Small Wars Journal

6/6/2020 News & Commentary - National Security

Sat, 06/06/2020 - 9:38am

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Riley Murray.

1.  In Honor of D-Day

2. Questions arise over Special Forces guarding Donald Trump from protests

3. Utah Guard Sends Green Berets to DC to Assist in Civil Unrest Response

4. Chinese soccer superstar calls for ouster of Communist Party, stunning nation

5. White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China (DOD Defense News article)

6. Should the US move to strengthen ties with Taiwan?

7. Protests, a pandemic and evidence of a hybrid war

8. This is Not a Civil-Military Crisis

9. 89 former Defense officials: The military must never be used to violate constitutional rights

10. Reaping What We Sowed: Coronavirus Pandemic Is Our Wake Up Call

11. DIA staffers 'raise fears about supporting domestic surveillance'

12. China could lose 95% of ballistic, cruise missiles under strategic arms control pact, says new analysis

13.  Former Army sergeant arrested after allegedly posing as a National Guardsman during protests in Los Angeles

14. Does America Have Enough Access in the Western Pacific?

15. The Military and FBI Are Flying Surveillance Planes Over Protests

16. China bests US on key New Cold War battleground

17. Pentagon War Game Speculated Uprising From 'Psychologically Scarred' Generation Z, Report Says

18. Philippines' move to keep US military pact reveals shift in South China Sea calculations

 

1.  In Honor of D-Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqD5UDNuANE&feature=youtu.be

Here is the link to the OSS short film (15 minutes): "Operation Overlord: OSS and the Battle for France." Note also Secretary Panetta's opening comments as he discusses the National Museum of Intelligence and Special Operations (NMISO). I am on the committee that is building the museum.

 

2. Questions arise over Special Forces guarding Donald Trump from protests

ABCNews.com · by ABC News

Yes, this is not a good look for the SF Regiment. 

I am reminded of a Tom Ricks' novel. A Soldier's Duty: A Novel https://www.amazon.com/Soldiers-Duty-Novel-Thomas-Ricks/dp/0375760202

I believe he had the US Army Special Forces conducting a palace coup and then the US Marines thwarting it.

 

3. Utah Guard Sends Green Berets to DC to Assist in Civil Unrest Response

military.com · by Matthew Cox · June 4, 2020

Yes, not a good look. But orders are orders.  And 19th SFG was ready for another deployment.

 

4. Chinese soccer superstar calls for ouster of Communist Party, stunning nation

The Washington Post – Gerry Shih - June 5, 2020 at 7:14 a.m. EDT

This is a pretty amazing development.  Certainly, the CPP will consider one of the highest threats to its rule.  Look how fast they shut things down.  But they cannot totally prevent it from getting through.  I hope the Spanish security forces are ready to deal with the what may come next from Chinese security services.

 

5. White House Report Recommends Multi-Pronged Approach to Counter China (DOD Defense News article)

defense.gov · by JIM GARAMONE

This is just out from the Department of Defense.  Two points.  DOD basically says the National Defense Strategy supports the new approach. I think the pictures are meant to highlight DOD's main contribution to security: Air and sea power. A picture is worth a thousand words though to have real effects we need extended presence of those assets in the Asia-Pacific region (oops, I mean Indo-Pacific, old habits die hard).

I also wonder how much we will see of this line used as part of our messaging. Quote: "By the same token, our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region does not exclude China," according to the report. "The United States holds the [People's Republic of China] government to the same standards and principles that apply to all nations."

 

6. Should the US move to strengthen ties with Taiwan?

The Hill · by Jeffrey W. Hornung and Scott W. Harold, Opinion Contributors · June 5, 2020

Short answer, yes. I am afraid not strengthening will send the wrong message and may be tantamount to abandoning it. Miscalculation on Taiwan can be catastrophic, so it is best to ensure our intentions are clear and that we are not going to allow Taiwan to fall victim to outside coercion, or worse.  Yes, an ambiguous stance may have been useful in the past but I think we have to demonstrate strategic reassurance and strategic resolve if we want to prevent war.

 

7. Protests, a pandemic and evidence of a hybrid war

c4isrnet.com · by Oleksandr Danylyuk · June 5, 2020

A very provocative theory from a Ukrainian perspective. Is a hybrid war being waged against the US?  I do not know the author or anything about him other than what is in his biography below.  But based on his biography it appears he might have some personal experience with hybrid warfare and an academic foundation as well.  The article is really describing what Russia did to Ukraine in an attempt to make use understand what the author believes may be happening to us.  

If what he says is true and if we could sufficiently prove that Russia (or anyone else) is attacking us with hybrid means and exploiting the George Floyd situation, would that be sufficient to unify the American people against an external enemy?  Or are the divisions in America too great at this time?

