The Wire - February 6, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z February 6, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: USAID DISCLOSURE SCANDAL CONTINUES. MINOR AIRCRAFT COLLISION AT SEA-TAC.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Greece: Earthquakes continue as before, and increase in magnitude. Most of the earthquake clusters remain centered to the northeast of the volcanic island of Santorini. A state of emergency has been declared as the island has experienced around 7,700 earthquakes over the past week. Philippines: Overnight a US government-affiliated aircraft crashed in Maguindanao del Sur, resulting in the deaths of four American crew members. One active duty soldier, and three US military contractors were killed in the crash. AC: Details have been hard to come by as this aircraft was an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset. Anytime a spy plane crashes, the details regarding the circumstances of the crash will usually not be disclosed. The aircraft itself was a heavily-modified Beechcraft King Air 350 registered as N349CA. -HomeFront- Washington D.C. - The White House has walked back President Trumps claims on his plan for Gaza, with the White House stating that the United States will not be sending boots on ground to achieve his goals. The White House also stated that the American taxpayer will not be funding this venture. Yesterday afternoon SECDEF Hegseth reaffirmed American support to Israel, and stated that "all options" are being considered with regards to American involvement in the Middle East. Also in Washington, scandal continues to develop regarding the audit of USAID, and the various entities that this agency was sending tax dollars to. Washington: A minor aircraft collision was reported in Seattle, as a Japan Airlines aircraft collided with a Delta aircraft while taxiing. Japan Airlines Flight 68 struck the tail of Delta Flight 1921 last night, resulting in minor damage to both aircraft. AC: No injuries were reported and this appears to be a fairly common aviation mishap. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: Although no formal evacuation orders have been issued in Santorini, many Greeks have departed the island voluntarily. Local media reports that roughly 12,000 people have already left the island, even though most of the earthquakes have been comparatively small. Nevertheless, local concern is beginning to mount, leading to many locals making preparations just in case. Analyst: S2A1 Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground //END REPORT// Bibliography, Sources, and Research - SeaTac Aircraft collision: https://nypost.com/2025/02/05/us-news/delta-and-japan-airlines-planes-collide-at-seattle-tacoma-international-airport/ Seattle Collision 2: https://travelradar.aero/ground-collision-at-seattle-airport-sparks-aviation-safety-concerns/ Greece Earthquakes: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/06/state-of-emergency-declared-on-santorini-after-earthquakes-shake-island SECDEF Statement: https://x.com/AbelDebabel5785/status/1887269700033519986 https://x.com/AFpost/status/1887254576706781212 TdA Raids: https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1887293741482057745 Costa Rica Travel Alert: https://x.com/TravelGov/status/1887212969009775022 USAID 1: https://x.com/wikileaks/status/1887501752213409919 USAID 2: https://x.com/ParkerThayer/status/1887271477470195888 USAID 3: https://x.com/TheRubberDuck79/status/1887500166762274884 USAID 4: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/05/republican-ire-usaid-finds-an-unusual-target-politico/ USAID 5: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/06/trump-usaid-money-american-farms/ USAID 6: https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-ally-accuses-biden-admin-using-usaid-tool-interfere-domestic-issues USAID 7: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/usaid-musk-trump-project-2025/681590/ USAID 8: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/health/usaid-clinical-trials-funding-trump.html USAID 9: https://x.com/nataliegwinters/status/1887279648083480979 USAID 10: https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1887282174321152095 USAID 11: https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/1887191624750670294 USAID 12: https://x.com/arejaywoof/status/1886175253027487770 USAID 13: https://x.com/PesaWall/status/1887504080316027132 USAID 14: https://x.com/awsalebadi/status/1886515109813420365 USAID 15: https://x.com/Breaking911/status/1887372661019259246 USAID 16: https://x.com/RonPaul/status/1887592873064825087 Admiral Evicted: https://x.com/MailOnline/status/1887378649914933721 Philippines Plane Crash: https://x.com/XTechPulse/status/1887576298291077401 Philippines Plane Crash 2: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philippines-plane-crash-us-service-member-defense-contractors-killed/ Philippines Plane Crash 3: https://news.usni.org/2025/02/06/u-s-service-member-3-dod-contractors-killed-in-philippines-surviellance-plane-crash Santorini Earthquakes: https://x.com/mondoterremoti/status/1887593264221720953 Santorini Earthquakes 2: https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/1887609040852668502 Obsidian Internal Links: [[The Wire - February 3, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 4, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 5, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 6, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 7, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 11, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 12, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 13, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 14, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 18, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 19, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 20, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 21, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 24, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 25, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 26, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 27, 2025]] [[The Wire - February 19, 2025]] Tags: #WashingtonDC #Gaza #AviationMishap #Delta #JAL #USAID Analysis cut due to political sensitivity: It is pretty challenging to walk back the statements from President Trump on Gaza, considering that his most concerning remarks arose from a pre-written speech, and not some offhand remark that Trump is known to make. Regardless, the extreme minority of people who understand the significance of these remarks are not likely to be relieved by a Press Secretary spinning the story with zero proof that Trump stated something that he did not mean. The American people just got finished with a President who's remarks nearly constantly had to be "clarified" by a Press Secretary, especially related to very significant policy issues. The previous regime was well known for floating ridiculous policies via a leak to the press, then, after the outrage emerged, claimed that the ridiculous idea "was never the official policy, and by the way shame on you for thinking we'd ever do such a thing". The Trump team seems to be rather fond of carrying on Biden's legacy in this regard, however with one minor change... Trump's bluffs aren't usually bluffs, but rather a policy decision. In the 16 days Trump has been President, none of his bold bluffs have been called by anyone yet....and the entire Middle East has at least a 40 year history of calling America's bluffs.