08/26/2020 News & Commentary – National Security
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