Politics
Air Force Commander Prepares California Desert Community for Pearl Harbor-Like Strike by China
In May, the commander of Edwards Air Force Base, California, talked openly about the need for local leaders to prepare for a Pearl Harbor-like strike on his base and others inside the United States.
Brig. Gen. Doug Wickert delivered “a sobering assessment of China’s growing military capabilities” in a briefing to community leaders, according to an Air Force press release. Wickert, commander of the 412th Test Wing, spoke at Antelope Valley College on May 7.
Edwards Air Force Base is in the Mojave Desert, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
According to the press release, Wickert referenced the 1941 attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in his briefing, drawing parallels to warnings about Pearl Harbor’s vulnerability before the attack.
Such frank talk about the possible impact on a community around a U.S. military base, in the event of a war with China over Taiwan, is rare.
Notably, Wickert’s comments appear to be fully endorsed and approved by the Department of Defense, signaling a changing attitude.
“Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
A Wake-Up Call for Community Leaders
Wickert’s audience consisted of local community leaders, the leadership of critical infrastructure providers to the base, and members of Congress.
Wickert compared Edwards, a massive facility focused on testing, research, and development, to its counterpart in the Chinese air force.
He presented intelligence data on the rapid modernization and “staggering” growth of the Chinese army, the press release states. Using Google Earth imagery, he pointed to Dingxin Test and Training Base in the Gobi Desert, China’s equivalent to Edwards.
“The base sits next to a full-scale two-dimensional replica of Taiwan’s Taichung International Airport,” according to the release.
Wickert said, “It’s kind of clear what their intention is.”
A third facility close by is the General Atomics-owned Grey Butte Field Airport, used for drone production, training, and research.
“If I was Chairman Xi and it’s time to go [to war], guess what I’m going to target first?” Wickert asked. “So like it or not, we’re all in this together.”
Critical Infrastructure Attacks
Critical infrastructure disruptions through cybermethods are likely the first way in which Chinawill target the domestic U.S. military base environment.
Department of Defense military facilities are largely dependent upon local communities for power, water, sewage, information technology network connectivity, counter-drone efforts beyond the fence line, and many other basic services. U.S. military bases, for the most part, are not capable of extended continuity of operations without these local community partners, a key reason Wickert asked that community leaders be in attendance.
Coinciding with the identification of “Volt Typhoon”—a China-linked cyberespionage campaign—the United States passed its 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, including Section 1088, which directed a national tabletop exercise to assess “the resilience of domestic critical infrastructure and logistical choke points necessary for the United States Armed Forces to respond to a contingency involving Taiwan.”
Wickert may have been describing the role of his staff in the Section 1088 series of exercises when he described a recent week-long combat readiness exercise at Edwards Air Force Base.
Preventing War With China
Military preparedness is one aspect of deterring a conflict with China, Wickert pointed out.
“The more ready that we are, the more likely that we’re going to change Chairman Xi’s calculus,” he said.
However, thinking holistically and leveraging the complete spectrum of the United States’ instruments of national power—economic, financial, diplomatic, and military tools used to influence other countries—is critical, according to the general.
“The only way to win the next war is to prevent it from happening in the first place,” Wickert said.
The great power struggle between China and the United States is, first and foremost, a battle for economic dominance. It’s a battle to determine which country encumbers the world reserve currency chair.
The Trump team has an opportunity to use the economic, financial, and diplomatic instruments of national power to degrade Chinese unrestricted warfare. It it takes advantage of that opportunity, it will minimize the likelihood of having to use the military instrument of national power to engage and defeat China in a war.
All viewpoints are personal and do not reflect the viewpoints of any organization.
This article first appeared in Epoch Times and was reprinted with permission, with minor editorial adjustments for clarity and formatting.
The post Air Force Commander Prepares California Desert Community for Pearl Harbor-Like Strike by China appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Politics
Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)
Democrats continue to somehow subvert the lowest of expectations as they fight their woke crusades.
In a first ever virtue signal, New York City is set to open a transgender only homeless shelter.
The Gateway Pundit reported,
The city of New York is opening the nation’s first transgender-only homeless shelter.
The shelter, a partnership between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will cost the city an extraordinary $65 million and will be the first transgender homeless shelter in the nation.
