News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. The Passing of A Diplomatic Legend and a Master of Grand Strategy (Charles Hill)

2. Why Special Operations Oversight Should Matter to Every American

3. New head of diversity and inclusion at US Special Operations Command reassigned as military investigates social media posts

4. The infinite game: How the US Army plans to operate in great power competition

5. The WHO covid report is fatally flawed, and a real investigation has yet to take place

6. FDD | Biden Revives the Truman Doctrine

7. While the world tore its hair out over the Suez, Russia saw an opportunity

8. Taiwan Tripwire: A New Role For The U.S. Army In Deterring Chinese Aggression

9. The China-Iran Axis

10. Haines stresses rebuilding intelligence alliances post-Trump

11. The Future of Sino-U.S. Proxy War

12. The Shape of Things to Come: Why the Pentagon Must Embrace Soft Power to Compete with China

13. SolarWinds Hack: ‘The Truth Is Much More Complicated’

14. Storm Clouds Ahead: Musings About the 2022 Defense Budget

15. The agency that controls U.S. nukes had its Twitter account accessed by a child

16. Identity Politics and Critical Race Theory Have No Place in US Military

17. Race to the Top Brass

18. How a CIA operation in Indonesia turned the Vietnam War

 

1. The Passing of A Diplomatic Legend and a Master of Grand Strategy (Charles Hill)

thedispatch.com · by Eric Edelman

In addition to his excellent book on literature and grand strategy, the biography of him by one his grand strategy students at Yale is excellent and well worth the read not only because it is a great read about a great man's life but also because it provides some great historical insights to many of the key events of diplomacy and national security that occurred during his service to our nation. I never had the opportunity to meet him but he has been a great influence through his books and his example of service. 

 

2.  Why Special Operations Oversight Should Matter to Every American

Small Wars Journal · by Clay Fuller

This should stir some discussion, I hope.

Excerpt: "Second, we need to admit that if SOF walks, talks, and looks like a separate service—then we should treat it as such. This can be done without making it a separate service but providing the correct service authorities. "

 

3.New head of diversity and inclusion at US Special Operations Command reassigned as military investigates social media posts

CNN · by Oren Liebermann and Ellie Kaufman

Uh oh... is this a lesson in cancel culture?

 

4. The infinite game: How the US Army plans to operate in great power competition

Defense News · by Jen Judson · March 29, 2021

Excerpts: “Multinational exercises provide value to allies and partners through mechanisms like officer exchanges in operational-level headquarters, intelligence sharing and logistical support and can tip the scale toward the U.S. if a partner is balancing competing interests between the U.S. and China, for example, the paper outlines.

Exercises of this size also show U.S. strength and capability to the general public and civilian policymakers in the region.

But additionally, the reputation earned from these exercises is more wide-reaching. “For instance, demonstrations of the Joint Force’s ability to integrate all domains at strategic distances shapes perceptions of U.S. strength in Iran, even if the actual exercise is far distant.”

The Army has to strike a balance between being ready for armed conflict and suppressing adversaries in the competition phase.

And the service acknowledges that its contribution to great power competition is to provide the best fighting force in the world, but, “general excellence only goes so far.”

The U.S. “might have an enormous advantage in the battle of narratives yet still be unable to effectively compete with China in the western Pacific or with Russia in the Baltic region, and thus fail to achieve strategic objectives,” the document warns.

 

5. The WHO covid report is fatally flawed, and a real investigation has yet to take place

The Washington Post · by Josh Rogin · March 30, 2021

Excerpts: “The Chinese government and the friends of the Wuhan lab want to dismiss any efforts to call for more investigation into the lab-accident theory as conspiracy theories. But that conspiracy now would have to include the Trump administration, the Biden administration, Redfield and the growing list of scientists who insist that this possibility be explored. Critics often conflate the fact there is “no proof” of the theory with the false assertion there is “no evidence” to suggest it.

“When people talk about ‘no evidence’ [of a lab accident], you could argue there’s ‘no evidence’ on either side,” said Flinders University Professor of Medicine Nikolai Petrovsky, one of more than two dozen scientists who signed an open letter calling for a full and independent investigation into the origins of covid-19. “There’s as much evidence for the potential lab leak hypothesis as there currently is for a natural animal crossover event. I think we have to be fair and say it’s a completely open question."

The WHO team wants to move on to searching for the virus in packages of frozen food in other countries. Let them do it. Meanwhile, somebody else will have to investigate the lab-accident theory, because the WHO and Beijing have no intention of treating it with the seriousness it deserves. The Biden administration can help by releasing all the information it has on the lab now. That would help us to get closer to the truth — and help to prevent future pandemics.

 

6. FDD | Biden Revives the Truman Doctrine

fdd.org · by David Adesnik · March 29, 2021

Excerpts: “The end of the Cold War rescued Truman’s reputation, although he was long dead. He is now seen as the resolute architect of a successful strategy and historic victory. In 2017, a survey of more than 90 leading historians ranked Truman as the sixth greatest U.S. president, one spot ahead of Thomas Jefferson.

