The Real Global Threat

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

– George Santayana

Amid the rising threat of all out war in the Middle East and a US senator in-country rooting for the Ukraine incursion into Russian territory, today we have new insight into modern global warfare…

Over the years, it has been eye-opening to share the insights Grey Swan founding contributor John Robb has about the military industrial complex, their impact on domestic politics and how influential they are in crafting US foreign policy.

It’s shocking to me every time I talk to him how little citizens know about what our military is up to let alone where the fat checks from our defense budget go…

But that’s just my perspective. I’ll let you make up your own mind. I recommend you listen to the entire Wiggin Sessions we just recorded together. You won’t look at the headlines coming out of the Middle East, Ukraine or the South China Sea the same way again.

John is a former Navy Seal mission architect and boots on-the-ground commander. After retiring from that gig because it was too physically demanding, he turned his intellect to analyzing social media networks for Forrester Research and forecasting their impact while developing counter-terrorist strategies.

His first published work on social media for Forrester came out in 1995 a full decade before Facebook and Google were viable commercial efforts.

His book Brave New War (2007) was a groundbreaking analysis of the post 9-11 military strategy fighting global terror organizations like Al Qeda and Isis. And helped inform military commanders and strategists from all the military branches. The book earned him a role as an adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Through his own private publishing group, Global Guerillas, Mr. Robb has continued developing his insights and informing groups that use his ideas in the financial markets, economic strategies… even marketing, as you’ll find out.

Modern Warfare and The Real Global Threat

Last night, Senator Lindsey Graham made headlines globally cheering the Ukraine army’s novel push into Russian territory.

Likewise, analysts – even in our own Grey Swan network – debated the veracity of claims that Iran is pushing a wider Mid-East war, not least by supporting Houthi, Hezbollah and Hamas terrorists with weapons, safe haven and financing.

The world is a volatile place. Mr. Robb believes that not only is the U.S. military-industrial complex’s desire to control all political events globally a fool’s errand destined to bankrupt the government, but it’s also the driving force behind what could ultimately be the financial ruin of the empire.

The details matter, of course. Specific details on how the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Red Sea may actually encourage China’s invasion of Taiwan… and how the inevitable could trigger the collapse of the US dollar’s reserve currency status follow:

Watch the video right here.

Read a transcript of the video here.

Today, I’m sharing Part I of our most recent interview. John’s insight is derived from observing the global footprint of the West’s military and how technology through satellites, drones and encrypted communications – and now AI — have evolved to a new phase of modern warfare far surpassing the kinetic frontlines of conflicts in the past.

So it goes,

Addison Wiggin

Founder, Grey Swan Investment Fraternity

P.S. Part I is critical to understanding the forecast John makes in the second half of our Wiggin Session interview. Part II is coming soon … so bone up… and stay tuned!

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

– George Santayana

Amid the rising threat of all out war in the Middle East and a US senator in-country rooting for the Ukraine incursion into Russian territory, today we have new insight into modern global warfare…

It’s shocking to me every time I talk to him how little citizens know about what our military is up to let alone where the fat checks from our defense budget go…

His first published work on social media for Forrester came out in 1995 a full decade before Facebook and Google were viable commercial efforts.

Modern Warfare and The Real Global Threat

Last night, Senator Lindsey Graham made headlines globally cheering the Ukraine army’s novel push into Russian territory.

Watch the video right here.

Read a transcript of the video here.

So it goes,

Addison Wiggin

Founder, Grey Swan Investment Fraternity

P.S. Part I is critical to understanding the forecast John makes in the second half of our Wiggin Session interview. Part II is coming soon … so bone up… and stay tuned!

Back in April, when we published what we called the Trump Great Reset Strategy, we described the grand realignment we believed President Trump and his acolytes were embarking on in three phases.

At the time, it read like a conceptual map. As the months passed, it began to feel like a set of operating instructions written in advance of turbulence.

As you can expect, any grandiose plan would get all kinds of blowback… but this year exhibited all manner of Trump Derangement Syndrome on top of the difficulty of steering a sclerotic empire clear of the rocky shores.

The “phases” were never about optimism or pessimism. They were about sequencing — how stress surfaces, how systems adapt, and what must hold before confidence can regenerate. And in the end, what do we do with our money?!

Relative to GDP, the net international investment claim on the U.S. economy was 20% in 2003. It had swollen to 65% by 2023. Practically every type of American company, bond, or real estate asset now has some degree of foreign ownership.

But it’s even worse than that. As the federal deficit has pumped up the GDP figures, and made a larger share of the economy dependent on government spending, the quality and sustainability of GDP have deteriorated. So, foreigners, to the extent they are paying attention, are accumulating claims on an economy that has been eroded by inefficient, government-directed spending and “investments.” Why should foreign creditors maintain confidence in the integrity of these paper claims? Only to the extent that their economies are even worse off. And in the case of China, that’s probably true.

As global government interest expense climbed, gold quietly followed it higher. The IIF estimates that interest costs on government debt now run at nearly $4.9 trillion annually. Over the same span, gold prices have tracked that burden almost one-for-one.

Silver has recently gone along for the ride, with even more enthusiasm.

Since early 2023, Japan’s 10-year government bond yield has risen roughly 150 basis points, touching levels not seen since the 1990s.

Over that same period, gold prices have surged about 135%, while silver is up roughly 175%. Zoom out two years, and the divergence becomes starker still: gold up 114%, silver up 178%, while the S&P 500 gained 44%.

According to the American Association of Individual Investors, the average retail investor has about a 70% allocation to stocks. That’s well over the traditional 60/40 split between stocks and bonds. Even a 60/40 allocation ignores real estate, gold, collectibles, and private assets.

A pullback in the 10% range – which is likely in any given year – will prompt investors to scream as if it’s the end of the world.

Our “panic now, avoid the rush” strategy is simple.

Take tech profits off the table, raise some cash, and focus on industry-leading companies that pay dividends. Roll those dividends up and use compounding to your overall portfolio’s advantage.