News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Ahyoung Shin
1. 'The biggest monster' is spreading. And it’s not the Coronavirus.
2. Poland agrees to pay almost all costs of US troop presence
3. How can we know if professional military education works?
4. NWC Wargaming: Go big or Go home
5. Trump's revenge - pulling troops from Germany - will be costly
6. Beware the guns of August - in Asia
7. Who is running our universities? Administrators!
8. COVID-19 and authoritarian regimes: China vs. Russia
9. America in the World
10. There may never be a 'silver bullet' for COVID-19, WHO warns
11. The sad story of superpower America's foreign policy failures
12. A defense contractor died after a bar fight with Marines, and some see a crime
13. Like NATO, but for economic warfare
14. The militia movement's warning of excessive federal power has come true. Where are the militias?
15. Graphic: the American political spectrum, 2020
16. How the pandemic defeated America
17. 'Be a bro': How a commander's sexism derailed this pilot training class - and brought down AETC leaders
18. "A guide to the American way of irregular war: an analytical memoir by Charles T Cleveland"
1. 'The biggest monster' is spreading. And it’s not the Coronavirus.
The New York Times · by Apoorva Mandavilli · August 3, 2020
We have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time and deal with the pandemic, the economy, national security, and all the other public health threats such as those outlined below.
2. Poland agrees to pay almost all costs of US troop presence
breakingdefense.com · by Paul McLeary
Smart political move on Poland's part. But they are not hosting 28,500 (Korea) or 34,000 (Germany) or 50,000 (Japan). When Poland builds the largest US military base outside of the US and pays 93% of the costs I will then be impressed.
3. How can we know if professional military education works?
warontherocks.com · by Megan J. Hennessey · August 3, 2020
How are we doing tactically, operationally, and strategically?
4. NWC Wargaming: Go big or Go home
paxsims.wordpress.com · by Rex Brynen · July 31, 2020
A passionate conclusion: "The Naval War College knows how to go big on wargaming, having done so in the past to global effect. It is time to do so again."
5. Trump's revenge - pulling troops from Germany - will be costly
The Hill · by Dov S. Zakheim, opinion contributor · July 31, 2020
A former DOD Comptroller is probably qualified to speak on costs. I think some would make the counterargument you can pay now to save later. But we know how the save later promise has worked out in the past.
6. Beware the guns of August - in Asia
Foreign Affairs · by Kevin Rudd · August 3, 2020
From Kevin "Barbara Tuchman" Rudd. "Intelligence men learn from their mistakes, and wise men learn from the mistakes from others." One of my favorite quotes.
7. Who is running our universities? Administrators!
Forbes · by Richard Vedder · August 3, 2020
:-)
8. COVID-19 and authoritarian regimes: China vs. Russia
fpri.org · by Yaroslav Shevchenko · July 30, 2020
An interesting read from an author who is studying in China.
9. America in the World
National Review Online · by Jay Nordlinger · August 3, 2020
Check out the conclusion with the John Bolton quote!
10. There may never be a 'silver bullet' for COVID-19, WHO warns
af.reuters.com · by Michael Shields, Emma Farge
So we have to live with this new normal.
11. The sad story of superpower America's foreign policy failures
The National Interest · by Nikolas K. Gvosdev · July 24, 2020
Is the US swimming faster than the sharks? (see conclusion)
12. A defense contractor died after a bar fight with Marines, and some see a crime
The Washington Post · by Dan Lamothe · August 3, 2020
Another sad story (on multiple levels) in the SOF community.
13. Like NATO, but for economic warfare
defenseone.com · by Anthony Vinci
An interesting concept.
I proposed a similar concept for the US in Asia.
While new ideas tend to focus on how to organize the military, the other instruments of power should also be considered. Perhaps it is time to think about creating a diplomatic organization in the region to coordinate all diplomatic activities and all information and influence activities to support US strategic objectives. A US Northeast Asia ambassador with the requisite supporting staff organization would provide the diplomatic and information effort necessary to synchronize the elements of national power. A third organization to support the economic instrument of power could be a Northeast Asia Economic Engagement Center. These three organizations would not only bring the strength of the US instruments of power to the region in a new and dynamic way; they would also send a powerful message of commitment, especially if they were located in the right places. The Northeast Asia Command could be located in Korea, the Northeast Asia ambassador in Japan, and the Northeast Asia Economic Engagement Center in Taiwan. Of course, this would create political challenges. However, such a proposal could also enhance the strength and power of the US alliance structure in the region and provide allies with effective tools to compete with the revisionist powers and defend against the rogue powers as outlined in the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. These are merely proposals and may not be at all feasible. However, it is time to creatively reexamine employment of the instruments of power to see if the United States can be more effective in achieving its strategic objectives and maintaining and strengthening its alliances in Northeast Asia. (Page 71, https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hudson.org/Cronin_Pathways%20to%20Peace%20-%20Achieving%20the%20Stable%20Transformation%20of%20the%20Korean%20Peninsula.pdf)
14. The militia movement's warning of excessive federal power has come true. Where are the militias?
The National Interest · by Amy Cooter · August 3, 2020
An interesting question. It is fortunate we did not have a Ruby Ridge or Waco at the Portland Federal Courthouse.
15. Graphic: the American political spectrum, 2020
lullabypit.com · by winterSmith · July 30, 2020
Again this is not meant as a partisan message but is intended merely to show one analysis of the political spectrum. I think this is a very interesting perspective.
You can view the larger graph at the web page.
16. How the pandemic defeated America
The Atlantic · by Ed Yong
A long read. I do not think the pandemic defeated America. If we are defeated it will be because we defeated ourselves.
17. 'Be a bro': How a commander's sexism derailed this pilot training class - and brought down AETC leaders
airforcetimes.com · by Stephen Losey · August 3, 2020
All the services can learn from this.
18. "A guide to the American way of irregular war: an analytical memoir by Charles T Cleveland"
linkedin.com · by Adam Cobb
An interesting analysis of LTG Cleveland's new RAND report and my recent OpEd. I guess I need to do a follow-up with a little more detail because I obviously did not make myself perfectly clear to this author as his analysis is not quite in line with my thinking.
-----------
"The very massiveness of our intervention actually reduced our leverage. So long as we were willing to use U.S. resources and manpower as a substitute for Vietnamese, their incentive for doing more was compromised."
- Robert Komer, Bureaucracy At War.
"Nearly all soldiers-and this applies even to professional soldiers in peacetime-have a sane attitude towards war. They realise that it is disgusting, and that it may often be necessary."
-George Orwell, August 1944
"Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."
- George Bernard Shaw