12/20/2020 News & Commentary – National Security
News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Warp Speed official takes blame for overcount of Covid shot allocations
2. How to Respond to Russia’s SolarWinds Cyberattack
3. Explainer-U.S. government hack: espionage or act of war?
4. Opinion | The World Is Full of Challenges. Here’s How Biden Can Meet Them. by Robert M. Gates
5. Social Media in 2020: A Year of Misinformation and Disinformation
6. William Barr: ‘One Standard of Justice’
7. Barr Says C.I.A. ‘Stayed in Its Lane’ in Examining Russian Election Interference
8. Trump Officials Deliver Plan to Split Up Cyber Command, NSA
9. China’s Rebel Historians: The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution
10. Le Carré’s death touched me. It feels like the grownups are leaving the room
11. Trump Contradicts Pompeo Over Russia’s Role in Hack
12. Why is Saudi Arabia recruiting former Navy SEAL contractors?
13. THE QANON CONSPIRACY: Destroying Families, Dividing Communities, Undermining Democracy
14. SS United States: The mighty ship that broke all the records — then was left to rust
15. How Ancient Rome Defeated Donald Trump
16. John Rawls: can liberalism’s great philosopher come to the west’s rescue again?
17. Chinese Drones Are Spying on Americans
1. Warp Speed official takes blame for overcount of Covid shot allocations
Politico· by David Lim
An example of leadership. General Perna shows how it is done. Some political leaders could learn from him.
As I watched him I felt great respect for him but I also had a sinking feeling because I know where the real failure was.
If I was a staff officer and planner on his staff my tail would be between my legs because I would know it is my mistake and a staff mistake and that we let down the boss. He accepts full responsibility in public when in fact this was staff officer failure. The second part of the statement is true – the staff is learning from it – we will get better and we will not make the same mistake again. He covered for us and we owe him better work in the future.
As an aside if you watched the response by the media to his statements his acceptance of responsibility diffused further criticism and forced everyone to focus on substantive issues. He showed us how it is done. Many people should learn from him.
Excerpts:
“It was a planning error, and I am responsible,” Army Gen. Gustave Perna said. “We’re learning from it. We’re trying to get better.”
…
“The mistake I made is not understanding with exactness — again, my responsibility —on all the steps that have to occur to make sure the vaccine is releasable,” Perna said.
2. How to Respond to Russia’s SolarWinds Cyberattack
Bloomberg · by Hal Brands · December 18, 2020
From one of America’s most important experts on strategy – especially grand strategy. I think the subtitle is accurate. Putin has taken cyberwar to a new level.
3. Explainer-U.S. government hack: espionage or act of war?
uk.reuters.com · by Jan Wolfe, Brendan Pierson, Raphael Satter and Michelle Nichols
4. Opinion | The World Is Full of Challenges. Here’s How Biden Can Meet Them. by Robert M. Gates
The New York Times · by Robert Gates · December 18, 2020
Opinion | The World Is Full of Challenges. Here’s How Biden Can Meet Them.
5. Social Media in 2020: A Year of Misinformation and Disinformation
WSJ · by Kathryn Kranhold· December 11, 2020
I missed this last week.
6. William Barr: ‘One Standard of Justice’
WSJ · by Kimberley A. Strassel· December 18, 2020
7. Barr Says C.I.A. ‘Stayed in Its Lane’ in Examining Russian Election Interference
The New York Times · by Adam Goldman · December 18, 2020
8. Trump Officials Deliver Plan to Split Up Cyber Command, NSA
defenseone.com · by Katie Bo Williams
I did not realize the CJCS has to sign off on this.
Excerpts:
“Supporters of the split argue that keeping the two organizations under the dual-hat arrangement creates inefficiencies.”
“The missions of NSA and Cyber Command will continue to compete for priority and advocacy under the dual hat,” Andrew Schoka, an active duty Army cyber operations officer assigned to Cyber Command, wrote in War on the Rocks in 2019.
