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The President's Daily Brief
May 27th, 2025: Hamas Pulls A Ceasefire Bait-And-Switch & Western Green Light for Ukraine
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Mike Baker
It's Tuesday 27th May. 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. We begin in Gaza where Hamas just pulled a diplomatic sleight of hand announcing support for a ceasefire proposal that the U. S actually made. We'll break it down later in the show. A new investigation reveals that the British government may have been quietly funneling millions to Hamas through, well, unicef. Plus a big win for Ukraine, Germany, France, the UK and the US Are all giving Kyiv the green light to strike deeper inside Russia. And in today's back of the brief, heads are starting to roll. We knew they would in North Korea after Kim Jong Un's prized new warship failed to launch in spectacular fashion. But first, today's PDB spotlight. We'll start things off today with a bit of a confusing situation out of the Middle east, which of course means business as usual. On Monday, a Palestinian official claimed that Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire proposal supposedly brokered by US Special envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the official, the deal included a 70 day truce, the staged release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of several bodies. Five captives would be released at the start of the ceasefire, with the other five released on the final day. It also reportedly called for a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails, many of them serving lengthy sentences. Now, it sounded like a major breakthrough, the kind of deal that that could pause or even end one of the most brutal conflicts in the region in recent memory. But? Well, there's always a but, isn't there? There's a problem Hamas was trying to pull off. What do they call it in Arabic? The old razzle dazzle? Or maybe that's Farsi, I'm not sure. As it turns out, the deal that Hamas said it was agreeing to, well, never existed. Shortly after Hamas made its announcement. Witkoff responded publicly and forcefully. In a statement to Axios, he said, quote, what I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable. An unnamed Israeli official quoted by Reuters was even more blunt, saying, quote, no responsible government could accept such an agreement. So you say to yourself, what's going on here? And in fact is the old razzle dazzle how they say it in Arabic? Some analysts believe this was a deliberate move by Hamas, an attempt to present themselves as reasonable negotiators while putting public pressure on Israel and the U.S. it also may have been, frankly, a stalling tactic. As we reported yesterday, Israel's ground invasion is escalating rapidly. Every regular army, infantry and armored brigade has now been deployed inside Gaza. We're also learning more about the Israeli military's long term objectives in the enclave. On Sunday, Israeli commanders announced a plan to take control of 75% of the Gaza Strip within the next two months. The goal is to corner Hamas into just a sliver of the territory, about a quarter of the Gaza Strip, and eventually eliminate the group's ability to operate altogether. As that military plan unfolds, Israel is simultaneously rolling out a new US Backed aid distribution system inside Gaza. According to Israeli officials, the new system will involve four aid complexes, three in southern Gaza and one in the center where hundreds of American contractors will assist in distributing supplies. Under the plan, each Palestinian family would be required to send a representative to one of the aid centers every five days to receive assistance. But the system is, as you might imagine, already drawing criticism. The UN well, they're never shy about criticizing anything. And other international aid groups have refused to participate. Hmm, that doesn't sound very humanitarian. Arguing that the plan is too dangerous. They say it forces civilians to travel through a war zone for food and that it compromises their neutrality since Israel is controlling the aid. The rollout comes after a months long blockade that led to severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine in Gaza. That blockade has led to widespread condemnation of Israel, including by some of its European allies, some of which are calling for sanctions against the Netanyahu government. All right, coming up after the break, new revelations about the UK Quietly funding Hamas through unicef and a battlefield boost for Ukraine as Western allies lift restrictions on strikes inside Russia. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, you may have heard about this upcoming summit, but it's important and it's worth paying attention to. In July, there's going to be a global summit of the BRICS nations and it's going to be held in Rio de Janeiro, which Sounds very posh, doesn't it? The block of emerging superpowers including China and Russia, India and Iran, while they're meeting with the goal of displacing the US dollar as the global currency and they're calling this effort the Real Reset. Now, as BRICS nations push forward with their plans, demand for US Dollars could decrease, of course, bringing down the value of the dollar. And while this transition won't happen overnight, well it does mark a pivotal moment when bricks objectives move from possibility toward reality. So you ask yourself, well, what can you do to help protect your hard earned dollar savings? I'd like to suggest one thing you could do is visit with the professionals over at Birch Gold Group. Now Birch Gold can help you move your hard earned dollar savings into a tax sheltered IRA in precious metals. Claim your free information kit on gold by texting PDB to the number 989898 with an A plus rating. With a Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers, let Birch Gold arm you with a free information kit on owning gold before July. And that real reset, just text PDB to 989-898 today. