09/11/2020 News & Commentary – National Security
News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. 9/11 was the ‘defining moment’ for soldier who will receive the Medal of Honor tomorrow
2. That day: Veterans share where they were on Sept. 11, 2001
3. Opinion | This 9/11 anniversary arrives with the end of the war on al-Qaeda well in sight
4. 19 Years After 9/11, Politicians Need to Stop Overhyping Threats
5. How United Flight 93 Passengers Fought Back on 9/11
6. He watched a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11. Then he braved flames and smoke to save lives
7. Nineteenth Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks – United States Department of State
8. Opinion | Who Can Win America’s Politics of Humiliation?
9. Despite Pandemic, The U.S. Army Is In Its Best Shape In A Generation. Here’s Why.
10. Tomgram: Andrew Bacevich, What Have They (and We) Learned?
11. US Lawmakers Seek Posthumous Medal of Honor for Black D-Day Medic
12. Russian hackers who disrupted 2016 election targeting political parties again, Microsoft says
13. What the Sturgis superspreader report actually says about Covid-19
14. What Is China’s Strategy in the Senkaku Islands?
15. Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden opens up about the mission
16. College Board Corrupted by Chinese Funding
17. Trump administration underplays intelligence on Alexei Navalny poisoning
18. Opinion | Mothers for QAnon
19. Human rights could be the next US-China flashpoint
20. Not in my backyard: Land-based missiles, democratic states, and Asia’s conventional military balance
21. U.S. senator asks for CFIUS review of GNC purchase by Chinese company
22. The Kremlin’s Plot Against Democracy
23. How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election – and Shaking the Foundation of American Democracy
1. 9/11 was the ‘defining moment’ for soldier who will receive the Medal of Honor tomorrow
armytimes.com · by Kyle Rempfer · September 10, 2020
He will be honored today.
2. That day: Veterans share where they were on Sept. 11, 2001
militarytimes.com · by Sarah Sicard · September 11, 2020
3. Opinion | This 9/11 anniversary arrives with the end of the war on al-Qaeda well in sight
The Washington Post · by Christopher Miller · September 10, 2020
From retired Special Forces Colonel Christopher Miller who is one the NCTC Director.
4. 19 Years After 9/11, Politicians Need to Stop Overhyping Threats
defenseone.com · by Joshua A. Geltzer
Really? Overhyping? Surely we have made many mistake since 9-11 and we continue to make mistakes. But is minimizing the threats a way to prevent these mistakes? It is interesting the author makes no mention of the National Security or National Defense Strategies. Does he think we have it right in those documents?
Then again those documents were written by professionals and not politicians.
5. How United Flight 93 Passengers Fought Back on 9/11
history.com · by Adam Janos
This is what Americans do. But we should ask if something like this would bridge the partisan divide (chasm) we have today? Would/could people on the right and left band together to defend our country the way these great American patriots did on 9/11? Can we be inspired by their heroic efforts or will we continue to practice politics of humiliation as Friedman described it today and the politics of contempt as Arthur Brooks has described it?
6. He watched a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11. Then he braved flames and smoke to save lives
taskandpurpose.com · by Jeff Schogol
So many acts of heroism on this date.
7. Nineteenth Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks – United States Department of State
state.gov · by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State · September 8, 2020
8. Opinion | Who Can Win America’s Politics of Humiliation?
The New York Times · by Thomas L. Friedman · September 8, 2020
Food for thought. I see these acts of humiliation every day on my social media feeds from both sides.
9. Despite Pandemic, The U.S. Army Is In Its Best Shape In A Generation. Here’s Why.
Forbes · by Loren Thompson · September 10, 2020
Hmmm….
10. Tomgram: Andrew Bacevich, What Have They (and We) Learned?
Tom Dispatch · by Andrew Bacevich · by September 10, 2020
A long and unusual read on the military not winning. Bacevich can always be counted on for the most biting critiques of the US military.
11. US Lawmakers Seek Posthumous Medal of Honor for Black D-Day Medic
voanews.com · by Associated Press
Make this happen.
