//The Wire//2000Z December 20, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: FAA ENACTS MORE NO-FLY-ZONES AROUND ELECTRICAL SUBSTATIONS IN TRI-STATE AREA.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Germany: This evening a vehicle-ramming attack took place at a Christmas Markt in Magdeburg. A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people partaking in celebrations, killing 11x and wounding upwards of 60x people. AC: As this incident is currently developing at the time of this report casualty figures will likely be revised as the situation develops.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. – An agreement has not yet been reached in Congress regarding the budgetary continuing resolution, indicating that a government shutdown may begin at midnight.

Northeast: Throughout the region more flight restrictions have been emplaced, with 8x new airspace closures being announced throughout the tri-state area. Continuing the trend from New Jersey, the airspace closures are largely centered around electrical substations located on Long Island.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: In the closed-door meetings amongst high-ranking counterterrorism officials, it would seem that no one has pondered the reasoning as to why our critical infrastructure sites do not already have no-fly-zones around them. This is largely due to the historical analysis that the implementation of such can actually cause more harm than good, mostly because it highlights exactly which sites are most vulnerable to drone attacks.

Additionally, most of the no-fly-zones have been emplaced with parameters that are largely ineffective. For instance, most of the TFRs have been enacted covering the airspace from surface level to 400 feet Above Ground Level (AGL). This is not just a random number, this is the parameter set by the FAA for the use of recreational drones. Without special approval, recreational drones can’t be flown at an altitude of over 400 feet AGL in the United States. From a counterterrorism perspective, this is utter nonsense. No would-be terrorist seeking to use a drone to target critical infrastructure is going to play by the rules.

Once again, this small detail dismissed by most is a massive ‘tell’ that indicates how incapable federal agencies are. Remember, the FBI is coming at the issue from the angle they always do…that they can’t stop any terror attack that they don’t have a hand in planning and carrying out themselves. In short, if a would-be attacker doesn’t get groomed and assisted by the FBI at some point during their attack preparations, the FBI is powerless to stop (or even know about) the attack in the first place. For instance, the FBI is coming off of their recent bust, the November arrest of Skyler Philippi, who was allegedly planning to use a drone to attack an electrical substation in Nashville. This case involved the FBI choosing to provide materiel support to a well-known mentally unstable individual, to include providing attack plans, explosives, and assistance at the attack site on the day of the planned attack.

This is the mindset federal agents are operating from; that terrorism as the American people instinctively know it doesn’t really exist, and that any serious threat to the homeland simply can’t materialize without the FBI’s help. This is a very dangerous perspective to operate from, as it very obviously injects ego into counterterrorism doctrine. Putting up a no-fly zone around electrical substations strongly indicates this hubris; anyone with any minuscule counterterrorism experience can assert that these no-fly zones are going to do more harm than good because the lawful users of drones are not causing the problems. From the perspective of warfare doctrine, wargaming this decision for five minutes continues to demonstrate how bad of an idea this is. Much like how any obstacle on the battlefield must be observed at all times, the implementation of a no-fly-zone must

//The Wire//2300Z December 19, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: TEAMSTERS LAUNCH LABOR STRIKE AGAINST AMAZON. FAA IMPLEMENTS 22 NEW NO-FLY ZONES FOR DRONES IN NEW JERSEY.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Europe: Preparations for shifting to wartime societies continue as before. A few days ago Poland mandated firearms training courses as part of the curriculum for schoolchildren, continuing the trend of militarization that intensified in early November. Election-related conflict continues in Georgia and Romania as before. Germany continues “Plan Deutschland”, a wartime-preparations scenario by which they are considering the logistical needs for a widespread military deployment throughout their nation. Statements urging individual citizens to prepare for war continue in the United Kingdom, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and in most other EU member states.

AC: Whether or not all of these actions are just posturing efforts remains debatable, and should also be considered in the context of Europe’s continual push toward energy solutions that are nowhere near capable of sustaining a wartime scenario. Nevertheless, preparations continue to progress in any case.

