October 20, 2024, 3:02 pm
Sponsored by: Private Internet Access: https://www.piavpn.com/Perun
Beginning on September 16th, thousands of small explosions occurred across Lebanon – not caused by airstrikes or artillery, but by the detonation of thousands of Hezbollah issued communication devices.
In this episode, I discuss the detonations, explore how they may have occurred, and ask what lessons they might highlight regarding the importance of supply chain security.
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU
Reading and Sourcing:
US Defence Logistics Agency Supply Chain Security Strategy
https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Headquarters/StrategicPlan/SupplyChainSecurityStrategy.pdf
CSIS – Escalating to War between Israel, Hezbollah, and Iran
https://www.csis.org/analysis/escalating-war-between-israel-hezbollah-and-iran
RUSI – Silicon Lifeline
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/silicon-lifeline-western-electronics-heart-russias-war-machine/interactive-summary
United Nations on Resolution 1701
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1155221
Nasrallah describing the scale of the pager and walkie-talkie operations impacts
https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-military-reports-strikes-against-hezbollah-sites/7790298.html
Referenced or Relevant Reporting on the Pager & Walkie Talkie operation, background & aftermath
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/05/israel-mossad-hezbollah-pagers-nasrallah/
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/HEZBOLLAH-PAGERS/mopawkkwjpa/
Experts react: What’s behind the Hezbollah beeper and walkie-talkie explosions
https://www.rferl.org/a/budapest-lebanon-pagers-attack-hezbollah/33125029.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-hezbollah-was-fooled-into-purchasing-explosive-pagers/
https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2024/09/17/hezbollah-pagers-explode-across-lebanon-injuring-thousands/
https://www.twz.com/news-features/hezbollahs-exploding-pagers-could-be-as-monumental-a-cyber-espionage-operation-as-stuxnet
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2024/09/18/hezbollah-pager-blasts-most-likely-caused-by-inserted-explosive_6726497_13.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93yg2w53dzo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/19/israeli-front-controlled-manufacturing-process-likeliest-explanation-for-attacks-on-hezbollah
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qvl3vlvlvo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/20/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-hamas-war-news-gaza-palestine/
Hezbollah vowing to ‘continue fight’
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/10/8/hezbollah-vows-to-continue-fight-against-israel-until-gaza-ceasefire
https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-airstrikes-28-september-2024-c4751957433ff944c4eb06027885a973
Reporting on the 02/10 missile attack by Iran
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/02/iranian-strikes-on-israel-what-happened-why-did-iran-attack-missiles-damage-what-next
Yoav Gallant released video
https://x.com/yoavgallant/status/1838265125784162815
Reporting on potential Nasrallah Successor
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20241001-easy-choice-hezbollah-s-likely-new-leader-is-nasrallah-s-cousin-hashem-safieddine
RoK decapitation strategy
https://www.nknews.org/2023/12/drills-on-assassinating-kim-jong-un-remain-an-option-rok-defense-chief-says/
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/23/asia/south-korea-plan-to-assassinate-kim-jong-un/index.html
The F-35 incident
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/09/07/pentagon-suspends-f-35-deliveries-over-chinese-alloy-in-magnet/
https://thediplomat.com/2022/09/chinese-parts-in-the-f-35-highlight-concerning-trend-in-the-us-defense-sector/
Reporting on PRC restrictions (or non-restrictions) on foreign hardware and software
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/13/china-says-it-hasnt-banned-iphones-or-foreign-devices-for-government.html
Caveats & Comments:
All normal caveats and comments apply. In particular – I would like to note as always that this material has been created for entertainment purposes and is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive examination of the topic in question and should not be relied upon to inform financial or other similar decisions.
Any content relating to the conduct or political views and/or activities of any person or character in this video is included for entertainment purposes and does not represent an assertion of fact on those matters.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:00:45 — What Am I Talking About (And Not Talking About)?
00:03:21 — Background
00:09:24 — Setting Up The Pager Strike
00:19:55 — The Day Of The Pagers
00:27:14 — The Proxy Problem
00:29:38 — Lessons On Supply Chain Integrity
00:38:23 — A Kiwiland Dilemma
00:48:46 — Personalised Deterrence?
00:57:06 — Closing Thoughts
00:59:12 — Channel Update
Content Creator – Perun
