And that, my friends, is the president's Daily brief for Monday 16th March. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbhefirsttv.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.