News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. The Cyber Threat Is Real and Growing
2. Microsoft says SECOND hacking team installed backdoor in SolarWinds
3. No More Generals Atop the Pentagon
4. China takes a page from the US Cold War playbook
5. Commentary: US paid dearly for absence in Pacific trade deal
6. How We're Building a 21st-Century Space Force
7. Assessing the Role of Armed Forces in Activities Below the Threshold of War
8. A(nother) New Afghanistan Strategy, Based on an Old Approach
9. Congress barrels toward veto clash with Trump
10. The Military Learned to Stop the Bleeding
11. The Work Required to Have an Opinion
12. The Martini's Contribution to Civilization
13. Former Navy SEAL William McRaven says having acting officials leading the US military 'does not serve the American public well'
14. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny dupes spy into revealing how he was poisoned
15. Rebecca Grant: Cyberattacks against US will intensify - Biden must bolster ability to defend and strike back
16. White House secures 'three martini lunch' tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package
17. America the Coercive: On H. R. McMaster's "Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World"
18. The Legend of Korra - An Insurgency Masterclass
19. Public relations or propaganda, war gave it life
20. China Used Stolen Data to Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe
21. The Army wants water restrictions near the Wharf. Residents and D.C. leaders call it an overreach.
22. Russian hack puts a spotlight on Sasse's cyber warfare planning push
1. The Cyber Threat Is Real and Growing
WSJ · by Mike Rogers
Excerpts:
“The incoming administration must appoint a national cyber director, a provision included in the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act, and an issue on which I testified this summer. We can't afford to have dozens of offices and agencies running their own cybersecurity policies and budgets. The White House must assert itself.
The government can't do it alone. Cooperation with the private sector on cyber defenses is urgent and necessary. This goes beyond contracts and purchasing agreements, and must include recognition that the nation-private and public sectors - are under attack. We need to craft a truly whole-of-nation and whole-of-government approach to collective cyber defense.
The SolarWinds damage is done, but it isn't too late to strengthen our cyber defenses, work to deter foreign actors, and prepare for future breaches. And there will be more.”
2. Microsoft says SECOND hacking team installed backdoor in SolarWinds
Daily Mail · by Keith Griffith · December 20, 2020
Excerpts:
'This is powerful tradecraft, and needs to be understood to defend important networks,' Rob Joyce, a senior NSA cybersecurity adviser, said on Twitter.
It is unknown how or when SolarWinds was first compromised. According to researchers at Microsoft and other firms that have investigated the hack, intruders first began tampering with SolarWinds' code as early as October 2019, a few months before it was in a position to launch an attack.
3. No More Generals Atop the Pentagon
WSJ · by Mike Gallagher· December 21, 2020
Conclusion: "I admire Gen. Austin for his lifetime of honorable service. But that service doesn't make him the best fit for defense secretary during a moment of profound geopolitical change and challenges. When Congress decides whether to make an exception to the law for Gen. Austin, I will vote no."
4. China takes a page from the US Cold War playbook
eastasiaforum.org · by William Overholt · December 21, 2020
Excerpts:
That said, the BRI is riding and accelerating the integration of Eurasia and the emergence of Africa. Its globally networked strategy is more sophisticated than Bretton Woods' mostly bilateral vision.
China is playing the right game. Why is the United States failing to play the right game when its Cold War strategy delivered the most successful geopolitical outcome in history?
Part of the problem is that scholars have failed to articulate the post-war geoeconomic game. They preoccupy themselves with pre-World War II military conflicts without acknowledging that post-World War II leadership depends on a rebalancing toward economic priorities and a non-zero-sum mentality. But above all, peacetime resources are allocated by congressional lobbying - not by strategy.
5. Commentary: US paid dearly for absence in Pacific trade deal
channelnewsasia.com· by Cai Daolu and Carlos Kuriyama
Our major strategic error of the past four years.
6. How We're Building a 21st-Century Space Force
defenseone.com · by Gen. John W. Raymond
Excerpts:
“In the year we have spent standing up the nation's newest service, space has grown more crowded, more contested, and more vital to our economy and national security. Anyone who has used a traffic app on a smartphone or a virtual platform for a meeting has seen the ways in which space-based networks govern our daily lives, from commerce to communication.
We do not know which future visionaries will emerge to follow in the footsteps of leaders like Schriever. But by staying lean and focused, the Space Force can address the many challenges that lie ahead, outcompeting adversaries, deterring conflict, and keeping Americans safe.
How We're Building a 21st-Century Space Force
Only by staying lean, agile, and tightly focused on our mission can we succeed in protecting the United States.”
7. Assessing the Role of Armed Forces in Activities Below the Threshold of War
divergentoptions.org · by Damimola Olawuyi and Paul Jemitola · December 21, 2020
Conclusion:
“As the dawn of a new era in international relations begins, leaders will need to rely on every available lever of power to achieve favourable outcomes as they compete for a favourable place on the global stage. While many events will occur outside the realm of armed conflict, it will not diminish the role the armed forces plays to ensure successful outcomes. Thus as governments take critical decisions on the means of expressing their nation's will and safeguarding its interests, they can embrace neither neglecting their militaries nor limit their contribution to simply to the waging of its wars.”
