The Wire - April 3, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z April 3, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: VBIED ATTACK FAILS IN AMSTERDAM. WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES GLOBAL RECIPROCAL TARIFF PLAN. TENSIONS IN MIDDLE EAST CONTINUE.//

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-International Events-

Europe: This morning a suspected terrorist attempted to detonate a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in Amsterdam. The would-be attacker parked his vehicle centrally in Dam Square, near a group of people, before attempting to detonate the device. This attempt failed, and immolated the driver of the vehicle. Footage of the incident indicates the driver did survive his failed detonation, however his condition is unknown.

AC: Video footage of the incident very strongly indicates this was a deliberate terror attack that failed. The driver of the vehicle chose the same square in which 5x people were stabbed by a terrorist a week ago. When he attempted to detonate the device, his detonator failed and burned rather than exploding, as is an extremely common occurrence among crudely constructed IEDs.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. - The White House unveiled their new global tariff plan, which has since resulted in much consternation on the international stage. The tariff plan is allegedly reciprocal, with the US planning to tax other nations the same as they tax the United States. While the mathematical process to determine each figure is more complicated than that, this is the general idea. However, in most cases the tariff's aren't reciprocal, with the United States still not taxing some nations at the level that they themselves tax the United States. The White House released several graphical charts indicating what nations will be taxed at which rate, leading most world leaders to make various statements of condemnation regarding the tariffs that affect them.

Virginia: The USS IWO JIMA (LHD-7) departed port Norfolk yesterday evening, following the conclusion of a large exercise last week.

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Analyst Comments: It is unknown if a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is embarked on the Iwo Jima, or if this is more of a standard positioning movement to the shipyard for refit after her recent exercise. The Iwo Jima should be in her Advanced Phase training for deployment right now, but the timetables for various certifications could have been accelerated following the sharp increase in wartime preparations throughout the Middle East.

Regarding the trade tariffs, the biggest international impacts will be felt by nations such as China, which is potentially facing a 34% tax increase, on top of the 20% Chinese companies already pay. This means that most goods from China will be subject to a 54% import tax if the tariffs stand as is (which will probably change with negotiation over the next few weeks). Domestically, the American stock markets responded by dumping roughly $2 trillion worth of value, mostly in the form of tech companies losing substantially as most of their business models rely on overseas labor and/or logistics which are now subject to heavy tariffs.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
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