What risks is Biden prepared to take in pursuit of his vision? If he imposes tougher sanctions on North Korea and stations more U.S. troops in the south, leader Kim Jong-un may resume nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. If Biden redoubles support to Ukraine, Russia may heat up the war in the Donbas and escalate cyberattacks against the West. If Biden confronts Beijing in the South China Sea and continues to sanction it for atrocities in Xinjiang, the intimidation of Taiwan is likely to intensify while the odds of an agreement to limit Chinese carbon emissions will sharply diminish. With regard to Iran, Biden has already made clear that he wants to reverse Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” and return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Yet on multiple fronts, Biden has shown a readiness to clash with authoritarian rivals. Anger pervaded the administration’s first high-level meetings with Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska. Days later, the United States, Britain, Canada, and the European Union imposed coordinated sanctions on Chinese officials over atrocities in Xinjiang. After Biden called Putin a “killer,” Blinken said the administration would not waver in its push for new sanctions on firms involved in the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. It would be premature to conclude, however, that Biden’s resolution is as firm as Truman’s was in 1947—even if the parallels between their approaches are aptly clear. So far, the costs of confrontation have been minimal, yet they are unlikely to stay that way. Eventually, when it stops being easy, Biden will have to decide whether he is prepared to lead a global struggle for democracy like Truman.”

 

7. While the world tore its hair out over the Suez, Russia saw an opportunity

The Washington Post · by Robyn Dixon · March 29, 2021

Excerpts: “Russia last year released a sweeping plan to open up the Arctic shipping route, which includes building a fleet of dozens of nuclear icebreakers and other ships, mapping natural resources in the region and developing airports, ports and railways in northern Russia.

As Suez traffic choked to a halt last week, Russian officials were busy promoting the NSR.

Nikolai Korchunov, Russia’s envoy for international cooperation in the Arctic, said Friday that the Suez Canal blockage should press the world to look at the NSR as an alternative.

“The incident in the Suez Canal should make everyone think about diversifying strategic sea routes amid the increasing scope of sea shipping,” he said. Korchunov added that there was “no alternative” to the NSR.

 

8. Taiwan Tripwire: A New Role For The U.S. Army In Deterring Chinese Aggression

Forbes · by Loren Thompson · March 26, 2021

Yes this would be quite provocative. But I wonder how an armored brigade would sustain readiness. Based on my trips to Taiwan it would seem that training areas would be quite limited.  

Excerpt: “A U.S. armored brigade, the heaviest ground formation America’s Army operates, would be a potent fighting force in its own right, but it would be even more potent as a signal to Beijing that Washington has no intention of abandoning Taiwan.

The Army currently has 15 armored brigades (ten active, five reserve), and having one such brigade on the island continuously would greatly assist in preparing for combat with local forces.

Of course, Beijing would protest bitterly at any such “violation” of the status quo, but given the many ways in which Beijing has failed to meet its commitments to Washington across a range of issues, it could hardly claim the moral high ground.

So using the U.S. Army as a tripwire to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan could be an effective way of averting what otherwise might become a major war during the Biden years.

 

9. The China-Iran Axis

WSJ · by The Editorial Board · March 29, 2021

 

10. Haines stresses rebuilding intelligence alliances post-Trump

The Hill · by Rebecca Beitsch · March 29, 2021

Excerpt: “The need to rely and contribute to alliances was echoed by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who has been a vocal critic of Trump.

"My advice to the Biden administration on tone is basically keep doing what you’re doing. I think they have brought down the rhetoric on foreign policy a lot. I think the restoration of alliances is going to be important to show people in the United States the importance of an alliance. We’re very important for NATO; NATO’s also really important for us," he said.

 

11. The Future of Sino-U.S. Proxy War

Proxy Warfare· by  Dominic Tierney · March 30, 2021

A long read. The full article can be accessed here. 

 

12. The Shape of Things to Come: Why the Pentagon Must Embrace Soft Power to Compete with China

mwi.usma.edu · by Kyle J. Wolfley · March 30, 2021

Conclusion: “If policymakers harbor any doubts about the importance of military soft power, they should study the decades leading up to World War I—a period with some parallels to today. During this period, shaping played a central role in the formation of what George Kennan labelled the “Fateful Alliance”: the 1894 defense pact between France and Russia that transformed the European balance of power. The Franco-Russian alliance would not have been possible, Kennan argued, without the personal friendship of French General Raoul le Mouton de Boisdeffre and Russian General Nikolai Obruchev—a friendship forged during military exercises between the two countries. The new alliance posed its biggest threat to Germany, which had long considered a Franco-Russian alliance a serious obstacle to its safety. But the Germans failed to stop the alliance from forming, a failure that would help spell Germany’s ultimate defeat in World War I.

American policymakers would be wise to heed the lessons of the past. In 2018, Russia invited three thousand Chinese soldiers to participate in one of its largest military exercises, one indicator of a warming relationship between the two major powers. If American policymakers hope to succeed in an era of great power competition, hard power will not be sufficient. The US military should not forget to wield soft power too.”

 

13. SolarWinds Hack: ‘The Truth Is Much More Complicated’

breakingdefense.com · by Brad D. Williams · March 29, 2021

Excerpts: “Lewis said that, for Russia, it’s all about managing risk. Lewis said he “do[esn’t] worry” about cyberattacks on US critical infrastructure because, “We’ve created a sort of digital Maginot Line” that the Russians would be “very hard pressed” to cross.

