Old News, New News

Larry Johnson today focuses on the recently revealed Chinese hack of US telecommunications. It turns out that this hack happened up to two years ago—at least. Like most Americans, I noted the story but figured, if the Chinese want to listen to my calls they’re welcome to line up behind Uncle Sam. But LJ points out that there’s much, much more going on here:

Chinese Hack Means Beijing Reading and Hearing All US Military and Intelligence Classified Phone Communications

Let’s repeat the key word: ALL. Here’s the short version:

Following Edward Snowden’s escape to Russia and the release of damning evidence that the US Government was spying on Americans, the US Department of Justice pressured the telecommunications giants — i.e., Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile — to create a backdoor in their network software that allows Federal law enforcement to read texts and listen to calls on classified apps. If you are using WhatsApp and think you are safe from the government’s spying eyes, think again.

Sometime before the November 5 Presidential election, the US intelligence community discovered (or learned?) that the Chinese had hacked the “backdoor” and have had full access to all US Government-issued cell phones that use a classified app for text and voice communications. A knowledgeable source told me that the compromise started in 2022 and was only recently discovered.

…

This was a self-inflicted wound. DOJ’s insistence on having a backdoor created a vulnerability that China has gleefully exploited. That damage, according to my source, exceeds what Edward Snowden accomplished with his release of NSA and CIA files. China is sitting on a treasure trove of classified communications. I suspect this includes conversations by CIA officers using a classified app that they unwisely believed was secure.

LJ has more details, including high level assessments that this is the worst breach ever. Oh, also that Elon Musk may be a big winner with his StarShield satellite network.

That raises an interesting question. How ready is the US for WW3—really? LJ pulls no punches regarding how bad this is, and even draws a comparison to the Polish “hack” of the German Enigma machine—before the start of WW2. For anyone not familiar, this was what enabled the famous Ultra Secret. Here are some links regarding the use and significance of Ultra:

Use of intelligence

Effect on the war

Postwar suppression

Who thinks the Chinese haven’t shared this incredible trove of intel with Russia? While we don’t know exactly how bad this was—Sen. Mark Warner, who currently runs the Senate Intel Committee, says all previous breaches are “peanuts” in comparison—but this cannot possibly be good for US preparedness. If you read up on the role of Ultra in WW2, the possibilities should scare you.

BTW, LJ does briefly refer to this in his conversation today with Danny Davis. I highly recommend this conversation for its excellent discussion of the Syria situation:

Larry Johnson: Israel Targeting Syria / Are the Rebels Who They Say They Are?

One of the main themes is that the rejoicing of Neocons will be short lived—the US and Israel keep making the same mistakes (playing footsie with jihadis) over and over (and over) again.

LJ: What happens in Syria will be worse than what happened in Iraq.

DD: That’s quite a statement! [Nervous laugh]

Welcome to the Oval Office, President Trump! Compromised communications (LJ: The Chinese have EVERYTHING), the likelihood of massive problems in the Middle East. In a related commentary, this is what Larry Wilkerson had to say to Judge Nap today about Trump taunting Putin over Syria:

President elect Trump taunted President Putin by saying President Assad was abandoned by his principal benefactor—and that would be Vladimir Putin. Do you agree?

No, and I think President Trump at Notre Dame and afterwards made some really injudicious remarks, unwise remarks, and I think he's going to regret them—if Donald Trump ever regrets anything he says. But he's made some forays into diplomacy as the President elect which, one, he shouldn't have made at all and, two, are going to limit his options in places, where he said during the campaign and promised the American people he was going to take effective action like closing down the war in Ukraine.

In other words, with all these things going wrong, Trump’s loose lips aren’t helping.

Now, here’s some new news—the Zhou regime is continuing to do all in its power to undermine any possibility of peace with Russia. MoA has a very thorough roundup of this news:

After U.S. ATACMS Strike On Strategic Target Russia Announces To Retaliate

Just five days ago I postulated that the U.S. Has Stopped Ukrainian ATACMS Strikes On Russia.

Today that claim turned out to have been premature:

Status-6 @Archer83Able - 13:24 UTC · Dec 11, 2024

The remains of a US-made MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missile lying on the street in the Russian city of Taganrog following Ukrainian strikes last night.

Image

AFAIK the target was the 325th Aviation Repair Plant located in the vicinity of the Taganrog-Tsentralny Air Base.

Taganrog, on the norther coast of the Azov Sea in the Rostov oblast of Russia, is where the Beriev Aircraft Company is housed. The company is well known for building amphibious flying boat utility planes.

But it is also producing the Beriev 100 airplane which is the Russian version of an airborne early warning and control aircraft system (AWACS). The plant thus has strategic importance.

The Russian MoD responded:

This attack by Western long-range weapons will not remain unanswered, and appropriate measures will be taken.

There was a further Russian response which will make communication with Russia more difficult:

Related to this escalation may be today's warning to Russian citizens to avoid travel to the U.S. and Europe:

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, urged citizens on Wednesday to "refrain from trips to the US, Canada and with a few exceptions EU countries" over the Christmas period.

She said those that travel were at risk of being "hunted" down by US authorities.

"In the context of the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which are teetering on the verge of rupture due to the fault of Washington, trips to the United States of America privately or out of official necessity are fraught with serious risks," Ms Zakharova said.

The new ATACMS strike comes a day after the Russian president Vladimir Putin again asserted the strategic value of the hypersonic Oreshnik missile:

MoA cites the Kyiv Post quoting an American official’s ‘What me worry?’ reaction:

After today's (failed) ATACMS attack the U.S. does know what is coming:

Russia may soon target Ukraine with another of its new hypersonic Oreshnik missiles, two US officials said on Wednesday, after Moscow first used one of the weapons in a strike last month.

“Russia has signaled its intent to launch another experimental Oreshnik missile at Ukraine, potentially in the coming days,” one official said on condition of anonymity.

The targets of a Russian retaliatory strike will -for now- likely be in Ukraine.

That is why the U.S. officials seem not to be bothered or only a little:

“However, this missile is not a battlefield game-changer but an effort to intimidate Ukraine and its allies. The Oreshnik, with its smaller warhead and limited availability, is unlikely to alter the course of the conflict,” the official said.

A second US official likewise downplayed the missile’s potential impact, saying Moscow only has a limited supply.

So Russia is running out of missiles? Since March 2022? When will these idiots ever learn?

The longer the U.S. is doubting the effects of hardened metal darts hitting at MACH 10 and the Oreshnik missile's availability the greater the need for Russia to hit a real U.S. target.

You really do have to seriously ask: Is this what the Anglo-Zionists are really angling for? An actual Russian strike taking out a US facility and killing Americans outside of Ukraine? An event that will foreclose any of Trump’s plans—farfetched as some of them may seem—for peace?

Not too long ago I would never have raised such a possibility. Then again, not too long ago I never would have anticipated two actually serious attempts to assassinate a former president running for office again.