News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Exclusive: U.S. pushes arms sales surge to Taiwan, needling China - sources
2. U.S. Set to Sell Taiwan $7 Billion in Arms
3. Pentagon chief says China is no match for the US Navy, even if it has more ships
4. The Top Ten Statements Regarding Jihadist Use of Cyberspace
5. With New State Department Web Page, US Ramps up Emphasis on China's Xinjiang Abuses
6. Joint SOF Should Drive ABMS Requirements
7. France, Israel, S. Korea, Japan, Others Join Pentagon's AI Partnership
8. Senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan this weekend amid China concerns
9. UN Chief: COVID-19 Pandemic 'Out of Control'
10. Taiwan Calls For Global Defence Against China 'Threat'
11. How Bob does it: 5 secrets behind the power of Woodward
12. An Answer to Aggression: How to Push Back Against Beijing
13. As Pentagon chief shows some independence, Trump launches attacks but leaves him in office
14. Army Issues New Memo About Protecting Bases from Climate Change
15. Defense Intel Head: We 'Did What We Were Supposed To' With COVID Warning
16. U.S. Charges Chinese Nationals in Cyberattacks on More Than 100 Companies
17. Steve Bannon Is Behind Bogus Study That China Created COVID
18. Lieutenant General Eric P. Wendt, of California, to be Ambassador to the State of Qatar.
19. Someone stole Leroy Petry's Medal of Honor license plate
20. Alexander Vindman: Trump Is Putin's 'Useful Idiot'
1. Exclusive: U.S. pushes arms sales surge to Taiwan, needling China - sources
Reuters · by Mike Stone, Patricia Zengerle · September 16, 2020
Needling? Is that the best word they could come up with?
2. U.S. Set to Sell Taiwan $7 Billion in Arms
WSJ · by Gordon Lubold and Nancy A. Youssef
3. Pentagon chief says China is no match for the US Navy, even if it has more ships
Business Insider · by Ryan Pickrell
4. The Top Ten Statements Regarding Jihadist Use of Cyberspace
realcleardefense.com · by James Van de Velde
Channeling David Letterman. Attempt at humor aside, Professor Van de Velde provides some important insights.
5. With New State Department Web Page, US Ramps up Emphasis on China's Xinjiang Abuses
thediplomat.com · by Shannon Tiezzi · September 16, 2020
Information and influence activities. Good for State. I hope this indicates an aggressive move into the information instrument of national power.
6. Joint SOF Should Drive ABMS Requirements
realcleardefense.com · by Ethan Brown
An interesting argument.
7. France, Israel, S. Korea, Japan, Others Join Pentagon's AI Partnership
defenseone.com · by Patrick Tucker
8. Senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan this weekend amid China concerns
Reuters · by David Brunnstrom · September 16, 2020
25I wonder if we are going to now routinely send relatively senior officials to Taiwan
9. UN Chief: COVID-19 Pandemic 'Out of Control'
english.chosun.com· September 15, 2020
I am sure the UN Secretary General will not be heard. This will be dismissed as sensationalism or the intellectually bankrupt concept of "fake news."
10. Taiwan Calls For Global Defence Against China 'Threat'
Barron's · by AFP - Agence France Presse
Taiwan sees the opportunity presented by Chinese aggression.
11. How Bob does it: 5 secrets behind the power of Woodward
This might be useful as people read Woodward's book. I think an article or two like this one is written every time Woodward publishes a book.
I went through the index of the book and I was surprised who he does not list talking to. I guess those conversations were on "deep background."
Why do people talk to Woodward? The best explanation I have read is that if you do not talk to him he will make it seem like he did. And everyone who talks to him thinks he is the one who can get Woodward to tell the story correctly.
12. An Answer to Aggression: How to Push Back Against Beijing
Foreign Affairs · by Aaron L. Friedberg · September 15, 2020
Conclusion: "A change in the upper ranks of the CCP, the emergence of a new leading group persuaded of the need to take a new approach, could bring a change in tactics and perhaps an easing of tensions. But the problem likely lies deeper than the current composition of the party's Central Committee. In light of the CCP's implacable insecurities, overweening ambition, and obsessive desire for control, it is difficult to see how a China in which the party continues to wield absolute authority can coexist comfortably in a world where liberal democracies remain strong and united. Assuming the democracies hang together, until China changes, a prolonged period of rivalry is therefore all but inevitable."
13. As Pentagon chief shows some independence, Trump launches attacks but leaves him in office
The Washington Post · by Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan and Paul Sonne · September 16, 2020
Civil military relations.
14. Army Issues New Memo About Protecting Bases from Climate Change
military.com · by Bing Xiao · September 15, 2020
15. Defense Intel Head: We 'Did What We Were Supposed To' With COVID Warning
defenseone.com · by Patrick Tucker· September 16, 2020
Note the subtitle.
16. U.S. Charges Chinese Nationals in Cyberattacks on More Than 100 Companies
WSJ · by Dustin Volz, Aruna Viswanatha and Kate O'Keeffe· September 16, 2020
The modern battlefield. We are all "combatants" now.
17. Steve Bannon Is Behind Bogus Study That China Created COVID
The Daily Beast · September 15, 2020
Strange bedfellows. Narrative is more important than science.
18. Lieutenant General Eric P. Wendt, of California, to be Ambassador to the State of Qatar.
19. Someone stole Leroy Petry's Medal of Honor license plate
militarytimes.com · by Howard Altman · September 15, 2020
What the......?
20. Alexander Vindman: Trump Is Putin's 'Useful Idiot'
The Atlantic · by Jeffrey Goldberg · September 14, 2020
I hesitate sending this out as it will generate hate mail from certain tribes. But until the books are written I imagine this article will be used in PME institutions to discuss and officer's duty and of course the perils and pitfalls of uniformed officers working on the NSC.
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"People everywhere enjoy believing things that they know
are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know."
- Brooks Atkinson
"If you can put the question, 'Am I or am I not responsible for my acts' then you are responsible."
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
"Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame."
- Erica Jong