He also distinguished between cyberespionage and “coercive” cyberattacks. “Recon[naissance] is not regarded as a coercive attack,” Lewis observed. “So, then, the question would be: When would it be in Russia’s interest to launch some kind of major, old-style attack, and I think the answer is never. Why would they do that? They’re winning now. Why risk having us wake up?”

He added, “The Chinese probably feel the same way.”

“Is [SolarWinds] a brilliant intel operation? Yes,” Lewis observed, but it was no “cyber Pearl Harbor.” “Is it the precursor to some massive attack? No.”

 

14. Storm Clouds Ahead: Musings About the 2022 Defense Budget

warontherocks.com · by Robert Work · March 30, 2021

Excerpt: “The coming update to the defense program promises to be more important than usual. It’s been over three years since the National Defense Strategy established a long-term strategic competition with “revisionist powers” — particularly China — as the primary defense challenge facing the joint force. During this time, the services have all been developing new operational concepts and the platforms and capabilities to support them. It’s time to start seeing concrete changes in the defense program that should follow.”

 

15. The agency that controls U.S. nukes had its Twitter account accessed by a child

Daily Dot · March 29, 2021

Go figure.

Perhaps the buried lede is : STRATCOM has a twitter account?

 

16. Identity Politics and Critical Race Theory Have No Place in US Military

dailysignal.com · by Dakota Wood · March 29, 2021

 

17. Race to the Top Brass

Just Security · by Liam Brennan and Edgar Chen · March 27, 2021

If a picture is worth a thousand words go to the link and view the title photo.

 

No critical race theory here. Just facts and data.

 

18. How a CIA operation in Indonesia turned the Vietnam War

asiatimes.com · by John McBeth · March 27, 2021

Another interesting story from long ago.

 

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"Instead of claiming that anyone can predict what is going to happen, we argue that everyone, from analysts to decision makers, can see the forces as they are taking shape and not be blindsided when those changes inevitably reshape the global environment. Anticipating strategic surprise gives decision makers the ability to look in the right place for game-changing events and to track them systematically. As these scenarios become more plausible, and ever more imminent, decision makers can then pay attention to the right things when they matter most. This kind of insight leads to better questions rather than better answers, but better questions are very, very important."   

- Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall

 

"We find comfort among those who agree with us—growth among those who don't."

- Frank A. Clark

 

"The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands."

- Alexandra Penney

 

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. Vice-Director of Information and Publicity Department of WPK Central Committee Kim Yo Jong Releases Statement

2. N.K. leader's sister slams Moon as 'parrot' repeating Washington's 'gangster-like logic'

3. Cheong Wa Dae calls N. Korea's criticism of President Moon 'regrettable'

4. Law banning leaflets into N. Korea to take effect this week

5. Moon's peace initiative faces more deadlock

6. North Korean leader's sister slams South Korea's Moon for criticism of recent missile test

7. US eyes additional UN action on N. Korea after missile tests

8. North Korea likely to escape punishment for rocket launches

9. North Korea Is Not A Serious Negotiator And Biden Will Act Accordingly – Analysis

10. S. Korea capable of intercepting N.K. short-range missiles: defense ministry

11. Biden must confront North Korea via Beijing by John Bolton

12. Reports of North Korea’s Return to a Command Economy Have Been Exaggerated

13. China and North Korea to revive trade in April amid US tension

14. Asia Trip Offers Preview of Biden Administration's North Korea Policy

15. S. Korea 'strongly condemns' Japan's approval of school texts laying claim to Dokdo

 

1. Vice-Director of Information and Publicity Department of WPK Central Committee Kim Yo Jong Releases Statement

kcnawatch.org

So here is Kim Yo-jong's statement criticizing President Moon and calling him a parrot of the US.

"Height of effrontery?" Definition: : shameless boldness : INSOLENCE. Synonyms: audaciousness, audacity, brashness, brass, brassiness, brazenness, cheek, cheekiness, chutzpah (also chutzpa or hutzpah or hutzpa), crust, face, gall, nerve, nerviness, pertness, presumption, presumptuousness, sauce, sauciness, temerity

The Propaganda and Agitation Department is making good use of its thesaurus. 

The timing of this statement is interesting as the new anti-leaflet law is about to take effect in South Korea. The new law is in direct response to Kim Yo-jong's statements last June (as well as her order to destroy the South Korean liaison building) in which she demanded an end to information being disseminated to the north. 

I have just four words: appeasement does not work.

But I wonder what new demand will soon be made of South Korea. Kim Yo-jong is shaping the information environment.

 

2. N.K. leader's sister slams Moon as 'parrot' repeating Washington's 'gangster-like logic'

en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · March 30, 2021

Remember it is the regime that is gangster like but I guess that it proves the adage, "it takes one to know one." There is no better example of mirror imaging than this.

 

3. Cheong Wa Dae calls N. Korea's criticism of President Moon 'regrettable'

en.yna.co.kr · by 이치동 · March 30, 2021

I think what Choeng Wa Dae needs to regret is its naive assumptions about the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime that provide the foundation for its peace agenda. I hope this is a wake-up call for the Moon administration and it will re-evaluate its strategic assumptions and its policy and strategy toward north Korea.

 

4. Law banning leaflets into N. Korea to take effect this week

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · March 29, 2021

What will be the next demand from the Kim family regime?

