Among the multiple stories over the last few weeks about Chinese intelligence and hackers either attempting to, or outright gaining access, to U.S. cell phone networks (with reports stating President Trump and his team were targeted), comes news of a hack of T-Mobile’s network.

T-Mobile’s network was reportedly breached in a Chinese cyber-espionage campaign targeting multiple U.S. and international telecom companies, according to the NY Post, citing the Wall Street Journal.

Hackers tied to a Chinese intelligence agency accessed the network to spy on high-value intelligence targets, though the timing of the attack was not disclosed.

The NY Post, citing WSJ, wrote that the extent of data taken from T-Mobile customers remains unclear.

The FBI and CISA recently revealed that China-linked hackers intercepted surveillance data meant for U.S. law enforcement after breaching several telecom firms.

Earlier reports indicated that Chinese hackers accessed networks of broadband providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, extracting data from systems used for court-approved wiretapping.

“T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack,” a spokesperson for the company said. “At this time, T-Mobile systems and data have not been impacted in any significant way, and we have no evidence of impacts to customer information.”

Sure.

At this moment, most Americans have no idea that a war between the United States and China is coming.

Just a few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping boldly talked about “preparation for war” as he was dressed in military fatigues…

On Thursday Chinese Communist Dictator Xi Jinping commanded troops to strengthen their preparedness for war while visiting his People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force following last week’s drills of surrounding the sovereign country of Taiwan.

“Xi said the military should ‘comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities,’ CCTV reported,” according to the AFP and reported on Barrons Saturday.

Why would China need to prepare for war? Needless to say, nobody is planning to attack China.

The truth is that the only reason that China would need to prepare for war is if it was planning to invade Taiwan.

Because the moment that China invades Taiwan, the U.S. and China will be at war.

In recent days, the Chinese have been getting very aggressive with Taiwan…

On Monday, Beijing had deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan — its fourth round of large-scale war games around the democratic island in just over two years.

China’s communist leaders have insisted they will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.

Meanwhile, western leaders continue to publicly discuss sending NATO troops to Ukraine. The latest example of this came from the foreign minister of Lithuania…

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement to Politico on Monday that European Union countries should return to the idea of putting boots-on-the-ground in Ukraine to fight Russia.

The idea comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that sending Western troops to Ukraine is not ‘ruled out’ for the future plans in war against Russia, according to the AP. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shut down that plan for the time being however.

“If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by [French President] Emmanuel Macron,” he said in written comments, Politico reported on Monday.

One of the reasons why this has came up again is because there are reports that soldiers from North Korea are being equipped and sent to fight for Russia on the front lines of eastern Ukraine…

North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, appearing to confirm reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine.

The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, in what is thought to be a clear sign of the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Both sides just continue to escalate matters.

It appears to be just a matter of time before we find ourselves in a direct conflict with the Russians, and that is a really, really bad idea.

North Korea has been making all sorts of noise lately.  In addition to sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the North Koreans are also threatening to invade South Korea…

North Korea has said it had found the remnants of a South Korean military drone and that any further “violation” of its territory would result in a “declaration of war.”

Tensions between the two sides of the peninsula have escalated since May when the North began flying balloons carrying garbage across the border to the South, prompting Seoul to respond by restarting loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts.

This week, North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang on three occasions this month and threatened to respond with force if it happened again.

The North Korean military is vastly superior to the South Korean military. If North Korea invades, the only way that South Korea will survive is if we intervene.

But right now the U.S. military is focused on the Middle East, because that conflict could spiral completely out of control at any moment.

On Sunday night, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari warned that Israel would soon begin targeting any financial institutions that aid Hezbollah…

“In the past 24 hours, dozens of projectiles have been fired at northern Israel,” he began. “In the next minutes, we will issue an advance evacuation warning to residents of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon to evacuate locations being used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities. I emphasize here: Anyone located near sites used to fund Hezbollah’s terror activities must move away from these locations immediately.”

“We will strike several targets in the coming hours and additional targets throughout the night.

“In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran funds Hezbollah’s terror activities by using civilian institutions, associations, and NGOs that act as fronts for terrorism.”

And it certainly did not take long for that to start happening.

Last night, branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank were hit by Israeli airstrikes…

Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Beirut and other areas of southern Lebanon overnight, including branches of a bank accused of holding funds used by Hezbollah.

The military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, had earlier in the night issued several evacuation orders for buildings throughout southern Lebanon he said were in the vicinity of facilities belonging to the U.S.-sanctioned Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank.

Most people in the western world have absolutely no idea how chaotic things have become over there.

It is being reported that there is “widespread panic” in Beirut at this moment…

Jeanine Hennis, the United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, said that after the IDF issued its evacuations, said there was “widespread panic” in Beirut.

“A brief window to escape to safety. Intense blasts reverberate across the night sky. With each day, Lebanon suffers more. But even amid the escalating violence, solutions remain available. If only opportunities would be seized,” she said.

Could the U.S. soon find itself involved in 4 major global wars?

Let’s hope not, because we are not even prepared to fight one…

The US Army’s outgoing top commander in the Pacific region has warned that the US can “ill afford” another war because its military is vastly overstretched.

According to Defense One, Gen. Charles Flynn said that the US’ authoritarian rivals — Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea — had been placing increasing pressure on American military resources.

