Daily SA: Congress asks for plan to counter hybrid warfare

Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness briefing for Thursday, 26 August 2021. You can receive this daily intel brief via email by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa

TODAY’S BRIEFING:

• Congress asks for plan to counter hybrid warfare
• New Navy base in Pacific
• Delta to fine employees
• Commerce opens door for Huawei
• In Focus: Gudlach on the Dollar
• Economic Warning INTSUM

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

HYBRID WAR: The Chairman’s Mark of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act tasks the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress by 15 January 2022 “on operational concepts developed for the purpose of countering” China and Russia. Congress wants an overview of past and present efforts to counter hybrid warfare “occurring below the threshold of armed conflict, including cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns.” The report will also include an updated multi-domain threat and response plan for each potential theater of conflict. (Analyst Comment: Lawmakers and defense officials are preparing for conflict with China. The request is likely being made due to China’s unrestricted warfare campaigns occuring outside the current scope of government response. – D.M.)

MICRONESIA: The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reached an agreement with Micronesia to build a new base. While few details about the construction are available, an expanded maritime presence is designed to counter Chinese threats to navigation and allies sovereignty. The island chain is 3700 miles west of Hawaii and situated between Guam and the Marshall Islands, strengthening the U.S. Pacific presence. (AC: The island nation relies on the U.S. for defense and a permanent military presence is a preventative measure to limit Chinese expansion during a conflict. Navy officials said in recent hearings the U.S. needs to increase its presence in the Pacific in response to China’s increasingly hostile activities. – D.M.)

FINES: Delta Airlines announced they will not institute vaccine mandates for its employees. Instead, they will charge unvaccinated employees $200/mo as an additional insurance premium and require weekly testing. The move follows guidance from President Biden which encourages mandates in the private sector as the government lacks the authority in all instances to make such requirements. (Analyst Comment: This public-private coercion campaign is likely to continue following FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. States and corporations are preparing for eventual federal legal battles over medical mandates as inconsistent policies impact interstate commerce. – D.M.)

COMMERCE: The Commerce Department approved exports of U.S. automotive semiconductors to the Chinese-owned telecommunications firm Huawei, which is banned from selling devices or operating on U.S. networks over espionage and data privacy concerns. The company is branching out to provide in-dash vehicle components like console and dashboard screens as they have less stringent regulatory restrictions than cellular devices. (AC: Lawmakers are concerned that these components would be able to access 5G connected devices and scrape data from U.S. vehicles. China is leveraging a loophole in technology access restrictions in order to continue intelligence collection on U.S. citizens. – D.M.)

HAZARDS WARNING

HURRICANE SEASON: The area of low pressure entering the Gulf of Mexico is expected to form a tropical depression or storm in the next 24-48 hours. The exact track remains uncertain but the National Hurricane Center expects coastal impacts in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas beginning on Sunday. The central tropical Atlantic low pressure system is also expected to strengthen to a tropical depression by the weekend.

In today’s Early Warning briefing, Mike looks at the future of the Dollar, plus the most recent market warnings. Upgrade your Situational Awareness to Early Warning here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe

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