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February 28, 2020 | Get The SITREP​

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The SITREP

Stay sharp, stay informed. A weekly intel roundup for frontline leaders.

♠ Welcome to The SITREP, Episode 006 (that's Alec Trevelyan, for you GoldenEye fans). In this edition we cover Biden's first military action as President, a possible coup brewing in Armenia, critical updates in the killing of a Saudi journalist, and more. Thank you for reading The SITREP and remember: Ignorance is Failure. ♠

♠ Italian Ambassador Slain in The Congo

The Italian Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luca Attanasio, was killed on Monday when his convoy was ambushed by suspected revolutionaries while driving en route to an aid station.

• The Ambassador, along with staff members, was in transit to a World Food Program location in Rutshuru, Congo, when the convoy was reportedly stopped by armed individuals in the road. After a standoff, shots were fired, killing Attanasio as well as an Italian Paramilitary Officer, Vittorio Lacovacci.
• ​Some sources allege the confrontation was intended to be a kidnapping attempt, a common tactic for extremist and revolutionary groups in Africa, and placed blame for the attack on Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda [Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] (FDLR), a violent group known to operate in the region which has been sanctioned by the UN.
• The attack was preceded by another fatal shooting last month, which saw six park rangers killed in a nearby portion of the Congo; an area riddled by armed revolutionary factions and violent groups.

This attack marks the most recent prominent bloodshed in the turbulent history of the Congo. What the future holds for the beleaguered African state in the context of recent violence is yet to be seen. ♠

♠ Coup of the Week... in Armenia?

In the latest of a string of coups (is it just that time of the year?), reports from Armenia this week indicate that the military has demanded the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, to leave his post - effective immediately.

• The call for Pashinya to resign is likely in response to national dissatisfaction with Armenia's handling of the war with Azerbaijan (to whom they essentially surrendered after heavy casualties), and the associated loss of Armenian lives and territory.
• Specifically, the call to step down is probably due to widespread anger with Pashinya's decision to fire a top General. The Prime Minster has responded, accusing the military of attempting a coup, and has stated he will not resign.
• Armenia's future remains uncertain, as the conflict with Azerbaijan is still simmering, and may not be finished.

Will a coup in Armenia spark another conflict with Azerbaijan, especially if the populace is dissatisfied with the conflict's end? The Armenian's certainly aren't scared of a fight, as Pashinya's wife has even hit the front lines. ♠

♠ Bombs from Biden: New Airstrikes in Syria

In the first significant military action of the new White House, President Joe Biden ordered an airstrike on a compound in Syra in retaliation for the missile strikes we discussed in SITREP 005.

• The bombs were dropped this Thursday in a move the Pentagon spun as a defensive measure to protect US forces and interests in the region from further aggression.
• The Secretary of Defense, Llyod Austin, stated that "We're confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes."
• ​Critics have claimed that the strike is an example of Biden's war-hawk tendencies and his unwillingness to end the endless conflicts in the Middle East. However, this specific action drew some bipartisan supporters including Republicans Marco Rubio and Mitch McConnel.

We've discussed the uncertainties surrounding Biden's foreign policy goals before, so this strike is a data point in a still-developing narrative. Will Biden continue down the path of his predecessors and prolong or increase American involvement in Syria? Or as the Pentagon stated, will he simply act in defense of American interests when necessary? Interpretations vary. ♠

♠ Saudi Crown Prince Approved Journalist's Killing

The US Director of National Intelligence announced this week that recently-declassified reports implicate the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in the not too distant murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi.

• The journalist was killed in 2018 at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey and initial reports suggested that an action so drastic could not have occurred without the Crown Prince's direct approval. But the Saudi's blamed "rogue actors."
• Despite Saudi Arabia's claims, the CIA says otherwise. This report establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt that in the eyes of the US government, the Crown Prince approved (or maybe even directed) the execution.
• The news comes at a tricky time for the Biden Administration as it attempts to balance a moderate approach to Middle East policy with the need to maintain relations with the Saudis.

In fact, the White House just released a statement, stating that they will not sanction the Crown Prince because, well, they don't sanction any foreign leaders. Seems like a cop-out, so the real implications of the declassified document remain to be seen. As far as the US and Saudi Arabia are concerned, the enemy of my enemy may be my friend... but may not be great people. ♠

♠ Weekly Read: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

This week's featured book is a masterwork in violence and the darkness of human nature. From Amazon's editorial review: "The men as they rode turned black in the sun from the blood on their clothes and their faces and then paled slowly in the rising dust until they assumed once more the color of the land through which they passed."

If what we call "horror" can be seen as including any literature that has dark, horrific subject matter, then Blood Meridian is, in this reviewer's estimation, the best horror novel ever written. It's a perverse, picaresque Western about bounty hunters for Indian scalps near the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s--a ragged caravan of indiscriminate killers led by an unforgettable human monster called "The Judge." ♠

Get it on Amazon: Blood Meridian (referral link).

♠ Saved Rounds

• ​Free Press be Damned - Facebook chose to allow Turkish censorship... so they wouldn't lose business.
• ​Georgia On My Mind - Opposition leader in the Baltic country jailed this week.
• ​Economic Warfare with Rare Minerals - How China's mineral advantage may tip the scales of competition.
• ​A House Divided - A hard look at the contradiction at the heart of SOF "values."

♠ Closing Quote

“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”​
― Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West

♠ We Need Your Feedback!

The SITREP is a project dedicated to informing and educating ground-level leaders in the military, government, and private sector with approachable foreign policy and military news. In order to improve, we need to hear from you, SITREP readers. What did you like about this edition? What do you think we should add? Do you prefer deep dives into a few topics (like today), or more topics with shorter summaries (like SITREP 001)? Let us know by replying to this email (team@thesitrep.co) or by hitting us up on Instagram @the__sitrep.

Stay Sharp,

-SITREP Staff

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