Speaking at the AUSA conference in Washington DC last week, Flynn described the technology and military alliances between the authoritarian states as a “very dangerous combination.”

The U.S. military is not the overwhelming global force that it once was.

While other major powers have been feverishly preparing to fight World War III, our military has been rapidly becoming a politically correct joke.

Now a day of reckoning is upon us, and we are not ready.

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

The proposed change to the tax code is meant to dissuade American businesses and funds from supporting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which lawmakers and the intelligence community have increasingly warned is a national security risk in recent years.

“For too long, Americans investing in China’s military-industrial complex have been given unfair tax breaks that allow them to profit from funding our adversary,“ Moolenaar stated in the announcement. ”Our nation’s tax code should be incentivizing investment in the United States, not collaboration with the CCP.”

Capital gains tax policy allows for the deferment of paying taxes for profit on an investment. It’s meant to encourage investment, and currently has no location-based restriction. The bill, titled the Patriotic Investment Act, targets investments with ties to the CCP, and specifically notes it doesn’t apply to Taiwan.

Chinese investments would instead be taxed at the highest income rate. If the bill is passed into law, companies would have six months to divest from China before the new rate kicks in, and can pay in three installments.

“The Capital gains tax rate was meant to encourage investment in American innovation, not fund an oppressive communist regime,“ Rubio stated. ”But Wall Street continues to give money to our adversaries and reap rewards from the American tax system. Enough is enough.”

In addition to national security concerns, the lawmakers noted that the CCP pours “hundreds of billions of dollars” into enterprises to maintain its military, which aids its persecution of ethnic and religious minority groups via torture and slave labor, and violates international trade rules in a way that has “dismantled” American industries, businesses, and jobs.

The bill comes a day after Moolenaar previewed the action at a talk at the American Enterprise Institute, calling divestment from the CCP a “No. 1 priority.”

China, the world’s second largest economy, is currently facing an economic crisis, with record levels of foreign investment pulling out.

Still, its economy is deeply intertwined with international supply chains, and Chinese companies, most of which have CCP ties, still supply critical components to American companies, even in competitive industries.

When the White House earlier this week proposed a ban on Chinese software and firmware for connected vehicles, the Commerce Department noted that implementation would need to be delayed until 2027 because American manufacturers have said that they do not know where all of their parts components originate and the new due diligence processes will be complex.

In the chip industry, the United States has taken many steps to block China’s access to advanced semiconductors, but China is still a top exporter of larger chips, and American companies still depend on them.

It directs the Navy to develop “readiness for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027,” pointing to China’s preparations for a possible invasion of Taiwan in the same year.

“The Navy emphatically acknowledges the need for a larger, more lethal force,” the document, titled “Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy,” states.

“By 2027, the Navy will be more ready for sustained combat as part of a Joint and Combined force, prioritizing the People’s Republic of China as the pacing challenge and focusing on enabling the joint warfighting ecosystem.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, claims that Taiwan is a part of its territory that must be united with the mainland through any means necessary.

However, Taiwan is self-governed by a democratically elected government and has never been controlled by the CCP.

CCP leader Xi Jinping has nevertheless ordered the communist regime’s military wing to prepare for war and to develop the capabilities required to invade Taiwan.

The regime has since engaged in a more than decade-long shipbuilding spree, massively expanding its fleet, drone capabilities, and nuclear arsenal.

Most importantly, for a Taiwan invasion scenario, it has also launched its own advanced aircraft carriers and destroyers.

That poses a problem for the United States, as the U.S. Navy floats far fewer ships than the Chinese, and must spread them more widely to maintain its global military presence.

China, meanwhile, can position the vast majority of its naval and coast guard units close to home, where they can receive cover from land-based units and where it is easier to maintain their supply lines.

A congressional report published in July found that “the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat” against China.

The July report also said that China is likely to increase its hostile behavior in the coming years to “normalize unlawful behavior” around Taiwan as it seeks to take advantage of the United States’ lack of ability to deter conflict.

Key to the new Navy document’s goals, therefore, is the fulfillment of Project 33, a naval initiative aiming to ready the force by eliminating delays in maintenance, scaling the use of autonomous and robotic systems, and increasing navy recruitment, among other things.

“We cannot manifest a bigger traditional Navy in a few short years, nor will we rely on mass without the right capabilities to win the sea control contest,” the document reads.

“Nearer-term operational challenges demand that we integrate proven robotic and autonomous capabilities as soon as possible.

“We must do so with a focus on how we will use these systems in war. By 2027, we will integrate proven robotic and autonomous systems for routine use by the commanders who will employ them.”

Scaling the deployment of autonomous systems is just part of the puzzle, with the document underscoring that the United States’ grim position in the Indo-Pacific “goes well beyond just the size of the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy fleet.”

The document notes that China’s joint forces are developing into an integrated fighting force “specifically designed to defeat ours” and are backed by China’s massive industrial base.

The document also calls on the Navy to work with Congress to secure critical supply chains and lays out a vision in which all fleet headquarters in the service will field their own maritime operations centers.

The goal of the latter directive is to ensure that the U.S. Navy can continue to maintain superiority in command and control, military intelligence, and maneuvers, even against a numerically superior foe in a vast and distributed region.

“We must meet all the objectives in this Navigation Plan to field the people and capabilities needed to fight and win today, in 2027, and beyond,” the document states.