News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. 'Beautiful sight' extends from HK to US: Global Times editorial
2. It's time to listen to the doomsday planners
3. China's growing belligerence is only hurting itself
4. China calls Trump's bluff
5. Why are Russian mercenaries fleeing Libya?
6. New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says
7. How John Brennan and Mike Pompeo left the U.S. blind to Saudi problems
8. U.S.-China disputes growing harder to solve
9. Photographer catches formation of C-130 transports flying through a California canyon
10. China using tactical situation on ground to its advantage: Mike Pompeo
11. Decode the concept of 'tianxia' to understand China's actions
12. Why Taiwan needs nuclear weapons
13. Trump, lacking clear authority, says U.S. will declare Antifa a terrorist group
14. 'Mr President, don't go hide': China goads US over George Floyd protests
15. Officials see extremist groups, disinformation in protests
16. Win without fighting
17. Defense spending post-coronavirus: how to walk and chew gum at the same time
18. Are we ready for the 'Burn-In' and the real robotic revolution?
19. In his fight to change the Corps, America's top Marine takes friendly fire
20. Special Operations Command wants to put all mission data in a single pane of glass
21. President Trump is right on Afghanistan
1. 'Beautiful sight' extends from HK to US: Global Times editorial
The Global Times · Editorial · May 31, 2020
Here is a message from the Chinese Communist Party. We should think how we should respond.
2. It's time to listen to the doomsday planners
DefenseOne.com · Mark Ambinder · May 31, 2020
To rehash Cohen and Gooch and their book, Military Misfortune, all (military) failures are result of three things: failure to learn, failure to adapt, and failure to anticipate.
But how is our continuity of government planning? No one likes to talk about the worst case planning.
In 1995-1996 when I was a student at SAMS, one of the planning exercises we did was for a domestic emergency, an earthquake, based on simulating the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 in the Midwestern United States. I think the military has thought more broadly than Mr. Pfeiffer has experienced.
But planning is one thing. Training and exercises is another. And getting the right people to participate in training and exercise is difficult at best. I believe one of the reasons why South Korea has done a good job with the coronavirus crisis was because the government ran a table-top exercise for a pandemic in December. Officials had worked through the problem in December and were ready to employ their training in January. As my football coach used to tell us: luck is when opportunity meets preparation. The South Koreans certainly had good luck.
3. China’s growing belligerence is only hurting itself
NewStatesman · by Jeremy Cliffe · May 31, 2020
We need to be careful when things seem too good to be true. It would be nice for this to come to fruition. But we should not become overconfident based on such statements.
4. China calls Trump’s bluff
Bloomberg · by Andrew Browne · May 31, 2020
I think it is a little more than calling a bluff.
5. Why are Russian mercenaries fleeing Libya?
defensemaven.io · by Peter Sucia, The National Interest · May 31, 2020
The title question is really not answered. I suppose the even shorter version is that they’re getting their butts kicked.
6. New coronavirus losing potency, top Italian doctor says
Reuters · by 3 Min Read · May 31, 2020
We are going to get our hopes up with reports like these.
7. How John Brennan and Mike Pompeo left the U.S. blind to Saudi problems
Politico · by Douglas London · May 31, 2020
A long read. I know very little about Saudi Arabia so it is difficult for me to assess this article. But it is a fascinating read to me.
8. U.S.-China disputes growing harder to solve
The Wall Street Journal · by James T. Areddy and Chao Deng · May 31, 2020
We may be in for a long rough ride. I think the CCP will be taking advantage of every challenge to the US. China is likely to become even more aggressive and adventurous as the internal unrest across the US continues.
9. Photographer catches formation of C-130 transports flying through a California canyon
thedrive.com · by Tyler Rogoway · May 31, 2020
Fascinating photos. The C-130 is a great aircraft. Although I have jumped out of many, the coolest thing I have ever done is ride in the cockpit of an MC-130 of the 1st SOS as we flew through low level the mountains of Luzon flying from the Philippines back to Okinawa. It was an incredible ride, wearing NVGs and thinking we were going to fly into a mountaintop. It was lot different than riding in the back waiting to jump!