 

8. This is Not a Civil-Military Crisis

defenseone.com · by James Joyner

The bottom line according to the Professor: the uniformed leadership statements okay 9except for contradicting POTUS' view because "they're anodyne expressions of the requirements of the Constitution and the law of the land."  It is the actions of the retired leadership that is problematic but hardly a civil-military relations crisis.  Read the conclusion in the final paragraph.

 

9. 89 former Defense officials: The military must never be used to violate constitutional rights

The Washington Post · by 89 former Defense officials

If the Democrats win the White House, you can use this list as a helpful scorecard for who will be serving in senior administration positions.  Setting aside the Republicans on this I think there is a potential SECDEF and SECSTATE and at least a handful of potential national security advisors.

 

10. Reaping What We Sowed: Coronavirus Pandemic Is Our Wake Up Call

theepochtimes.com · by Suzanne Scholte · June 5, 2020

Suzanne Scholte is a great humanitarian and a great American.  As an aside she and her Defense Forum Foundation is one of the biggest supporters of information and influence operations in north Korea.  The story she tells and the experiences she describes are evidence of the words in our 2017 National Security Strategy:

"For decades, U.S. policy was rooted in the belief that support for China's rise and for its integration into the post-war international order would liberalize China. Contrary to our hopes, China expanded its power at the expense of the sovereignty of others. China gathers and exploits data on an unrivaled scale and spreads features of its authoritarian system, including corruption and the use of surveillance. It is building the most capable and well-funded military in the world, after our own. Its nuclear arsenal is growing and diversifying. Part of China's military modernization and economic expansion is due to its access to the U.S. innovation economy, including America's world-class universities."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf

 

11. DIA staffers 'raise fears about supporting domestic surveillance'

Daily Mail · by Lauren Edmonds For Dailymail.com · June 5, 2020

I am surprised I did read the acronym COINTELPRO in this article.  See this 1976 senate report (https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_II.pdf) to include: "Amy Surveillance of Civilian Political Activity. " Perhaps there is master’s thesis or a PhD dissertation comparing current conditions and activities with the 1960s COINTELPRO.

 

12. China could lose 95% of ballistic, cruise missiles under strategic arms control pact, says new analysis

Defense News · by Mike Yeo · June 5, 2020

This seems like sufficient rationale for China not to participate in arms control negotiations.

 

13. Former Army sergeant arrested after allegedly posing as a National Guardsman during protests in Los Angeles

taskandpurpose.com · by Paul Szoldra

 

14. Does America Have Enough Access in the Western Pacific?

The National Interest · by Blake Herzinger · June 5, 2020

Prepare for zero access.  That is quite a statement and I have not heard it expressed that way before.  This is really the key point: Quote: "Spanning from critical repair and replenishment functions to overflight permissions and divert airfields, the premise of access in nations such as Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere is crucial to American operational plans."  Without action we have few options and no freedom of action.  Think about what will happen to Korea and Taiwan. 

 

15. The Military and FBI Are Flying Surveillance Planes Over Protests

Vice · June 6, 2020

I am reminded of Secretary Albright's comments in the 1990s, "What good is to have a military if you do not use it."  Of course, she was talking about overseas employment. Perhaps a similar question is being asked today.

 

16.  China bests US on key New Cold War battleground

asiatimes.com · by Richard S Ehrlich · June 6, 2020

The problem with articles like this is it is not over until it is over. While the anecdotes provide some indicators, the problem is it is too soon to make these kinds of judgments.  Maybe they will bear out but maybe they will not, depending on US diplomatic actions.

 

17. Pentagon War Game Speculated Uprising From 'Psychologically Scarred' Generation Z, Report Says

inquisitr.com · by Tyler MacDonald · June 5, 2020

It is amazing how conspiracy theorists like Nick Turse (who originally reported this at The Intercept) can spin a theoretical war game (original article here: https://theintercept.com/2020/06/05/pentagon-war-game-gen-z/).  This is not an intelligence assessment (which was noted).  If you are going to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, you have to think about the full spectrum of threats that could possibly arise.  You at least have to assess the most likely threats as well as the most dangerous threats and everything in between.

 

18. Philippines' move to keep US military pact reveals shift in South China Sea calculations

South China Morning Post – Maria Siow - Published: 4:15pm, 6 June 2020

I imagine there was some very good behind the scenes diplomacy taking place to make this happen.  And perhaps China's actions helped as well.

 

 

In honor of the Resistance on D-Day:

 

"Jean has a long mustache"

 

"There is a fire at the insurance agency,"

 

"Molasses tomorrow will bring forth cognac."

 

 "Courvoisier, we're coming to visit you."

 

"When a sighing begins / In the violins / Of the autumn-song"

"My heart is drowned / In the slow sound / Languorous and long.

Categories: News