“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community and the city didn’t do it,” said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the nonprofit that will manage the shelter for the city.
“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”
The opening comes amid a broader homelessness crisis in New York City, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to be without stable housing on any given night.
The city’s shelter system is already stretched thin, with demand rising due to a combination of economic hardship, an influx of illegal aliens ,and a severe shortage of affordable housing.
Who cares about all the other homeless people in New York City each night, the transgender homeless come first.
Truth has become stranger than parody. With any luck, Democrats will continue down this path of self destruction that has been so thoroughly rejected by the American people.
The post Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
A weeklong manhunt has come to a close with the apprehension of Michael Paul Brown, a 45-year-old Army veteran, following a fatal mass shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda.
On August 1, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Brown entered The Owl Bar, where he lived next door, and opened fire with a rifle, killing four local residents: bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley (64) and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie (59), David Allen Leach (70), and Tony Wayne Palm (74).
A multi-agency effort, including state law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and federal resources, scoured the mountainous terrain surrounding Anaconda. Helicopters, K9 units, and tactical teams were deployed across the region.
A reward of $7,500 to $10,000 was offered for information leading to Brown’s capture.
On Friday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte confirmed Brown’s arrest via social media, acknowledging the rapid and resolute law enforcement response.
“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gianforte.
The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended.
Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search.
May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss.
— Governor Greg Gianforte (@GovGianforte) August 8, 2025
CNN reported:
Brown had been on the run since the “biggest” shooting in the state of Montana in a decade. He was arrested around 2 p.m. local time Friday near the search area in Anaconda and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities, according to the Montana Department of Justice.
Brown, an Army veteran, was seen on security footage fleeing The Owl Bar, where the fatal shooting occurred, investigators said. Since then, he had been sought by authorities representing at least 38 local, state and federal agencies traversing challenging terrain in the western Montana wilderness.
“I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement following the arrest. “The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”
[…]
Brown served as an armor crewman in the US Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, a spokesperson with the US Army, previously told CNN.
Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, previously told CNN he struggled with his mental health during his time in the Army and was never the same after his service. Brown’s mental health got progressively worse with the passing of both of his parents, Boyle said.
The post Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Fire breaks out in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba.
More than a tourist attraction, more than an architectural treasure, the Mosque-Cathedral in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Spain is a historical monument and a spiritual center – so, all around the world, both the faithful and the history lovers are mourning as a massive fire consumes the building complex.
Newsweek reported:
“Firefighters are responding to the blaze at the major tourist attraction and UNESCO-listed heritage site in Andalusia. Footage shows thick smoke billowing out from the millennia-old building as flames lapped at its roof.
Firefighters from the city of Córdoba are still battling to extinguish the fire at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba but local reports say the blaze is mostly contained as of 10 p.m. local time. The extent of damage is not yet clear.”
MASSIVE fire devours historic Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba as firefighters race to control the blaze pic.twitter.com/AAAf5qz7MX
— RT (@RT_com) August 8, 2025
La mezquita de Córdoba en llamas.
Sánchez hijo de puta, vete ya que eres una plaga bíblica para el país. pic.twitter.com/CueUtni9WI— Jose Maria Baena Roldan (@BaenaRolda13716) August 8, 2025
Being simultaneously one of the most significant buildings both in Islamic and in Christian architectural history, it began as a grand mosque in the 8th century and was transformed into a cathedral in 1236.
“The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially called the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, was built as a mosque over 200 years starting 785 CE. The mosque opened in 988 CE, and remained a Muslim site for nearly 300 years before the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 CE.
The structure converted to a cathedral, undergoing additional modifications and building until one final, major addition in 1607 CE.”
– ́
Fuego en el Patio de los Naranjos provoca desalojo y corte de accesos. No hay heridos reportados.
Fuente: Cadena SER
Like y Comparte #Cordoba #Spain #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/u0P5CSkAEP— Global Network News (@iluminnatii) August 8, 2025
Read more, from November 2024:
‘The Virgin of Paris’: Medieval Statue of the Virgin Mary With Baby Jesus, That Survived the 2019 Fire, Is Returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral Ahead of December Grand Reopening
The post WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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