War Game
Each day, people travel to Washington, DC from around the globe to see its historic sites. “War Game,” which starts with a man staring at the Capitol through his windshield and snapping photos of the Washington Monument, opens as a contemplative observer might document their visit on Instagram. They tell their passenger they want U.S. troops to “open fire” on patriotic Americans and burn down the Pentagon and it’s chilling enough that I had to know who this person was and what happened next.
Trump supporters were seen breaking into the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. They did this in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden’s election certification. Though some claim that they were merely “tourists,” footage shows that these individuals broke through barricades and locked doors, people both within the mob and among law enforcement were harmed (some fatally so), Congress members had to be evacuated until order could be restored, etc. In short, it was the first time in history that violence had been used as a means of obstructing peaceful power transition fundamental to any democratic system an act which resulted in criminal charges against many organizers, participants as well as President Trump himself being impeached twice for inciting them with his call for action while addressing supporters who later marched down Pennsylvania Avenue towards their objective depending upon how one views this event either protesting against perceived illegitimacy surrounding said elections or trying by force make sure they never get certified.
This event also marks another unprecedented achievement for first time ever US investments are being evaluated under category named “political risk”, meaning that from now on such assessments will not only consider financial market volatility but political stability too.
The car’s occupants weren’t scheming attack plans, instead they were contemplating ways to counteract one. On January 6th, 2023 veterans joined forces with former current government employees during a day long exercise aimed at preparing themselves for scenario where an organized group stronger than themselves attempts attacking Capitol Hill preventing certification process of presidential elections held two years later i.e., 2024. It was just a game designed so that those involved can understand gravity posed by enemies within our midst who question legitimacy thus destabilize trust in democracy, besides elected representatives ought also figure out how best should military react when faced with such threats?
This setup is meticulous, grave and unfortunately plausible featuring white house briefing room replica similar to movie sets plus pre-recorded news bulletins about what is happening outside based on bits of information (some fake) that filter through among other things. The enemy exploits social media platforms very effectively, uses doctored videos skillfully to manipulate their followers into doing whatever they want them do and knows too well any attempt use force against them only makes them appear stronger since it turns them into martyrs.
All participants have vast experiences thus watching them finding solutions becomes intriguingly educative, for instance the President who has just won a re-election with less than one percent margin played by Steve Bullock former democratic governor from Montana while one ex senatorial advisor takes up this position alongside another adviser who helped create factual background Alexander Vindman Ex Director European Affairs US National Security Council blew whistle when then president tried getting Ukrainian counterpart probe Hunter Biden alleged corruption scandal son Joe Biden whom Trump considered as his likely opponent in 2020 election. It is chilling to realize that service members responsible for planning such events were themselves once part armed forces deeply worried about threats posed from within As noted Senator Heitkamp “We’ve always united against external danger.” But unfortunately we’ve been dangerously complacent assuming America immune from attacks orchestrated rogue actors possessing military grade arsenal AI.
One turn in the exercise made me audibly gasp with the realization of our vulnerability. In an instant, they move from deciding if they should deploy the military to whether or not the Commander in Chief has the authority.
We’ve seen this countless times on film the man usually, but sometimes a woman, sitting behind a desk in a suit, smoking while around them people huddle over banks of computers, monitoring risks and computing options. The world is always at stake. But it’s only ever been about the action. Every James Bond and Jack Ryan movie, every heroic role played by Steven Seagal or Tom Cruise. We eat our popcorn knowing how these movies are going to end. So it doesn’t matter what McGuffin thing is going to destroy the world this time, we just need a few details so that our heroes will have something to inspire some crazy stunts and chases and explosions that demonstrate their amazing skill, cunning, technology, and heroism.
There have been very few movies about these people the ones who wear suits and ties and uniforms and sit in rooms where all day they look at screens filled with dots representing airplanes or tanks or drones or ships when I say “these people” I mean “us,” of course because there are very few movies about boring bureaucrats sending people out into situations where they might get killed. This is perhaps best exemplified by the hilariously savage 1964 classic “Dr. Strangelove” (and its alarmingly serious straight drama doppelgänger released later that same year, “Fail Safe”) but also by last year’s not seen enough “Eye in the Sky,” which was about drone warfare.
“War Game” brings it home for me literally; I live six miles outside Washington DC because this wasn’t Homeland Security running this exercise. It wasn’t the NSA or the Pentagon or Congress. It was a group called the VetVoice Foundation, made up of former military people who did it because their experience had taught them how much we were underestimating the threats from armed extremists. They tell us at the end that they briefed the government on what they found. Let’s hope somebody listened.
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