12. Russian hackers who disrupted 2016 election targeting political parties again, Microsoft says
The Washington Post · by Jay Greene, Matt Viser and Isaac Stanley-Becker · September 10, 2020
This will be called the intellectually bankrupt term of fake news. This is a real threat.
13. What the Sturgis superspreader report actually says about Covid-19
inverse.com · by Sarah Sloat
This report has stirred up a lot of controversy. This is an interesting analysis of that controversy and the report. And of course this report and its debunking of this report plays into the hands of the large segment of our population who are now anti-science and anti-expert and anti-intellectuals which of course undermines trust in institutions which will have long term political, health, and even national security implications.
14. What Is China’s Strategy in the Senkaku Islands?
warontherocks.com · by Alessio Patalano · September 10, 2020
Conclusion:
“Yoshihide Suga, the leading contender to replace Shinzo Abe as Japan’s prime minister, has the support of influential factions that welcome a steady relationship with Beijing. Some Chinese observers have expressed similar positive views about Suga. Whoever becomes prime minister will certainly inherit a fast-deteriorating situation, and should take the lead in resuming discussions with Beijing for a crisis management and prevention mechanism applicable to their coast guards. This might help a delaying strategy, though the air and maritime mechanisms already in place have thus far elicited limited success. Indeed, realizing that slowing the Chinese advance in the Senkakus may no longer suffice as a strategy may be the greatest challenge facing post-Abe Japan.”
15. Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden opens up about the mission
Daily Mail · by Claire Toureille · September 11, 2020
Navy SEAL who helped kill Osama bin Laden reveals how the harrowing memory of people jumping out of the World Trade Center on 9/11 gave him the courage to go through with the mission he didn’t expect to survive
- Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill has opened up about the fateful May 2011 mission
- He was a member of the team who took down terrorist leader Osama bin Laden
- The al-Qaeda architect of the 9/11 attacks was hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan
- O’Neill admitted that he thought he would not come back from the risky mission
- Said the memory of people jumping off the World Trade Center motivated him
16. College Board Corrupted by Chinese Funding
The full report can be accessed here.
17. Trump administration underplays intelligence on Alexei Navalny poisoning
Washington Examiner · by Tom Rogan · September 10, 2020
north Korea and Russia are using nerve agents to assassinate their enemies. That cannot be denied and should not be “underplayed.”
18. Opinion | Mothers for QAnon
The New York Times · by Annie Kelly · September 10, 2020
Again, I just cannot understand how anyone accepts the idiocy of these QAnon conspiracy theories.
19. Human rights could be the next US-China flashpoint
The Telegraph · by Louis Ashworth
It is not already?
20. Not in my backyard: Land-based missiles, democratic states, and Asia’s conventional military balance
The Brookings Institution · by Frank A. Rose · September 10, 2020
This is our challenge for deterrence, countering A2AD and campaigning in Asia.
21. U.S. senator asks for CFIUS review of GNC purchase by Chinese company
ca.reuters.com · by Diane Bartz
Will they want to sell fentanyl at GNC?
22. The Kremlin’s Plot Against Democracy
Foreign Affairs · by Alina Polyakova · September 10, 2020
We, along with the Community of Democracies (not just the “west”) should be fighting with all our strength to defend against this “plot” and these attacks.
23. How Conspiracy Theories Are Shaping the 2020 Election – and Shaking the Foundation of American Democracy
TIME · by [email protected]
And we should be fighting against these idiotic conspiracy theories as well as they just feed into the hands of the Russians and Chinese and other adversaries who seek to undermine the legitimacy if not destroy democracies.
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“On this day… 19 years (September 10th) ago, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights. 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning. 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol. 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift. None of them saw past 10:00am Sept 11, 2001. In one single moment life may never be the same. As you live and enjoy the breaths you take today and tonight before you go to sleep in preparation for your life tomorrow, kiss the ones you love, snuggle a little tighter, and never take one second of your life for granted.”
-Unknown
“When Americans lend a hand to one another, nothing is impossible. We’re not about what happened on 9/11. We’re about what happened on 9/12.”
-Jeff Parness, founder of New York Says Thank You
“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”
-Author David Levithan
