• Kim Jong Out? Some see signs of collapse  No shots fired at defector, U.S. preps 'infiltration,' economy on brink http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/kim-jong-out-some-see-signs-of-collapse/

• North Korean source of massive computer worm attack. TheWashington Postreports the Trump administrationidentified North Korea as the source of the WannaCry computer worm that affected 230,000 computers earlier this year. The administration called on “all responsible states” to counter North Korea’s ability to conduct cyberattacks and to implement all “relevant” UN sanctions. “The [WannaCry] attack was widespread and cost billions, and North Korea is directly responsible,” said a Trump administration official.  “We do not make this allegation lightly. It is based on evidence. We are not alone with our findings, either.”[i] Note: Russia should share some of the blame because that nation facilitated North Korea’s enhanced access to the worldwide web.

• SECDEF claims N Korea’s ICBM not yet “capable threat.” Reutersreports U.S. SECDEF Jim Mattis saidthat even as an analysis continued on North Korea’s most recent missile test, he does not believe its ICBM is capable of threatening the U.S. homeland. “It has not yet shown to be a capable threat against us right now … we’re still doing the forensics analysis,” Mattis said.[ii]

Other dangerous areas of our world

• Chinese warplanes test neighbors’ air defenses. TheAssociated Pressreports Chinese warplanes on a long-range drill to the Sea of Japanconducted drills around rival Taiwan, an action that prompted South Korea to scramble fighter aircraft. A Chinese air force spokesman said its air force dispatched bombers, fighters and reconnaissance planes through the Tsushima Strait to the Sea of Japan to “test its ocean combat ability.” “This is a regular annual training arrangement of China’s air force that accords with the relevant international laws and practices and it isn’t aimed at any particular state, region and target,” the spokesman said in a statement.[iv] Note: Beijing is steadily increasing pressure throughout the Indo-Pacific region through its far reaching air incursions, its island-building campaign and its rapidly expanding naval presence.  These upgrades and confrontations are not going without notice and are worrisome given President Xi’s promise at the 19^thCongress to make China a global military power. 

• Worst Obama legacy yet – trading America’s national security for an Iran nuclear legacy. Politicopublished a fascinating report about an ambitious U.S. task force targeting Iran’s terror proxy Hezbollah and was sidelined by the White House’s desire for a nuclear deal with Iran. This is very much a “deep state” story of intrigue and political manipulation by the Obama federal bureaucracy. Specifically, Project Cassandra was a $1 billion, 2008 Drug Enforcement Administration effort targeting Hezbollah’s drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities.  The interagency effort traced the criminal conspiracy to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Tehran. However, that effort was sidelined by Obama officials who threw insurmountable roadblocks in its way. Even though Hezbollah delivered multi-tons of cocaine into the U.S. and undermined American interests globally, then Obama CIA director John Brennan insisted upon helping Hezbollah to gain more influence in Lebanon.  The end result of the Obama administration’s effort was to neuter Project Cassandra to curry favor with Tehran to embrace the 2015 nuclear agreement.[vi] Note:  ThePoliticopiece is long, complex but the allegation is clear: the Obama administration sacrificed America’s security/welfare in exchange for the Iran nuclear deal – the former president’s foreign policy legacy.  

• China-India enter troubled water dispute.  STRATFOR reports “The latest dispute between India and China is as murky as the water it's over. In October, the South China Morning Post reported that China had revived plans to build a 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) tunnel to divert water to Xinjiang province from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in southern Tibet and was testing the technique on a separate tunnel project. China denied that any such plans were underway. But when the Sang River then appeared muddier than normal in recent weeks and displayed elevated levels of iron, it struck a nerve in India. A local leader running for office in Arunachal Pradesh speculated that Chinese construction was responsible for the pollution, but he failed to provide evidence to back up his assertion and both Indian and Chinese leaders denied that China was responsible for the muddy waters. On Dec. 4, Indian Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said an earthquake that took place in mid-November could be responsible for changes to the river. Whether China is planning a diversion project or not and regardless of whether it is behind the most recent murky waters, the events have shown just how volatile transboundary rivers can be for the regional giants.”[vii]

Robert Maginnis