I - On Defense Podcast

For review:

1. President Trump Discusses Venezuela with Key Advisors.

2. Pope Leo XIV arrived Sunday in Lebanon from Turkey, where he opened his first trip as Pope. He is set to wrap up his visit on Tuesday with a prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port blast and a Mass on the waterfront.

3. US Cautions Iraq Against Support to Hezbollah. 

4. Negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine on Sunday focused on where the de facto border wit...

For review:

1. President Trump: Airspace Above Venezuela Considered To Be Closed In Its Entirety. 

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

2. President Zelensky's Chief of Staff Resigns From Corruption Scandal.

Andriy Yermak resigned as chief of staff on Friday after an ...

For review:

1. US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire.

2. The body of Mr. Dror Or was returned to Israel from Gaza by Palestinian terror groups on Tuesday evening, Israeli authorities announced Wednesday morning.

The bodies of two slain hostages now remain held in Gaza.

3. Israel reportedly conveyed a proposal to Hamas last week that would allow the release of dozens of Hamas fighters believed to be trapped in ...

For review:

1. US Official: Ukraine Agrees with Revised 19-Point Peace Deal; President Trump Dispatches Steve Witkoff to Meet With Russian President.

2. European Union lawmakers voted on Tuesday to deepen integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine. European Parliament legislators voted 457-148, with 33 abstentions, to approve a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the ...

For review:

1. Europe Preparing Counterproposal to President Trump's 28 Point Russia - Ukraine Peace Plan; Talks Occurring in Switzerland & Angola.

2. Estonia still wants to buy six additional M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the US, and possibly more, according to Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

Estonia Minister of Defense statement: “This is why we are looking for additional systems for the deep s...

For review:

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that there will not be a Palestinian state, even at the cost of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

2. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio guaranteed him that Israel’s “qualitative military edge” will remain intact in a phone call following US President Donald Trump’s announcement this week that he would sell F-35 warplanes to...

For review:

1.  UN Security Council Passes US-Sponsored Gaza Resolution. 

(Russia & China Abstain)

2. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday during his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump that Riyadh wants to join the Abraham Accords, but calls for the need to secure a path towards a two-state solution.

3. Saudi Arabia to Procure F-35 Fighters & M1 Tanks from US.

4. The Israeli Air Force presented an ...

For review:

1. US Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a new military and surveillance campaign in the Western Hemisphere on Thursday, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” to pummel “narco-terrorists.”

2. US SOUTHCOM Release: On Nov. 15, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. 

3. CNN Report: The UK ha...

For review:

1. The body of slain hostage Israeli Meny Godard was returned to Israel by Hamas on Thursday night, officials confirmed. The bodies of three slain hostages now remain held in the Strip — two Israelis and one Thai national.

2.  US Secretary of State Optimistic About Gaza International Stabilization Force.

3. Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeep...

For review:

1. US Envoys Visit Israel to Discuss Hamas Fighters Trapped in Rafah Tunnels.

2. France hosted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris for a meeting on Tuesday, during which French President Emmanuel Macron committed to helping the PA draft a constitution for a future state.

3. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa threw cold water on the prospect of his country joining the Abraham Accords, saying that conditions...

For review:

1. Pakistan said Sunday it was committed to “dialogue” with Afghanistan despite peace talks ending after deadly violence, with Islamabad stressing its security concerns persist.

2. IDF Officer's Body Returned After More Than 11 Years in Hamas Captivity; 4 Hostages Remain.

3. Israel has warned Lebanon’s army that it is not satisfied with the actions taken so far against the Hezbollah terror group, vowing to continue it...

For review:

1. Secretary of War Hegseth Speech to Defense Industry Leaders.

2. Ukrainian forces continue to stubbornly defend the pocket around Pokrovsk despite relentless Russian assaults, leading to an ever-increasing threat of encirclement.

3.  US to Establish Presence at Airbase in Syria.

4. The US has added the entire text of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war to the UN Security Council Resolution.

5....

For review:

1. Hamas & PA Agree on Temporary Committee to Manage Gaza.

2. Saudi Arabia Requests Purchase of F-35 Fighters from US. 

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets.

3. US President Donald Trump will host Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa for talks on November 10, the White House announced Tuesday.

4. Ukraine General Staff: No Encirclement of Units & Divisions in ...

For review:

1. US Draft UNSC Resolution to Establish Gaza International Stabilization Force.

International Stabilization Force will be in charge of securing the borders with Israel and Egypt, ensuring the safety of civilians and humanitarian zones, and training new Palestinian police officers who it will partner with.

The force’s mandate will apparently include disarming Hamas.

2.  Gaza’s future must be Palestinian-led and avoid any ne...

For review:

1. President Trump said Friday he is not considering strikes on Venezuela, which fears that a major US military buildup in the region is aimed at regime change in Caracas.

2. President Trump Directs Department of War to Prepare for Action in Nigeria. 

President Trump on Saturday announced the US will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria if its government continues to allow the killing of Christians.

3. Jordan ...

For review:

1. President Trump Meets Chinese President in S. Korea; Discusses Ukraine.

2. President Trump Directs Renewed Nuclear Testing.

3. Qatari Prime Minister al-Thani indicated on Wednesday that Hamas violated the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday when it attacked IDF soldiers- but did not specifically blame Hamas, referring instead to “the Palestinian party.” 

4. Hamas on Thursday returned to Israel the remains of two dec...

For review:

1. President Trump Meets Japan's Prime Minister; On to S. Korea for Meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

2. Russian President Vladimir Putin received North Korea's top diplomat at the Kremlin on October 27.

North Korean media said Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui discussed "many future projects to constantly strengthen and develop" the bilateral relationship while also passing on leader Kim Jong Un&a...

For review:

1. While in Malaysia - President Trump Oversees Peace Agreement Between Thailand & Cambodia; Next Stop Japan.

2. Israel Allows Egyptian & Hamas Search Teams Access Beyond the Yellow Line.

3. Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said Friday that Russia, US, & Ukraine are “quite close” to reaching a diplomatic solution to end the war.

4. Russia ...