//The Wire Weekly Rollup//April 14-20, 2024//

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-International Events-

Australia: Following the Bondi Junction Mall stabbing attack last week, another (probably unrelated) attack was carried out at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, a prominent and internationally famous clergyman, was stabbed by an assailant during services Monday evening. The Bishop survived the attack, possibly due to the assailants weapon failing to open. However, the Bishop and several others were hospitalized due to injuries sustained during the attack. The incident is allegedly being investigated as a terror attack, and the assailant (a minor) remains hospitalized following injuries he sustained during the attack.

Following the incident, a large crowd immediately formed to demonstrate outrage of the attack. Several thousand people have demonstrated against the protections granted to the attacker by police. Several raids have been conducted around Sydney to arrest and charge people who demonstrated outside the Church after the incident. Overwhelming censorship and police activities have resulted in the victims of the attack being victimized again by authorities who seek to crack down on those who dare to express outrage over the recent attacks. In response to the informational crackdowns, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb stated: “police will be the source of truth”.

Middle East: Tensions escalated this week following the Iranian counterattacks on Israel last Saturday. This week, Israel responded in kind by carrying out several drone attacks on military facilities throughout Iran, the most substantial of which appears to be a drone attack on Isfahan Air Base. As with Iran’s initial counterattack, Israel’s retaliation appears to have caused little damage.

-HomeFront-

USA: On Monday, coordinated demonstrations to impact transportation were observed to be conducted by various well-funded groups affiliated with various pro-Palestine movements and various climate agendas. The Brooklyn and Golden Gate Bridges were targeted by demonstrators, along with several airports and other transportation venues. Most demonstrations were disrupted after some time, though many delays and logistical problems were caused by protesters.

Pennsylvania: A fire broke out at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant Monday afternoon. Though this facility is a major military arms and explosives production facility, the fire was minor and brought under control quickly by firefighters. The cause of this fire is unknown, and an investigation is underway.

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Analyst Comments: As information warfare remains at the forefront of all activities in the Middle East, it may be premature to assume that diplomacy will result in a cooling of tensions. Following Iran’s ineffective strike on Israel, and Israel’s ineffective strike on Iran, it’s easy to forget what led to this latest escalation in the first place. Israeli efforts to directly target the Iranian diplomatic post in Syria was without question intended to spark a widening of the conflict. The military value of striking an embassy compound was negligible on Israel’s part as the military leadership killed in the strike were not particularly valuable targets in the grand scheme of the conflict. Additionally, Israel only changed positions after being deliberately and openly told by the White House that the United States is concerned that Israel is trying to drag the US into the conflict openly. The sheer frankness of this admission is honestly surprising at this stage in American politics; normally these kinds of sentiments are expressed behind the closed doors of strategic ambiguity. Only after the U.S. openly stated it will not back up an Israeli counter-counterattack in Iran does Israel launch an attack so ineffective that Israel no longer wants