News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Riley Murray.
1. China Is National Security Threat No. 1
2. Congress has agreed on a $740.5B defense bill; here's how it impacts pay, ACFT, Space Force and more
3. Earl Plumlee, Alwyn Cashe Among 4 Soldiers Highlighted for Medal of Honor in Defense Bill
4. The Party That Failed: An Insider Breaks With Beijing
5. The Marine Corps is creating a 'commando' MOS that can fight modern wars
6. U.S. Imposes Sanctions on People's Republic of China Officials Engaged in Coercive Influence Activities
7. Sinister speculation over China's 'bioweapons' plan
8. Joe Biden and new administration could restore economic sanctions
9. Merc on Merc
10. Democratic Offense Against Disinformation
11. Stopping The Spread: Pandemics, Warning, And The IC
12. New US special operations site activated in heart of the Baltics
13. U.S. Will Move Nearly All Troops Out of Somalia, Officials Say
14. Overcome the Tyranny of Distance
15. Termination of PRC-Funded Propaganda Programs
16. Fear of Trump's Populism Might Save American Alliances
17. White House fires Pentagon advisory board members, installs loyalists
18. Why the Biden administration needs a National Cyber Director more than ever
19. Study links regular use of Fox News, Twitter, and Facebook to reduced knowledge about COVID-19
20. Russia's Secret Special Forces Unit Isn't So Secret Anymore
21. Report: Mossad Planted Agent Near Fakhrizadeh 27 Years Ago
1. China Is National Security Threat No. 1
WSJ · by John Ratcliffe
The DNI's assessment.
2. Congress has agreed on a $740.5B defense bill; here's how it impacts pay, ACFT, Space Force and more
3. Earl Plumlee, Alwyn Cashe Among 4 Soldiers Highlighted for Medal of Honor in Defense Bill
military.com · by Hope Hodge Seck · December 3, 2020
4. The Party That Failed: An Insider Breaks With Beijing
Foreign Affairs · by Cai Xia · December 4, 2020
An important and powerful read.
Conclusion: "I knew I was in trouble. Soon, I was expelled from the party. The school stripped me of my retirement benefits. My bank account was frozen. I asked the authorities at the Central Party School for a guarantee of my personal safety if I returned. Officials there avoided answering the question and instead made vague threats against my daughter in China and her young son. It was at this point that I accepted the truth: there was no going back."
5. The Marine Corps is creating a 'commando' MOS that can fight modern wars
radio.com · by Jack Murphy · December 4, 2020
Snark: Everyone wants to be a "commando."
A current combat instructor who spoke to Connecting Vets on the condition of anonymity described their approach as borrowing from the land warfare proficiencies of Army Rangers combined with the maritime capabilities of the British Royal Marines.
Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
But on a serious note this seems like a massive cross-training effort.
Excerpt:
After completing their infantry training, these Marines will then be subjected to a series of training courses that were never available during initial entry training before.
These courses include Mountain Leader, Raid Leader, Assault Climber, and Combat Hunter before receiving Scout-Swimmer training and attending the coxswain course. Finally, Marine Infantrymen will attend some version of the Air Assault course, although the details have yet to be determined.
In all, Marine Infantrymen will receive four months of training before being sent to their unit.
6. U.S. Imposes Sanctions on People's Republic of China Officials Engaged in Coercive Influence Activities
state.gov · by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State
We must recognize the CCP's coercive influence activities.
7. Sinister speculation over China's 'bioweapons' plan
That is a very young-looking Gordon Chang in the photo below! :-)
Say what you will, if China is buying into DNA collecting ancestry companies, we do have to be suspicious of Chinese intent. We should think twice about providing our DNA to corporations.
The irony is in the future while we protect US citizens from forced collection of DNA without a warrant, we might have law enforcement agencies purchasing access to Chinese DNA databases to screen DNA in criminal cases. Yes, I am being sarcastic here. But we stress our right to privacy in regards to the US government yet we willingly and even pay money to provide our DNA to companies that may provide DNA information to a foreign and hostile government. We should think about the sad irony of that.