 

5. Moon's peace initiative faces more deadlock

The Korea Times · by Kang Seung-woo · March 30, 2021

The Moon administration's peace initiative may become the largest point of friction in the ROK/US alliance. Given the recent series of actions and statement from the regime, the Moon administration needs to view them in total as a wake-up to its flawed assumptions and naive policy and strategy. 

 

6. North Korean leader's sister slams South Korea's Moon for criticism of recent missile test

Reuters · by Sangmi Cha · March 30, 2021

 

7. US eyes additional UN action on N. Korea after missile tests

AP · by Matthew Lee · March 29, 2021

Time for a strategic strangulation campaign. (From 5 years ago: "A Strategic Strangulation Campaign for North Korea: Is the International Community Ready for What May Come Next?" (which requires that we think through the second and third order effects and what comes next)

 

8. North Korea likely to escape punishment for rocket launches

m.koreatimes.co.kr · March 26, 2021

Markus Garlauskas gives us the Lenin bayonet strategy - “You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.” The Kim family regime probes with missile and rocket launches.

Excerpt: However, claiming that North Korea's recent launches were part of its leader's ambitious plans to advance its ballistic missile programs, rather than a cry for attention or economic assistance, Markus Garlauskas, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. National Intelligence Officer for North Korea, said the international community should take punitive action against North Korea. "If these launches go unchecked by the international community, that is likely to lead to launches of bigger and more capable systems, including those capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads," Garlauskas said, adding that no response would "reinforce the precedent of such launches being accepted by the international community without any costs to Pyongyang at all."

 

9. North Korea Is Not A Serious Negotiator And Biden Will Act Accordingly – Analysis

eurasiareview.com · by Arius M Derr · March 30, 2021

Don't hold back??

Conclusion: :Previous efforts to severely isolate North Korea were kept in check by the need to maintain good relations with China, the North’s benefactor. But with China–US relations in decline, there is less reason to hold back.

This fits Biden’s preference for both multilateralism and greater toughness on North Korea. If North Korea continues apace to build nuclear warheads and missiles, then there will be growing pressure to prevent the outflow of these technologies. This raises the possibility of provocations or even violence, a risk that the United States may be willing to run if there is no other way to halt proliferation. “

 

10.  S. Korea capable of intercepting N.K. short-range missiles: defense ministry

en.yna.co.kr · by 최수향 · March 30, 2021

I certainly hope the spokesman's confidence is justified. I am heartened to read about a "South Korea-US missile defense system."

Excerpt: "South Korea has the ability and the posture to fully intercept North Korea's short-range missiles, including ballistic ones, with the South Korea-U.S. missile defense system," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said.

 

11. Biden must confront North Korea via Beijing by John Bolton

Washington Examiner · by John Bolton · March 29, 2021

I fear that basing any strategy on requiring Chinese cooperation will be doomed to failure.

Ambassador Bolton recommends we call out China for its complicity in enabling north Korea. I concur. However, I still do not expect that China will take any significant action to try to force the north to change its behavior. And of course even if it does try we have to ask will it have any effect on the regime?

 

12. Reports of North Korea’s Return to a Command Economy Have Been Exaggerated

38north.org · by Eun-ju Choi · March 29, 2021

Hmmm... interesting analysis. If the regime cracks down on the market economy to maintain control it is possible that it will backfire and create resistance. If the regime allows markets to flourish it could generate a desire for political change which would also be an existential threat to the regime.

Conclusion: “In conclusion, it is a mistake to over-interpret Kim Jong Un’s remarks about the need to restore the state’s “unified guidance” over economic work as a return to a Leninist planned economy; it was, instead, an internal economic policy change to crack down on the rent-seeking behavior of the party and the military. Of course, the success of this approach is not guaranteed, but it is clear that Kim’s existing policy—which has increased market expansion and economic unit autonomy—is still alive and well.”

 

13. China and North Korea to revive trade in April amid US tension

asia.nikkei.com · by Shin Watanabe and Tsukasa Hadhano · March 30, 2021

Excerpts: “ China accounts for more than 90% of North Korea's external trade. Exports and imports between the two tumbled 80.7% in 2020 to $539.05 million from a year ago, reaching the lowest level since 2000 when bilateral trade dropped to $488 million, according to China's General Administration of Customers.

In 2017, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea's exports of coal, iron ore, seafood, textile and other products. But the country's ties with China help it to still trade. Until 2019, North Korea manufactured and exported wigs, watches, and other products using materials supplied by China which were not subject to the sanctions.

"These kinds of trade halted due to the border closure," a trading house official said. As its hard-currency income falls, North Korea is increasingly relying on China's support.Sino-North Korean cooperation is reviving as U.S.-China relations worsen. The friction between Washington and Beijing over security issues and human rights was laid clear at a recent meeting in Alaska earlier this month.

South Korea's central bank estimated that North Korea's gross domestic product increased 0.4% in 2019 from the previous year. But the North Korean economy is likely to have contracted last year. While trade is now expected to resume, it is unclear when both sides will agree to the flow of people.

 

14.  Asia Trip Offers Preview of Biden Administration's North Korea Policy

dailysignal.com · by Bruce Klingner · March 29, 2021

 

15. S. Korea 'strongly condemns' Japan's approval of school texts laying claim to Dokdo

en.yna.co.kr · by 김승연 · March 30, 2021

Neither Japan nor Korea can help themselves.

