October 5th, 2026: The Yemen War Is Exploding Back Open & Putin’s New Strike Doctrine

It's Monday, the 5th of October. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And look at that, I am officially off the road for now. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a major new offensive is getting underway against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. And there are questions about whether U.S. forces could, at some point, participate. Later in the show, President Zelensky says Ukrainian intelligence obtained documents showing that Vladimir Putin has ordered a new doctrine of attacks on a much broader range of civilian targets ahead of winter. Yeah, that sounds like something Putin just might do. Plus, we've got the latest on the attempted hijacking of a fly Dubai flight to Tel Aviv, with reports that the accused co-pilot had previously been grounded over concerns about his radicalization. Ah, and of course that makes sense, right? You're grounded because you seem kind of radical to be flying plane loads of Israelis, but sure, you know, somehow you're going to get back in the cockpit. And in today's Back of the Brief, an update on that massive FBI data theft that we told you about as one of the suspected hackers has now been detained in Jordan. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The war in Yemen is picking up steam, and there is now a very real question about whether the U.S. could eventually be pulled into that fight. Yemen's internationally recognized government announced this weekend that major military operations are underway against the Iran-backed Houthis, with the stated goal of retaking territory lost during the group's recent offensive and eventually restoring government control across the country. Well, that is something that the Saudi-backed government forces have been unable to accomplish in the past. Now, we've been tracking the Iranian-backed Houthi military advance closely. As we've reported over the past several weeks, Houthi forces pushed down Yemen's Red Sea coast, taking Molka, Dbab, the Hanash Islands, and eventually reaching Param Island. All those gains put the group in an increasingly strong position around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. That's the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, and it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Iran has spent much of this year applying pressure around the Strait of Hormuz, and now the Houthis, Tehran's closest partner on the Arabian Peninsula, have expanded their position around the other major maritime gateway serving the region. It is almost like the Iranian regime is directing all of this. Reuters has reported that Iranian weapons and advisors help support the Houthi advance. Iran denies directing the group and rejects the characterization of the Houthis as an Iranian proxy. What? The Houthis barely know them. Well, if the Revolutionary Guard Corps says it's so, I'm sure an organization willing to slaughter thousands of their own citizens wouldn't lie to us. Regardless, Saudi Arabia appears to have decided that those gains cannot be allowed to stand. According to Axios and Reuters, Riyadh has been preparing a potentially major counteroffensive alongside Yemeni government forces. The Saudis have reportedly considered everything from a more limited operation aimed at pushing the Houthis away from the Red Sea coast to a much larger multi-front campaign that could eventually involve more than 100,000 Yemeni government troops. by Saudi air power. And now, according to Yemen's government, military operations have begun. The Houthis, meanwhile, are showing no signs of backing down. Well, that could be because the Iranian regime does not want them to back down. Funny how that works. Over the weekend, the group claimed it launched ballistic missiles and drones at an Aramco facility in Riyadh. Saudi authorities haven't confirmed the Houthi account, but Reuters reported smoke and fire near an Aramco site in the capital. The Houthis have also claimed attacks on other Saudi energy targets, while Riyadh says it has intercepted a number of incoming missiles and drones. So, this fight has obviously moved beyond Yemen itself, and that brings us to Washington. Saudi Arabia has asked the U.S. to take part directly in the campaign by launching strikes against Houthi targets. So far, President Trump has said no, but that does not mean the U.S. is sitting this one out. According to Axios, CENTCOM has already been providing Saudi Arabia with intelligence assistance. and targeting information, including more than 200 Houthi targets over the past two weeks. So, America is not currently pulling the trigger, but it is helping Saudi Arabia identify where to aim. And U.S. officials have reportedly left open the possibility that American forces could become directly involved if the Saudi and Yemeni operation begins to go badly. Which makes what happened Friday at Camp David especially interesting. Vice President J.D. Vance chaired a closed-door meeting of the president's top national security officials to discuss both Yemen and the broader war with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Kaine were all there, along with other senior members of the administration. Axios reports the meeting lasted for two hours, and one official said decisions were made, or at the very least, some of these issues were discussed in considerable depth. Well, that could be interpreted as a fairly broad statement. Either decisions were made, or, well, we certainly talked a lot about stuff. There's also one piece of history worth noting. The last comparable gathering of President Trump's national security team at Camp David came in June of 2025, and that was just days before Israel went to war with Iran. All right, coming up next, Zelensky says Ukrainian intelligence uncovered Putin's new winter strategy for expanding attacks on civilian targets. Plus, new details on the flight to Dubai co-pilot. Reportedly, he had been grounded over radicalization concerns before the attempted hijacking. And in other news, the world just keeps getting dumber. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here, with a word about personal health and weight loss. Now, everybody's talking about weight loss injections, because the results have been so dramatic. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite. But what if you're looking to lose weight and you're not interested in painful weekly injections? Especially when you're about those side effects. Well, that's why doctors created a weight loss supplement called Lean, L-E-A-N, and the results have been remarkable. The studied ingredients in Lean have been shown to lower your blood sugar, burn fat by converting it into energy, and curb your appetite and cravings, so you're not as hungry. It's that simple. But listen, Lean is not for the casual dieter with only a few pounds to lose. The doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition created Lean for frustrated dieters with 10 or more pounds to lose. Let's get you started with 20% off and you'll be able to enjoy a healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com and enter PDB for your discount. That's promo code PDB at TakeLean.com. Welcome back to the PDB. Ukraine is promising to hit Russia's oil refineries harder after Ukrainian intelligence uncovered what they're calling Russia's new war doctrine. Reportedly, the Kremlin's plan is designed to make life for the average Ukrainian citizen much harder. The Kremlin's plan is designed to make life for the American citizen much harder. The Kremlin's plan is designed to make life for the American citizen hospitals, end quote. According to Zelensky, the goal is to make everyday life across those communities so difficult that residents feel compelled to leave. Now, consider what forcing people out of those cities could mean for Ukraine. Beyond the disruption, of course, to their lives, it would put more pressure on the government and strain resources in the communities taking them in. Zelensky also points to what's happening on the battlefield to explain why Putin would expand these attacks now. He says Russian forces are losing ground in a key frontline region and suffering heavier casualties. Essentially, Zelensky believes Ukrainian civilians are being made to pay for the Kremlin's military failures. For the roughly three million people living in Kiev, this is already affecting daily life. Russia has stepped up attacks on the capital's infrastructure, including bridges across the Dnipro River with the bitter winter months approaching. And if you're looking for any indication that Moscow intends to ease that pressure, well, its latest warnings point in the other direction. The Russian foreign ministry has urged foreign nationals to leave Kiev, saying it will continue systematically striking targets in what it describes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks inside Russia in recent months. Well, you know, to be fair, those attacks wouldn't have happened if Putin hadn't invaded another country. Which brings us to how Ukraine plans to respond. Zelensky says Kiev will strike harder at the oil facilities helping finance Putin's war. But he is drawing a line between that and the Kremlin. Zelensky says that the Kremlin will strike harder at the campaign and indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure. He told Reuters, quote, we have to respond in any way that we can. With their attacks on our energy, we have to respond on their energy. First of all, oil refiners, what gives money to them for this war, end quote. He added, but we will not respond, of course, just like them on any civilian objects, end quote. Now, as you'd expect, it did not take long for Moscow to answer. By Sunday, the Russian defense ministry was promising to intensify strikes against Kiev and other parts of Ukraine, identifying military facilities, defense industry sites, and related infrastructure as its targets. The ministry again described its recent strikes as a response. to Ukrainian attacks on what it called civilian targets inside Russia. But for people in Kyiv already dealing with damaged infrastructure, the message was that more attacks were coming. Now, all of this leaves Washington trying to get the two sides back to the negotiating table as they promise further strikes. President Trump has spent recent weeks working to revive talks to end the war, now in its fifth year, of course, and it is Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II. But there is a disagreement with Kyiv that does have to be navigated. You may recall when I discussed here on the PDB how President Trump urged Ukraine just last month to refrain from hitting Russian oil installations, saying those attacks were sending global diesel prices surging. Zelensky, though, is making clear that Ukraine intends to continue. He says he has received no indication that Putin is interested in serious peace negotiations or even a narrower ceasefire covering energy infrastructure. From his perspective, Moscow has given him no reason to hold back. The logic from Ukraine is hard to argue with. If Putin continues attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure in an effort to create a crisis for the civilian population during the upcoming winter, what exactly is the incentive to unilaterally agree to not attack Russia's energy infrastructure, besides a pricing issue, the infrastructure that most effectively feeds Putin's war machine, by the way? Asking Zelensky to allow his country to be attacked while not attacking Putin's infrastructure, just so he can perhaps lower the price of his own oil, is not a good idea. But if Putin continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, in an effort to create a crisis for the civilian population during the upcoming winter, what exactly is the incentive to unilaterally agree to not attack Russia's energy infrastructure, besides a pricing issue, the infrastructure that most effectively feeds Putin's war machine, is not a good idea. If Putin continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, in an effort to create a crisis for the civilian population, just so he can perhaps lower the price of his own oil, is not a good idea. If Putin continues to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure, in an effort to create a crisis for the civilian population, is not a good idea. got in. Investigators are still trying to determine whether an FBI system itself was compromised or whether the data was accessed through a third party. Internally, though, the Bureau has reportedly been operating under the assumption that information on all FBI employees may have been exposed. And now, Shiny Hunters appears to be under pressure. Another suspected member of the group was arrested in the Netherlands in September. After Cotta was detained in Jordan, Reuters says the group's dark website disappeared, and the account Shiny Hunters had been using to communicate with reporters went silent. The group later resurfaced with a very different tone, reportedly, telling Reuters it wanted to quote no further escalation with the FBI and suggesting that Shiny Hunters could be backing down entirely. Of course, none of that undoes the damage they've already done. If sensitive personnel files were stolen, and particularly if they included information on intelligence and counterintelligence officers and their assignments or possible operational activity, that data can't simply be pulled back. Foreign intelligence services, criminal groups, or anyone else who obtained copies could find it of enormous value. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, the 5th of October. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And I hope you had a chance to catch our weekend show. You know that's the PDB Situation Report. Great guests included the renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. He and I talk a lot of smart guy stuff, although I did have to go slow so you could understand my insight into the meaning of the universe. You can catch it and past episodes of the PDB Situation Report on our much-loved YouTube channel. Just head on over to YouTube and search up at President's Daily Brief and, of course, wherever you get your podcast stuff. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Thank you.