News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Army Green Beret Charged in Fatal Shooting at Illinois Bowling Alley
2. A Quiet Life, a Thunderous Death, and a Nightmare That Shook Nashville
3. The Pentagon Could Use a Four-Star General on Top
4. Congress gives more power to DoD’s industrial base official
5. The Coming Global Backlash against China (Book Review)
6. ‘Very difficult to defend’: What happens if hackers are inside the Pentagon’s networks?
7. Gray-zone warfare: What can Taiwan do?
8. Rob Bole: USAGM is a unique, underutilized foreign policy tool
9. EDWARD LUCAS: Let's never glamourise traitor George Blake
10. Can Snowden Bamboozle Trump?
11. U.S. hits grim new milestones as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out
12. Scientists Design a Thermochromic Window That Turns Sunlight Into Electricity
13. Duterte’s ‘no vaccine, no VFA’ remark not a blackmail - Palace
14. Duterte should be 'more diplomatic', not threatening US for COVID-19 vaccines: Lacson
15. Waging war below the waves: Special Forces combat diver school is in session
16. Trapped by Thucydides? Updating the Strategic Canon for a Sinocentric Era
17. Assessment of the Use of Poisons as the Weapon of Choice in Putin’s Russia
18. A Military History of Political Wars
19. Petraeus, Crocker: Trump’s pardons to war criminals undermine rule of law, endanger U.S. troops
20. Why these Fox News loyalists have changed the channel to Newsmax
1. Army Green Beret Charged in Fatal Shooting at Illinois Bowling Alley
The New York Times · by Christina Morales and Bryan Pietsch · December 27, 2020
Another tragic event overshadowed by the Nashville bombing. Video at the link.
2. A Quiet Life, a Thunderous Death, and a Nightmare That Shook Nashville
The New York Times · by Rick Rojas and Jamie McGee · December 27, 2020
The big question: Motive?
3. The Pentagon Could Use a Four-Star General on Top
WSJ · by Stephen Horwitz · December 27, 2020
4. Congress gives more power to DoD’s industrial base official
Defense News · by Aaron Mehta · December 28, 2020
Our industrial base is arguably our most important strategic asset.
5. The Coming Global Backlash against China (Book Review)
msn.com · by Helen Raleigh · December 27, 2020
Excerpt: "But even the most powerful emperor can fly too close to the sun. The dissenting voices inside China are getting louder, while global backlash against China reached new heights in 2019. Then the 2020 coronavirus outbreak stripped the facade of Xi’s powerful image, revealed deep flaws within the CCP’s dictatorial political system, caused immense anger and frustration among Chinese people, brought serious detriments to China’s prestigious international image, and brought China’s seemingly unstoppable rise to a halt. As the prominent Hong Kong entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has written, “The more Mr. Xi pursues his authoritarian agenda, the more distrust he will sow at home and abroad. Far from transforming Beijing into the world’s leading superpower, his policies will instead keep China from taking its rightful place of honor in a peaceful, modern and integrated world.” Xi has misread the situation, overplayed his hand, and his aggressive policies at home and abroad have backfired, proving the saying: Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad."
6. ‘Very difficult to defend’: What happens if hackers are inside the Pentagon’s networks?
c4isrnet.com · by Andrew Eversden, Joe Gould, Mark Pomerleau · December 27, 2020
Have the classified networks been penetrated? Or just the unclassified NIPRNET?
7. Gray-zone warfare: What can Taiwan do?
asiatimes.com · by Dave Makichuk · December 27, 2020
Excerpts:
“So, what is the solution?
According to Defense One military analysts, there are three major things that could be game-changing:
First, Taiwan must stop spending its scarce defense dollars on expensive conventional weapons. Last year, Taiwan spent more than US$2 billion on 108 M1AT Abrams main battle tanks.
...
Second, Taiwan needs to devote serious resources and political capital into making the innovative Overall Defense Concept a reality. The brainchild of former Admiral Lee, the ODC seeks to reorient the island’s defenses toward a genuinely asymmetric air- and sea-denial posture.
...
Third, Taiwan must overhaul its massive, but increasingly hollow, reserve force. In theory, it can call upon 2.5 million part-time soldiers.”
8. Rob Bole: USAGM is a unique, underutilized foreign policy tool
mountainrunner.us · by Rob Bole
I fear the reason is the political leadership's (political appointees) lack of understanding of the mission and capabilities of VOA, RFA, RFE, RL etc.
As an aside, I just had to say goodbye to a very good VOA journalist over the Christmas holiday whose Visa was not renewed due to USAGM policy. He does not fall into any of the categories given for reasons for not renewing Visas. He was just caught up in the blanket halting of renewals. Truly a sad situation.
Key excerpts:
“In a 2016 interview, the President-elect said “it all gets down to the conduct of foreign policy being personal… All foreign policy is, is a logical extension of personal relationships, with a lot less information to act on.” For many countries, the Voice of America and other networks of USAGM represents the authentic voice of Americans and counters the propaganda of their own governments.
