The View from the Front. By Stan R. Mitchell.

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The 10/5/21 dispatch.

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A newsletter and podcast about defense news and looming hotspots, produced by a prior Marine who's trying to help unite the country. Plus, there will always be some motivation and wisdom in each episode to help push you, because who doesn't need that?!
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The 10/5/21 dispatch.

Stan R. Mitchell
Oct 5, 2021
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The 10/5/21 dispatch.

stanrmitchell.substack.com
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Hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you’re off to a strong start this week!

Biggest news of late in the foreign policy world is China is upping its intimidation of Taiwan. (See stories below.)

Twitter avatar for @costareports
Robert Costa @costareports
"Taiwan has reported a record number of incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) for the second day in a row... "
cnn.comChina sends 77 warplanes into Taiwan defense zone over two days, Taipei saysThe Taiwan Ministry of Defense released this undated file photo of a Chinese J-16 fighter jet when they announced that PLA aircrafts entered their air defense identification zone.
2:43 PM ∙ Oct 3, 2021
75Likes42Retweets
Twitter avatar for @CNN
CNN @CNN
China sent 38 warplanes into the skies around Taiwan on Friday, the highest number of Chinese military aircraft to breach the island's ADIZ in a single day since Taipei began publicly reporting such activities last year, Tawain's Defense Ministry said.
cnn.itChina warplanes stage largest incursion yet into skies near TaiwanTaiwan has been the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing for decades and is widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic US-China war. The worry about Taiwan comes as China wields new strength from years of military buildup. CNN’s David Culver reports.
2:02 AM ∙ Oct 2, 2021
345Likes168Retweets

So far, it seems these are just harassing moves by China, but any time a country is doing this, you always fear they are just trying to get the other side to lower their guard. And then during one of the runs of fighters and bombers, it’s the real deal. A real attack with real missiles and bombs.

As of now, U.S. intelligence doesn’t seem overly concerned of an immediate Chinese attack, so that’s good. But I do think that if you’re China, even though your own forces are growing and becoming more modern and lethal by the day, you do have to worry that the West is growing better prepared and aligned to prevent/repel an invasion. And thus, an attack in the shorter term is the potentially more strategically wise move (if you’re going to risk such an incredibly risky move).

I don’t know that an invasion is possible in the short term. (You may remember previous newsletters mentioning the limited number of landing craft that China currently has.) But the U.S. certainly seems politically divided right now, and the alignment of countries against China grows by the month, so who knows. Perhaps some air strikes and missile strikes might get Taiwan to bow down, China might think.

But the risk of any kind of attack is absolutely so huge for China. It’s economy could literally be destroyed almost overnight by world-wide boycotts, tariffs, etc. So, the safe bet is more intimidation, playing the 25- to 50-year game that China seems set on. (They’re assuming, of course, that by then America will be weaker and less of a barrier.)

Before we move on from this topic, if you REALLY want to get into the weeds about the airspace around Taiwan, just give this thread of comments a read after you click the link:

Twitter avatar for @dex_eve
Decker Eveleth @dex_eve
Extremely quick and dirty job on this but it's just supposed to make the point: in red is Taiwan's sovereign airspace. In white is the ADIZ. Whipped this up because to my surprise no one had made this before (at least that I've seen)
Image
5:35 PM ∙ Oct 4, 2021
1,132Likes320Retweets

Moving to other matters, there was a good piece about the world we find ourselves in now, given our post-Afghanistan withdrawal. It’s a good reminder that we are more aligned in our country through our police/intelligence/military communities to prevent future 9/11s. A good read if you have a few mins.

Twitter avatar for @DefenseOne
Defense One @DefenseOne
Playing Defense Against Terrorism Is Totally Fine | Commentary by @LukeHartig buff.ly/2WpApYI
Image
2:07 AM ∙ Sep 30, 2021
9Likes3Retweets

In other news, for those who need their tech hit for this week, there’s this:

Twitter avatar for @defense_news
Defense News @defense_news
Learn about the resurgence of armored vehicles and how the Army uses lessons learned to develop the next-gen vehicles: trib.al/w2cltFH || Sponsored by @DefenseSoucy
Image
1:51 PM ∙ Oct 5, 2021
11Likes4Retweets

Finally, there’s been a fair amount of news about the Pandora Papers. I haven’t really been super into these stories because it seems beyond obvious to me. The rich and powerful have ALWAYS been finding ways to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes. But if you want some more info on it, see below.

Twitter avatar for @ishaantharoor
Ishaan Tharoor @ishaantharoor
Today's WorldView: The Pandora Papers’ political fallout grows
washingtonpost.comAnalysis | The Pandora Papers’ political fallout growsAmong the political elites implicated in the documents are leaders who rose to power vowing to curb corruption and boost transparency.
1:05 PM ∙ Oct 5, 2021
4Likes3Retweets

In other matters, for your hit of motivation of the week, there’s this:

Twitter avatar for @IMQuotes_Videos
Inspired Motivation Quotes @IMQuotes_Videos
Don't let excuses and self-doubts hold you back from achieving your goals. #Motivation
Image
3:00 PM ∙ Sep 28, 2021
282Likes104Retweets

And lastly, here’s a heart-warming story to end the post with:

Twitter avatar for @washingtonpost
The Washington Post @washingtonpost
School staff saw a custodian was walking to work. They pitched in and bought him a car.
wapo.stSchool staff saw a custodian was walking to work. They pitched in and bought him a car.“Chris is very personable, but he’s also very private...” said the school principal. “But once we knew, everyone wanted to help.”
1:25 PM ∙ Sep 28, 2021
555Likes51Retweets

That’s it for this post. Stay safe and be kind. As always, please share this post if you enjoyed it.

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And if you haven’t already, please sign up for email notifications. (It’s FREE. Unless would like to support what I’m doing by contributing $5 a month; cancel at any time.) 

Every Tuesday and Friday, I write about conflicts and military matters that are happening throughout the world. Such as what’s happening in Afghanistan or Iraq. How we’re aligning ourselves to counter China’s growing influence. Updates on new military technology that we’re fielding.

As long-time readers know, I do all of this from a moderate perspective that focuses on unity in our country. I also don’t believe in clickbait, over-the-top headlines, or other tactics created to increase fear or panic, all in the hope of adding to web traffic. You will always get the sober, mature view, with a slight bit of my optimism peering through. 

Feel free to leave a comment below. I love having conversations on here! You can also simply reply to the email you received and I will receive that communication, as well. I always appreciate each and every email that I receive. 

Semper Fidelis,

Stan R. Mitchell

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I write really fast-paced military and mystery thrillers. No, I mean blistering fast. With great suspense & twists. I’ve had thousands of reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and all of my books average 4+ stars on Amazon. You can find all ten books here: amazon.com.

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The 10/5/21 dispatch.

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