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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 8th, 2025: Trump Greenlights Covert War Against Cartels & Israel Approves Gaza War Expansion
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Mike Baker
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Unknown
Foreign.
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Mike Baker
It's Friday the 8th of August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump secretly signs off on using U. S. Military forces against Latin American drug cartels. It's a dramatic escalation in the war on drugs and and it could put American troops on foreign soil. Later in the show, Israel approves a controversial new plan to seize control of Gaza City, aiming to evacuate nearly half the territory's population and dismantle Hamas's last stronghold. But critics are warning the Jewish state against the new operation. We'll have the details. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. President Trump has authorized a dramatic escalation in America's fight against the drug cartels. According to reporting from the New York Times, the President quietly signed a directive instructing the Pentagon to begin using military force against cartel organizations that are now designated as foreign terrorist groups. The directive gives the US Military a formal basis for launching operations at sea and potentially on foreign soil. According to the reporting, military planners are already developing options for how these missions might look, including potential direct action raids, naval interdictions and intelligence driven operations targeting cartel leaders and infrastructure. Now, this is a big change from business as usual when it comes to the war on the cartels. Historically, the US has handled the drug war primarily as a law enforcement issue, with military involvement limited to support roles, surveillance, logistics and equipment sharing. But this new order is a fundamental shift in strategy. For the first time in decades, American troops may be tasked with capturing or killing members of drug cartels abroad. As we reported back in February, Trump's State Department formally labeled a number of transnational criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations. That list included Ms. 13, Trenda, Aragua, known as TDA, and Venezuela's cartel de la Souls, a group the administration claims is led by President Nicolas Maduro himself. Now speaking of the Venezuelan despot, the US has now doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest, offering $50 million accusing him of running a global drug trafficking enterprise. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio said this week that these organizations are not simply drug dealers, they but armed terrorist groups, and that the US Must start using every available tool, the military included, to eliminate them. But there are serious legal questions surrounding this move, and no doubt there will be civil liberties wonks and lawyers rushing to talk about the need to not infringe on the rights of cartel members. Maybe that makes me sound a little churlish. While labeling a group as a terrorist organization does allow for financial sanctions, it doesn't grant automatic authority for military strikes. Now the administration is likely relying on the president's constitutional power to defend the nation, citing the deadly fentanyl epidemic as justification. Still, launching unilateral military action in another country, especially without that country's consent, well, that is a major breach of international law. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has already rejected a proposal from Trump to allow US Military operations inside Mexico. There are also rules of engagement questions. Can U.S. forces kill suspected traffickers who don't pose an immediate threat? What happens if they capture someone? Can the military detain them as an enemy combatant or. Or must they be handed over to civilian courts? You get the picture as to how complex this might be. In a move that may have foreshadowed this latest announcement, the current Trump administration recently fired the top military lawyers for the army, navy and air Force, replacing them with new appointees who may be more aligned with this aggressive posture. It's a shakeup that clears the way, possibly for broader interpretations of what's legally permissible. Meanwhile, the intelligence apparatus is already in motion. As we've reported previously, CIA drones are flying above Mexico, hunting for fentanyl labs, passing data to Mexican authorities. The military's Northern Command has conducted more than 300 surveillance missions along the southern border. So to some degree, well, the infrastructure is already in place. If this operation moves forward, it could be the most consequential shift in US drug policy since the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove Manuel Noriega, a move that, for all of its success, was condemned by the UN as a violation of international law. Alright, after the break. Israel approves a controversial plan to seize control of Gaza City, aiming to evacuate nearly half the territory's population and dismantle Hamas's last stronghold. But critics are warning the Jewish state against the new operation. We'll have those details. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me just take a moment of your time to talk about protecting your hard earned assets. Now, you've probably noticed that out there, there seems to be a Little turmoil in the economy, right? You got trade wars, you got all the, the tariff back and forth. You got a US Federal Reserve that seems a bit at odds with the White House. You've got uncertainty over an employment numbers. You've got a volatile stock market. Well, you get the picture. And it's at times like these that it's important to think about your assets and how to protect them. And one way to protect those assets is diversification. And I'm here to suggest that you consider diversifying with gold through the Birch Gold Group. For decades, gold has been considered a safe haven in times of economic stagnation or high inflation or just global uncertainty. And Birch Gold makes it incredibly easy for you to diversify some of your savings into gold. If you have an IRA or maybe an old 401k, you can convert that into a tax sheltered IRA in physical gold. Or like a lot of folks, you just buy gold and store it safely at home. First, you want to get yourself educated. Birchgold can send you a free information kit on gold. Just text PDB to the number 989898. Again, text PDB to 989898. Consider diversifying a portion of your savings into gold. Again, text PDB to 989898. Mike Baker here. Let me ask you a question. 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Piers Morgan