The availability of factual and balanced information from legitimate, or straight news, sources is ever more important as authoritarian leaders around the world have used the freedom of the digital age to create a powerful class of disinformation: the near dominance of opinion over facts, #fakenews, filter bubbles, corrosive memes, phishing, hacking and hate speech.
These autocratic governments have seen the Trump Administration validate their own tactics in U.S. domestic politics. This has further emboldened authoritarian leaders – from Bolsanaro in Brazil to Orban in Hungary – to close independent media and reduce free speech. The result is that USAGM has lost trust and influence as a voice for truth and an example of promoting democratic ideas, as was intended and the most significant test yet to USAGM’s purpose.”
9. Edward Lucas: Let's never glamourise traitor George Blake
Daily Mail · by Edward Lucas · December 27, 2020
We should keep this conclusion in mind about a true believer in communism.
10. Can Snowden Bamboozle Trump?
WSJ · by The Editorial Board
I certainly hope not. This is one person who should never receive a pardon. He has done tremendous damage to US national security even if he did expose some abuses.
Some of POTUS' closest advisors think he is a traitor.
11. U.S. hits grim new milestones as coronavirus vaccines are rolled out
Axios · by Axios
These are amazing and troubling statistics (in my opinion):
“The New York Times notes this means "at least 1 in 17" Americans have tested positive for the virus during the pandemic. The Census Bureau estimated the U.S. population to be about 330,750,000 for the last week of December, per CNN. That means the virus has killed roughly one in every 1,000 in the U.S.”
12. Scientists Design a Thermochromic Window That Turns Sunlight Into Electricity
mymodernmet.com · by Samantha Pires · December 27, 2020
If this works and ever becomes practical a "game changer" will be an understatement. Then again who really believes in science or that science makes the world a better place? (note sarcasm - but I read so much dfrmo the science naysayers on social media.)
13. Duterte’s ‘no vaccine, no VFA’ remark not a blackmail - Palace
newsinfo.inquirer.net · by Krissy Aguilar · December 28, 2020
The Palace tris to walk back Duterte's idiotic remarks.
14. Duterte should be 'more diplomatic', not threatening US for COVID-19 vaccines: Lacson
news.abs-cbn.com · by Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News
Senator Lacson knows the deal.
15. Waging war below the waves: Special Forces combat diver school is in session
Washington Examiner · by Abraham Mahshie · December 26, 2020
16. Trapped by Thucydides? Updating the Strategic Canon for a Sinocentric Era
warontherocks.com · by John Sullivan · December 28, 2020
Conclusion:
"Thucydides’ work has earned its exalted status in the study of strategic thought. However, analysis of other cultures’ struggles to achieve peace and security in roughly comparable eras of great power competition might stimulate new thinking on old problems. As Confucius once noted, “If you can revive the ancient and use it to understand the modern, then you’re worthy to be a teacher.” In that effort, we should resist limiting the scope of our inquiries to only Western historical examples. Through study and synthesis of the failures and shortcomings of all of our distant forefathers, we might gain wisdom to forge a new and better path forward."
17. Assessment of the Use of Poisons as the Weapon of Choice in Putin’s Russia
divergentoptions.org · by Rylee Boyd · December 28, 2020
Conclusion:
"The use of poison as the weapon of choice against Moscow’s political enemies is a strategic choice as a weapon that causes more than just death or serious illness. While denying Russia its stores of chemical weapon stores and ensuring poison attacks can be attributed and followed by consequences, is an obvious solution, this is easier said than done."
18. A Military History of Political Wars
mwi.usma.edu · by Paul Barnes · December 28, 2020
Excerpt:
“Blood, Metal and Dust is enigmatic. It is a history written without comprehensive access to either unreleased archives or the views of the opposing side, a commentary that on occasion lacks political balance; but it is an easy and compelling read that includes insights from some of the most influential US and British soldiers of the era. In those circumstances, it should be viewed cautiously as a valuable primer for anyone engaging with the subject of the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, particularly for those interested in military adaptation, but it should not be accepted uncritically. Ben Barry’s military analysis is strong, as one might expect from a career soldier who commanded an armored infantry formation in Bosnia in the 1990s. Fundamentally, he understands and articulates the experience of war well; as the senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he is also well placed to talk about military transformation. Overall, this book is highly recommended now, it articulates the zeitgeist; whether it remains relevant is, like the wars it narrates, yet to be determined.”
19. Petraeus, Crocker: Trump’s pardons to war criminals undermine rule of law, endanger U.S. troops
Philadelphia Inquirer · by Trudy Rubin
This will go into the category of one of the biggest mistakes of the Trump presidency.
20. Why these Fox News loyalists have changed the channel to Newsmax
The Washington Post · December 27, 2020
These are cult like actions.
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"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule -- and both commonly succeed, and are right."
- H.L. Mencken
"The best cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy."
- Edward Abbey
"The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
- Abraham Lincoln
"The future is best decided by ballots, not bullets"
- Ronald Reagan