-HomeFront-

New Jersey: Overnight, the FAA established 22x new airspace closures around critical infrastructure sites due to the concerns presented by the recent drone situation. All 22 of these Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) are mostly centered around electrical substations, highlighting what the main concerns are with regards malign drone activity. AC: Of note, most of these TFRs are quite small, only prohibiting drone flights immediately adjacent to critical sites. One TFR has a larger radius of 2nm as it is centered over Picatinny Arsenal, a major research and development center for military UAS technology and one of the prime suspects for at least some of the drone sightings throughout the area.

Washington D.C. – Following the widespread outrage regarding the recent continuing resolution spending bill proposed in Congress, enough opposition has materialized to stall the bill for the time being, increasing the potential for another government shutdown. This afternoon, Donald Trump took to social media to announce that a deal had been reached to get the resolution across the finish line to avoid a shutdown.

USA: This morning the Teamsters began a labor strike which has targeted several Amazon warehouse facilities and fulfillment centers around the United States. New York, Illinois, and Georgia seem to be host to the primarily affected facilities, and picket lines have been organized at hundreds of other Amazon facilities around the US.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The Teamster labor strike appears to largely be centered around Amazon resisting the efforts by the Teamsters to subvert their employees at these facilities. Following the power shifts in various labor union organizations around the United States, organizations like the Teamsters have increasingly dedicated time and funding to targeting large corporations such as Amazon. A few incidents have occurred over the past few months whereby Teamster intelligence networks have attempted to subvert Amazon facilities. Considering that Jeff Bezos and the entire Amazon corporation at large is fairly well hated by the average person for many reasons, most people haven’t really cared about what the labor unions are doing, or the power-plays that have been occurring for months. This was most clearly illustrated by the ILA scandal from a few months ago, which highlighted the national security risks that labor unions can present at critical times. In this case, staging a labor strike during the Christmas holiday is likely intended to serve as a force-multiplier to increase the pressure on logistical networks during a time of congestion. While most of Amazon’s products are low-grade consumer goods that present no

//The Wire//2300Z December 18, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: RUSSIA APPREHENDS ALLEGED KIRILLOV ASSASSIN. CONGRESS PROPOSES 1,500+ PAGE SPENDING BILL. MORE DRONE INCURSIONS REPORTED AT OHIO MILITARY BASE. CALIFORNIA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY REGARDING BIRD FLU.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Russia: As the investigation into the assassination of General Kirillov continues, one alleged assailant has been detained for his role in the attack. Allegedly, the unidentified attacker planted the IED, and managed the video camera which livestreamed the attack to a command center in Ukraine, which remotely detonated the IED. AC: Though none of this information is independently verifiable, perhaps more concerningly is the lack of Russia’s response to this attack. Russia will certainly respond in some manner, though at the moment the means by which this will occur is anyone’s guess.

-HomeFront-

New Jersey: The “drone” saga continues as before, largely spurred on by recent contradictory governmental statements. Very few new sightings have occurred (possibly due to poor weather conditions reducing visibility throughout the region), however many people are still concerned that the drones (as in, the legitimate ones that can be discerned from commercial aircraft) are being operated by a foreign adversary. A few days ago the DoJ, DoD, and DHS issued a joint statement that none of this activity is abnormal and that all drone activity is either lawful civilian operation or a case of observers mistaking commercial aircraft for unmanned platforms.

Ohio: Following Friday’s airspace closure at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, more drone reports emerged this morning. Additional unmanned aerial platforms were observed flying over the base overnight, as well as early this morning.

Washington D.C. – The latest omnibus spending bill has caused concern in Congress due to its roughly 1,500 page length and the last-minute introduction of the bill which statistically suggests that no one has had time to read through it all. However, readers of the bill have already identified that Congress is allegedly trying to give itself a 40% pay raise, prompting a general state of outrage from taxpayers.

