{"id":1605209,"date":"2022-08-14T07:31:51","date_gmt":"2022-08-14T11:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1605209"},"modified":"2022-08-14T07:31:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T11:31:55","slug":"u-s-beats-china-at-high-cost-in-think-tanks-taiwan-war-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-beats-china-at-high-cost-in-think-tanks-taiwan-war-game\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Beats China at High Cost in Think Tank\u2019s Taiwan War Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fu-s-beats-china-at-high-cost-in-think-tanks-taiwan-war-game%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1605209&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2013 In a pessimistic, but realistic, 2026 war game scenario, a combined sabotage and information operation campaign helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2022\/01\/24\/china-sends-39-warplanes-toward-taiwan-largest-in-new-year\/\">Chinese military forces<\/a> land on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2021\/11\/01\/pentagon-rattled-by-chinese-military-push-on-multiple-fronts\/\">shores of Taiwan<\/a>. The United States, caught off guard due to another global crisis, must rapidly respond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In this near future, the United States has some, but not all the weapons, units and ships it needs for this fight. But there is no magic bullet that\u2019s going to solve this invasion in a matter of hours or even days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Players in the air-conditioned offices of the Center for Strategic and International Studies huddled around conference room tables on Aug. 5. One room had the U.S. map of the Pacific region laid out, dotted with blocks of blue representing U.S. ships, airpower and units. Beside this map is another, dotted in red, showing the Chinese military view of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In another room a detailed map of Taiwan sits, red forces already positioned and moving to take control.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">This is the end of a week of war games in which various retired military officers, think tank experts and other government officials have participated. The result will be an extensive report later this year from CSIS analyzing the outcomes of 22 iterations of a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. In all but one, the \u201cTaiwan alone\u201d version, the United States is heavily involved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The game umpires include two doctoral students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a former Marine captain and Eric Heginbotham, a principal research scientist with MIT\u2019s Center for International Studies and author of five books and numerous articles on China\u2019s military power. Overseeing the project is Mark Cancian, a CSIS senior advisor and retired Marine colonel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Some variants had Japan involved from the start. The Philippines allowed U.S. basing in some iterations, but not others. Game moderators permitted U.S. strikes on mainland China in some, but not others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Throughout the week the game always reaches a stopping point where the players know the likely outcome and, nearly always within the roughly three-week timeframe of simulated combat, it reaches a stalemate on Taiwan between U.S. and Chinese ground forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The U.S. team on Aug. 5 included <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnas.org\/people\/chris-dougherty\">Chris Dougherty<\/a>, a senior fellow for the Center for a New American Security\u2019s Defense Program, and <a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellaerospacepower.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rice.pdf\">Daniel Rice<\/a>, an analyst with The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Dougherty also served first in the Army\u2019s 75th Ranger Regiment and later as a senior advisor to the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The China team consisted of Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/sais.jhu.edu\/users\/nbensah1\">Nora Bensahel<\/a>, a Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies visiting professor, and Institute for Defense Analyses research staff member <a href=\"https:\/\/advanced.jhu.edu\/directory\/thomas-greenwood\/\">Thomas Greenwood<\/a>, also a retired Marine colonel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In the very real world, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/02\/us-house-speaker-pelosi-arrives-in-taiwan-defying-beijing\/\">U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi<\/a> had only concluded her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/07\/20\/military-thinks-pelosi-taiwan-trip-not-a-good-idea-biden-says\/\">controversial trip to Taiwan<\/a> days before this war game began.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">People\u2019s Republic of China party officials denounced Pelosi\u2019s trip, calling it a provocation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2022\/08\/05\/china-halts-climate-military-ties-over-pelosi-taiwan-visit\/\">Chinese government<\/a> considers Taiwan a part of China and fights attempts by other nations to officially recognize the country\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cChina will definitely take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to\u201d Pelosi\u2019s visit, officials with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The wide variety and sheer number of games gives analysts a robust data set, multiple players in the Aug. 5 iteration told Military Times. This is one way to go beyond the headlines and official quotes for a nitty gritty look at what it might take to counter China\u2019s ambitions for Taiwan in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption class=\"image__Caption-sc-23pfqr-0 bJsBbG a-caption\">\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-1gn0vty-0 eGGFoB image-metadata\"><span>Marine Corps Pfc. Kevin Kent, a heavy equipment operator with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, moves his fleet during a squadron war game competition at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, April 26, 2022. (Sgt. Phuchung Nguyen\/Marine Corps) <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"heading__StyledHeading-sc-123v3ct-0 iKlOni a-heading2\">Time, resources and strategy<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In an age of data mining, advanced algorithms, machine learning and seemingly endless computer-run simulations, what value would an old-fashioned table top map, game pieces and a fistful of 20-sided dice hold?