The President's Daily Brief
December 22nd, 2025: U.S. Unleashes Massive Ground and Air Assault in Syria & Another Tanker Boarded Off Venezuela
22 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Look at that. We are just around the corner from Christmas Day. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And, of course, a big congratulations to Ole Miss, taking down Tulane 41-10 in the first round of the college football playoffs. Next up, the Rebels take on Georgia on New Year's Day. As the kids say, that's going to be a barn burner.
I don't know if the kids actually say that anymore. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a major U.S. military response in Syria. American and coalition forces targeted ISIS positions this weekend in one of the largest strikes in years. We'll walk you through the operation and what it might tell us about the fight ahead. Later in the show, U.S.
forces move on a third oil tanker in the Caribbean in the continuing effort to disrupt Venezuela's illicit crude oil operations. Plus, some good news for Ukraine, as European Union leaders approve a massive 90 billion euro loan to support Kiev's ongoing war effort and economy. And in today's back of the brief, well, it's return to sender.
Turkey may send Russia's S-400 air defense systems back to Russia in hopes of reopening the door to U.S. F-35 fighter jets. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. This weekend, the U.S. carried out a series of large-scale air and ground strikes against Islamic State targets inside Syria, one of the most significant American attacks on ISIS in years.
We told you last week on the PDB about the deadly ambush that set this in motion, the killing of two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter while they were operating near Palmyra in Syria. And now the Trump administration has delivered what it promised, a decisive military response. According to U.S.
officials, American forces struck more than 70 ISIS targets across central Syria using fighter jets, attack helicopters, rocket artillery, and precision-guided munitions. In total, more than 100 precision weapons were used, aimed squarely at ISIS weapons depots, infrastructure sites, and operational hubs.
The operation has been named Operation Hawkeye Strike, honoring the Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed and wounded in the ambush. U.S. F-15 strike fighters and A-10 attack aircraft, better known as warthogs, were joined by Apache helicopters and HIMARS rocket systems. Jordanian F-16s also took part in the operation, meaning this wasn't just an American response. U.S.
Central Command described the operation as a, quote, massive strike and made it clear it was retaliatory in nature. The attack that triggered the response took place at a fortified Syrian internal facility near Palmyra. Alone, ISIS gunmen at that time opened fire as American personnel were supporting a meeting with Syrian officials. Two U.S.
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Chapter 2: What triggered the recent U.S. military response in Syria?
The U.S. still maintains roughly 1,000 troops in Syria, primarily in the northeast and at the Al-Tanf garrison in the country's southeast, where they work with local partners to contain ISIS remnants. U.S. military leadership has made clear that this mission is ongoing.
Coming up next, Washington's pressure on Venezuela's oil lifeline is escalating, boarding a second tanker and moving to pursue a third. While in Europe, the EU delivers a major financial boost to Ukraine. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, as the new year approaches, let me take just a moment of your time to talk about financial goals, right? That's very important.
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It was a busy weekend off the coast of Venezuela as the Trump administration continues its operations against sanctioned oil tankers tied to illicit crude. After intercepting a second tanker on Saturday, U.S. forces found themselves in pursuit of a third vessel on Sunday in what was the third operation in less than two weeks. So let's rewind for just a moment.
Last week, you may remember that the Trump administration announced a targeted naval blockade, not against all shipping, but against U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers moving Venezuelan oil. The goal is to hit Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro's regime where it hurts, and that, of course, would be the tanker-based export lifeline that keeps cash flowing into Caracas. On Saturday, the U.S.
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Chapter 3: How did the U.S. coordinate its military operation against ISIS?
And it's important to note that not all interceptions look the same. They can take different forms, of course, including just sailing or flying close to vessels of concern, allowing U.S. forces to disrupt or deter and document listed activity without a dramatic boarding. And that was the case in Sunday's pursuit of that third tanker.
According to a British Maritime Risk Management Group, along with a U.S. maritime security source, the tanker has been identified as Bella 1, a carrier already on the Treasury Department's sanctions list. The vessel was reportedly empty as it approached the Venezuelan coastline, unlike the Century's tanker on Saturday. That's according to tankertrackers.com.
But Bella One's history underscores why Washington is targeting these networks. The tanker previously transported Venezuelan oil to China, according to internal documents from Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petavesa, and has also carried Iranian crude. Maduro's regime has predictably condemned the actions over the weekend as, quote, theft and hijacking.
Now, despite holding the world's largest proven oil reserves, years of socialist corruption and mismanagement and sanctions evasion have left the country dependent on increasingly risky export schemes. Maduro and his predecessor, of course, Hugo Chavez, managed to turn the region's breadbasket, or oil basket, more appropriately, into a basket case in a matter of two and a half decades.
Now, while it's certainly fair to debate the strategy and activities being undertaken against Maduro's regime by the Trump administration, it's hard to argue that the people of Venezuela wouldn't be better off under a new government, which, of course, is why the people of Venezuela actually did vote for a new government during the last election.
And that was an election that was then stolen by Maduro and his cronies. Okay, I want to shift the focus to Europe, where EU leaders agreed to move ahead with a massive 90 billion euro, or if my math serves me correctly, I believe that's 106 or so billion US dollars, interest-free loan for Ukraine, after legal uncertainty stalled a far more ambitious plan to tap into frozen Russian assets.
The Friday decision ensures Ukraine can cover its military and economic needs over the next two years at a moment when the financial picture in Kyiv is growing increasingly tight.
For background, after nearly four years of war, the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, estimates Ukraine will need roughly $160 billion in 2026 and 2027, and officials in Kyiv say the government is on the verge of bankruptcy with funds urgently needed by spring.
That pressure is what initially pushed EU leaders toward a more bold solution, using frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine directly. As we've discussed here before on the PDB, roughly 210 billion euros, or about 246 billion US dollars, in Russian funds are immobilized across Europe, with most of them being held in Belgium.
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