The Wire - April 7, 2023

//The Wire//0100Z April 7, 2023// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: Finland joins NATO. Trump arrested, released pending trial.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -National Events- NY: Trump surrendered to police on Tuesday, and has entered a plea of Not Guilty on all charges. Currently, no trial date has been set. -International Events- Finland: Finland joins NATO. Finland has reportedly not requested NATO troops to be stationed within her borders at this time. AC: NATO is almost certainly interested in the deployment of troops along Russia's northern flank. Even though publicly Finland remains a largely independent power militarily, NATO has likely been quietly exploring options for covert, small-scale "advisory" deployments throughout the country, which will probably begin soon (if not already). BRICS: Member states exploring potential for common currency system, which is likely intended to serve as an opposition currency to the US Dollar. France: Widespread riots/protests continue nationwide in opposition to Macron's government. AC: Though originally the demonstrations were in response to Macron's pension reform, at this point the sentiments appear to generally be anti-government in nature, and not specifically related to one policy, but many different issues. It is unclear as to how much the demonstrations are affecting daily life, but in some areas society has completely shut down. In other areas, daily life is largely unaffected. Analyst Comments: Finland joining NATO is an expected, but nonetheless significant, development as nations continue to align along diplomatic battle lines. Now that Russia's physical border with NATO is effectively doubled, diplomatic retaliation on the part of Russia is a certainty, such as greatly expanding her aspirations towards trade partnerships with Asia. This event alone being a prelude to a total European war is unlikely at this stage, but as tensions remain at levels reminiscent of the height of the Cold War, any escalatory actions by either side are not a good sign. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst: S2ANNNN