The Wire - February 13, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z February 13, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK STRIKES GERMANY. STABBING ATTACK REPORTED NEAR TURKISH CONSULATE IN LONDON. US NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER COLLIDES WITH MERCHANT VESSEL IN EGYPT.//

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-International Events-

Germany: Early this morning a vehicle ramming attack was conducted in the city of Munich, resulting in the wounding of 28x people who were participating in a labor strike protest demonstration. Two people remain in serious condition, which are a mother and small child. The suspect, who has been identified as "Farhad N.", is an immigrant from Afghanistan who was allegedly already marked for deportation due to prior criminal offenses.

AC: Of note, American Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy were scheduled to meet in Munich for a security conference. As this is a developing situation this morning, it is not clear as to how this terror attack may impact the scheduling of the security conference.

Middle East: This afternoon the USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with a commercial vessel in the vicinity of Port Said in Egypt. The TRUMAN collided with the M/V BESITKAS-M, a bulk cargo carrier flagged out of Panama, and did not experience any flooding. AC: Very few details have come to light regarding how an American aircraft carrier can even be involved in a collision (due to being surrounded by escort ships and host to extreme levels of security), however it's possible that the collision took place in the very busy waterways leading to the Suez Canal. Even taking into account the challenges of maritime navigation through these waters, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which a collision with an aircraft carrier can occur.

United Kingdom: Limited reporting on social media this afternoon indicated that an incident took place outside the Turkish Consulate in London. A man approached the Consulate and set a Koran on fire while standing on the sidewalk outside the compound. A random passerby promptly stabbed the man. AC: Absolutely zero British media has covered this story, or even mentioned that it happened. As such, no details can verify that this incident actually happened, beyond video evidence posted on social media.

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Analyst Comments: The horrific attack in Munich is made more poignant in the context of local German political activity. Three days ago, a very large demonstration involving an estimated 200,000 Germans was carried out in Munich, specifically in opposition to both the AfD political party, and various immigration issues. Three days later, one of the "immigrants" that those people were protesting to keep in their nation, rams his vehicle into a crowd.

As a result (and very likely intended to get ahead of this tragedy reigniting immigration issues), outgoing Chancellor Scholz immediately called for the attacker to be punished and deported, a sharp departure from Germany's very pro-immigration stance across most of the nation. Scholz's very likely replacement, Friedrich Merz, echoed the same sentiments while on the campaign trail, stating that "something has to change in Germany". However, all of this rhetoric is very likely to be more of a knee-jerk reaction rather than a genuine change of heart or policy. For instance, immediately following his statements this morning, Merz announced a new targeting effort aimed at Elon Musk, for allowing Merz's political opposition (yet also very likely to be a coalition partner, the AfD party) to have a presence on Twitter/X.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
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