 

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"Instead of claiming that anyone can predict what is going to happen, we argue that everyone, from analysts to decision makers, can see the forces as they are taking shape and not be blindsided when those changes inevitably reshape the global environment. Anticipating strategic surprise gives decision makers the ability to look in the right place for game-changing events and to track them systematically. As these scenarios become more plausible, and ever more imminent, decision makers can then pay attention to the right things when they matter most. This kind of insight leads to better questions rather than better answers, but better questions are very, very important."   

- Peter Schwartz and Doug Randall

by Sam Wilkins

https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2021/3/30/why-are-we-in-africa

"Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 served as a combat proving ground, facilitating the testing of new operational concepts and weapons systems for the combatants’ respective sponsor states"

 

https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/316-insights-from-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-in-2020-part-ii/

A roundup of news stories related to Special Operations from SOF News

Including:
-SOF Senate Testimony
-The Air Campaign again ISIS
-Legal Factors surrounding Russian PMCs

https://sof.news/update/20210329/

https://mwi.usma.edu/countering-terrorism-while-competing-with-great-power-rivals-mutually-reinforcing-not-mutually-exclusive/

"Air Force rescue, the community of airmen dedicated to the Air Force’s personnel recovery mission, today finds itself in a crisis of culture, the consequence of a slow erosion of its foundational characteristics."

 

https://warontherocks.com/2021/03/rescuing-the-rescuers-a-guide-to-revitalizing-an-air-force-community/

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. AP Exclusive: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID

2.  Disinformation vs. Misinformation

3. Assessing the Application of a Cold War Strategic Framework to Establish Norms in the Cyber Threat Environment

4. 'Be aware': The Pentagon's target list for extremist infiltrators — right and left

5. Iran, China sign landmark 25-year cooperation agreement

6. Opinion | The United States has a major hole in its cyberdefense. Here’s how to fix it.

7. An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order.

8. Authorities and Legal Considerations for US Cyber and Information Operations in a Contested Environment

9. Biden Team Boosts Effort to Shield U.S. Power Grid From Hackers

10. In the South China Sea, Biden is outdoing Trump in bluff and bluster

11. China’s Belt and Road Effort Demands a Multipart US Response

12. Exclusive: The Secret Global Data Cell Infiltrating Jihadists

13. The puzzle of Joe Biden’s ‘middle class foreign policy’

14. A Clash of Civilizations with Chinese Characteristics

15. The New American Geostrategic Consensus Over China – Analysis

16. Open letter to the troops: Take the damn vaccine, please

17. US Special Operations Command 'Not Aware' of Top Hire's Anti-Trump Posts

18. CIA Super Spy, or Super Con?

19. Remembering Jerry Sage, the Inspiration for “The Great Escape”

20. Special Operations News Update - Monday, March 29, 2021 | SOF News

21. In Great Power Wars, Americans Could Again Become POWs

22. Did China cross a new red line in cyberspace?

 

1. AP Exclusive: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID

AP · by Ken Moritsugu and Jamey Keaten · March 29, 2021

Expose Chinese influence on this report. Such exposure should cause Chinese efforts to prevent accountability to backfire

Excerpt: “The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China. A World Health Organization official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release “in the next few days.”

The AP received a copy on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country. It wasn’t clear whether the report might still be changed prior to release, though the diplomat said it was the final version. A second diplomat confirmed getting the report too. Both refused to be identified because they were not authorized to release it ahead of publication.”

 

2. Disinformation vs. Misinformation

carryingthegun.com · by DG · March 29, 2021

A reminder for those who need reminding.

 

3. Assessing the Application of a Cold War Strategic Framework to Establish Norms in the Cyber Threat Environment

divergentoptions.org · by Divergent Options · March 29, 2021

Conclusion: “As cyber capabilities have expanded and matured over time, there has been an apparent failure to achieve consensus on what the red lines of cyber confrontation are. Some actors appear to abide by general rules, while others make it a point of exploring new ways to raise or lower the bar on acceptable actions in cyberspace. Meanwhile, criminals and non-aligned groups are just as aggressive with their operations as many terrorist groups were during the height of the Cold War, and they are similarly frequently used or discarded by nation states depending on the situation and the need. However, nation states on the two sides were useful bulwarks against overzealous actions, as they could exert influence over the actions of groups operating from their territory or abusing their patronage. Espionage in cyberspace will not stop, nor can a framework anticipate every possible scenario that my unfold. Despite these imperfections, in the future an issue like the SolarWinds breach could lead to a series of escalatory actions a la the Cuban Missile Crisis, or the cyber threat environment could be governed by a Strategic Arms Limitation Talk-like treaty which bans cyber intrusions into global supply chains[10]. Applying aspects of the Cold War strategic framework can begin to bring order to the chaos of the cyber threat environment, while also helping highlight areas where this framework falls short and new ways of thinking are needed.”

 

4. 'Be aware': The Pentagon's target list for extremist infiltrators — right and left

Politico · March 27, 2021

There is no place for extremists of the right or left in our military. But we have to do this right or we risk undermining the trust in our military as well as good order and discipline.