California: Governor Newsom has declared a state of emergency regarding the H5N1 bird flu outbreak. No human-to-human cases of transmission have been reported.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The recent statements by government agencies to address the New Jersey situation haven’t really alleviated concerns due to most people simply not believing anything federal agencies have to say. One surefire way to ensure that the American people think the drones are part of a secret government test, is to say that the drones are not part of a secret government test.

Perhaps most damningly is the contradiction of what government says, and what agencies do. For instance, the DHS says the drones aren’t a threat. However, the drones spotted all around the country are so little of a threat that it has become essential to deploy large scale defenses to protect against them, and to close airspace over critical military bases due to drone activity. For instance, in October, Langley Air Force Base issued a solicitation (Notice ID FA480025R0001) for counter-UAS netting to protect the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft parked on the ramps at their airfield. The use of anti-drone netting is a wise force-protection move, however this does raise the larger concern as to why anti-drone netting would be required at an American military base within the United States.

Recently, a Chinese national was arrested for flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Yinpiao Zhou was arrested before boarding a flight back to China on December 9th.

Ever since the Ukrainian war proved their utility, small quadcopters (and now, fiber-optically controlled FPV drones) are a cle

//The Wire//2300Z December 17, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: RUSSIAN GENERAL ASSASSINATED IN MOSCOW.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Russia: This morning General Igor Kirillov was assassinated at his apartment in Moscow as an IED-laden scooter was strategically parked outside his apartment. As he was exiting his home, an unknown assailant detonated the IED, killing him. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the attack.

-HomeFront-

Louisiana: This morning a large-scale motor vehicle accident occurred on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge. Several dozen vehicles were involved in a pileup on the bridge (which is the longest bridge in the U.S.) possibly due to foggy conditions severely reducing visibility. AC: Though similar accidents are very common this time of year in the region, the scale of this accident (and the critical nature of the bridge itself) is noteworthy.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The assassination of Igor Kirillov is an exceptionally serious escalation of the war as he was the director of Russia’s department of Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops. Ukraine also immediately taking credit, instead of remaining quiet about the attack is also very likely to perceived as adding salt to the wound. Additionally, the graphic nature of bringing explosive, terror-style attacks to the city of Moscow (and publishing the video of the attack) will not be ignored by Russia, who will probably respond in kind via another IRBM strike, maybe targeting Kiev. Both Ukraine and Russia have sporadically relied upon assassinations throughout this conflict, however at this late hour, this is undoubtedly meant to escalate the situation even further.

Analyst: S2A1

//END REPORT//

 SRS Episode: https://youtu.be/T50pRCNaQCA 
00:00 - Introduction 
02:19 - Overview 
05:21 - Top Theories 
15:04 - Risk Assessment 
17:37 - My Theory 
25:15 - Things to Consider 
34:42 - Things to Check 
46:08 - Personnel Readiness 
52:43 - Syria, AQ, and the Homeland 

Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Please note that even though it hurts our income, we still offer ad-free watching via alternative platforms like Odysee, Gab, and (for now) Rumble. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/theunderground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

//The Wire//2300Z December 16, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: OHIO AIR FORCE BASE BRIEFLY CLOSES AIRSPACE OVER THE WEEKEND DUE TO UAS ACTIVITY. NEW JERSEY “DRONE” SITUATION CONTINUES WITH LITTLE NEW EVIDENCE.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Germany: This morning a vote of no confidence was held in the Bundestag, resulting in Chancellor Scholtz’s government collapsing. Snap elections are to be held in February.

Canada: Finance Minister Freeland resigned her post this morning following conflict within PM Trudeau’s cabinet. Freeland reported that Trudeau asked her to step down as Finance Minister to serve in another cabinet position over the weekend, which she replied to this morning by resigning outright.

