//The Wire//1700Z February 13, 2024//

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//BLUF: FOREIGN AID SPENDING BILL PASSES U.S. SENATE. PROTESTS CONTINUE IN EUROPE.//

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-International Events-

Middle East: Israel continues preparations for operations in Rafah as leaflet drops alongside bombing operations increase in the region. However, due to the location of this border city, there are very few locations for citizens (many of which are already refugees from Gaza City) to evacuate to, raising questions of what comes next.

Red Sea/HOA: The vessel attacked yesterday by Houthi forces has been identified as the M/V STAR IRIS, a Greek-flagged bulk cargo carrier. AC: Details of this attack have been few and far between, compared to previous reports, but CENTCOM did confirm that the two cruise missiles targeting the vessel did result in minor damage, but the vessel is under her own power and continuing her voyage.

Europe: Food shortages continue to cause issues for citizens throughout the continent as widespread protests continue. As before, these shortages are largely the result of a combination of truck drivers protesting by not delivering food to certain grocery store chains, as well as the physical blocking of trade routes and border checkpoints.

-HomeFront-

USA: The impending Israeli invasion of Rafah has reignited protests and demonstrations in the usual cities; mostly Seattle, New York, Washington D.C. etc.

Washington D.C. – In a late-night session, the Senate passed the hotly-debated $95 billion spending bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after provisions for funding to counter illegal immigration at the southern US border were removed. The bill now heads to the House for a vote. AC: If passed, this bill nearly doubles the entirety of US tax dollars sent to Ukraine. American taxpayers have sent approximately $113 billion in purely cash payments to Ukraine so far during this war, a figure which does not include hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of military hardware.

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Analyst Comments: Though very clearly the demonstrations in Europe are intended to reduce the impact of governance on food production, perhaps contradictorily, food shortages are beginning to become a problem for many throughout more population-dense locations in Europe.

It is important to note that demonstrators are not directly targeting all trade routes, but rather choosing to demonstrate at distribution centers and grocery stores that have become involved in the politics of the climate agenda. This includes preventing the delivery of certain products from certain nations, which negatively impact local agricultural production. For instance, farmers in Spain have been observed destroying truckloads of tomatoes from Morocco as these shipments have been directly related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has promoted cheap imports and increased taxes on local production and thus the main reason for the continent-wide protests.

However, the second and third order effects of these demonstrations, in a world where the globalism of trade is the standard, are likely impacting logistics in unintended ways. As demonstrated during the COVID era, food shortages are impossible to predict due to the effects of relying on extremely complex global markets. Virtually zero food in Europe is produced locally to where it is sold. For instance, a prepackaged salad can contain lettuce from Spain, cheese from the Netherlands, tomatoes from Italy, olives from Greece, and so on. This results in complicated problems when a single border checkpoint is impacted, or when a single freight truck is delayed.

Analyst: S2A1

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