Dr. Kurth Cronin describes the real problem we have and we may be violating one of the most important rules of planning - developing a plan without a thorough understanding of the problem we are trying to solve. And the irony is such an action can (and likely will) play into the narrative of extremists that will contribute to enhancing legitimacy of extremist organizations and aid in recruiting.

 

Excerpts: “But the Pentagon says one is too many and the true numbers are not known because adherents who have been recruited by extremist groups or encouraged to enlist often organize and communicate in secret.

“No one truly knows,” Audrey Kurth Cronin, the director of American University’s Center for Security, Innovation and New Technology, told a House panel this week. “No serious plan can be built without defining the scope of the problem.”

The internal training materials focus on extremist behavior and symbolism — of all different stripes — and point out the risk of making false assumptions about people who do not pose any threat. This includes pointing out that religious conservatives are often mistakenly lumped together with white supremacists or other extremists.”

 

5. Iran, China sign landmark 25-year cooperation agreement

Reuters · by Reuters Staff · March 27, 2021

 

6. Opinion | The United States has a major hole in its cyberdefense. Here’s how to fix it.

The Washington Post · by Robert M. Gates · March 28, 2021

Excerpt: “For Cyber Command to be able to respond instantly to attacks, the commander also had to be in charge of the National Security Agency, the only U.S. institution with the capability to defend the country against such attacks and retaliate. Cyberdefense and cyberoffense, I was convinced (and still am), needed to be commanded by one person. The commander of Cyber Command could not be in the position of having to ask for or negotiate NSA support, thus increasing the danger of delays in our response time.”

 

7. An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order.

The New York Times · by Steven Lee Myers · March 29, 2021

My personal assessment: China seeks to export its authoritarian political system around the world in order to dominate regions, co-opt or coerce international organizations, create economic conditions favorable to China alone, and displace democratic institutions.

 

8. Authorities and Legal Considerations for US Cyber and Information Operations in a Contested Environment

mwi.usma.edu · by Gary Corn · March 29, 2021

Conclusion: “When in doubt, it is easy to fall back on what you know. But when it comes to the complex challenges of conducting military cyber and information operations in the gray zone of great power competition, easy is generally not the right or even the best answer. With respect to both defend-forward operations and true deterrence, there needs to be a more sophisticated approach to targeting strategies, resisting the tendency to revert to armed-conflict targeting paradigms and instead developing and instantiating targeting procedures better aligned to the unique operational environment and the non–armed conflict legal structures that apply.”

 

9. Biden Team Boosts Effort to Shield U.S. Power Grid From Hackers

Yahoo · by Jennifer Jacobs, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Michael Riley

Excerpts: “A chief concern is deciding the shape of collective defense and response efforts. Administration officials at the March 16 meeting made clear they were seeking to enhance coordination, communication, reporting and response between the industry and government.

The virtual session was the first broad meeting between top Biden administration officials and executives in the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, a group designed to further industry-government coordination on protecting the grid.

The electric power sector values its close working relationship with partners in government, said Scott Aaronson, vice president for security and preparedness at the Edison Electric Institute that represents investor-owned electric companies.

“We appreciate that this administration already is coordinating with grid operators to protect critical energy infrastructure,” Aaronson said in an emailed statement. “Protecting and defending critical infrastructure is a shared responsibility that requires engagement and expertise from asset owners and government partners.”

  

10. In the South China Sea, Biden is outdoing Trump in bluff and bluster

SCMP · by Mark J. Valencia · by March 29, 2021

Excerpts: “In 2016, Blinken told the House of Representatives that China “can’t have it both ways”, being a party to UNCLOS but rejecting binding arbitration decisions. Yet the US is trying to do precisely that – pick and choose which provisions it will abide by, in a treaty it has not even ratified. The Quad and the US claim to want a region “unconstrained by coercion”. Yet coercion is exactly what the US is using to enforce its unilateral interpretation of freedom of navigation.

To regain and retain its moral leadership, the US needs to show that its values and system of government are the best for all, and that it can and will maintain a competitive edge with China economically and technologically – not just militarily. So far, the US seems to be failing in that, and relying instead on bluster, bluff and implied use of force.

This is not the hallmark of a great and successful nation. The US should reconsider its militaristic and confrontational approach to China in its near seas.

 

11. China’s Belt and Road Effort Demands a Multipart US Response

defenseone.com · by Jennifer Hullman and David Sacks

Excerpts: “Our independent Task Force report, chaired by Jacob J. Lew and Admiral (retired) Gary Roughead, evaluated the implications of BRI for U.S. interests and put forward a U.S. strategy to respond to it.

When Xi introduced BRI in 2013, he believed it could advance an array of Chinese economic, political, and geopolitical interests while filling a vital need in many countries for reliable sources of power and better infrastructure.

In theory, BRI has the potential to be a net positive in multiple respects, helping to close an infrastructure gap in developing countries while also smoothing transportation and logistics paths, and contributing to regional and global economic growth.

In practice, however, BRI’s risks outweigh its benefits. BRI undermines global macroeconomic stability by lending funds to unsustainable projects, thereby adding to countries’ debt burdens. It locks some countries into carbon-intensive futures by promoting coal-fired power plants, tilts the playing field in major markets toward Chinese companies, promotes exclusive reliance on Chinese technology, and draws countries into tighter economic and political relationships with Beijing.

