11/6/2020 News & Commentary – National Security
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