I'm Piers Morgan, the host of the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast. We do big interviews and we do big debates about whatever's getting people talking. We make news. We make of trouble too. Come and see what all the fuss is about. You can listen to Piers Morgan Uncensored on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [08:49]
Unknown
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- [09:21]
Mike Baker
Major news out of Israel, where the nation's Security Cabinet has approved a new plan to take control of Gaza City, essentially resulting in a full occupation of Gaza. According to sources familiar with the strategy, the operation will unfold in multiple phases and could take up to five months to complete. That may be an optimistic estimate. The first phase of the plan is set to begin by the 7th of October. Now, that date was chosen intentionally. Obviously it marks the second anniversary of the Hamas led terror attacks that launched Israel's war in Gaza. The message from Israeli leadership is clear. In this opening phase, Israel will significantly expand the distribution of humanitarian aid, but not within Gaza City itself. The thinking, according to officials, is that by withholding aid from inside the city, civilians will be more likely to evacuate, clearing the way for a major military operation. The plan is obviously a massive undertaking, one that will involve the forced evacuation of nearly half of Gaza's population. Imagine close to a million people in a space the size of half of Manhattan. Well, that's Gaza City. At present, Israel's military already controls about 75% of the territory, but Gaza City remains a major and frankly, the last Hamas stronghold. As part of the decision, the Israeli cabinet also adopted five core principles for ending the war in Gaza. First, the total disarmament of Hamas. Second, the return of all hostages, including the remains of those killed. Third, the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. Fourth, Israel must maintain full security control over Gaza even after the war ends. And finally, a new civilian government must be established, one that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. Notably, the announcement stops short of explicitly stating that Israel will take full control of Gaza. But Prime Minister Netanyahu made his intentions Clear ahead of the vote. In an interview with Fox News, he confirmed that Israel is preparing to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. Netanyahu said, we intend to control all of Gaza. We don't want to keep Gaza, we want a security perimeter. We want to hand Gaza over to Arab forces that will govern Gaza properly. Now, that's a key distinction. While Israel says it doesn't want to keep Gaza, it also doesn't intend to give it to the Palestinian Authority and definitely not to Hamas or the remnants of Hamas. As you would expect, the reaction from Hamas was defiant. In a statement, the terror group called the plan a quote, full fledged war crime. Yes, that's coming from Hamas warning that any attempt to seize Gaza City would come at a high cost. Now, I don't want to be Captain Obvious here, but the absurdity of the Iranian backed Hamas terror group, a group that's pledged to the destruction of Israel and of course responsible for the brutal murders and rapes and hostage taking of 7 October, not to mention their past actions. While the absurdity of Hamas calling anyone out for war crimes is remarkable, but in response to the announced occupation plan, Western governments are also voicing strong objections. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel's decision to escalate the war is, quote, wrong and urged the Netanyahu government to reconsider immediately. Starmer added, this action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed. Germany, meanwhile, has taken a more tangible step, announcing it will not approve any future exports of military equipment that could be used by Israel in Gaza. That's a significant move from Israel's second largest arms supplier after the US and could signal further diplomatic fallout as the Gaza offensive intensifies. Regardless of the international pushback, Israel appears committed to retaking Gaza City and reshaping what the future of governance and security looks like in the enclave. Now. Obviously hanging out, there are so many unknowns. Can humanitarian aid be increased and delivered efficiently without interference from Hamas? Can the population be successfully, temporarily relocated? Will the IDF be able to eliminate Hamas from their final strongholds? And while rescuing and recovering the remaining hostages, how long will the operation actually take? Will the Arab states step up to assist with long term governance and security in the Strip? And what will the rebuilding process look like? It's an enormous undertaking. But after almost two years and endless failed negotiations with Hamas, the Israeli security cabinet seems convinced that they have no other options. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday 8th August. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirst tv.com and remember to check out this weekend's episode of our PDB Situation Report now. It airs this evening at 10:00pm on the First TV. You can also find it and past episodes on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief as well as on all your favorite podcast platforms. We have great guests this week. Well, we have great guests every week this week including China expert and author Gordon Chang and also Alireza Jafarzadeh from the National Council of Resistance of Iran. We'll be talking about China's economic doom loop, Xi Jinping's grip on power and US China trade with Gordon. And we'll be looking inside the Iranian regime post the 12 day war with Israel with Alireza, including Iran's crackdown on its dissent and internal protests. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here with some very exciting news from Ridge. You know that's the terrific company that that makes all your favorite wallets and your luggage. Look, it's that time of year again, right? The company is launching their legendary sweepstakes. Now two lucky winners. Get this. Will get to choose between a $300,000 Lamborghini Huracan Serato, $150,000 Hennessy Velociraptor or. Or $100,000 in cash. I know, that's exactly what I said. And you can enter for free@ridge.com it's that simple. And while you're at the site, well, you should check out Ridge's wallets, their key cases, their suitcases and more sleek durable designs. Built to last. And they look great. 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