 

12. Exclusive: The Secret Global Data Cell Infiltrating Jihadists

worldcrunch.com · by Rozena Crossman · March 28, 2021

Who leaks this stuff? Or do we want it leaked? Does it serve a purpose to leak it?

 

13. The puzzle of Joe Biden’s ‘middle class foreign policy’

Financial Times · by Edward Luce · March 28, 2021

Excerpts: “Biden faces two problems in showcasing his diplomacy to Main Street. First, the US’s allies are craving more economic engagement. That means trade and investment deals. Biden could differentiate from past ones by focusing on 21st-century issues such as 5G and green technology, as opposed to Trump’s mania for soyabeans and steel.

But unless the US is ready to deal with its Asian and European partners, China will continue to eat into US market share. That would damage both the American middle class and US global standing. Most of America’s Asian partners do much more trade with China than with the US.

Second, any kind of trade talks are now treated as toxic in US politics, in part because many Americans blame globalisation for squeezed incomes. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s strategic-minded national security adviser — and one of the architects of his middle class foreign policy — has argued that the US has allowed the likes of Goldman Sachs and Big Pharma to dictate the terms of past trade deals. This is indisputable. Business lobby groups have always had far greater clout in Washington than trade unions, environmental groups and other stakeholders. “

 

14. A Clash of Civilizations with Chinese Characteristics

The National Interest · by Wesley Jefferies · March 28, 2021

Conclusion: “These measures should be considered complementary, rather than alternatives, to existing proposals for naval deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. The geopolitical implications for Western civilization from Chinese hegemony over Eurasia should also be accounted for in any U.S. strategy. Any policy that cannot go beyond simply “pivoting” or “decoupling” fails to capture the full threat being posed not just to the United States but to the very future of the West. A world in which the “rest” is pitted against the West, where the United States faces a consolidating Eurasian continent across either shore, and the geopolitical axis of the world shifts to a totalitarian party in Beijing will not be a world where the United States will remain secure or sovereign for long.”

 

15. The New American Geostrategic Consensus Over China – Analysis

eurasiareview.com · by John Hulsman · March 28, 2021

Conclusion: “And, indeed, 20th-century history is littered with the graves of authoritarian regimes who underestimated America: The Kaiser’s Germany, Tojo’s Japan, Hitler’s Reich, and Stalin’s Russia. In each case, America was thought weak, decadent, in decline, and incapable of staying the course. In each case, the authoritarian edifice crumbled before America’s surprisingly enduring domestic and geostrategic consensus.

This is now happening again. As was true for Truman and Eisenhower, once again two US presidents (Donald Trump and Joe Biden) who heartily disapprove of one another are paradoxically forging the domestic political basis to a geopolitical agreement over how to deal with America’s primary superpower rival that seems bound to stand the test of time.”

 

16. Open letter to the troops: Take the damn vaccine, please

taskandpurpose.com · by Jeff Schogol · March 28, 2021

 

17. US Special Operations Command 'Not Aware' of Top Hire's Anti-Trump Posts

theepochtimes.com · by Zachary Stieber · March 27, 2021

Well this appears to be backfiring if this report (note from the Epoch Times) is accurate.

 

18. CIA Super Spy, or Super Con?

spytalk.co · by Jeff Stein

Truth stranger than fiction.

 

19. Remembering Jerry Sage, the Inspiration for “The Great Escape”

sofrep.com · March 27, 2021

 

20. Special Operations News Update - Monday, March 29, 2021 | SOF News

sof.news · by SOF News · March 29, 2021

 

21. In Great Power Wars, Americans Could Again Become POWs

defenseone.com · by Jan Kallberg and Todd Arnold

SERE at Fort Bragg was the best school I ever attended in my 30 years in the Army.

 

22. Did China cross a new red line in cyberspace?

sundayguardianlive.com · by Mark Montgomery and Trevor Logan· March 27, 2021

 

-------------

 

“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that."

- John Stuart Mill

 

"Since Mao’s demise, the Party has refreshed its Leninist roots, gingerly built up the legal system and set about co-opting wealthier more educated members of society. In the same way that some western political parties like to style themselves as big tents, the Party now markets itself as an inclusive organization with uniquely Chinese roots. China can, in theory have it all – democracy, a functioning legal system, a vibrant civil society, disputatious think-tanks, innovative universities and a blossoming private sector – as long as they develop within the boundaries the Party lays down for them."

-Richard McGregor, The Party

 

"The core political values of our free society are so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that only a few malcontents, lunatics generally, ever dare to threaten them."

- John McCain

 

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. North Korean official says Biden criticism of missile launches reveals ‘deep-seated hostility’ toward country

2. N. Korea threatens U.S. in response to Biden’s warning

3. Minister urges N. Korea to respond to calls for humanitarian cooperation

4. North Korean authorities encourage people to hand over "illegal propaganda material"

5. Loaded language: U.S. denuclearization phrasing puts progress on North Korea in jeopardy

6. North Korea accuses U.N. Security Council of 'double standard' over missile tests

7. North Korea threatens US with 'invincible physical power'

8. North Korea likely to increase provocation level

9. South Korea, US working closely on how to improve THAAD base conditions

10. Human rights and inter-Korean peace process

11. Did North Korea Test a Copy Of a Dangerous New Russian Missile?

 

1. North Korean official says Biden criticism of missile launches reveals ‘deep-seated hostility’ toward country

militarytimes.com · by Kim Tong-Hyung · March 28, 2021

Actually we do not have a deep seated hostility toward north Korea or the Korean people living in the north.  In fact it is our concern for the Korean people in the north, as well as all Koreans, that drives our deep created hostility toward the Kim family regime. As I have written many times: The root of all problems in Korea is the existence of the most evil mafia- like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime that has the objective of dominating the Korean Peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State.

