News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Ahyoung Shin.
1. FDD | State Department Plays Key Role in New U.S. China Strategy
2. Trump faces mounting GOP blowback over order to pull troops out of Germany
3. What Antifa is, What it isn't, and Why it matters
4. International Criminal Court members defend it in face of U.S. sanctions
5. FDD | America in 2020: "Insurrection" or "Incipient Insurgency"?
6. FDD | How to Beat China's Military-Civil Fusion
7. Despite the Authoritarian Wave, People Will Be Back
8. U.S. Military Remains Vulnerable to Infiltration by Violent Extremists
9. BlueLeaks: Huge Leak of Police Department Data Follows George Floyd Protests
10. Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany a key subplot of Trump's meeting with Polish leader
11. Lawmakers seek $6 billion to add weapons to deter China in the Pacific
12. US government broadcasters have long advanced the cause of freedom. Now they're under threat.
13. Gaslighting Nobody, the Blob Awkwardly Struggles for Primacy
14. Defense bill would survey troops on if they've faced 'racist, anti-Semitic or supremacist' activity
15. The U.S. Intel Community is being disrupted
16. Ending America's Grand Strategic Failures
17. Does the Pentagon's Checkbook Diplomacy actually work?
1. FDD | State Department Plays Key Role in New U.S. China Strategy
fdd.org · by David Maxwell · June 23, 2020
2. Trump faces mounting GOP blowback over order to pull troops out of Germany
The Washington Post · by James Hohmann · June 23, 2020
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will the republicans be able to change his mind or will the Pentagon come up with a way to split the baby and execute the President's intent without doing too much damage to the alliance and US forward stationed capabilities.
3. What Antifa is, What it isn't, and Why it matters
warontherocks.com · by Michael Kenney · June 23, 2020
The analyses of antifa are all over the map. There will be pushback by many on this statement "Interestingly, any push to terrorism among Antifa supporters would likely be met by opposition from within the movement" because it does not comport with their view of the movement (rather than organization).
4. International Criminal Court members defend it in face of U.S. sanctions
Reuters · by Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie van den Berg · June 23, 2020
This is the key point: "The ICC is a court of last resort, stepping in only when a state is unable or unwilling to prosecute grave crimes." The US conducts investigations and conducts trials based on evidence. It is neither unable nor unwilling to prosecute grave crimes. It is not in the ICC's purview to take action because it does not like the outcome of US investigations and trials.
5. FDD | America in 2020: "Insurrection" or "Incipient Insurgency"?
fdd.org · by David Kilcullen · June 23, 2020
We may be in the incipient stage, but it is no longer latent!
Provocative analysis from David Kilcullen.
6. FDD | How to Beat China's Military-Civil Fusion
fdd.org · by Emily de La Bruyère Senior Fellow · June 22, 2020
7. Despite the Authoritarian Wave, People Will Be Back
realclearworld.com · by Srdja Popovic
We will see. In long talks with our college age daughter while we have stayed home these past few months, I have learned that many of her peers do not value democracy like we do. We just take it for granted that our sons and daughters will value freedom and individual liberty, liberal democracy, a free market economy, rule of law, and human rights the way we do. I agree with the author's conclusion: "Societies are as healthy and vital as are their citizens." That may be worrisome these days.
8. U.S. Military Remains Vulnerable to Infiltration by Violent Extremists
mailchi.mp · June 24, 2020
9. BlueLeaks: Huge Leak of Police Department Data Follows George Floyd Protests
Forbes · by Thomas Brewster · June 22, 2020
10. Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany a key subplot of Trump's meeting with Polish leader
militarytimes.com · by Leo Shane III · June 23, 2020
There is always a rest of the story or the story behind the story. It will be interesting to see what troops we do station in Poland.
11. Lawmakers seek $6 billion to add weapons to deter China in the Pacific
foxnews.com · by Kris Osborn | Warrior Maven · June 23, 2020
Weapons are good. But we need to invest presence, training, relationships, and interoperability with our friends, partners and allies as well.
12. US government broadcasters have long advanced the cause of freedom. Now they're under threat.
atlanticcouncil.org · June 23, 2020
VOA, RFA, RFE/RL, et all are critical national security assets. We need to treat them that way.
But it seems like Mr. Pack is being treated with guilt by association. While I do not agree that any new boss should come in and initiate an immediate purge without first conducting his or her own assessment to understand what problem he or she is trying to solve, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. And I have heard he has not been associated with Bannon for some years.
13. Gaslighting Nobody, the Blob Awkwardly Struggles for Primacy
The American Conservative · by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos · June 24, 2020
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos does quite a takedown of the national security community, AKA the Blob, here.
Truth in advertising Mike Mazarr was my thesis advisor many years ago and then when I was on the National War College faculty, he was my faculty mentor.
14. Defense bill would survey troops on if they've faced 'racist, anti-Semitic or supremacist' activity
The Hill · by Rebecca Kheel · June 22, 2020
These results will be very interesting.
15. The U.S. Intel Community is being disrupted
defenseone.com · by Zachery Tyson Brown · June 23, 2020
"Of value." How does the intelligence community remain "of value?"
16. Ending America's Grand Strategic Failures
csis.org · by Anthony H. Cordesman · June 22, 2020
Another strong critique from Anthony Cordesman.
17. Does the Pentagon's Checkbook Diplomacy actually work?
defenseone.com · by Brian Blankenship · June 23, 2020
The Beatles told us "money can't buy me love." But can it buy me some national security?
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"A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
- James Madison, from a letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822
"The responsibility of great states is to serve and not to dominate the world."
- Harry S. Truman, Message to Congress, April 16, 1945
"A trained and disciplined guerrilla is much more than a patriotic peasant, workman, or student armed with an antiquated fowling-piece and home-made bomb. His endoctrination begins even before he is taught to shoot accurately, and it is unceasing. The end product is an intensely loyal and politically alert fighting man."
- Brig Gen S.B. Griffith in the Introduction to Mao's On Guerrilla Warfare, 1961.