News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Opinion | All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory
2. Extraordinary warning to Trump by 10 former Pentagon chiefs
3. Bill introduced in US House to terminate designation of Pakistan as major non-NATO ally
4. Europe's New Pact With China Is Terribly Timed
5. USS Nimitz to Stay in Middle East to Counter Iran Threat on Anniversary
6. Marines Prepare for Rising Challenge From China's Military With Island Training
7. Trump And The Military: What An Erratic Commander In Chief Leaves Behind
8. A Grand Strategy Based on Resilience
9. Special Operations News Update - Monday, January 4, 2021
10. The Bill Is Coming Due for China's 'Capitalist' Experiment
11. New in 2021: Bonhomme Richard will be turned into scrap
12. New in 2021: Murder trials set for Navy SEAL and Marine Raider in death of Green Beret
13. Gohmert talks of violence in streets after his lawsuit is dismissed
14. Wonder Weapon: Meet the U.S. Special Operations Off-Road 'Flyer'
15. Meet the key members of Joe Biden's transition team
16. U.S. foreign military sales broke records in 2020, and may grow more in 2021
17. Donald Trump Isn't Planning to Attack Iran
1. Opinion | All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory
The Washington Post by Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld · January 3, 2021
Many words could describe this but I will simply use unprecedented.
2. Extraordinary warning to Trump by 10 former Pentagon chiefs
AP · by Robert Burns · January 4, 2021
Extraordinary is another word to describe this letter.
Excerpt: The Post reported that the idea for writing the opinion piece began with a conversation between Cheney and Eric Edelman, a retired ambassador and former senior Pentagon official, about how Trump might seek to use the military in coming days.
3. Bill introduced in US House to terminate designation of Pakistan as major non-NATO ally
indiatoday.in · by Lalit K Jha · January 4, 2021
Reporting from India. I have not seen this in the US mainstream media but it is probably overshadowed by other news.
4. Europe's New Pact With China Is Terribly Timed
Bloomberg · by Editorial Board · January 4, 2021
It would seem so.
Conclusion: "European leaders were right to call the Trump administration's unilateral approach to China all bluster and no results. There's no reason to think European unilateralism will work any better."
5. USS Nimitz to Stay in Middle East to Counter Iran Threat on Anniversary
WSJ · by Gordon Lubold and Nancy A. Youssef· January 4, 2021
The OPTEMPO for our navy must be brutal.
6. Marines Prepare for Rising Challenge From China's Military With Island Training
WSJ · by Alastair Gale· January 4, 2021
Excerpts:
“At one of a series of recent exercises, a few dozen Marines faded into long grass after touching down in two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, followed by Japanese soldiers arriving in two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Their simulated mission: avoiding detection and recapturing a port on an island inside the range of much of the enemy's missiles and artillery.”
“The exercise reflected a new emphasis on small, dispersed troop units and command centers, which are intended to be harder to locate and destroy. The simulation was one of the first to be directed from a command hub consisting of three armored vehicles that can be set up or moved in minutes and emit fewer traceable signals.”
7. Trump And The Military: What An Erratic Commander In Chief Leaves Behind
NPR · by Tom Bowman · January 4, 2021
Title aside, a fairly objective review from a wide range of defense experts and analysts.
8. A Grand Strategy Based on Resilience
warontherocks.com · by Erica D. Borghard · January 4, 2021
Conclusion: "Of course, the particulars of a resilience-based approach will vary by sector and function - each is defined by its own stakeholders, requirements, unique technologies, types of threats, relationship with society, and so on. In other words, financial resilience, which is critical for the U.S. economy, had fundamentally different requirements than the resilience of energy infrastructure, or the resilience of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, or the resilience of American alliances. That said, beginning to incorporate resilience into strategy and creating market incentives for private sector and government entities alike to prioritize and invest in their resilience is an essential first step toward refreshing American grand strategy for current and future challenges. That is because, in a great-power competition, resilience is likely to be a significant comparative advantage. If American grand strategy rests on "winning" every interaction in the so-called great-power competition, policymakers are left with a brittle strategy that forces unpalatable choices between capitulation and escalation. Resilience, however, obviates that need by anticipating that setbacks will be part of the strategic environment and, therefore, preparing in advance to address them."
9. Special Operations News Update - Monday, January 4, 2021
sof.news · by SOF News · January 4, 2021
SOF News has returned from hiatus. It is a good source from across the SOF community.
10. The Bill Is Coming Due for China's 'Capitalist' Experiment
National Review Online · by Michael Hochberg · January 1, 2021
11. New in 2021: Bonhomme Richard will be turned into scrap
navytimes.com · by Geoff Ziezulewicz · January 3, 2021
I wonder what would have happened if we lost the Bonhamme Rochard during combat operations. How would we replace the capability? How long would it take to rebuild the capability?
12. New in 2021: Murder trials set for Navy SEAL and Marine Raider in death of Green Beret
armytimes.com · by Todd South · January 3, 2021
Not the kind of 'joint SOF operations" we want to highlight. But this tragic and terrible event will continue to remain in the news and haunt the SOF community when the trial takes place this year.
13. Gohmert talks of violence in streets after his lawsuit is dismissed
The Hill · by John Bowden · January 3, 2021
This is so troubling. But for those who advocate violence I would like to know what is your strategy? How do you intend to employ violence and to what effect? What is the end game and how to you propose to achieve that through violence?
14. Wonder Weapon: Meet the U.S. Special Operations Off-Road 'Flyer'
The National Interest · by Peter Suciu · January 3, 2021
15. Meet the key members of Joe Biden's transition team
The Telegraph · by David Millward,
16. U.S. foreign military sales broke records in 2020, and may grow more in 2021
upi.com· by Christen McCurdy· January 1, 2021
17. Donald Trump Isn't Planning to Attack Iran
19fortyfive.com · by ByMichael Rubin · January 3, 2021
--------
"Brinksmanship ... the deliberate creation of a recognizable risk, a risk that one does not completely control. It is the tactic of deliberately letting the situation get somewhat out of hand, just because its being out of hand may be intolerable to the other party and force his accommodation. It means harassing and intimidating an adversary by exposing him to a shared risk, or by deterring him by showing that if he makes a contrary move he may disturb us so that we slip over the rink whether we want to or not, carrying him with us."
- Thinking Strategically, Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
"If your organization is small in numbers, then do what Gideon did: conceal the numbers in the dark but raise a din and clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more than it does.... Always remember the first rule of power tactics: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."
- Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky
"All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; actions for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way."
- Marcus Aurelius