Syria: Israeli forces have continued their north and eastward axis of advance from the Golan Heights into Syria. Turkish activities in the North continue as well, though remain harder to discern as fighting continues in the remote terrain of northeastern Syria. However, indications are growing that the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) is preparing for a large-scale offensive against the Kurds along the eastern front.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. – The White House has continued the large-scale pardons issued by the outgoing Biden regime, with 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations being announced on Thursday.

Wisconsin: A school shooting was reported at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison this morning. So far, 3x fatalities and 7x wounded were reported following the shooting, and the assailant took their own life at the scene.

Ohio: Following the events in New Jersey over the past few weeks, Wright-Patterson Air Force base reported an airspace closure due to drones inhibiting flight operations. Friday night base officials observed many drones of varying sizes and configurations, which resulted in the issuance of NOTAMs number M1132, M1133, and M1134, which resulted in the complete closure of the airspace for several hours.

New Jersey: No clear and indisputable evidence has been noted over the past few days to indicate what the recent “drone” crisis may be. Statements by officials have been mixed. New York claims to have requested “drone detection systems” from the federal government, and that these resources (whatever they are) are being deployed around the tri-state area.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The implementation of a “drone detection system” in New York is interesting in that framing the response in this manner signals the lack of understanding regarding drone detection and surveillance. The U.S. government doesn’t have a magic suitcase of tech that can make everything okay. There’s much more to it than that; drone detection and mitigation technology is an extremely wide and varied subject area, with many different means of monitoring aerial objects. From NORAD’s extremely capable suite of radar systems, to satellite-based technologies, to the intricate web of counter-drone technologies, down to the individual user level in many cases, there are a plethora of options for detecting what these “drones” might be, and where they originate from. This morning, President Trump alluded to as much, very bluntly stating that the U.S. government knows exactly what the situation is regarding the drones that have genuinely been observed. This matter-of-fact statement points to what is fairly obvious; the chances of the US government not already tracking every piece of technology in the United States, are zero. There is absolutely zero chance that at least two dozen different federal agencies haven’t already weeded out the fake/erroneous reports from the genuine sightings, and already identified where these “drones” are coming from.

More broadly however, in the realm of national security, sometimes wishing will indeed make it so. Right now, there are very real drone threats to critical infrastructur

//The Wire//2300Z December 13, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: NEW JERSEY AIRCRAFT REPORTS CONTINUE. USA SENDS ANOTHER $500 MILLION TO UKRAINE.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Luxembourg: This morning Rep. Nancy Pelosi suffered an injury while taking part in various Battle of the Bulge anniversary events. Pelosi reportedly fell down a flight of stairs during an event, which resulted in hospitalization due to a fractured hip.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. – The White House has announced another $500 million aid package for Ukraine.

New Jersey: For the past few days, little new evidence has come to light regarding the observation of unknown aircraft platforms throughout the state. All of the footage circulated by mainstream media outlets over the past few days very clearly shows commercial aircraft. The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office provided a heatmap of all of the “drone” sighting reports, indicating that most of the reports originate from areas that are in line with known air traffic corridors.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: As more and more obviously fake and/or commercial aircraft sightings overtake the hysteria in New Jersey, the very real unknown aircraft observations that occurred in the beginning (before most people started paying attention) will shift out of the limelight with no answers coming forward. Nevertheless, the events (either genuine or the result of panic/mistaken identity) continue as before.

Analyst: S2A1

//END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z December 12, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: PENTAGON DENIES NEW JERSEY UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT ORIGINATE FROM IRAN. CHINESE NAVAL DRILLS CONTINUE IN FAR EAST.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Far East: Chinese military drills in the vicinity of Taiwan continue. Overnight, Taiwan reported a slight decrease in the overall numbers of Chinese vessels and aircraft observed, reporting 34x PLA aircraft and 16x PLAN vessels operating near Taiwan over the past 24 hours.

