//The Wire//2300Z March 17, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UNITED STATES BEGINS LARGE-SCALE BOMBING CAMPAIGN IN YEMEN. SWATTING INCIDENTS CONTINUE AROUND THE UNITED STATES.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Red Sea/HOA: Over the weekend the United States began a large-scale bombing campaign in Yemen, targeting the Houthi government. Following this escalation, President Trump also took to social media to state that America's policy going forward will be to treat every shot fired by Yemen as a shot fired by Iran. AC: This is probably a pivot to increasing tensions with with the Iranians. The war in Yemen has been going on for many years, despite the Saudis bombing Yemen fairly regularly over the past decade. Much like the campaign against ISIS in the Mid-Euphrates River Valley (MERV) in Iraq and Syria, a mostly aerial campaign against insurgent groups (or even governments) in the Middle East is a challenging style of warfare that hasn't worked out well in the past. In short, continuing to bomb Yemen probably won't do very much in the long run to provide security for the region, though it does divert from the reasons as to why the Houthis are waging this war in the first place. Germany: This morning German officials announced a €300 million aid package for Syria. This brings the total European Union support to Syria to roughly €5.8 billion. United Kingdom: Plans to deploy British soldiers to Ukraine continue to go ahead, with PM Starmer stating in a virtual summit that up to 10,000 soldiers will be slated to deploy to Ukraine as part of a joint "peacekeeping" mission along with 35 other nations. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - Much controversy has continued regarding a variety of actions in Washington over the past few days. Up first, D.C. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg issued an emergency order to stop the White House from deporting illegals to El Salvador. As the aircraft were already in the air, it wasn't logistically feasible to radio an in-flight aircraft regarding a court order that was issued, so the aircraft continued it's deportation flight. The second controversial development involves President Trump's remarks on the pardons issued by President Biden in his final days of the Presidency. Specifically, Trump has called into question the legality of Biden using an autopen digital signature on pardons, and has openly stated that he thinks the pardons are not legally binding because of this. AC: While entertaining, this autopen debate probably doesn't carry much weight since the use of digital signatures on government documents is a common standard used by government officials everywhere. Central USA: Following a series of severe storms that ripped through the central and southern regions of the nation, recovery efforts are ongoing. So far, 42 fatalities have been reported as a result of these storms. Most of the fatalities have taken place in Missouri, Kansas, and Mississippi, ranging from those being killed by debris, and pre-existing medical conditions, to high winds causing pileups on interstate highways causing multiple fatalities. Substantially high winds also inflamed hundreds of wildfires throughout Oklahoma, which has so far resulted in over 170,000 acres burning due to these storms. USA: Around the nation the Swatting of pro-Trump influencers and social media figures continues. Many of those swatted have provided surveillance footage confirming that such events did take place, however many have not provided the specific details of their swatting incidents for security reasons. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: Of note, several police departments have elaborated that in many of these swatting incidents, the caller making the fake threats will stay on the line with 911 operators for a long time, making statements that attempt to escalate the situation to lethal force. Several cases also have involved the malign actor calling a police department's non-emergency number, which is a common tactic for swatting as non-emergency numbers are standard phone numbers that can be called from anywhere. So far, this does not appear to be a simple prank phone call, then an immediate hang up. The caller(s) know the exact magic phrases that will trigger a higher-level response from police, and they are engaging in a more deliberate effort to create an elaborate story with the end goal of violence. As with the previous swatting incidents, those who have been targeted in such manner may be prioritized for such malign action due to affiliation with the Trump administration. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z March 14, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT SUFFERS ENGINE FIRE IN DENVER. DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS CONTINUE TO URGE AN AGREEMENT IN UKRAINE.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Europe: Diplomatic developments continue by the hour regarding the potential for peace in Ukraine. Russia has responded favorably to the idea of a ceasefire, however no ceasefire terms have been accepted on paper or implemented just yet. However, this morning NATO Chief Mark Rutte stated that Ukraine will not be joining NATO, which likely will be viewed as a favorable development by Russia. In Ukraine, the Kursk Offensive is largely no more, with almost all Ukrainian troops egressing south back over the border into Ukraine over the past few weeks. Canada: Justin Trudeau has formally resigned as Prime Minister, being replaced by Mark Carney. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - Following yesterdays' multiple swatting incidents of conservative media figures, FBI Director Kash Patel issued a statement acknowledging the incidents, and has allegedly begun investigations into the culprits of these types of events. Colorado: American Airlines Flight 1006 experienced a fire emergency upon landing in Denver yesterday. The pilots landed without issue, however while taxiing to the terminal, an engine caught fire. The aircraft successfully made it back to the terminal before the fire expanded significantly. Despite challenges while evacuating (such as many passengers taking the time to gather their carry on bags), all passengers and crew were able to safely evacuate the aircraft. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: The fire onboard AA1006 is a great reminder to pay attention to all safety procedures during commercial flights, such as the explicit direction to leave your possessions behind, and get out of the aircraft as quickly as possible. For future reference, most aircraft in the 737 family do not have slides or inflatables on the wings of the aircraft; the emergency procedure involves the pilots lowering the flaps, which serve as the slide to egress from the aircraft. There are markings painted on the top of the wing that indicate which route to take, and to slide off of the wing using the flaps. However, in this case, most passengers who took the overwing exits were stranded on top of the wing with no way to get down (or so they thought). Since it often requires going against human instinct to slide down a wing into the unknown below (or in this case, sliding down into flame and smoke under the wing) this detail regarding the overwing exits lacking a clear and confident egress method has been noted by investigators during previous emergencies over the years. The good news is that on most 737 platforms, the wing is a maximum of approximately 10 feet from the ground at worst (depending on variant), so jumping down from any point on the wing would likely have been possible in any case. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z March 13, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: PUTIN AGREES TO IDEA OF CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE, BUT STRESSES DESIRE FOR A PERMANENT PEACE AGREEMENT. MALIGN ACTORS REMAIN DEDICATED TO TARGETING POLITICAL ENEMIES IN THE UNITED STATES.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Europe: This morning President Putin stated that he is supportive of a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. In a televised media session, Putin also emphasized that a longer term peace agreement is really the end goal, not just a temporary ceasefire. AC: Of note, many media outlets (including lots of independent journalists) ran stories last night "confirming" that Putin rejected this ceasefire proposal. Normally, there is some fluidity with developing news stories, however there's usually not that much discrepancy. As a result, it would probably be wise to wait and see for a few days, and let things develop, before conducting a hard-and-fast assessment on what's going on with regards to a peace agreement. Things happen fast in the world of international relations; what starts off as a good deal can sour in an instant, and what seems impossible can in reality be quite an easy point of commonality to agree on. The common factor of all of this is that diplomacy is often a winding road, and takes time to come to a point of stability. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - Politics continues as before, with several appointment picks being withdrawn due to controversy. Trump's pick for CDC Director (Dr. Dave Weldon) was withdrawn due to Dr. Weldon previously being critical of vaccine safety standards, and for his research to determine if there is a link between vaccines and childhood developmental disorders such as autism. Similarly, Trump's initial pick for the Deputy Director of National Intelligence (Daniel Davis) was withdrawn after the ADL deliberately lobbied against him for his views allegedly critical of the Israeli government. Texas: Multiple developments have taken place with regards to politically conservative journalists being targeted. InfoWars writer Jaime White was murdered at his home in Austin on Sunday night, after returning home from work. No indication of motive has been released by authorities indicating whether or not this was a targeted attack, or a crime of opportunity. However, following this attack, an on-air InfoWars journalist was swatted multiple times over the past few days. Separately from InfoWars, a separate politically-conservative independent journalist was swatted last night as well, along with multiple family members being swatted at their homes. