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08/26/2020 News & Commentary – National Security

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08.26.2020 at 04:22pm

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Ahyoung Shin

 

1. Beijing protests alleged U.S. spy plane incursion during Chinese military drills

2. Chinese diplomats helped military scholars visiting the U.S. evade FBI scrutiny, U.S. says

3. Where the Pandemic Is Cover for Authoritarianism

4. FDD | Guam needs Aegis Ashore

5. US retreat from multilateralism blunts the fight against COVID-19

6. Army consolidating cyber operations forces

7. EMP weapons: How to beat the U.S. military in a war?

8. Reviving the Liberal World Order: An American Challenge

9. Needed: American Diplomacy, Defense, Democracy

10. Philippines won’t cease Spratly patrols despite China call vs ‘provocations’: DFA

11. Can ‘The Quad’ work together to contain Chinese aggression?

12. Veterans Affairs has now reported more than 50,000 coronavirus cases

13. Rising military personnel costs may mean future cuts in troop numbers

14. Veterans see mail-in ballots as ‘most sacred of the sacred’

15. Where does Biden stand on China and Taiwan?

16. Video – ARSOF and Great Power Competition | SOF News

17. US nuclear policy and posture: bending toward Asia?

18. The weird and eerie battlefields of tomorrow

19. Capt. Kirk to Space Force: Let’s debate rank names

20. What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?

 

1. Beijing protests alleged U.S. spy plane incursion during Chinese military drills

Los Angeles Times · by Associated Press · August 26, 2020

2. Chinese diplomats helped military scholars visiting the U.S. evade FBI scrutiny, U.S. says

WSJ · by Kate O’Keeffe and Aruna Viswanatha · August 25, 2020

I am sure the Houston consulate was not unique.

3. Where the Pandemic Is Cover for Authoritarianism

defenseone.com · by Timothy McLaughlin

When you think about it the pandemic really has been an “opportunity” for the countries discussed in the article and others as well to really crack down on their populations. Not mentioned is North Korea. Kim has really exploited the pandemic to impose even more draconian population and resources control measures than perhaps ever.

4. FDD | Guam needs Aegis Ashore

fdd.org · by Bradley Bowman and Maj. Shane Praiswater · August 25, 2020

5. US retreat from multilateralism blunts the fight against COVID-19

eastasiaforum.org · by David Lubin · August 26, 2020

The US has “lost interest” in the idea of multilateralism. The strength of the populism strain will work to prevent multi-lateral solutions. I fear that will come back to haunt us in the coming years.

6. Army consolidating cyber operations forces

nationaldefensemagazine.org · by Yasmin Tadjdeh

7. EMP weapons: How to beat the U.S. military in a war?

The National Interest · by David T. Pyne · August 25, 2020

And I do not think we have ever taken EMP weapons seriously.

8. Reviving the Liberal World Order: An American Challenge

realcleardefense.com · by Michael Miklaucic

Probably not in the near future.

9. Needed: American Diplomacy, Defense, Democracy

usni.org · by Ambassador Charles Ray and Vice Admiral Kevin Green, U.S. Navy (retired) · August 23, 2020

The 3Ds. Diplomacy, Development, and Defense. A lot of renewed calls for American leadership these days.

10. Philippines won’t cease Spratly patrols despite China call vs ‘provocations’: DFA

news.abs-cbn.com · August 26, 2020

11. Can ‘The Quad’ work together to contain Chinese aggression?

thedispatch.com · by Joseph Hammond

Interesting comments here.

12. Veterans Affairs has now reported more than 50,000 coronavirus cases

militarytimes.com · by Leo Shane III · August 25, 2020

13. Rising military personnel costs may mean future cuts in troop numbers

militarytimes.com · by Leo Shane III · August 25, 2020

Some interesting assumptions noted by Todd Harrisson here.

14. Veterans see mail-in ballots as ‘most sacred of the sacred’

expressnews.com · August 23, 2020

15. Where does Biden stand on China and Taiwan?

The Hill · by Joseph Bosco, opinion contributor · August 25, 2020

16. Video – ARSOF and Great Power Competition | SOF News

sof.news · by SOF News · August 25, 2020

The 21 minute video can be accessed on YouTube here.

17. US nuclear policy and posture: bending toward Asia?

The Korea Times · by Steven Andreasen · August 26, 2020

18. The weird and eerie battlefields of tomorrow

thestrategybridge.org · August 25, 2020

“The horror, the horror.” Writing horror fiction will help military planning. I am reminded that Colonel Kurtz told us about the horror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSWtc01BlqM

19. Capt. Kirk to Space Force: Let’s debate rank names

Stars and Stripes· by Chad Garland · August 25, 2020

William Shatner weighing in on critical defense issues.  I think he must be unhappy that the Space Force has not adopted his uniforms.

20. What the heck is wrong with you, Space Force?

militarytimes.com · by Bill Shatner · August 26, 2020

And here is the OpEd in William Shatner’s own words.

———–

“History is about life. It’s awful when the life is squeezed out of it and there’s no flavor left, no uncertainties, no horsing around. It always disturbed me how many biographers never gave their subjects a chance to eat. You can tell a lot about people by how they eat, what they eat, and what kind of table manners they have.”

– David McCullough 

“The secret of it all, is to write in the gush, the throb, the flood, of the moment – to put things down without deliberation – without worrying about their style – without waiting for a fit time or place. I always worked that way. I took the first scrap of paper, the first doorstep, the first desk, and wrote – wrote, wrote. By writing at the instant the very heartbeat of life is caught.”

– Walt Whitman 

“Just as nature takes every obstacle, every impediment, and works around it – turns it to its purposes, incorporates it into itself – so, too, a rational being can turn each setback into raw material and use it to achieve its goal.”

– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

 

 

 

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