Good morning. Here’s your Daily SITREP for Monday, 04 December 2023.
- (1) MORE CHINESE NATIONALS CAPTURED IN FLORIDA: Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) sent a letter to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) inquiring about the circumstances surrounding 19 Chinese nationals recently arrested in Key Largo.
- Gimenez inquired about which country the Chinese nationals transited from, their suspected intentions, and where they’re currently being held.
- “The arrest of nineteen Chinese nationals in my district is yet another example of the growing trend of Chinese nationals attempting to enter the United States illegally,” reads the letter.
- Why It Matters: The number of Chinese nationals apprehended by CBP has exploded in 2023 to over 24,000 from fewer than 2000 in 2022. Lax border security is being exploited to move Chinese intelligence and special operations personnel into the United States. Over the last few years, this has included “gate crashers” under the guise of tourists, testing U.S. security responses at military installations. We should be preparing for potentially devastating sabotage and domestic attacks during a crisis or conflict with China. – M.S.
- (2) DRUCKENMILLER: CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY PAYOUTS COMING: Billionaire investor Stanley Druckemiller believes U.S. seniors will face a cut to their Social Security benefits due to America’s $33 trillion national debt.
- “Right now, current seniors, you’re going to get 100 cents on the dollar. Future seniors… is it not unreasonable for us to [voluntarily] go to 85 or 90 cents on the dollar?” Druckenmiller asked.
- The Social Security Trust Fund is set to be insolvent by 2033, which could trigger an automatic cut to retirees’ benefits.
- Why It Matters: Current Social Security benefits are insufficient for many retirees who lack additional income, and future retirees, at best, are likely to get reduced benefits. Americans in their 50s or younger should prepare for retirement without any government assistance or look at retirement options abroad. – H.B.
- (3) RAIMONDO: “CHINA IS NOT OUR FRIEND”: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo over the weekend labeled China as “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” in probably the harshest rhetoric yet from the Biden administration.
- “China is not our friend… We’re going to deny them our most cutting-edge technology,” Raimondo added in a speech where she declared the U.S. and Asia must do more to prevent China’s semiconductor industry from producing advanced chips to fuel the high-tech development of their military.
- Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin shrugged off concerns, saying that China would find ways to get around U.S. actions. “The violation of the rules and regulations of the free-trade market is just like building a dam with a sieve. No matter how hard you try, the water will just flow through it,” Wang explained.
- Why It Matters: The Biden administration has struggled to strike a consistent tone on China. The administration’s official policy is that China is an economic competitor and that relations should be improved, while words from Biden and others have undermined relations. – M.S.
The greatest risk is not preparing for the future, but the next greatest risk is preparing for the wrong things.
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