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: As has been a well-known tactic among malign actors, calling in a fake horrific crime with the intent of goading police into shooting and killing a target has become an increasingly common threat vector over the past few years. Malign actors know and understand that law enforcement interacting with a civilian population in our current times is risky, and if a police officer is told that they are going into a violent crime situation to begin with, malign actors can take advantage of this heightened state of tension to increase the likelihood that a police officer will shoot someone. Thankfully, in many cases, officers don't take the bait after realizing they were used as pawns during a swatting incident. But recent American history is filled with situations where a swatting victim is not so lucky. At minimum, an innocent person being dragged from their bed in the night, to be slammed on the ground and handcuffed in front of their own home is a humiliating experience from which there is no recompense. The police, after figuring out it was a fake call, drive away like nothing happened...only for the next shift to be subject to the same fake 911 call over and over again. The result is the taxpayer spending much time handcuffed in front of their own home, again and again, with no real way to stop it from happening. It's an unfortunate and non-preventable situation to be in, as if there were to be a real crime, one would hope that a rapid response would take place. However, since there has been nearly zero focus on investigating swatting incidents, and almost zero focus on prosecuting those who engaging in swatting behavior, these types of tactics will continue for the foreseeable future, and highlight the importance of privacy for anyone who might potentially say anything offensive on the internet. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z March 11, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: TRADE WAR BETWEEN USA/CAN CONTINUES TO ESCALATE. TRUMP TARGETS CONGRESSMEN OPPOSING OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL. AMERICAN AID TO UKRAINE RESUMES, PER STATE DEPARTMENT.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Canada: The trade war between the US and Canada continues to deteriorate as expected, with multiple short-lived diplomatic developments taking place throughout the day. This morning the White House announced an increase in tariffs to 50% for imported Canadian aluminum and steel. Within a few hours, the province of Ontario imposed a 25% tariff on electricity exports to several northeastern US states. This led to the White House announcing plans to declare a National Emergency on Electricity in the affected area. By this afternoon, Canada removed this 25% tariff on electricity, the "national emergency" hasn't been clarified at all, and negotiations have begun regarding cross-border electricity deals in the northeast. Ukraine: This afternoon the State Department announced that American military aid to Ukraine has resumed. AC: What this declaration means is anyone's guess at the moment. However, if this is a resumption of all military and financial aid to Ukraine, this would be a very significant reversal of another major issue that the White House explicitly campaigned on. Either way, time will tell, both in terms of what this looks like financially, but also how Americans will perceive this development. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - Brief scandal has emerged following President Trump's pledge to primary Representative Thomas Massie for voting against the Republican omnibus spending bill to fund the government. As of this afternoon, the omnibus spending bill passed, with Rep. Massie being the only "no" vote from within the Republican party. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Meanwhile at the DoJ, the previous fiasco involving the release of Epstein, JFK, RFK, and MLK Jr. assassination documents has largely been forgotten. President Trump has made no comments on the issue, and more notably the White House press corps hasn't asked about it either. No new documents have been released, and the DoJ has pivoted to policing other speech-related concerns. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: The spending bill as passed in the House does not include any of the efforts undertaken by DOGE to identify fraud, waste, and abuse, meaning that all of the viral posts surrounding the DOGE audits were all for nothing if those same openly fraudulent programs get funded anyway. Rep. Massie has stated that his opposition to the bill is largely due to the bill funding exactly the same things that were funded by the past year of President Biden's reign, and that funding this bill would be identical to repeating Biden's Presidency from a budgetary perspective (until September when the Continuing Resolution expires). More generally, the conflict in Congress largely boils down to two perspectives. Trump doesn't like anyone who challenges his authority in any way, or goes against the establishment (or as some might say, the uniparty). Massie has gained notoriety by being the only Congressman who does not receive foreign lobby money (such as most notably from AIPAC). Thus, Trump's threat to oust him from office (while not levying this threat at any Democrat) is being perceived as a mistake (at best). Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z March 3, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK STRIKES MANNHEIM CARNIVAL. NOTHING NEW REGARDING EPSTEIN DOCS.