10/30/2020 News & Commentary - National Security

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.

1. If you play videogames, China may be spying on you

2. Top officials were briefed on active threat against Pentagon leaders

3. As the West stumbles, ‘helmsman’ Xi pushes an ambitious plan for China

4. How the US and India became brothers in arms

5. Preserve America’s strategic autonomy in the Taiwan Strait

6. Philippines taking aim at China’s sea militias

7. Germany is ready to offer America a new deal

8. China's hopeless Twitter influence operations

9. US, China militaries talk "crisis communications" as they trade warnings before Nov. 3 election

10. Is China getting ready to start a war over Taiwan?

11. Behind China’s threat to support insurgency in India

12. Pics/Video: US launches ballistic missile 4,200 miles into the Pacific Ocean in new test

13. The United States doesn't want to reform the WTO. It wants to destroy it

14. After covering civil war overseas, journalist examines U.S. militia movement

15. Twitter bots promote right-wing conspiracies, paper shows

16. Americans hate each other. But we aren’t headed for civil war.

17. The Army repeatedly screwed this combat veteran. Now he’s being kicked out of the service – again

1. If you play videogames, China may be spying on you

Wall Street Journal · Dave Aitel & Jordan Schneider · October 28, 2020

This may be one reason why China is dominating the online games market. Another reason may be to control the narrative. Since most of the people reading my commentary do not play video games (like me), we do not see the narratives that are being disseminated through video games, namely that China is good, strong, and respected. The online gaming market is huge and reaches so many young people. China's intent is to shape subtly their views of China.

2. Top officials were briefed on active threat against Pentagon leaders

NBC News · Courtney Kube & Carol E. Lee · October 29, 2020

A very significant development if true. It would be quite an operation to be able to attack senior US military leaders on US soil.

3. As the West stumbles, ‘helmsman’ Xi pushes an ambitious plan for China

New York Times · Chris Buckley & Steven Lee Myers · October 30, 2020

4. How the US and India became brothers in arms

Asia Times · Jagannath Panda · October 28, 2020

Are we really brothers in arms? I think there may be a ways to go.

5. Preserve America’s strategic autonomy in the Taiwan Strait

War On the Rocks · Walter Lohman & Frank Jannuzi · October 29, 2020

Interesting co-authors. The Heritage Foundation and the Mansfield Foundation are not often ideologically aligned. And Frank Januzzi was a long-term foreign policy advisor to then Senator Biden.

6. Philippines taking aim at China’s sea militias

Asia Times · Richard Javad Heydarian · October 29, 2020

I think China and the Philippines are about to conduct a form of naval irregular warfare.

7. Germany is ready to offer America a new deal

Yahoo News · Andreas Kluth · October 29, 2020

Interesting proposal.

8. China's hopeless Twitter influence operations

China Talk · Jordan Schneider · October 29, 2020

Long read and a lot of data. The author's key point: China has no idea how to run a Twitter network and does not do a good job amplifying its message with insincere state-run accounts.

9. US, China militaries talk "crisis communications" as they trade warnings before Nov. 3 election

Newsweek · Tom O'Connor · October 29, 2020

Better to jaw jaw than war war.

10. Is China getting ready to start a war over Taiwan?

National Interest · Dan Blumenthal · October 29, 2020

I hope not.

11. Behind China’s threat to support insurgency in India

Asia Times · Bertil Lintner · October 30, 2020

Chinese irregular warfare. Will China overextend itself?

12. Pics/Video: US launches ballistic missile 4,200 miles into the Pacific Ocean in new test

American Military News · Ryan Morgan · October 29, 2020

Kim Jong-un: this one's for you.

13. The United States doesn't want to reform the WTO. It wants to destroy it

National Interest · Inu Manak · October 30, 2020

Really? Cut off our nose to spite our face?

14. After covering civil war overseas, journalist examines U.S. militia movement

KPCW · Terry Gross · October 28, 2020

Ughh... please do not drag Special Forces into this.

15. Twitter bots promote right-wing conspiracies, paper shows

Defense One · Patrick Tucker · October 29, 2020

Only 13%? That means 87% are real people endorsing conspiracy theories.

16. Americans hate each other. But we aren’t headed for civil war.

Washington Post · Richard Hanania · October 29, 2020

Why can't we all just get along???

We need to overcome this hatred of our fellow Americans.

17. The Army repeatedly screwed this combat veteran. Now he’s being kicked out of the service - again

Task & Purpose · Haley Britzky · October 29, 2020

A depressing story.

“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

- James Madison

A thought: “So long as we remain amateurs in the critical field of political warfare, the billions of dollars we annually spend on defense and foreign aid will provide us with a diminishing measure of protection.”

- Senator Mundt, 1961

Anybody can be angry, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, that is not easy. 

- Aristotle