8. A(nother) New Afghanistan Strategy, Based on an Old Approach
realcleardefense.com · by Anthony Cowden
Four questions answered with ends, ways, and means:
Is pride an appropriate national interest?
To what degree should past efforts be relevant in crafting a new strategy?
What does history have to teach us about fighting in Afghanistan?
Is the U.S. seriously considering a negotiated settlement with the Taliban?
9. Congress barrels toward veto clash with Trump
The Hill · by Jordain Carney · December 19, 2020
Will POTUS veto the NDAA and can and will Congress override it?
10. The Military Learned to Stop the Bleeding
WSJ · by Frank K. Butler and John B. Holcomb· December 20, 2020
How many times do we need to say, "Stop the bleeding." The military has contributed to many advances that benefit society at large. But society must pay attention. 20 years ago, our medics were issuing tourniquets that could be self-administered with one hand. I still have mine (fortunately I never had to use it on myself).
From Tactical Combat Casualty Care Handbook, Version 5
11. The Work Required to Have an Opinion
Some food for thought in these divisive times.
One of the hardest classes I ever took included the requirement to write a paper every week on an ethics topic in international relations. We had to write it in two forms, one from each side of the debate: e.g., Resolved... etc. It was a challenge to write both sides of the debate and in essence counter your own arguments. It was a very useful exercise.
The Professor was Dr. William Douglas. You can read him (and his poetry) here.
12. The Martini's Contribution to Civilization
WSJ · by Amanda Foreman· December 19, 2020
Something on the lighter side.
The cocktail was invented in the U.S., but it soon became a worldwide symbol of sophistication.
13. Former Navy SEAL William McRaven says having acting officials leading the US military 'does not serve the American public well'
Business Insider · by David Choi, Ryan Pickrell· December 21, 2020
14. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny dupes spy into revealing how he was poisoned
CNN · by Tim Lister, Clarissa Ward and Sebastian Shukla
This is a fascinating story with some great reporting.
15. Rebecca Grant: Cyberattacks against US will intensify - Biden must bolster ability to defend and strike back
foxnews.com · by Rebecca Grant | Fox News
The title is a no brainer. We must do better.
16. White House secures 'three martini lunch' tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package
The Washington Post· by Jeff Stein · December 21, 2020
Sigh....I wonder who can go back to work and get anything done after a 3 martini lunch? I think the next thing we need to pass into law is a mandatory siesta after lunch. When I came in the Army we still had the 2 beer lunch. But a 3 martini lunch would make me non-mission capable for the afternoon.
17. America the Coercive: On H. R. McMaster's "Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World"
Los Angeles Review of Books · by Gregory A. Daddis · December 20, 2020
A critical review of HR's book. I do not see it the same way as Professor Daddis.
18. The Legend of Korra - An Insurgency Masterclass
angrystaffofficer.com · by Matthew Ader · December 14, 2020
An unusual think piece in the Angry Staff Officer blog. My daughter loved the Avatar cartoons as a young girl. I may have to go back and watch these again.
19. Public relations or propaganda, war gave it life
asiatimes.com · by John Maxwell Hamilton · December 20, 2020
Interesting historical analysis. Conclusion:
Cynicism puts the nation at risk. Lack of faith in government delegitimizes leaders and makes it easier for demagogues to gain a following through malicious use of communication tools. External adversaries leverage public distrust of government by planting misinformation that disrupts elections and casts suspicions on those elected to govern.
The press, a bulwark against propaganda, also has been breached. Journalists were never entirely successful at keeping officials at arm's length. News media relied on the Bush administration's assurances that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Still, independent journalism became the default position after 1918 - until recently. Technological advances have strengthened propagandists and disrupted fact-based reporting. The low cost of technology allows partisans to confuse and distort on a mass scale. With declining revenue from advertisers, who are less dependent on newspapers and magazines, the news media cannot afford to patrol government as they did.
"The question is no longer one of establishing democratic institutions," Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes said after the war, "but of preserving them."
20. China Used Stolen Data to Expose CIA Operatives in Africa and Europe
Foreign Policy · by Zach Dorfman · December 21, 2020
As I have heard over and over again from cyber experts, "he who controls and can exploit the data, wins."
This is of course a troubling report.
21. The Army wants water restrictions near the Wharf. Residents and D.C. leaders call it an overreach.
The Washington Post· by Luz Lazo · December 21, 2020
Over zealous force protection or do we have intelligence of a credible threat against Fort McNair?
22. Russian hack puts a spotlight on Sasse's cyber warfare planning push
Omaha.com · by Aaron Sanderford World-Herald Staff Writer
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"Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of 'American' which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations."
- George Washington
"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression."
- Thomas Paine
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
and
"This Constitution ... can only end in despotism...when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other."
- Benjamin Franklin