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S1E21: “The Morning Meeting” at 9:00am ET today

“THE MORNING MEETING” DAYBOOK

MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2024

Join “The Morning Meeting” LIVE at 9:00am ET this morning by Zoom here.

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DAYBOOK, all Eastern Time unless otherwise noted

* Kamala Harris

* Donald Trump

* Joe Biden

* JD Vance

Nothing public scheduled at this time.

* Tim Walz

Nothing public scheduled at this time for today but coast-to-coast fundraising all week.

* Doug Emhoff

“The Morning Meeting” topics:

* Trump and the AI charge: WTF?

* Trump and Musk.

* Harris policy rollout.

ESSENTIAL READING

* Washington Post:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East and told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to speed up its voyage to the area, as Israel braces for possible retaliation over the deaths of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut and a Hamas leader in Tehran.

The deployment was announced by the U.S. Defense Department on Sunday following talks between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The pair discussed efforts to “deter aggression” by Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, according to the readout from Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

* New York Times:

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Sunday, the third call the two are known to have held in a week, amid rising fears of an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

In the call, Mr. Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to a summary provided by the Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder.

In an unusual disclosure, General Ryder said that Mr. Austin had ordered the guided-missile submarine Georgia to the Middle East. The Pentagon rarely announces the movements of its submarine fleet, underscoring the seriousness of the regional crisis.

* Wall Street Journal:

U.S. SPECIAL FORCES BASE, Northeastern Syria—American commandos are scrambling to contain a resurgence of Islamic State where the militant group once imposed its violent religious fervor on vast territories and millions of people.

Islamic State is mustering forces in Syria’s Badiya desert, training young recruits to become suicide bombers, directing attacks on allied troops and preparing to resurrect its dream of ruling an Islamist caliphate, according to officers from the U.S. and the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish-led troops whom the U.S. helped to defeat the militant group five years ago.

Militant fighters have doubled their pace of attacks in Syria and Iraq this year. They have targeted security checkpoints, detonated car bombs and plotted to free thousands of comrades jailed since the SDF and a U.S.-headed Western coalition recaptured the last Islamic State-held town.

In a little-publicized campaign, American aircraft conduct airstrikes and provide live aerial surveillance to SDF ground forces who conduct raids on suspected Islamic State cells. While they usually stay a safe distance from the fighting, elite U.S. troops sometimes conduct missions on their own to kill or capture senior Islamic State leaders.