8. Joe Biden and new administration could restore economic sanctions
The Hill · by George Lopez · December 4, 2020
A critique of the current employment of economic sanctions.
9. Merc on Merc
crispin.substack.com · by Crispin Burke
From the always pithy and enlightening Crispin Burke.
10. Democratic Offense Against Disinformation
cepa.org · December 2, 2020
The 32 page report can be downloaded here: https://cepa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CEPA-Democratic-Offense-Disinformation-11.30.2020.pdf
11. Stopping The Spread: Pandemics, Warning, And The IC
The 12 page report can be downloaded here: https://www.flipsnack.com/nsigmu/stopping-the-spread-for-print/download-pdf.html
12. New US special operations site activated in heart of the Baltics
13. U.S. Will Move Nearly All Troops Out of Somalia, Officials Say
WSJ · by Nancy A. Youssef and Michael M. Phillips
Relocation of 700 troops from Somalia reverses administration course; move follows troop cuts in Iraq, Afghanistan
14. Overcome the Tyranny of Distance
usni.org · December 1, 2020
One way to overcome the tyranny of distance is having a robust alliance structure which provides for overseas basing of US forces.
There is one law of physics that we cannot break no matter how hard we try - the law of time and distance.
Just saying.
But I digress. This article is about amphibious aircraft or flying boats.
15. Termination of PRC-Funded Propaganda Programs
state.gov · by Michael R. Pompeo
I would say this is a significant action but that might be an understatement.
These should only be resumed after we receive permission to establish Reagan or Lincoln or Washington Freedom Institutes in China (note sarcasm).
16. Fear of Trump's Populism Might Save American Alliances
Foreign Affairs · by Daniel H. Nexon and Jeffrey A. Stacey · December 4, 2020
Obviously biased critique based on the title and subtitle.
Conclusion: Old habits die hard, however. If democratic allies drift into complacency, the Biden administration will need to remind them that nothing less than the survival of U.S. security guarantees is at stake-not because Biden fails to see their value but because the next U.S. president might not.
17. White House fires Pentagon advisory board members, installs loyalists
Damn. I was hoping to be asked to join the policy board. I guess that is just not in the cards for me with this kind of "competition!" (note sarcasm).
18. Why the Biden administration needs a National Cyber Director more than ever
cyberscoop.com · by Camille Stewart · December 2, 2020
Again, should cyber be an instrument of national power? In response to that question someone wrote that cyber is an integral element of every national element of power and that every element of power now rests on cyber capabilities. That makes me think that cyber is more important than any single element.
19. Study links regular use of Fox News, Twitter, and Facebook to reduced knowledge about COVID-19
psypost.org · by Eric W. Dolan · December 4, 2020
This will be upsetting to some.
20. Russia's Secret Special Forces Unit Isn't So Secret Anymore
The National Interest · by Charlie Gao · December 4, 2020
Hmmm....
21. Report: Mossad Planted Agent Near Fakhrizadeh 27 Years Ago
If true, this illustrates the "pay-off" to the long term investment in human intelligence. No one foresaw this action 27 years ago but it they had not recruited this agent and handled him they would not have experienced the luck they did. (What is luck? As my high school football coach drilled into us - when opportunity meets preparation.)
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
- Josef Stalin
"The only winner in the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky."
- Solomon Short
Dau Trahn:
Political Struggle:
Dan Van - Action among your people - total mobilization of propaganda, motivational & organizational measures to manipulate internal masses and fighting units
Binh Van - Action among enemy military - subversion, proselytizing, propaganda to encourage desertion, defection and lowered morale among enemy troops.
Dich Van - Action among enemy's people - total propaganda effort to sow discontent, defeatism, dissent, and disloyalty among enemy's population.
Military Struggle:
Phase 1: Organizations and Preparation - building cells, recruiting members, infiltrating organizations, creating front groups, spreading propaganda, stockpiling weapons.
Phase 2: Terrorism - Guerrilla Warfare - kidnappings, terrorist attacks, sabotage, guerrilla raids, ambushes, setting of parallel governments in insurgent areas.
Phase 3: Conventional Warfare - regular formations and maneuver to capture key geographical and political objectives.