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants. Oh, and don't forget shrubs. Now did you know that Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the us? It's true. With thousands of different plants and over. Get this, 2 million happy customers. They have all the plants your yard needs like fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs and so much more. Whatever plants you're interested in, Fast Growing Trees has you covered to get your dream yard delivered directly to your door. Now it's an excellent business and this spring they have the best deals, up to half off on select plants. And now listeners to our show get 15% off their first purchase when using code PDB at checkout. That's an additional 15% off at fast growingtrees.com using the code PDB at checkout. Fast growingtrees.com code PDB and don't forget, with springtime in full swing, now's the perfect time to plant. Use PDB to save today. Offers valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Welcome back to the pdb. In a bombshell Israeli news report backed by internal documents from the uk The British government has knowingly funneled millions in aid to Hamas controlled ministries in Gaza through UNICEF. On Saturday, Israel's Channel 12 revealed that the UK is not only a top source of private donations flowing to Hamas through Muslim charities, but has also channeled millions in taxpayer funded Aid through unicef, despite the agency's direct partnerships with Hamas run ministries in Gaza. The cornerstone of the report is a classified 2022 document from the British Consulate General in Jerusalem titled UK Humanitarian Support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for fiscal years 2022 to 2026. In it, the UK Foreign Office acknowledges the reputational risks of partnering with Hama ministries. Yet as watchdog group on NGO Monitor notes, funding approvals continued. All the same, the report goes further, signaling out London as what Israeli defense officials now call, quote, Hamas's financial capital in the West. One Channel 12 journalist put it even more starkly stating, quote, britain is one of the three leading countries in the world, the other two being Muslim countries, in the volume of donations flowing from it to Hamas. The journalist added that, quote, more than a quarter of non state funding for the terrorist organization comes from the British Isles. At the heart of the controversy is UNICEF's cooperation with Gaza's Ministry of Social Development, known as MoSD, because of course we all love an acronym which at the time was headed by senior Hamas official Ramsey Hamad. Hamad fled to Lebanon just weeks before the 7 October terror attack. How brave of him. And later issued a public defense of the attack. By October the following year, he was openly calling for Israel's annihilation. Ann Hertzberg, legal advisor for NGO monitor, told Channel 12 that UK government funds were routed through UNICEF, which then worked directly with MOSD. And she stated, quote, the British government is giving millions of pounds to the UN and especially to unicef, which works with the Ministry of Social Development in Gaza. She of course noted that the ministry is controlled by Hamas. Despite the UK stated awareness of these ties, funding to UNICEF surged. Hertzberg pointed out that the UK gave nearly 5 million pounds to UNICEF in 2023 and over 23 million in 2024. But when asked how much of that money was funneled into MOSD linked programs, she conceded, quote, well, we're not sure because it's not fully transparent. Oh, well, that's because Hamas controls those funds. The British Embassy in Israel responded with a strongly worded statement on X calling the Channel 12 investigation, quote, irresponsible and irresponsible. Well, what might be irresponsible is giving tens of millions to Hamas. I don't know, it's just me being churlish and claiming that, quote, the UK government has never funded Hamas or affiliated ministries. But Herzberg rejected the rebuttal outright, saying, quote, instead of calling it irresponsible, give us information. Her organization's report concluded that British Officials, quote, appear more concerned about the UK's image than about the dangerous implications of lax counter terror financial policy. NGO Monitor also flagged a broader pattern of opacity from the UK Foreign Office. And yes, I did say opacity. Is it opacity? I don't know. In 2021, the department reportedly refused to comply with a Freedom of Information request regarding funding for the Norwegian Refugee Council. It's an Oslo based NGO that works closely with the OMOSD and has drawn sharp criticism in Israel for what some describe as legal activism masquerading as humanitarian aid. Hertzberg characterized the situation as a textbook failure of international aid oversight. She added that everyone has known for years that, quote, Hamas is taking this money to build tunnels and store weapons and that UNRA was taken over by Hamas, yet they just continued to let the money flow seemingly without any safeguards, end quote. All right, shifting to Germany. The country has said that the us, France and the United Kingdom have lifted range restrictions on weapons supply to Ukraine, clearing the way for Kyiv to strike military targets inside Russian territory. The announcement made yesterday by German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz at the WDR Europa Forum in Berlin marks a major shift in Germany's Ukraine policy. It also opens the door for the long delayed delivery of Taurus long range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces. Mertz stated, quote, there are no more range limitations for weapons delivered to Ukraine, neither from the Brits nor the French, nor from us, not from the Americans