We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
🇨🇳🇺🇸 Absolutely extraordinary paper by RAND, the main think tank of the US military-industrial complex, and another key sign that the U.S. deep state - despite all the chaos and noise - is shifting away from deterring China, towards accepting coexistence (it's literally what they recommend in the paper).
These are the 3 most important recommendations in the paper:
1. Rejecting the false belief that a victory is possible in the China-US rivalry and accepting the legitimacy of the Communist Party:
They write that the U.S. should "clarify U.S. objectives in the rivalry with language that explicitly rejects absolute versions of victory and accepts the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party."
They explain that it's necessary because victory is objectively impossible ("the effective destruction of the other is not a feasible option" ), rejecting it is imposed by hard realities and because continuing to try would be catastrophic (as it would "threaten [either side's] survival" ).
2. Accepting coexistence
They write that "each side [must] accept, in ways that are deeply ingrained and broadly shared among decision-making officials, that some degree of modus vivendi must necessarily be part of the relationship." They also write that "each side [must] accept the essential political legitimacy of the other."
3. On Taiwan, they recommend not only reassuring China that it can achieve its reunification objective but also using US leverage AGAINST Taiwan to prevent provocations
This is probably the most surprising aspect of the paper. They recommend that "the United States and China should exchange a mutual set of signals" where the US would make "statements that it does not support Taiwan independence, seek a permanent separation across the Straits, or oppose peaceful unification." They write that the US should be "creating the maximum incentive for Beijing to pursue gradual approaches to realizing its ultimate goal [i.e. reunification]."
More remarkably, they argue the US should "balance its commitments to Taiwan with leveraging its influence to ensure Taiwan's actions do not escalate tensions with China." The paper explicitly criticizes Taiwan's Lai Ching-te for statements asserting Taiwan is "sovereign" and says Washington should use its "potential leverage over Taiwan to limit its activities that upset the status quo" - essentially US leverage to pressure Taiwan into not provoking China.
When such a think tank as RAND makes recommendations this deferential to a strategic competitor, it's not out of kindness of heart, they're anything but peaceniks. It's because they realize that the material balance of power has dramatically shifted.
🔗 Arnaud Bertrand
Azerbaijan: This Turkish country has destroyed more Christian monuments than ISIS.
Based off satellite data, Azerbaijan erased 108 Armenian monasteries, churches and cemeteries - in just one region.
By comparison, ISIS destroyed dozens of churches.
How is this okay?
@NoAgendaLara
UPDATE: Outrage erupts as there has been a SURGE in Islamists ATTACKING and vandalizing Japanese shrines
Security footage shows people wearing HIJABS storming up and unleashing on the Soya Shrine in Hadano City
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📎 X (Twitter)▪️Truth Social
— Hypothetically, if the U.S. wanted to carry out a naval landing in Iran, they would do it somewhere outside the Persian Gulf, most likely Chabahar or somewhere else in the flat open coasts of Sistan-Balochistan Province.
That way, they don’t need to risk their ships entering the Persian Gulf under heavy anti-ship fire and incoming drones while trying to land their soldiers on a rugged coastline full of fortified positions and artillery emplacements.
In Chabahar, they could bring their ships close enough to the shore with relative safety, under heavy air cover. U.S. jets, drones, and attack helicopters would suppress any anti-ship batteries heavily, and create sufficiently safe conditions for the initial ‘landing’. One also cannot rule out the possibility of deploying U.S. airborne forces to secure key sites before an amphibious landing is attempted.
This might be coupled with increased Balochi terrorist activity across the Iranian rear lines, complicating logistics and the transfer of ...