Should Milley and Miller make the necessary certifications to Congress, the practical implications of the move will be neither immediate nor irreversible.
“If anything, I’d imagine a direction of a breakup but with an implementation period of six to twelve months,” the administration official said. “Leaves space to reverse it but puts a marker down for CYBERCOM to get off the NSA teat.”
9. China’s Rebel Historians
The Atlantic · by Barbara Demick · December 18, 2020
Another book for the “to read” pile.
Conclusion:
“Yang, now 81, is still living in Beijing. He was so nervous about the repercussions of The World Turned Upside Down that he initially tried to delay publication of the English edition, according to friends, out of worry that his grandson—who was applying to university—might bear the brunt of reprisals. But the repressive political climate in China today makes honest assessments of Communist Party history ever more urgent, Guo told me. “Ever since the time of Zuo Qiuming [a historian from the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.] and Confucius, truthfully recorded history has been considered a mirror against which the present is viewed and a stern warning against rulers’ abuse of power.” He pointed as well to a more contemporary, Western source, George Orwell’s 1984, and its mantra, “Who controls the past controls the future: Who controls the present controls the past.”
Unlike the imperial dynasties, the Communist Party can’t claim a mandate from heaven. “If it admits error,” Guo said, “it loses legitimacy.”
10. Le Carré’s death touched me. It feels like the grownups are leaving the room
The Guardian · by Jonathan Freedland · December 18, 2020
He will be missed.
11. Trump Contradicts Pompeo Over Russia’s Role in Hack
The New York Times · by Steve Kenny, Eric Schmitt and Julian Barnes · December 19, 2020
I don’t think I would want to be a fly on the wall for this conversation. For what it is worth, I think the SECSTATE is right.
12. Why is Saudi Arabia recruiting former Navy SEAL contractors?
sandboxx.us · by Frumentarius · December 15, 2020
Author’s conclusion: “Now, I am not trying to spin up some conspiracy theory, or to imply that the Saudis are really looking for contractors to do something altogether different than preparing Saudis for BUD/S. All I am saying is, they are either being completely naive, and falling prey to the mystique of needing a “Tier One operator” to teach their guys basic stuff and are thus willing to shell out a ton of money for it; or, they are cloaking this contract request in seemingly innocuous language, and have other plans in mind for the contractors. Honestly, either scenario is completely plausible.”
13. THE QANON CONSPIRACY: Destroying Families, Dividing Communities, Undermining Democracy
Everything you wanted to know about the conspiracy cult in 24 pages. Download he report here.
14. SS United States: The mighty ship that broke all the records — then was left to rust
CNN · by Christopher Ross, CNN
Seom fascinating history for a weekend read. It is amazing what Americans have always been capable of building.
15. How Ancient Rome Defeated Donald Trump
Bloomberg · by Tobin Harshaw · December 19, 2020
I want to read Ricks’ new book because I am a fan of Roman and Greek philosophy and their impact on our Founding Fathers . But apologies for the clickbait title.
16. John Rawls: can liberalism’s great philosopher come to the west’s rescue again?
The Guardian · by Julian Coman · December 20, 2020
And some philosophy reading for a Sunday. We should all strive to be philosophers. We should ponder this essay or, better yet, reread A Theory of Justice.
Excerpt: “Elizabeth Bruenig, suggested to colleagues: “What we’re having is really a philosophical conversation and it concerns the unfinished business of liberalism. I think all human beings are born philosophers, that is, that we all have an innate desire to understand what our world means and what we owe to one another and how to live good lives.”
17. Chinese Drones Are Spying on Americans
news.yahoo.com · by Rebeccah Heinrichs · December 20, 2020
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“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.”
– Arthur Schopenhauer
“Liberal constitutional democracy is supposed to ensure that each citizen is free and equal and protected by basic rights and liberties.”
– John Rawls
“I shall constantly bear in Mind, that as the Sword was the last Resort for the preservation of our Liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside, when those Liberties are firmly established.’
– George Washington
