News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Does the U.S. Need to Fear That China Might Invade Taiwan?
2. Exclusive: No. 2 U.S. diplomat to visit Russia, Lithuania to discuss Belarus
3. Mali coup leader was trained by U.S. military, officers say
4. Hackers Leak Alleged Internal Files of Chinese Social Media Monitoring Firms
5. The Chinese and U.S. Internets are drifting apart. Why that’s bad for the whole world
6. Silicon Valley and Wall Street Elites Pour Money Into Psychedelic Research
7. Former Green Beret accused of spying on the US for Russia
8. The Intelligence Community’s Role in Countering Malign Foreign Influence on Social Media
9. Here’s What Might Not Survive COVID Budget Cuts
10. (U)Report Of The Select Committee On Intelligence United States Senate On Russian Active Measures Campaigns And Interference In The 2016 U.S. Election
11. Pentagon finds National Guard use of surveillance planes during US protests was legal but changes are needed
12. With a mix of covert disinformation and blatant propaganda, foreign adversaries bear down on final phase of presidential campaign
13. The Biden Doctrine Exists Already. Here's an Inside Preview.
14. The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump
15. Trump's planned troop pullout from Germany has many military holes
16. Scoop: Open Technology Fund sues administration for $20M in missing funds
17. Some VOA Journalists Forced to Leave US Soon as Visas Expire
18. Engel Statement on VOA Journalists Facing Expiring Visas
19. The Critical 6 Months for US-Japan Defense Cooperation We Never Saw Coming
20. 'Missile barges' could be America's secret weapon in the Pacific
21. The true story behind that one scene from 'Black Hawk Down' that explains why soldiers go to war
1. Does the U.S. Need to Fear That China Might Invade Taiwan?
Bloomberg · by Hal Brands · August 20, 2020
Taiwan has to be on the most difficult strategic and military challenges.
2. Exclusive: No. 2 U.S. diplomat to visit Russia, Lithuania to discuss Belarus
ca.reuters.com · by Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed
This will likely be a tough trip.
Perhaps the DEPSECSTATE could reinforce the Resistance Operating Concept in preparation for continued Russian meddling.
https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/prism/prism_8-4/prism_8-4_17-28_Fiala-Pettersson.pdf
https://jsou.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=54216464
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1392106/FULLTEXT01.pdf
3. Mali coup leader was trained by U.S. military, officers say
Hindsight is 20/20. Yes, unfortunately these things happen. There will be the inevitable criticisms of US SOF training people like Col. Assimi Goita. But I wish we could get credit for how many times this has not happened because of such training. And yes, of course that is not provable.
4. Hackers Leak Alleged Internal Files of Chinese Social Media Monitoring Firms
Vice · by Joseph Cox
I hope this can be exploited.
5. The Chinese and U.S. Internets are drifting apart. Why that’s bad for the whole world
Fortune · by Kislaya Prasad · August 21, 2020
6. Silicon Valley and Wall Street Elites Pour Money Into Psychedelic Research
WSJ · by Shalini Ramachandran· August 20, 2020
All you need is some acid to cure your PTSD. There is a magic pill for everything.
I am reminded of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit:
One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall
And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call
He called Alice, when she was just small
When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice, I think she'll know
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the Dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head
7. Former Green Beret accused of spying on the US for Russia
taskandpurpose.com · by Jeff Schogol
I guess we need some CI improvements. This is am amazing story. We had so many breakdowns in the Army and Special Forces.
Here is a link to the District's press release:
Here is the link to the 17 page indictment. I rarely read legal documents like this but this one is worth the read to really see how we failed.
8. The Intelligence Community’s Role in Countering Malign Foreign Influence on Social Media
lawfareblog.com · by Gavin Wilde August 21, 2020
This is the essence of the challenge: "From the Church and Pike Committees to the Patriot Act, to WikiLeaks to the Snowden affair, perhaps no issue has drawn more public scrutiny of the otherwise-secretive intelligence community than its role with respect to U.S. persons - nor has any issue elicited more transparency reforms. The correct balance between privacy and security was fodder for debate long before the formal establishment of U.S. intelligence-gathering agencies well over a half-century ago."
9. Here’s What Might Not Survive COVID Budget Cuts
defenseone.com · by Marcus Weisgerber
Yes, we are going to face severe budget challenges. We are not going to be able to just continue printing money indefinitely. We are going to need a lot of fiscal discipline and we will have to make tough decisions on priorities in the years ahead.