But these statements from north Korea reveal its intent and how it is trying to shape the new Biden administration's Korea policy.  It would like to make the policy dead on arrival and allow it to progress if the Biden administration makes concessions, e.g., sanctions relief for a promise from the regime to talk.

 

2. N. Korea threatens U.S. in response to Biden’s warning

donga.com · March 29, 2021

The regime is executing its seven decades playbook.  These "threats" are standard actions in support of blackmail diplomacy.

Just take a look at this CSIS database on provocations and you can see the pattern.  

 

I recommend Dr. Bruce Bechtol work "DPRK Provocations: Deterring the Cycle of Violence," in his book North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era: A New International Security Dilemma (pp 40-55) 

The best resource for north Korea provocations from 1950-2007 is from the Congressional Research Service.  I wish CRS would update this.

 

3. Minister urges N. Korea to respond to calls for humanitarian cooperation

en.yna.co.kr · by 고병준 · March 29, 2021

Think about this.  We have to beg the Kim family regime to be able to provide humanitarian assistance to the Korean people living  in the north who are suffering horrendously because Kim Jong-un denies their human rights and oppresses them so that he can remain in power.  Think about this.

 

4. North Korean authorities encourage people to hand over "illegal propaganda material"

dailynk.com · by Mun Dong Hui  · March 29, 2021

Don't do it.  It is a trick.

But on a serious note, information is an existential threat to the survival of the regime and this may be another indication of how desperate the regime is to control information.  It may no longer be able to control and prevent the Korean people from accessing it.

 

5. Loaded language: U.S. denuclearization phrasing puts progress on North Korea in jeopardy

Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin · March 28, 2021

"Denuclearization" is only in "jeopardy" because of the decisions and actions of Kim Jong-un and not because of an argument over words.  But this debate over words is important because it helps us to expose the Kim family regime strategy  and true nature.

 

6. North Korea accuses U.N. Security Council of 'double standard' over missile tests

Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin · March 28, 2021

You have to admire the chutzpah of the Kim family regime. No double standard. You either comply with the UN Security Council resolutions or you do not.

 

7. North Korea threatens US with 'invincible physical power'

Daily Mail · by Valerie Edwards · March 28, 2021

"Invincible power?"  The Propaganda and Agitation department has been watching the Marvel movie franchise.  And the mafia-like crime family cult is calling President Biden "gangster-like."

North Korea threatens US with 'invincible physical power' and says Biden administration used 'gangster-like logic' to take its 'first wrong step' in criticizing missile tests:

• North Korea said Saturday that Biden administration had taken a wrong first step and revealed 'deep-seated hostility' by criticizing its self-defensive missile test
• On Friday, North Korea said it launched a new tactical short-range ballistic missile; President Biden said test violated UN Security Council resolutions
• An official of North Korea said that Washington might face 'something that is not good' if it continues to make 'thoughtless remarks'

 

8. North Korea likely to increase provocation level

The Korea Times · March 29, 2021

I am reminded of Lenin: “You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.”

 

9. South Korea, US working closely on how to improve THAAD base conditions

The Korea Times · March 29, 2021

The only way to solve this problem is for the Korean government to deal with the protestors.

 

10. Human rights and inter-Korean peace process

The Korea Times · by Park Jung-won · March 29, 2021

An interesting comparison between Presidents Park Chung Hee and Moon Jae-in.

Conclusion: “When both Park's dictatorial and Moon's progressive regimes have been driven by cherishing "peace, national reconciliation and national reunification" agendas, defining human rights in different ways in the South and the North respectively, where do ordinary individuals fit within such grandiosely constructed notions? What will ultimately be the benefit of such an outcome if it disregards human rights in any objective sense? Is this tragic comedy or comical tragedy?”

 

11. Did North Korea Test a Copy Of a Dangerous New Russian Missile?

The National Interest · by Peter Suciu · March 28, 2021

Most all of north Korean weapons technology originates in Russia. The regime does do a great job both reverse engineering it and adapting it to tier requirements.

 

--------------

 

“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that."

- John Stuart Mill

 

"Since Mao’s demise, the Party has refreshed its Leninist roots, gingerly built up the legal system and set about co-opting wealthier more educated members of society.  In the same way that some western political parties like to style themselves as big tents, the Party now markets itself as an inclusive organization with uniquely Chinese roots.  China can, in theory have it all – democracy, a functioning legal system, a vibrant civil society, disputatious think-tanks, innovative universities and a blossoming private sector – as long as they develop within the boundaries the Party lays down for them."

-Richard McGregor, The Party

 

"The core political values of our free society are so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that only a few malcontents, lunatics generally, ever dare to threaten them."

- John McCain