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11/6/2020 News & Commentary – National Security

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11.06.2020 at 06:31pm

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.

1. Doctors begin to crack covid’s mysterious long-term effects

2. Misinformation 2020: what the data tells us about election-related falsehoods

3. International election observation mission – US elections

4. Defense Secretary Esper has prepped resignation letter, say officials

5.  Scaling the counterterrorism return on investment in support of great power competition

6. NGA adds small sat imagery to its unclassified collection

7. Record $1 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the Silk Road seized by U.S. government

8. Meet the AI that’s defeating automated fact checkers

9. U.S. Department of Energy launches program to enhance partnerships between government and critical infrastructure

10. The unthinkable: could Taiwan stand up to China alone?

11. The weight training puzzle: six-shooters, ‘six packs,’ or men with a sixth sense – what does SF need?

12. Mercenaries in the service of authoritarian states

13. Make good choices! National security transitions and the policy and process decisions

14. One day in America: more than 121,000 coronavirus cases

15. Our strategic military investment in freely associated states of the Pacific

16. The debate over allies: makers or takers of US military might?

17. Nasal spray prevents covid infection in ferrets, study finds

18. Achieving information dominance: what we can learn from “SOF effects cells”

19. Will the Army change the size of the infantry squad? A new study is looking at it.

20. David Petraeus on irregular warfare and countering violent extremism

21. National Army museum opening on Veterans Day tells the US soldier’s story from 1600s to today

 

1. Doctors begin to crack covid’s mysterious long-term effects

Wall Street Journal · Sarah Toy, Sumathi Reddy, & Daniela Hernandez · November 1, 2020

Very troubling for all of us.

 

2. Misinformation 2020: what the data tells us about election-related falsehoods

Defense One · Peter W. Singer · November 5, 2020

Excellent analysis and data from Zignal Labs.

 

3. International Election Observation Mission – US Elections

OSCE · November 3, 2020

 

4. Defense Secretary Esper has prepped resignation letter, say officials

NBC News · Courney Kube & Carol E. Lee · November 5, 2020

 

5. Scaling the counterterrorism return on investment in support of great power competition

Lawfare · Doowan Lee & DeVan Shannon · November 5, 2020

We should be talking about foreign internal defense rather than security force assistance. FID is a more comprehensive mission than SFA. It is the superior mission. Also, although FID is associated with SOF (and is a Title 10 SOF activity), it is not SOF exclusive and, by definition, it is joint and interagency. Too often we say SFA when we really mean FID.

Just saying.

foreign internal defense — Participation by civilian agencies and military forces of a

government or international organizations in any of the programs and activities

undertaken by a host nation government to free and protect its society from subversion,

lawlessness, insurgency, terrorism, and other threats to its security. Also called FID.

(JP 3-22)

security force assistance — The Department of Defense activities that support the

development of the capacity and capability of foreign security forces and their

supporting institutions. Also called SFA. (JP 3-20)

 

6. NGA adds small sat imagery to its unclassified collection

C4ISR Net · Nathan Strout · November 5, 2020

 

7. Record $1 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the Silk Road seized by U.S. government

CNBC · Kate Rooney · November 5, 2020

 

8. Meet the AI that’s defeating automated fact checkers

Defense One · Patrick Tucker · November 5, 2020

 

9. U.S. Department of Energy launches program to enhance partnerships between government and critical infrastructure

US Department of Energy · November 5, 2020

An important initiative of FDD’s Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) and DOE

 

10. The unthinkable: could Taiwan stand up to China alone?

National Interest · Daniel L. Davis · November 5, 2020

I am all for helping Taiwan bolster its independent warfighting capabilities. But the argument that we should not come to the defense of Taiwan undermines deterrence. I also think Taiwan will be hard pressed to develop, buy, and deploy sufficient capabilities. This is simply an argument to cut away Taiwan. Now, of course we could decide to do that if the unthinkable happened, but by making recommendations such as the one in this article we reduce or even eliminate any semblance of deterrence. 

 

11. The weight training puzzle: six-shooters, ‘six packs,’ or men with a sixth sense – what does SF need?

Small Wars Journal  · Anna Simons · November 5, 2020

An anthropological analysis of SOF.

 

12. Mercenaries in the service of authoritarian states

CSS · Julia Friedrich & Niklas Masuhr · November 2020

 

13. Make good choices! National security transitions and the policy and process decisions

War On the Rocks · Loren DeJonge Schulman & Alex Tippett · November 6, 2020

 

14. One day in America: more than 121,000 coronavirus cases

New York Times · Julie Bosman · November 6, 2020

We cannot take our eye off the COVD-19 ball. None of the cable news shows or networks are addressing this except perhaps as asides. This number seems unfathomable.

 

15. Our strategic military investment in freely associated states of the Pacific

Daily Signal · Walter Lohman · November 5, 2020

This could turn out to be a key strategic development of our INDOPACIFIC strategy.

 

16. The debate over allies: makers or takers of US military might?

Washington Examiner · Jamie McIntyre · November 6, 2020

That is fundamentally the wrong question. We should be framing the question in terms of our interests and grand strategy. I would argue our alliance structure is key to our strategic flexibility and not only the ability to project US power but also to generate coalition power when necessary. And it may make the most vital contribution to deterrence and helps us to compete effectively in great power competition.

 

17. Nasal spray prevents covid infection in ferrets, study finds

New York Times · Donald G. McNeil Jr. · November 5, 2020

Whew! Save the ferrets. But seriously, this could be a huge game changer if it works on humans, though I am not going to get my hopes up yet.

 

18. Achieving information dominance: what we can learn from “SOF effects cells”

Modern War Institute · Ashely Franz Holzmann et al. · November 6, 2020

 

19. Will the Army change the size of the infantry squad? A new study is looking at it.

Army Times · Todd South · November 5, 2020

An important and likely controversial decision (and even emotional for some).

 

20. David Petraeus on irregular warfare and countering violent extremism

Modern War Institute · Kyle Atwell & Shawna Sinnott · November 6, 2020

 

21. National Army museum opening on Veterans Day tells the US soldier’s story from 1600s to today

Stars & Stripes · Corey Dickstein · November 5, 2020

This museum is within walking distance from my house. I look forward to the opening.

 

“My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”

-Senator Carl Schurz (1829–1906)

“What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”

– Lord Melbourne (1779-1848)

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” 

– Mark Twain

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