The Wire - August 2, 2024

//The Wire//2100Z August 2, 2024//
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//BLUF: QUANTICO TERRORISTS RELEASED ON BAIL BY ICE. WARTIME PREPARATIONS CONTINUE IN MIDDLE EAST.//
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-International Events-
Middle East: Preparations for a widening war continue to made among all parties. An increase in U.S. military aviation traffic has been noted throughout the Middle East theatre, along with at least one Russian cargo flight directly into Tehran. Jordanian and Egyptian leadership have again voiced somewhat passive support for Israel with both claiming that they will attempt to shoot down any Iranian or Houthi munitions that breach their airspace.
United Kingdom: The situation in Southport has intensified following the media engaging in propaganda efforts with regards to the attacker, as well as governmental agencies cracking down on demonstrators with a heavy hand. Demonstrations in Sunderland, Nottingham, Southport, Portsmouth, Hull, Manchester, and Middlesbrough have been organized this weekend to protest PM Starmer’s decision to launch a special task force to investigate protests of knife attacks, instead of the knife attacks themselves.
Contributing to the palpable outrage, the media has routinely used photographs of the attacker from when he was a small child in the press coverage of the event, with some media outlets calling him a “quiet schoolboy” who “starred in a musical”. This factor alone has worsened the situation once locals discovered that the attacker was a full-grown man who was observed to be laughing in court when he appeared before the judge immediately after the attack. Recent political speeches and the use of facial recognition and advanced intelligence collection techniques by authorities to stifle protests has caused even more conflagration, along with the overwhelmingly pro-immigrant protesters who have organized demonstrations supporting immigration over the past few days.
South America: Unrest in Venezuela continues as casualties mount. Though challenging to verify, some sources claim the death toll surrounding the recent demonstrations has risen to 11. Opposition to Maduro among the populace remains high nevertheless, with demonstrations continuing throughout several cities.
-HomeFront-
Washington D.C. – The Pentagon has reached a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the key leaders associated with the planning of the 9/11 terror attacks. This deal allegedly removes the death penalty from being sought for Mohammad’s role in the attacks.
In Congress, Senator Graham has introduced S.J.Res.106, a joint resolution to preemptively declare war on Iran under the War Powers Resolution due to Iranian threats to Israel.
Virginia: Two probable terrorists were released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after posting a combined $25,000 bail. Hasan Yousef Hamdan and Mohammad Khair Dabous were arrested in May for attempting to breach a gate at Marine Corps Base Quantico. Both men are Jordanian nationals who gained entry to the U.S. illegally. Though unconfirmed, at least one of them is allegedly on a terror watchlist. Nevertheless, ICE released these individuals despite both being in the U.S. illegally (one having overstayed a student visa, the other having crossed the southern border illegally).
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Analyst Comments: The recent events taking place to highlight the vulnerabilities within the United States should probably be observed through the lens of normalcy as from a few years ago. This alone highlights how far the goal posts of societal norms have shifted.
The Quantico incident was almost certainly an intelligence collection operation, or a dry-run for a future VBIED attack on the base. The two men, driving an unmarked box truck, initially claimed to be an Amazon subcontractor making a delivery on the base. However, the gate guards quickly determined that this was not true. When this ruse was discovered, the men tried to run the gate, before being stopped by anti-vehicle barriers. As a reminder this incident was concealed even from service members on the base, with a public release of this incident only occurring weeks after it had occurred. Likewise, the revelation of this most recent information is stale by over a month.
Analyst: S2A1
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