1/12/2021 News & Commentary – National Security
News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. Previously secret details of Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy revealed
2. Pompeo reportedly plans to disclose intel showing Iranian support for al-Qaeda
3. State capitals face threat of armed protests, FBI warns
4. WHO warns coronavirus herd immunity unlikely this year
5. Top spies praise Biden choice of Amb. William Burns to head CIA
6. Why China fears US withdrawal from Afghanistan
7. Letting US Asian allies get nukes is a bad idea
8. Exclusive: Pentagon presses ahead with Afghanistan troop drawdown despite law barring it
9. US Capitol attack a wake-up call for the integration of physical & IT security
10. America, get your s**t together
11. McCarthy: “undisputedly” no evidence Antifa participated in deadly Capitol siege
12. Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine expected to provide immunity for up to 1 year
13. How a suburban housewife became a pioneer of military intelligence
14. Army moves to oust officer who made jokes on TikTok about Nazi concentration camps
15. ‘Ashley’s War’ and the story of the women of special operations is coming to the big screen
16. DoD drone strategy focuses on low-end threats – not nation-states
17. CNO: divest Aegis Ashore sites to ground forces
18. Yes, it was a coup. Here’s why.
19. The revolution behind the attempted revolution
20. Enabling strategic success: how MARSOC can help overcome “simple-minded” militarism
1. Previously secret details of Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy revealed
ABC News · Laura Tingle · January 12, 2021
Interesting that this document is supposedly going to be declassified.
This is a very interesting assessment.
2. Pompeo reportedly plans to disclose intel showing Iranian support for al-Qaeda
Times of Israel · January 12, 2021
3. State capitals face threat of armed protests, FBI warns
Washington Post · Tim Craig, Holly Bailey, & Matt Zapotosky · January 12, 2021
4. WHO warns coronavirus herd immunity unlikely this year
Korea Times · AFP · January 12, 2021
5. Top spies praise Biden choice of Amb. William Burns to head CIA
NBC News · Ken Dilanian & Andrea Mitchell · January 11, 2021
I have heard positive comments from retired CIA intelligence officers as well.
6. Why China fears US withdrawal from Afghanistan
Asia Times · FM Shakil · January 12, 2021
7. Letting US Asian allies get nukes is a bad idea
Asia Times · Mark Valencia · January 12, 2021
We do not want nuclear weapons to proliferate among both our adversaries and our friends, partners, and allies.
8. Exclusive: Pentagon presses ahead with Afghanistan troop drawdown despite law barring it
Reuters · Jonathan Landay & Idrees Ali · January 11, 2021
I imagine General Austin will be questioned on this in his confirmation hearing – “what do you do now, Lieutenant?”
9. US Capitol attack a wake-up call for the integration of physical & IT security
Dark Reading · Seth Rosenblatt · January 11, 2021
10. America, get your s**t together
Angry Staff Officer · January 12, 2021
The Angry Staff Officer tells it like it is and pulls no punches.
11. McCarthy: “undisputedly” no evidence Antifa participated in deadly Capitol siege
Axios · Alayna Treena · January 12, 2021
And he apparently told POTUS this as well.
12. Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine expected to provide immunity for up to 1 year
Axios · Shawna Chen · January 12, 2021
So, will we have to get vaccinated annually? What good news for Big Pharma!
13. How a suburban housewife became a pioneer of military intelligence
Military.com · James Barber · January 11, 2021
Some interesting history. I look forward to watching this.
14. Army moves to oust officer who made jokes on TikTok about Nazi concentration camps
Washington Post · Dan Lamothe · January 11, 2021
There is no place for someone who makes these kinds of jokes. If he has this attitude toward the camps, he is disgusting. And if he does not have such an attitude and was just “joking,” his demonstration of poor judgment and lack of common sense and decency warrants his termination of service.
15. ‘Ashley’s War’ and the story of the women of special operations is coming to the big screen
Military Times · J.D. Simkins · January 11, 2021
16. DoD drone strategy focuses on low-end threats – not nation-states
Breaking Defense · Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. · January 11, 2021
17. CNO: divest Aegis Ashore sites to ground forces
Sea Power · Richard R. Burgess · January 11, 2021
18. Yes, it was a coup. Here’s why.
Politico · Fiona Hill · January 11, 2021
I am not sure this was a coup, but I do think an insurrection is the right description. But this is some interesting analysis from Fiona Hill.
19. The revolution behind the attempted revolution
Small Wars Journal · Frank Sobchak · January 11, 2021
20. Enabling strategic success: How MARSOC can help overcome “simple-minded” militarism
Small Wars Journal · Paul Bailey · January 11, 2021
“The men who lose their heads most easily, and who generally show themselves weakest on days of revolution are the military; accustomed as they are to have organized force facing them and an obedient force in their hands, they readily become confused before the tumultuous uproar of a crowd and in the presence of hesitation and occasional connivance of their own men.”
– Alexis de Tocqueville
“He who fights against his own country is a child who would kill his mother.”
– Napoleon
“The central task and the highest form of a revolution is to seize political power by armed force, to settle problems by war.”
– Mao Tse-tung