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cI think it helps you get a far better sense of what U.S. strengths and weaknesses are, and (what) an adversary\u2019s strengths and weaknesses are, in a way that you can\u2019t get from reading an order of battle or a news article,\u201d Bensahel told Military Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Hearing from a variety of experts on aspects of air, land and maritime assets and challenges also gives players a deeper understanding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cIt helps shape your way of thinking and how you approach problems in a broader sense,\u201d Bensahel said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In this not-too-far-off scenario, four players are waging war in an operation that, should it unfold in the real world, would have catastrophic consequences. And the time of gameplay matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cIf you want anything meaningful to happen on the ground, it happens in weeks or even months,\u201d said Mark Cancian, former Marine officer, game co-designer and umpire. \u201cThe thing I like to tell people is look at (World War II) Okinawa took two months and three weeks and that island on the board is not that big. There\u2019s a lot of loose talk on fait accompli. If the Taiwanese fight back, it would take months for China to take it on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">On the first U.S. turn, the players lost an entire aircraft carrier, though it was on the board from the \u201cbaseline\u201d opening and not that team\u2019s choice to have it where it was located. In a version earlier in the week, the United States lost 700 aircraft over the three-week battle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">None of these provided a pretty outcome, but in each of the versions, the United States prevailed, Cancian said.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption class=\"image__Caption-sc-23pfqr-0 bJsBbG a-caption\">\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-1gn0vty-0 eGGFoB image-metadata\"><span>Leaders assigned to 2nd Cavalry Regiment conduct a multinational war gaming meeting involving leaders from the United Kingdom, Hungary and the Netherlands during a planning phase while participating in Allied Spirit I at Hohenfels Training Area located in Germany, Jan. 20, 2015. (Army) <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"heading__StyledHeading-sc-123v3ct-0 iKlOni a-heading2\">A war game renaissance<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Dougherty noted that war games once dominated the discussions but fell to a low point during the counterinsurgency decades of the early 2000s. That was until nearly a decade ago when former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva authored an article calling for a renaissance in wargaming in a <a href=\"https:\/\/warontherocks.com\/2015\/12\/revitalizing-wargaming-is-necessary-to-be-prepared-for-future-wars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2015 article<\/a> on the website, \u201cWar on the Rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The article challenged think tanks and war colleges to reinstitute wargaming in their work, pointing to inter-war periods of the past where wargaming helped the U.S. and its allies prepare for large-scale conflicts such as World War II and the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The Marine Corps has touted its use of wargaming, especially those using algorithm-based simulations, to run hundreds or even thousands of iterations of a scenario. That data, Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger has said, in part drove many of the major decisions the service has made in recent years to radically transform its force design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The changes included shedding all the Corps\u2019 tanks, re-configuring artillery units, and even altering the foundational structure of its infantry rifle squads.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">But those decisions also drove controversy. More than a dozen retired Marine officers, many of them generals, publicly argued that the decisions were too radical. They wanted to see what these simulations laid out that led to such moves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The defense press has asked the same question. Official Marine responses lean on the rigorous analysis the service\u2019s leaders said they\u2019ve performed, but stop short of revealing much, citing classification and secrecy concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Cancian has lodged his own criticisms of the moves. And he told Military Times during the CSIS war game event that part of the value of the think tank exercise is that it can be public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">A heavy element in the Marine planning for a war with China is its Marine Littoral Regiment, a still-forming unit that is experimenting with new weapons systems, formations and employment strategies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cWhat are the assumptions? Where is the MLR?\u201d Cancian said. That\u2019s critical information for analysts, journalists and the public to understand better so that the Corps\u2019 decisions make sense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cAnd the Marine Corps says it\u2019s all classified,\u201d Cancian said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Some of those assumptions are tested almost immediately in the Aug. 5 war game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Luckily in this iteration, the Philippines and Japan have allowed the United States to base forces on their territory and use their airspace, though they\u2019ve not entered the conflict.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">It\u2019s nice to have some land nearby to work from. But the distance is challenging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The Marines\u2019 key weapon, the Naval Strike Missile, simply can\u2019t shoot far enough with its 100 nautical mile range, making it ineffective for strikes from the Philippines to Taiwan, which is where Marines might be stuck if their access to the area around Taiwan is denied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cIf I\u2019m not on Taiwan, that weapon is basically useless,\u201d Dougherty said. The CNAS expert has confidence that the MLR can be effective but he thinks the unit needs a longer ranging weapon than the NSM for this kind of scenario.