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10/08/2020 News & Commentary – National Security

  |  
10.08.2020 at 01:21pm

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. How Russia Today Skirts High-Tech Blockade to Reach U.S. Readers

2. China, Iran, Russia, N. Korea, 22 others accuse US of ‘systematic racial discrimination’ at UN

3.  China’s Disinformation Campaign in the Philippines

4. $141 million construction project planned at Army base in Germany

5.  China is telling its military propagandists to steer clear of stories about the US election

6. The U.S. Military is Preparing for an “Irregular” War

7. McMaster and commander in chief

8. All US Troops In Afghanistan To Withdraw By Christmas, Trump Tweets

9. Small rotations to far-flung Southeast Asian countries are likely the future of INDOPACOM assignments

10. Army proceeding with $1.7 million range project in Stuttgart despite troop drawdown plan

11. Esper plans more official travel as calls grow for him to stay put

12. Meet the Army’s ‘Night Stalkers,’ the special-operations pilots who can fly anything anywhere in the world

13. Perspective | We’re suing the Pentagon to find out where U.S. troops are deployed

14. Why Conspiracy Theories Are So Addictive Right Now

15. QAnon High Priest Was Just Trolling Away as a Citigroup Tech Executive

16. China Uses the U.N. to Expand Its Surveillance Reach

17. The False Promise of Regime Change – Why Washington Keeps Failing in the Middle East

18. Why the Pentagon Should Focus on Taiwan

 

1. How Russia Today Skirts High-Tech Blockade to Reach U.S. Readers

WSJ · by Keach Hagey, Emily Glazer and Rob Barry· October 7, 2020

This is quite an indictment.
 

“The company responsible for RT’s presence on RealClearPolitics is Mixi.Media. Since its launch in 2018, Mixi has assembled a network of right-leaning publishers, including National Review, The Daily Caller and Newsmax, as well as mainstream sites like RealClearPolitics. Also in Mixi’s fold are RT and another Russian state-backed outlet, Sputnik.”

 

2. China, Iran, Russia, N. Korea, 22 others accuse US of ‘systematic racial discrimination’ at UN

americanmilitarynews.com

 

3. China’s Disinformation Campaign in the Philippines

thediplomat.com · by Gregory Winger · October 6, 2020

Unrestricted Warfare.  Three Warfares: psychological warfare, legal warfare or lawfare, and media or public opinion warfare.  In short, this is political warfare warfare.

Operation Naval Gazing.  What a code name!

A somber conclusion we should reflect on: “At its heart, Operation Naval Gazing is a warning siren as to whether Tokyo, Seoul, Canberra, Manila and especially Washington are willing to take proactive measures to defend their information environments. If not, they will again risk being caught flatfooted as a foreign actor learns to use social media to undermine their collective security.”

 

4. $141 million construction project planned at Army base in Germany

Stars and Stripes

I have fond memories of Graf in the early 1980s.  I wonder when the White House reads this if it will be subject to change.

 

5. China is telling its military propagandists to steer clear of stories about the US election

Business Insider · by William Zheng

Hmmm…

 

6.  The U.S. Military is Preparing for an “Irregular” War

The National Interest · by Kris Osborn · October 7, 2020

We should think about how to describe Irregular Warfare.  I think Congress has done a better job than DOD:

“The 2007 DODI 3000.7 definition: a “violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations.”  It said that IW consisted of UW, foreign internal defense (FID), CT, counterinsurgency, and stability operations (SO).

Congress wrote in the 2018 NDAA:  Irregular Warfare is conducted “in support of predetermined United States policy and military objectives conducted by, with, and through regular forces, irregular forces, groups, and individuals participating in competition between state and non-state actors short of traditional armed conflict.” 

Problem:
We face threats from political warfare strategies supported by hybrid military approaches.

Solution:
Learn to lead with influence
Learn to counter and conduct political warfare campaigns

Competition equals Political Warfare – Most likely
State on state warfare less likely  – Most dangerous

 

7. McMaster and commander in chief

fdd.org · by Clifford D. May · October 7, 2020

 

8. All US Troops In Afghanistan To Withdraw By Christmas, Trump Tweets

defenseone.com · by Katie Bo Williams

Are tweets official orders?  Strategic guidance?