either. That, he said, means Kyiv can now defend itself and strike back against military infrastructure deep within Russian territory. For months, Kyiv has pleaded for the Taurus missile system. It's a German designed missile with a range exceeding some 300 miles and a warhead powerful enough to obliterate Russian command centers, supply routes and ammo depots far behind the front lines. President Zelensky voiced that he had, quote, more than hope that Berlin would finally hand them over. While Mertz stopped short of confirming the transfer, his intent was clear. He pledged that Germany would, quote, do everything to support Ukraine militarily. The Chancellor also indicated that the future arms deliveries would be kept largely confidential to avoid tipping off Moscow to changes in Ukraine's toolkit. The policy reversal marks a sharp departure from the stance of the previous Social Democratic Party government under Olaf Scholz, which consistently blocked Taurus deliveries over fears of escalating tensions with nuclear armed Russia. Mertz, whose center right Christian Democrats now lead a coalition with the center left Social Democratic Party, had previously signaled openness to the move, but only in alignment with Germany's allies. That alignment now appears firmly in place. Both the UK and France have already provided Ukraine with Scalp or Storm Shadow cruise missiles, and the U.S. has quietly eased limitations on Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons near the Russian border. As our longtime PDB listeners will know, back in November of 2024, then President Biden authorized limited Ukrainian strikes inside Russia's Kursk region using US Supplied long range weapons. The decision reportedly came in response to the deployment of North Korean troops to the front lines. The shift underscores a broader recalibration of European security posture as the war grinds on without a clear path to a ceasefire. What was once deemed escalatory, such as striking Russian territory with NATO provided arms, is now being reframed as an essential component of Ukraine's right to self defense. Not sure if the Russians will see it that way. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, Kim Jong Un is out for blood after that embarrassing ship launch last week. Remember that? With news that at least four officials have been taken into custody over the incident. Well, there's about to be some headroom there at the North Korean military. I'll have those details next. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to report that it is now officially grilling season. Right. Time to fire up the grill and listen. If your grill had a voice, it would probably tell you something like hey, maybe stop throwing supermarket mystery meat on me. Yeah, that's probably what it would say. Now. That's why I get my beef from Tritails Beef. Look, Tritails is a legitimate family run ranch in Texas. 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Mike Baker
In today's Back of the brief, Kim Jong Un is tossing his teddy out of the crib again. And in North Korea, well, that means heads are rolling, Possibly literally. Following the humiliating failure of a naval destroyer launch last week, North Korean authorities have detained four officials. According to state media, the destroyer, only the second of its kind for the North Korean Navy, was meant to be a centerpiece of Kim's push to modernize his naval fleet. But during the launch ceremony in the northeastern part of Chongjin, attended by Kim himself by the way, the vessel lost its balance, toppled over and partially sank. Satellite imagery confirms the embarrassment. The warship now lies on its side, draped in blue tarps with part of its hull submerged. Kim didn't mince words. Afterwards, he blamed the botched launch on what he called, quote, criminal negligence and a criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism. In response, North Korean media announced that four officials were detained, among them Ri Hyung Son, vice director of the munitions industry department in the ruling Workers Party. He reportedly admitted that he was, quote, greatly responsible for the disaster. Also arrested the chief engineer, the head of the hull construction workshop, and the deputy manager for administrative affairs. The shipyard's manager wasn't detained, but was reportedly hauled in for questioning. Now, this is a rare public acknowledgment of military failure from Pyongyang, one that analysts say underscores how seriously Kim is taking his naval expansion program. Just last month, the regime celebrated the successful launch of its first destroyer, calling it a technological breakthrough. That vessel is reportedly capable of carrying modern and possibly nuclear missiles. South Korean officials believe Russian assistance likely played a role in its construction. And when they say likely, they mean yes, Russian assistance played a role in its construction for Kim, these warships are, well, frankly, more than just hardware. They're propaganda tools meant to showcase North Korea's growing military might and its defiance of the US and regional allies. So when one of them ends up listing in the harbor like a wounded whale, well, somebody's gotta fall on their sword. Or a lot of people. Still, North Korea claims the damage isn't serious. State media insists the destroyer will be repaired in just 10 days, but outside observers are skeptical. Oh. Calling that timeline overly optimistic, if not outright propaganda. Either way, one thing's clear. In a country where appearances are everything, this wasn't just a naval failure. It was seen as a personal slight and insult to little rocket man. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Tuesday, 27 May. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me@pdbhefirsttv.com and of course, to listen to the show ad free. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.