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Germany: A vehicle ramming attack was carried out in Mannheim this evening. The attacker was detained at the scene. So far, one fatality was reported, with many wounded in the attack. Mannheim police have requested witnesses to stop sharing video evidence on social media. Austria: An unspecified threat at the Hauptbahnhof (central train station) in Vienna resulted in an evacuation of the station today, during the evening rush hour commute. AC: In keeping with tradition, very few details were released by authorities, however after a bomb squad sweep of the complex the alert was canceled. Though authorities have not specified the nature of the threat, most Austrian media has claimed the incident revolved around a bomb threat. Norway: A brief diplomatic scandal was reported over the weekend following the Oval Office argument between the United States and Ukraine. After Zelenskyy was removed from the White House, various European nations have also transitioned to adopt a more hostile diplomatic position toward the United States. In Norway, these icy tensions came to fruition in the form of a maritime logistics company refusing to refuel American warships as part of a defense pact with Norway. Haltbakk Bunkers (a refueling company) issued a profanity-laced statement on social media culminating with the basic idea of "no fuel for Americans". This statement was rebuffed by Norway's Defense Minister, who stated that Norway would continue to provide the agreed upon support for American naval vessels who visit Norwegian ports. AC: Additionally, it must be noted that the CEO of Haltbakk confirmed that they don't actually have any established contracts to supply American vessels in the first place (other companies hold the larger defense logistical contracts), so this short-lived economic protest would not have had any impact anyway. Ukraine: Two commercial cargo vessels were damaged in the port city of Odessa over the weekend. A Russian missile strike targeted the port and the vessels specifically due to allegedly being used for arms shipments to Ukraine. The M/V MSC LEVANTE F and the M/V SUPER SARKAS (a container ship and a bulk carrier respectively) were both struck in the attack, each suffering unknown damage. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - All chatter surrounding the release of the Epstein client list has largely fallen away following last week's influencer binder scandal. Neither the DoJ, nor the FBI have provided a clear time window for when any new documents are scheduled to be released. As AG Bondi's original order to provide the documents has not been carried out by the FBI, she has given the FBI 14 days to explain why her order wasn't followed. AC: As this scandal has largely devolved into strongly-worded emails, finger pointing, and ultimatums that aren't acknowledged, the chances of any further disclosures of new information are becoming increasingly remote. Also in Washington, this afternoon the White House has announced the cessation of arms sales to Ukraine, as well as an increase in tariffs on Chinese trade to 20%. Following the failure of diplomatic talks, the previous trade tariffs with Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect at midnight (pending any last-minute diplomatic moves). Florida: Three separate civilian aircraft violated the closed airspace surrounding President Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday. These airspace violations resulted in F-16's scrambling from the 1st Air Force out of Tyndall Air Force Base to intercept the aircraft. During at least two of these interceptions flares were deployed by military aircraft to get the attention of the civilian pilots. AC: It is not clear as to why these airspace violations occurred, as the airspace has been closed around Mar-a-Lago for years. It is possible that President Trump's weekend visit prompted a brief expansion of the normal airspace cordon, which went unnoticed by pilots who failed to check recent NOTAMs before flight. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: The Mannheim attack was probably targeting the festivities of Germany's Karneval, a period of springtime festivities (similar to Marti Gras) leading up to Lent. This month-long season of festivity comprises of multiple holidays such as Rose Monday, Fasnacht Day, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, etc. As has become common throughout Europe, this attack highlights the importance of heightened vigilance and situational awareness at any public event, but especially those with any sort of Christian tradition or affiliated with any Christian holiday. Vehicle ramming attacks remain the number one threat vector for public events, despite how easy it is to prevent these types of attacks from happening. This is extremely important to consider in the context of the current threat environment...and all of the false-threats called in all over Europe. For instance, today's fake bomb threat in Vienna provided substantial intelligence to malign actors. After the station was evacuated, all of the passengers congregated at the entrances of the facility...well within blast range of any bomb that may have been inside the station. Furthermore, the large crowd of people