-HomeFront-

New Jersey: The previous claims of Iranian involvement in the current unidentified aircraft incident have been denied by the Pentagon. This afternoon the Pentagon maintained the position of not knowing what these aircraft are (or otherwise stated most of the reports are a case of mistaking commercial aircraft for drones), however Pentagon officials don’t seem to be particularly interested in investigating these platforms further.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: Of note, open source satellite imagery from December 8th strongly indicates that Iran’s drone carrier vessels (the only ones with the capability to launch this many drones that’s also potentially capable of sailing to the Atlantic Ocean) are anchored in their normal positions outside the IRGCN naval base in Bandar Abbas. Consequently, unless Iran has managed to bend space-time, it would be impossible for these IRGCN vessels to have transited to the coast of New Jersey in the allotted time.

Other than confidently ruling out Iranian involvement, the origin of the unidentified aircraft sighted in New Jersey remains a mystery. Local authorities are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of help or concern from federal authorities, with many locals requesting the aircraft be shot down. However, as these aircraft sightings are taking place in the most congested airspace in the United States, combined with the minor detail that the last time the US Air Force shot down a spy balloon, they missed the target at least once, it's unlikely for any of these questionable aircraft to be shot down while within American airspace. If anything, the aircraft could be shot down while over the Atlantic Ocean, but that is also assuming that the US government doesn’t know all of the details of these aircraft already.

In many ways, the Pentagon is correct in the assessment that most of the reports conflate commercial aircraft with drones. For instance, at least 80% of all of the footage and imagery of these “drones” as provided and broadcast by mainstream media, very clearly shows what are obviously commercial aircraft. Sometimes so obviously that the airline livery on the tail can be identified. However, care must be taken to rule out all reports as some very clear unidentified aircraft/drone observations have occurred, despite the media blitz which has whipped up much mass hysteria on this issue.

Analyst: S2A1

//END REPORT//

//The Wire//2300Z December 11, 2024//

//PRIORITY//

//BLUF: CONCERNS GROW REGARDING NEW JERSEY AIRCRAFT SIGHTINGS. MAJOR CHINESE ACTIVITY REPORTED IN THE TAIWAN STRAIT. SYRIAN REBELS NOW CONTROL SIGNIFICANT STOCKPILES OF MANPADS.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Syria: Concerns are growing regarding the staggering amount of military arms that are now in the hands of HTS rebels throughout the country. Though Israel, Turkey, and the United States have bombed most military arms caches throughout the country, the al-Qaeda-linked “rebels” now control hundreds (if not thousands) of Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADs), tens of thousands of rockets, the entire Syrian Air Force, and the like. 

Far East: Concerns are also mounting regarding China’s recent activities in the Taiwan Strait. Currently, China has declared extremely large scale naval exercises throughout the region, which have drawn concerns that this may actually be the prelude to a military invasion of Taiwan. As of this morning over 90 surface vessels have taken part in maneuvers in the waters surrounding Taiwan, with hundreds of aircraft also participating in exercises to some degree.

AC: So far, the Chinese doctrine of camouflaging drills with legitimate invasion plans is working, and thus it’s too soon to tell if China will indeed invade Taiwan. Considering the events in the Middle East, and the outgoing American administration, it is possible that China means to strike while the iron is hot. However, as previously noted following the rapid-pace of deteriorating events around the world, it would also be in China’s best interest to flex their power in the region, without actually committing to a full-blown war. Also, the typical list of indications that would lead up to invasion plans hasn’t materialized in many ways that one might expect if China were planning to militarily invade Taiwan.

-HomeFront-

New Jersey: Speculation surrounding the recent drone sightings throughout the state has increased following more people becoming aware of the situation. So far, not much information has been made public regarding what is going on. However, due to the attention being placed on these events, various official statements have been made. Governor Phil Murphy has acknowledged the drones (and the dozens of sightings), but hasn’t commented on the aircraft much, except to say that the drones are not a threat to public safety. Yesterday, locals reported that one of the aircraft crashed in Montville, though almost zero details have come to light to confirm this incident, and all reporting on this alleged crash is single-source at the moment and therefore could be a false report. Companies and military contractors have weighed in on the aircraft as well. Picatinny Arsenal, a major military contractor for R&D of various technologies has stated that the devices aren’t related to their research, but they have confirmed sighting 11 drones themselves since November.

