//The Wire//2200Z October 15, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: CHINESE DRILLS CONTINUE AROUND TAIWAN. HELENE RECOVERY COMPLICATED BY WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS. WAR IN LEBANON CONTINUES.//

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-International Events-

Far East: China continues to conduct large scale military drills in the waters around Taiwan, with over 153x PLA aircraft and 12x PLAN vessels conducting maneuvers throughout the region.

Middle East: The war continues in Lebanon, with Israeli strikes within Beirut increasing in intensity over the past few days. Tensions with UNIFIL have continued to grow as well, as Israel has ordered United Nations peacekeepers to leave their positions along the Blue Line and in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah attacks continue in semi-random fashion, though Hezbollah has increased the targeting of areas deeper inside Israel.

-HomeFront-

North Carolina: As cold weather sweeps into the storm-damaged areas in the western part of the state, the need for cold-weather supplies has become more urgent. Snowfall has been reported at higher elevations throughout the Appalachian mountains, adding in more complications throughout an already logistically-challenging situation.

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Analyst Comments: Regarding Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, slow progress is being made. Improvisation and flexibility have been key throughout this crisis, along with conflict resolution skills for the minor-to-moderate personnel challenges that have arisen. Following the mainstream media reporting on the “militia” concerns, it has become even more obvious that these claims are false. Though the overall situation is tough to judge, at the absolute most, a few locals have expressed dissatisfaction in a few isolated situations. Some people have become frustrated with the disaster tourists seeking out the best photos for Instagram on their property, and other locals have had some limited problems with looting or general crime. However, as of now, absolutely zero primary source reporting has indicated that locals are preventing recovery efforts. Though details are very hard to verify, this rhetoric probably spun out of hand due to a single report, or some vague threats posted online. A grand game of telephone occurs, one circular report becomes many different reports, and eventually someone in an authoritative position hears it, and it becomes gospel. This, combined with many non-military federal resources looking for every opportunity to not do their job, probably resulted in these rumors reaching a national level, despite the purely nonsensical nature of the claims, and the complete absence of anyone in a position of authority actually wanting to verify any of this.

Aside from the occasional bickering or heated moments among volunteers and varying local agencies, for the most part everyone is working together with minimal conflict. As one might expect, most of the conflict that has arisen has originated from FEMA employees, who have largely not been seen in most of the hardest-hit areas, and the one’s who have been seen haven’t been doing much other than walking around with a clipboard in hand. Nearly 100% of the humanitarian aid continues to come from private citizens, local authorities, and state resources (to smooth out larger-scale aviation logistics).

Analyst: S2A1

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