outside formed an ideal target for a vehicle ramming attack. Hundreds of people were tightly packed together, facing the station (and thus facing away from potential threats), all completely oblivious to the fact that this evacuation order could have been a critical first step in a much larger attack. Terrorists know and understand that merely pulling a fire alarm will result in a convenient arrangement of soft-targets vulnerable to a variety of attacks immediately outside a facility: Outside the security cordon, outside the protection of any kind of structural barrier, well away from any kind of Stop-the-Bleed kits, or security personnel. Attacking not a hard-target, but a soft-target gathered outside, has been an open and transparent threat vector for everyone to see for years, which includes malign actors. Thankfully in this case, though situational awareness failed, no attack occurred either inside the train station, or among the crowd tightly-packed outside. However (as with the Mannheim attack) these incidents provide a critical chance to highlight weaknesses in situational awareness habits, and remind us that stepping two feet outside of an evacuated building does not mitigate the threat very much at all. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
This week's intel update is out!
//The Wire//2200Z February 27, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS RELEASED TO SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS, NOT THE PUBLIC AS PROMISED FOR WEEKS.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - Much anticipation has resulted from earlier promises made by the White House to expedite the release of various documents. The JFK and MLK Jr. assassination files, and the Jeffrey Epstein client list have all been claimed to be released soon. However, AG Pam Bondi stated that some of the files would be released today. This afternoon, it was revealed that the release of the Jeffrey Epstein Files would take place in stages, with only pre-approved journalists and influencers being given access to these documents. This afternoon select pro-Trump influencers were invited to the White House to receive the Phase 1 documents in the form of physical binders. Also this afternoon, AG Bondi released a letter that was sent to new FBI Director Kash Patel, in which she accused the FBI of withholding critical documents from her regarding this case. As of this report, not a single page of new Epstein documentation has been released to the American public directly, or uploaded to the FBI's portal (as the older documents were released years ago). -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: Over the past few weeks of hype surrounding the declassification and publishing of Jeffrey Epstein's clients, patience is wearing thin as little has been done to release the files for public consumption. Congress has gotten involved to create various committees to add more bureaucracy between the declassification of documents and the public. Just as a reminder, Congress has nothing to do with the declassification of documents. Declassification is purely a task completed by various intelligence agencies and Original Classification Authorities (OCAs). Once the OCA decides what is cleared for release (guidance which in this case comes from the POTUS), there is absolutely nothing preventing the release of declassified documents. No document requires Congressional approval to declassify, so the involvement of Congress at all is being perceived as a move intended to intentionally delay the release of these documents. Since the dawn of these highly-controversial incidents, many people with political power have been strong advocates of releasing the details pertaining to everything from JFK to Jeffrey Epstein...until they get access to the truth. Every single time the buck stops at a particular person, they start dragging their feet, and bringing the process of what is colloquially known as "the runaround". These delays have been so serious and obvious that various other groups and Congressional committees have formally filed complaints with the DoJ to pressure the executive branch to not go back on their promise. Attorney General Pam Bondi has by her own admission had the files "on her desk" for several days now but as of this afternoon, she claims that the FBI didn't send her all of the documents. Now, it is revealed that the release will take place in stages through influencers who will act as intermediaries. What has been released to these influencers is anyone's guess at this moment, though most of them are extremely unlikely to be trustworthy considering that many of the people seen at the closed-door disclosure even have direct ties to the same circle of friends that Jeffrey Epstein himself also had very close contact with. In a broader sense, this is also exceptionally dangerous. Remembering the scale of this international blackmail and human trafficking network, it is already very publicly known that former Presidents, royalty, bankers, and the very top of the global elite were involved with Jeffrey Epstein in some form or another....and it would be very foolish to approach this topic with the naivety already displayed by the influencers at the core of this scandal. Anyone who understands the gravity and real-world danger would