10. (U) Report Of The Select Committee On Intelligence United States Senate On Russian Active Measures Campaigns And Interference In The 2016 U.S. Election
Just in case, anyone needs access to the Senate report. Here is the link to the 966 page report. I have not read it but perhaps some will find it useful research and reference.
VOLUME 5: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES
11. Pentagon finds National Guard use of surveillance planes during US protests was legal but changes are needed
CNN · by Barbara Starr
12. With a mix of covert disinformation and blatant propaganda, foreign adversaries bear down on final phase of presidential campaign
The Washington Post· by Shane Harris and Ellen Nakashima· August 21, 2020
This is happening. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. "At least three countries - Russia, China and Iran - have taken aim at the campaigns themselves and tried to stir the passions of voters, with a mix of covert “information laundering” and some ham-handed propaganda." I also notice that NK News is reporting that north Korea is also trying to interfere with the US elections.
I wonder since these countries supposedly want different candidates to win will their efforts cancel each other out??? (that is a sarcastic comment).
13. The Biden Doctrine Exists Already. Here's an Inside Preview.
Foreign Policy · by James Traub · August 20, 2020
Foreign Policy magazine has chosen its candidate.
Excerpt:
Colin Kahl, Biden’s national security advisor from 2014 to the end of the administration and now a professor at Stanford University, said, “The three things that are most obvious are one, the world has become so interconnected that the biggest existential challenges we face are the transnational threats” - an awareness acutely amplified by the coronavirus pandemic; “two, democracy is on its back foot around the world; and three, the changing distribution of global power - great-power competition is back.”
14. The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump
The New York Times · by Matthew Rosenberg and Maggie Haberman· August 20, 2020
I wish we could develop some collective ability for critical thinking. It is simply amazing how anyone could believe this stuff. But it is worthy of study to see how easily some people can be manipulated. It will be interesting to discover who is behind this pulling the strings.
Excerpts:
“QAnon is nuts -and real leaders call conspiracy theories conspiracy theories,” said Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, after the president appeared to endorse QAnon this week.“
If Democrats take the Senate,” he added, “This will be a big part of why they won.”Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican, joined the fray on Thursday, calling QAnon “dangerous lunacy that should have no place in American politics.”
15. Trump's planned troop pullout from Germany has many military holes
CNN · by by Brad Lendon
These moves cannot be made overnight. I feel bad for the logisticians and facilities engineers who will have to make these moves happen. They have Alexander looking over their shoulders:
"My logisticians are a humorless lot... they know that if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay."
Alexander the Great
16. Scoop: Open Technology Fund sues administration for $20M in missing funds
Axios · by Sara Fischer
Not at all helpful to our information and influence activities efforts around the world in denied areas.
17. Some VOA Journalists Forced to Leave US Soon as Visas Expire
The New York Times · by The Associated Press · August 21, 2020
Yes, I understand that if people are in violation of visa status the proper action must be taken.
However, we should recognize how important these people are to the national security mission of the US. They are contributing so much more than so many of us. Also, many of these journalists could be at great risk if they return to their homes due to the nature of the news they have been reporting.
18. Engel Statement on VOA Journalists Facing Expiring Visas
foreignaffairs.house.gov · August 21, 2020
I hope Congress takes quick action to resolve these issues.
19. The Critical 6 Months for US-Japan Defense Cooperation We Never Saw Coming
thediplomat.com · by James L. Schoff · August 21, 2020
20. 'Missile barges' could be America's secret weapon in the Pacific
sandboxx.us · by Alex Hollings · August 18, 2020
Not so secret anymore. And if it looks like commercial shipping, it might make all commercial shipping vulnerable to attack.
21. The true story behind that one scene from 'Black Hawk Down' that explains why soldiers go to war
taskandpurpose.com · by James Clark
A great scene and a great story of the real story which does not take anything away from the great scene. And most importantly, it does express the sentiment all military personnel feel and come to believe (or should).
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"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
- Mark Twain
"No one understood better than Stalin that the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform pattern of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance."
- Alan Bullock, British historian
“Perhaps the most important lesson from Game Theory is that in business, war, or any competitive enterprise, one must anticipate his opponent's strategy before developing one's own strategy.”
- Geoffrey Goff