This afternoon, various politicians have stated that the drones being observed in New Jersey are suspected to be of Iranian origin, and that they are being launched from a “mothership” that is operating off the coast. More specifically, most of the information being repeated by authorities indicates that no one knows who is operating the craft, or where they come from, but many have been observed arriving and departing from the coast. Additionally, the craft allegedly do not have any signals being transmitted to them, and the lighting onboard the aircraft turns off when the aircraft is approached.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The unidentified “drone” situation in New Jersey has become more concerning as more sightings have occurred. However, these reports are probably related to more people actually being on the lookout now that the story has gone viral. As such, an increase in reports does not always equa

//The Wire//2300Z December 10, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: POWER-PLAYERS CONTINUE PURSUIT OF THEIR OWN INTERESTS IN SYRIA. CONCERNING DETAILS EMERGE FOLLOWING PREVIOUS COUP ATTEMPT IN SOUTH KOREA.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Syria: The Israeli invasion in the south continues, with Israeli forces reaching the town of Qatana overnight. As of this morning, IDF armored elements were reportedly engaged in minor skirmishes within 10 miles of Damascus, with the axis of advance largely being undertaken from the Golan Heights, along the Syrian border with Lebanon. In the north, Turkey continues their large-scale bombing/shelling of various positions to the east of their historic occupation areas (AC: Turkey has maintained an invasion of northern Syria for a few years, which has been tied up in various legalese, but is essentially their own “buffer zone” invasion they carried out years ago, similarly to what Israel is currently carrying out in the south).

Meanwhile, the war continues in eastern Syria between a conglomeration of random groups, the most prominent of which are the Syrian Defense Forces (or SDF, the US-backed coalition fighting various other groups in the autonomous eastern region of the country). This afternoon, the US CENTCOM director for the counter-ISIS mission in the east visited several military bases throughout the region, reaffirming American government support to their interests throughout the failed state.

South Korea: Investigations into the actions of various military commanders during last week’s coup attempt continue. Initial data (as made public by investigators) indicates that this coup attempt had been planned for some time, with some commanders allegedly engaging in planning efforts as far back as the summer of 2023.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: As a consequence of events on the Korean Peninsula, scrutiny has once again returned to President Yoon, who originally attempted to attribute his actions to innocent buffoonery. Now, it would seem that President Yoon had likely been planning this action as a real and genuine attempt to seize power, and not just politically grandstand. His failures, however, prevented his success. Many military leaders within the sphere of Capitol defense did not know of the coup plans, and thus the internal checks and balances prevented the speed and violence of action needed for the coup to work. Likewise, the foot-dragging of other lower-level soldiers, and the hesitation to carry out questionable orders without a doubt saved lives. Something as simple as a junior officer telling his guys to go take a ramen break for half-an-hour may very well have prevented calamity from befalling the nation.

In short, the actions of low-level staffers and junior soldiers to act with magnanimity, not necessarily to pick a side during the coup, but to approach the situation with great discernment, reflect great credit on their devotion to their nation. Though very unconfirmed at this time, some rumors of an exceptionally serious nature have begun to mount following the revelations that have come to light over the past few days. Allegations have been made that President Yoon may have even attempted to stoke a war with North Korea to solidify his coup attempt. More specifically, he allegedly was planning to authorize a drone to fly over Pyongyang as a way of stoking a North Korean military response which would justify Yoon’s coup. 

As this is a VERY serious implication/accusation, much more investigation is needed. After all, Yoon’s political opponents have great motivation to hang him out to dry, even to include exaggeration or lies about Yoon’s actions. As such, great care must be taken to avoid the situation spiraling out of control again; South Korea might not be out of the woods just yet with regards to activities transitioning out of the realm of traditional politics and more into