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">And in every scenario, once the conflict stars there\u2019s a \u201cforest of Chinese ships\u201d around Taiwan. In other games the Chinese military sunk an entire Amphibious Ready Group twice. And twice when the MLR did get onto Taiwan, it ran out of supplies and Chinese fires destroyed both its aerial and sea-based resupply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Rice\u2019s employer, The Mitchell Institute, uses war games to see what hard data might show gaps either in capabilities or assets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">A career-long China expert who now focuses on airpower for the institute, Rice told Military Times that bringing that kind of data to the discussion with a service or Congress can give weight to argument for various resources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">For example, in the midst the Aug. 5 war game, the U.S. aircraft carriers proved too vulnerable. Or a planner might hinge their whole operation on their landing force securing a beachhead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cYou might think you\u2019re totally shored up on the Marines rolling this (operation), but we ran the war game and every single time no Marine made it to the beaches of Taiwan,\u201d Rice said, as a hypothetical example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">War games are usually the realm of top military brass or specially invited experts with classified clearances. But strategy games, whether military-made educational tools or classics such as \u201cAxis &#038; Allies,\u201d a four-decade old World War II board game, can benefit even low-level strategic thinking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Playing these games helps military members work through small pieces of conflict and bigger picture views of how to integrate joint forces, doctrines and warfighting plans, Greenwood said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cI think war games are essential, because it lets you, in a peacetime environment &#8230; experiment and tinker with new ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption class=\"image__Caption-sc-23pfqr-0 bJsBbG a-caption\">\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-1gn0vty-0 eGGFoB image-metadata\"><span>Lt. Cmdr. Fisher Reynolds and Brazilian Navy Lt. Cmdr. Savio Cavalcanti provide inputs to a multitouch, multiuser interface as part of a control group at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., during the 2013 Inter-American War Game. (Chief Mass Communication Specialist James E. Foehl\/Navy) <\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"heading__StyledHeading-sc-123v3ct-0 iKlOni a-heading2\">The bitter end<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The players and moderators ran their game for more than an hour, going through major moves, assumptions and outcomes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cWe took a giant face shot on our first turn when our carrier died,\u201d Dougherty said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cThat always happens,\u201d Mark Cancian said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the big lessons from these (war games) is that a deterrent is also a target,\u201d Mark Cancian said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">While the China team had early successes, they lost far too much and took too many strikes on their ports and supply chain to continue the fight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">By the end of the game, the China team had more than 30 battalions on Taiwan, quite a feat in under three weeks of battle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">But the U.S. was able to cut off the Chinese resupply entirely, leaving thousands of simulated Chinese soldiers foraging for food, low on ammunition and trying to outmaneuver U.S. forces in a cat-and-mouse fight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">Dougherty noted how the time frame helped show real-world considerations. In many days-long simulations, the United States takes many losses, and the end looks dire. But in a longer timeline, China takes more losses and once the U.S. gets its forces flowing into theater, the result is almost unchangeable \u2014 the U.S. wins, but at a heavy cost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">An aircraft carrier that started play a little too close to Chinese weapons systems was lost early. Other carriers hightailed it out of Chinese weapons ranges but were then ineffective in providing support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">In the end, Japan did enter the fight, losing a Surface Action Group and other equipment. The United States lost three Surface Action Groups, comprising typically of at least three to four ships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">But the Chinese military took far more hits \u2014 51 amphibious ships, 58 major combatant ships, seven Surface Action Groups and many more air and fires assets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">As one player noted, the Chinese Navy ceased to exist in any functional capacity after a few weeks of U.S. strikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">The game ended before the complete conclusion of fighting, so it could get worse. The losses counted as historic by any modern measure but were limited in part due to long-range fires and precision targeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">But the land battle on Taiwan would likely devolve into brutal large-scale combat neither nation has seen in decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\">\u201cIt would be a very different fight when you have to get in close and the attrition goes up further,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cAt some point, we\u2019re going to be throwing rocks at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-sc-1tqpf5s-0 kEzXdV body-paragraph body-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s Note: This article has been updated to include information regarding gameplay and simulated weapon use.<\/i><\/p>\n<div class=\"default__Wrapper-cy7r53-1 iWrUWb\">\n<p class=\"default__BioWrapper-cy7r53-0 duEMsg a-body2\">Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2013 In a pessimistic, but realistic, 2026 war game scenario, a combined sabotage and information operation campaign helped Chinese military forces land on the shores of Taiwan. The United<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1605442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1605209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1605209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1605442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1605209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1605209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1605209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}