 

9. Small rotations to far-flung Southeast Asian countries are likely the future of INDOPACOM assignments

militarytimes.com · by Meghann Myers · October 7, 2020

Don’t give up the high ground.  You can do both.  But before we give up the hubs of Japan and (potentially) Korea we should make sure these small rotations actually support the strategy and are feasible and sustainable.

 

10. Army proceeding with $1.7 million range project in Stuttgart despite troop drawdown plan

Stars and Stripes · by John Vandiver  · October 7, 2020

We should keep in mind most military construction is on a five year plan.  And then there are contractual obligations with construction companies and of course congressional oversight.  You can change the direction of military construction on a whim or a dime.

 

11. Esper plans more official travel as calls grow for him to stay put

Politico · October 7, 2020

I do not think our senior leaders should adopt a bumper mentality and hunker down.  And in the era of modern communications the SECDEF is always connected and is as virtually close to the White House as he is if he is in the Pentagon.

I would also ask is he planning more travel or is he executing travel already planned?

 

12. Meet the Army’s ‘Night Stalkers,’ the special-operations pilots who can fly anything anywhere in the world

Business Insider · by Stavros Atlamazoglou

 

13. Perspective | We’re suing the Pentagon to find out where U.S. troops are deployed

The Washington Post· by Kate Brannen and Ryan Goodman  · October 7, 2020

We used to have a lot of detail on deployments around the world.  But there needs to be a balance among OPSEC, informing the public and its right to know, and politics.

 

14. Why Conspiracy Theories Are So Addictive Right Now

The New York Times · by Kevin Roose · October 7, 2020

It continues to amaze me how many people believe in conspiracy theories.

 

15. QAnon High Priest Was Just Trolling Away as a Citigroup Tech Executive

Bloomberg · by William Turton · October 7, 2020

Now this is an amazing story.  What radicalized this guy?

 

16.  China Uses the U.N. to Expand Its Surveillance Reach

WSJ · by Claudia Rosett· October 7, 2020

 

17. The False Promise of Regime Change – Why Washington Keeps Failing in the Middle East

Foreign Affairs · by Philip H. Gordon · October 7, 2020

Conclusion:

“In the future, there may be cases in which mass terrorism, genocide, a direct attack on the United States, or a country using or proliferating nuclear weapons makes the benefits of removing a threatening regime exceed the costs. But if history is any guide, such cases will be rare to nonexistent. And even where they exist, they demand caution, humility, and honesty about the likely costs and consequences.

Regime change will always tempt Washington. So long as there are states that threaten American interests and mistreat their people, U.S. leaders and pundits will periodically be pulled toward the idea that Americans can use their unparalleled military, diplomatic, and economic power to get rid of bad regimes and replace them with better ones. The long, diverse, and tragic history of U.S.-backed regime change in the Middle East, however, suggests that such temptations—like most quick fixes that come along in life and politics—should be resisted. The next time U.S. leaders propose intervening in the region to overthrow a hostile regime, it can safely be assumed that such an enterprise will be less successful, more costly, and more replete with unintended consequences than proponents realize or admit. So far, at least, it has never been the other way around.”

 

18. Why the Pentagon Should Focus on Taiwan

warontherocks.com · by Elbridge Colby · October 7, 2020

Conclusion: The Defense Department is rightly focused on China in Asia and on restoring the American military’s edge vis-à-vis Beijing. The best way the Pentagon can serve these goals is to prioritize defending Taiwan over all other contingencies in its planning. Doing so will be challenging and likely involve significant change, but it can — and should — be done to deter and, if necessary, prevail in a war with the most challenging rival the United States has faced in a generation.

 

—————–

 

 

If we should have to fight, we should be prepared to do so from the neck up instead of from the neck down.”

– General Jimmy Doolittle.

 

“If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” 

– US Senator Michael Enzi.

 

“Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, courage and virtues mean everything. That power and money, money and power mean nothing; that Good always triumphs over Evil; and I want you to remember this: That Love, true Love never dies. Doesn’t matter if any of this is true or not. You see a man should believe in these things because these are the things worth believing in.”

– Robert Duvall in “Second Hand Lions”

 

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