George Hahn

and allied societies, economies, and governments to test confidence in systems that underwrite both the U.S.

constitutional republic and the U.S.-led rules-based international order.

In other words, everyday unseen hands reach across cyberspace and apply pressure to our air supply.

When we gasp for air, however, we demand an immediate patch rather than insisting on redundant airways.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is demonstrating a lesson we should have learned watching Ukraine repel Russia for the past three years.

An $82 million fighter jet launched from a $13 billion aircraft carrier is an economic Goliath facing a swarm of $20,000 to $50,000 Davids, i.e.

Shahed drones.

While we're bleeding resources and credibility, China is taking notes and looking at Taiwan.

Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said at Davos this January,

If that island were blockaded or that capacity were destroyed, it would be an economic apocalypse.

One company, TSMC, controls 72% of the global foundry market, producing chips for AMD, Apple, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm.

If China invaded Taiwan, global GDP would sustain an estimated 10% hit, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

But China doesn't need to invade Taiwan or blockade it.

They just need to flex.

Military exercises, missiles splashing down in shipping lanes to spook maritime insurance carriers, a cyber operation that takes TSMC offline for 72 hours.

And watch Silicon Valley and J.P.

Morgan scramble to de-risk.

The problem is, there's nowhere to scramble to.

Despite Biden's carrots, $152 billion in CHIPS Act spending, and Trump's sticks, tariffs, the soonest the U.S.

can expect to have meaningful backup capacity is 2030.