The Wire - May 23, 2024

//The Wire//1830Z May 23, 2024//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: MAJOR CHINESE EXERCISES BEGIN IVO TAIWAN. NORTH CAROLINA SHOOTING HIGHLIGHTS INCREASED THREAT ENVIRONMENT.//
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-International Events-
Far East: This morning China announced major exercises in the waters around Taiwan. China’s exercise (Joint Sword-2024A) has so far involved a handful of ships carrying out demonstrations and joint maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait. AC: A few days ago, Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s President. As such, this exercise almost certainly related to political events in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Taiwanese forces have responded in kind, deploying substantial defenses (such as mobile ASCM launchers) at critical locations around the island.
-HomeFront-
North Carolina: Local media has become aware of a suspicious shooting incident that took place earlier this month. Originally kept quiet due to the investigation, details were released last night surrounding a shooting death involving a Special Operations soldier in Moore County. On May 3rd, local authorities were dispatched to a residence in Carthage in response to a trespassing complaint. Allegedly, the 911 caller also noted that the individual was taking pictures of their residence. After some time, an altercation occurred resulting in the trespassing individual being shot multiple times after allegedly becoming aggressive. Local authorities have identified the man who was shot and killed as Ramzan Daraev. The shooter’s name has been withheld for the moment, but has been identified as a member of the Special Operations community.
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Analyst Comments: The details of the Moore County shooting raise many red flags. Originally, Daraev was said to be an employee of Utilities One, a local electrical utility subcontractor. However at the time of the shooting he was located hundreds of feet onto the caller’s property, was not wearing a uniform, and did not have any identification or equipment suggesting any official work for a utility company. Local media claims Daraev was from Chicago, however he was originally born in Chechnya. This is supported by the foreign identity documents that were reportedly found at the scene. Furthermore, some media sources claim that an accomplice fled the scene in a rental car following the shooting. As this is a developing incident that took place in a highly sensitive community, there is absolutely more to this story than meets the eye.
As a reminder, a very common tactic for foreign intelligence agents is to obtain employment with an entity that grants semi-legitimate access to sensitive locations, such as private residences within a well-known Special Operations community.
Factoring in other trends, and with the understanding that examining events of this magnitude and secrecy must rely on quite a bit of speculation, the tens of thousands of military aged males entering the southern border daily have highlighted the clear and present dangers to American society. It has become extremely clear over the past few months that foreign intelligence activities on U.S. soil have reached heights reminiscent of (and almost certainly surpassing) the height of the Cold War.
Considering the 2022 mysterious electrical substation attack in the exact same area as the recent Moore County shooting, it is likely that the shadow war on American soil is continuing to escalate to include targeting the personal lives and family members of the Special Operations community.
Incidents surrounding security breaches at U.S. military bases have also quietly been increasing over the past few months. For instance, Marine Corps Base Quantico quietly revealed that on May 3rd, the same day as the Moore County shooting, two Jordanian nationals attempted to breach the main gate while driving a box truck. Allegedly, one of the individuals detained in this incident was on a known terror watch list, and had crossed the southern U.S. border only three days prior. Interestingly, this incident was not released even to the Marines on the base until two weeks later, when the story leaked to the media. This breach is similar to another fatal gate-crash attempt that occurred three weeks ago at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, the home of various Navy special forces units.
Adding weight to the severity of risks to the homeland, the EPA has recently revealed increased efforts to improve security at various water treatment facilities; specific to the efforts are concerns that cyberattacks may result in fatal amounts of chemicals being used to poison various water supplies (as already happened in Florida and California in 2021).
As such, exceptionally vigilant situational awareness is strongly recommended at this heightened period of increasing Indications and Warnings of domestic terror attacks, security incidents, and intelligence collection operations conducted by a plethora of foreign adversaries on U.S. soil.
Analyst: S2A1
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