1/5/2021 News & Commentary – National Security
News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. South Korean tanker was boarded by armed Iran Guard forces
2. The Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis goes mainstream
3. NYSE scraps plans to delist Chinese telecom stocks
4. Pompeo cites China, North Korea as Trump’s unfinished business
5. On anniversary of downed Flight 752, it’s time to hold Iran accountable
6. Is America back? The high politics of trade in the Indo-Pacific
7. Ten angry men: what the incredible letter from former Defense Secretaries should tell Americans
8. Everybody spies in cyberspace. The U.S. must plan accordingly.
9. Jolo police charged with murder, planting evidence in soldiers’ slay
10. Snowden’s no hero
11. The mutated virus is a ticking time bomb
12. Beijing’s bid for financial supremacy
13. President Trump must act on behalf of Robert Bales and other convicted warfighters
14. Complaint about Green Beret colonel’s ‘overreactions’ was dismissed months before police standoff
15. Top Pentagon official dismissed U.S. alliances with Taiwan, Australia
16. Philippine ‘within striking distance’: China seen gearing up for full naval base operations on Fiery Cross Reef
17. Pentagon gets diversity watchdog in bill passed over Trump veto
18. Three brothers: a Navy SEAL, Green Beret, and the Marine sole survivor
19. Biden should retain these Trump policies to keep America great in 2021
20. Options to prioritize people and improve readiness: decreasing OPTEMPO to increase learning
21. Biden’s security adviser gives a foreign policy preview
22. Afghan conflict – a look back at 2020
1. South Korean tanker was boarded by armed Iran Guard forces
AP · Hyung-Jin Kim & Jon Gambrell · January 5, 2021
2. The Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis goes mainstream
National Review · Jim Geraghty · January 4, 2021
I wondered about this last February.
3. NYSE scraps plans to delist Chinese telecom stocks
Wall Street Journal · Chong Koh Ping & Ben Otto · January 5, 2021
About face.
I received these comments from a friend who knows and understands finance and investing and history better than I ever will:
“I laughed at the Washington showboat politicians on delisting Alibaba, JD. Com, et al. An American proverb comes to mind: “cut off one’s own nose to spite the face.” London used to be the center of global finance and global listings; they made the similar hubris mistakes as this. So, we lose several trillions in capital – for what?? Send it to Hong Kong to be laundered back to Beijing in new aircraft carriers and a global blue water navy? All that global investor capital will follow Alibaba, Baidu, et al wherever they are listed.”
4. Pompeo cites China, North Korea as Trump’s unfinished business
Bloomberg · Nick Wadhams · January 4, 2021
In his defense, every administration has unfinished business with North Korea. As long as the Kim family regime remains in power, business will always be unfinished.
5. On anniversary of downed Flight 752, it’s time to hold Iran accountable
Hill · Toby Dershowitz, Alireza Nader, &Dylan Gresik · January 4, 2021
6. Is America back? The high politics of trade in the Indo-Pacific
Brookings · Mireya Solís · January 4, 2021
7. Ten angry men: what the incredible letter from former Defense Secretaries should tell Americans
TIME · James Stavridis · January 4, 2021
8. Everybody spies in cyberspace. The U.S. must plan accordingly.
Defense One · Amy Zegart · January 4, 2021
We must work from the assumption that we can be compromised in cyberspace.
9. Jolo police charged with murder, planting evidence in soldiers’ slay
Rappler · Rambo Talabong · January 4, 2021
Wow. This is difficult to believe.
10. Snowden’s no hero
Washington Examiner · Rebeccah Heinrichs · January 1, 2021
In my humble opinion, he is a traitor.
11. The mutated virus is a ticking time bomb
Defense One · Zeynep Tufekci · January 4, 2021
But this will be denied by the COVID deniers and conspiracy theorists.
12. Beijing’s bid for financial supremacy
Wall Street Journal · Kevin Warsh · January 4, 2021
13. President Trump Must Act on Behalf of Robert Bales and Other Convicted Warfighters
Military.com · David Gurfein · January 4, 2021
Oh no. Wow. This is quite an argument. Clearly, if the author’s allegations are true, we made some horrendous process mistakes. But Bales has been proven to be a cold-blooded murderer. He should not be pardoned. At best and again if the process allegations are true, he should be retired. Then again, he has exhausted all his appeals (with the Supreme Court declining to hear the case) so it seems that due process has been conducted.
But I will leave this to the legal experts to assess and explain.
14. Complaint about Green Beret colonel’s ‘overreactions’ was dismissed months before police standoff
Military Times · Kyle Rempfer · January 4, 2021
Such a terrible tragedy for the family. But this article exposes an issue that is going to add to all of the controversy about investigations in the military, especially investigations of senior officers.
15. Top Pentagon official dismissed U.S. alliances with Taiwan, Australia
Washington Times · Rowan Scarborough · January 4, 2021
James Baker has been the subject of controversy before.
16. Philippine ‘within striking distance’: China seen gearing up for full naval base operations on Fiery Cross Reef
Straits Times · January 5, 2021
17. Pentagon gets diversity watchdog in bill passed over Trump veto
Bloomberg · Anthony Capaccio · January 5, 2021
There is a lot to unpack from the NDAA.
18. Three brothers: a Navy SEAL, Green Beret and the Marine sole survivor
Marine Corps Times · Todd South · January 5, 2021
Quite a story. If someone pitched this for a fictional movie it would probably be rejected as being too far-fetched.
19. Biden should retain these Trump policies to keep America great in 2021
Hill · Merrill Matthews · January 4, 2021
20. Options to Prioritize People and Improve Readiness: Decreasing OPTEMPO to Increase Learning
Divergent Options · Josh Linvill · January 4, 2021
One of the biggest challenges our military faces.
21. Biden’s security adviser gives a foreign policy preview
Asia Times · MK Bhadrakumar · January 5, 2021
Here is the link to the transcript of Jake Sullivan’s discussion with Freed Zakaria on Sunday.
22. Afghan conflict – a look back at 2020
SOF News · January 5, 2021
” Kind people help each other even without noticing that they are doing so, and evil people act against each other on purpose.”
– Chinese proverb
“A gunshot wound may be cured, but the wound made by the tongue never heals.”
– Persian wisdom
“Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view. It’s not activity that disturbs people, but false conscriptions of things that drive them mad.”
– Seneca