10. China using tactical situation on ground to its advantage: Mike Pompeo
ndtv.com · by Press Trust of India · June 01, 2020
11. Decode the concept of “tianxia” to understand China’s actions
Livemint · by Sandipan Deb · May 31, 2020
I was unfamiliar with the word tianxia but I understand the concept. But as a China hand has emphasized to me Chinese culture is more important than communism. Even if the CCP was not in power China would still be acting in a similar fashion.
12. Why Taiwan needs nuclear weapons
The National Interest · by Michael Rubin · May 31, 2020
It is hard for me to believe that we could advocate for much less allow a friend partner or ally to develop nuclear weapons.
13. Trump, lacking clear authority, says U.S. will declare Antifa a terrorist group
The New York Times · by Maggie Haberman · May 31, 2020
A terrorism scholar posted this important comment. (1) Only the SecState can designate a terrorist organization. And, then it has to be foreign, not domestic (2) Antifa is a dubious candidate for that distinction anyway (3) It is not an organization--& has no identifiable leader, C2 structure or finances to target (4) In recent days, both far right AND far left extremists have called for unrest & disorder.
I heard from a friend who attended the protests in an unnamed city and there were members of the Proud Boys agitating among the protestors.
14. ‘Mr. President, don’t go hide’: China goads US over George Floyd protests
The Guardian · by Helen Davidson · June 1, 2020
Chinese propaganda is making a direct attack on the President.
15. Officials see extremists groups, disinformation in protests
AP · by Colleen Long, Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo · June 1, 2020
This article mentions some of the various groups that are suspected of contributing agitators to turn peaceful protests in riots. These groups are from both sides of the political spectrum.
16. Win without fighting
usni.org · by Hunter Stires · June 1, 2020
A maritime insurgency. I have wondered if China is not giving us the threats we want to prepare for (e.g., A2AD and major high end warfare) while it has no intention of fighting us conventionally.
17. Defense spending post-coronavirus: how to walk and chew gum at the same time
The Hill · by John C. Hulsman, opinion contributor · May 31, 2020
The author makes two points - the organizing principle should be around China's actions (and in my opinion an understanding of its strategy that has been exposed by the coronavirus crisis) and second is the importance of allies.
18. Are we ready for the ‘Burn-In’ and the real robotic revolution?
realcleardefense.com · by Michael D. Brasseur and Sean Trevethan · May 30, 2020
Singer's and Cole's new book is going on my "to read pile." The science fiction books of our youth are coming to fruition as mainstream novels and soon may be a reality. I recall a quote that said something like what the mind can perceive people can achieve. Science fiction can become reality.
19. In his fight to change the Corps, America’s top Marine takes friendly fire
Defense News · by David Larter · May 29, 2020
I hope the Commandant is thinking about Nietzsche as he tries to radically reform the Marine Corps amid the criticism. Hopefully the criticism and debate will sharpen his steel sword of reform.
20. Special Operations Command want to put all mission data in a single pane of glass
c4isrnet.com · by Nathan Strout · May 31, 2020
This made me chuckle. Acid tape? I think the author meant acetate, but I fear most of our young people have little experience with paper maps, grease pencils, and acetate.
I wonder if anyone is looking at how this capability will support unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, psychological operations, and civil affairs operations.
21. President Trump is right on Afghanistan
The National Interest · by William Ruger · May 28, 2020
Some might argue the US accomplished what it need to do when it conducted a punitive expedition in the fall of 2001 and early 2002.
“My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
- Senator Carl Schurz (1829-1906)
“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
- John F. Kennedy
“No one understood better than Stalin that the true object of propaganda is neither to convince nor even to persuade, but to produce a uniform patter of public utterance in which the first trace of unorthodox thought immediately reveals itself as a jarring dissonance.”
- Alan Bullock, British historian