The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | December 28th, 2024: Ukraine's Weapons Surge & America's Fentanyl Crisis
28 Dec 2024
In this episode of The PDB Situation Report: The Biden administration pledges a surge of weapons to Ukraine, doubling down on support as a new administration prepares to take over. Retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges joins us to discuss the implications for Ukraine's fight and America's strategic role in the conflict. A deep dive into the deadly pipeline of fentanyl—tracing its path from China to Mexico to U.S. streets—and how it became the nation’s top killer. We’ll speak with Dr. Robert Marbut, producer of Fentanyl: Death Incorporated, to explore why this epidemic has escalated into a national security threat. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off in Washington, where the Biden administration, remember Joe Biden? Well, the Biden administration is reaffirming its commitment to Ukraine, promising a surge of weapons, even as a new administration. prepares to take over.
Retired US Army General Ben Hodges joins us to discuss what this means for Ukraine's fight and America's role in the conflict. Later in the show, we'll trace the deadly pipeline of fentanyl from China to Mexico to U.S. streets and why it's now America's top killer.
Then we'll talk with Dr. Robert Marbitt, producer of the documentary Fentanyl, Death Incorporated, about how this crisis became a national security threat. But first, our BDB situation report spotlight. It was a deadly Christmas in Ukraine as Russian missiles targeted cities across the country, leaving, frankly, devastation and heartbreak in their wake.
In light of this holiday carnage, the Biden administration is reaffirming its commitment to Ukraine, pledging a surge of weapons and ammunition. Officials say the aid is essential to help Ukraine withstand escalating Russian attacks, even as the U.S. prepares for a new administration to take office.
But how far can this renewed support go in shaping the conflict and what might change under new American leadership? Well, to break it all down, we're joined now by retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges. He's the former commanding general of the United States Army in Europe. General, thanks very much for joining us again here on the Situation Report.
We very much appreciate it during the holiday season. Well, thank you for the privilege. I suppose a lot of people are probably wondering this question. We've got a matter of, well, really days, a handful of weeks, until the new administration takes over in the U.S.,
So is there any way to quantify from let's say election day in November of this year until now, how much has been allocated or authorized by the outgoing Biden administration for Ukraine?
Well, I couldn't put a specific number on it. There has been reporting about, finally, a sense of urgency of delivering what had already been approved authorized and so to get that delivered, but I don't know how much of what we're seeing now, what's going is something that was approved months ago or in the last few weeks. I couldn't offer any kind of a meaningful quantity.
Now, that's actually a really interesting point and a very important point, I think, is that is that we hear a lot about this. And the numbers do seem to vary depending on who you're talking to and how they're quantifying the aid that's been provided to Kyiv since February of 2022. Some people approximate around $60-plus billion or so.
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