know that this isn't just another scoop that can be milked for a 3-hour podcast episode. On the other hand, the access granted to these select group of influencers is also important in the context of privilege and control. Obviously, this information was shared with these influencers...but not all influencers. That access and preferential treatment alone is a powerful means of controlling these influencers. Due to this preferential treatment, if any one of these influencers were to have the desire to speak the truth, even if it hurts the Trump administration, they will probably be less likely to do so. Any time a negative story comes up, they'll be thinking back to the time that they got to see the Epstein files first...and they may want to rethink their truthful reporting so as to not bite the hand that fed them once. Considering this access was also granted to a select few, competition will abound between all of them...the influencer who pushes back and asks tough questions about the information they now know might not get such a warm welcome to the White House again. Despite all of this, and despite all of Trump's supporters who will make ever concession to excuse this behavior, this is not only a complete betrayal of Trump's previous promises to release the documents, but this is also nearly identical to the practices of the previous administration which preferred to interact with journalists and influencers instead of releasing anything to the public directly. This is one of the most impactful events in recent history; this scandal involves the systemic blackmail of high-ranking politicians at the behest of powerful people with links to foreign intelligence agencies...and this is being entrusted to social media influencers instead of being released directly to the American people. Influencers and "journalists" who are loyal to the current White House (and other nations) being the middlemen, who in turn decide what details to release to maximize engagement farming and ad revenue, is not something that is meeting with the approval of the American people. Some might even consider the legal implications of such to be akin to a quid-pro-quo scheme, whereby public data that every taxpayer has the right to see is being selectively withheld to enhance the income of personal friends. This seemingly minor detail may shift the mood of this event from being a rather poor-taste political stunt, into what might actually be a crime. Even though there is nuance in the social implications of this, federal law is quite clear: Either it's still classified and was released illegally to a select group of people, or it's public data that is illegally being withheld from the American people in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA). Speaking more technically of the nature of declassifying information, anyone between the Original Classification Authority and the American people is an unnecessary barrier to the truth. Every other declassified document since the dawn of time has been posted on an online government portal (usually run by the declassifying agency) in it's entirety, usually with redactions here and there, but always in an online PDF format that anyone can see. Even if the document is 100% redacted, it's still there for the public to look at. In this case, this content is being milked for all it's worth and slowly being drip-fed to the American people solely through pro-Trump influencers...many of which have conflicts of interest in this case, or ties to Jeffrey Epstein himself. Consequently, expectations for the rest of the disclosures (whatever those docs might look like) are not particularly high; most people are expecting the files to be heavily redacted, or with all of the damning evidence having long-been destroyed, or manipulated by social media influencers who can pick and choose what details to disclose. Adding in unnecessary middlemen also muddies the water of what is true, and what isn't...now (just like the previous administration) we have to process information from secondary sources, instead of primary sources. If and/or when these documents are released to the public, the taxpayer will have questions as to whether or not the version that was disclosed to the public was the same that was trickled down through the entire behemoth of federal bureaucracy and social media influencers. Though completely speculative, the general sentiment as to why the release of these files has been delayed by everyone who touches the project, pertains to who (or what entity) may be implicated in all of these scandals. Another theory is that this delay has been undertaken largely to use the federal bureaucracy to chip away at any real details, so that the final product that is released isn't helpful or illuminating at all. Or more likely, the details that will be released will only be partial, or intended to distract from other more serious crimes. There is also the rather significant detail of criminal investigations...as much as the American people want to know who Epstein's clients were, most people probably want arrests more than grifting from social media influencers. Releasing a list of names without simultaneous prosecutions of affecting any change whatsoever isn't really effective. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//