News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. The Declining Market for Secrets: U.S. Spy Agencies Must Adapt to an Open-Source World
2. Pacific Commander Warns China Likely To Move On Taiwan; Guam A Target
3. Chinese Hackers Blamed for Massive Microsoft Server Hack
4. Secretary Austin Travels to Hawaii, Japan, Republic of Korea, India
5. Xi’s Gambit: China Plans for a World Without American Technology
6. Opinion | Unless America acts now, China could trounce it in artificial intelligence
7. First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people
8. Why the Chinese Communist Party Sees Tibetan Monks as ‘Troublemakers’
9. Conspiracy Stand Down: How Extremist Theories Like QAnon Threaten the Military and What to Do About It
10. Opinion | How the Pentagon is campaigning against white extremism in its ranks
11. Academic faces Chinese lawsuit for exposing human rights abuses in Xinjiang
12. Taiwan an acid test of Biden’s Asia policy
13. GOP Lawmakers Push Chinese Threat at Indo-Pacific Commander’s Hearing
14. This Salty Former Marine Corporal Now Grills Generals on Capitol Hill
15. Thai woman faces charges for involvement in "massive scheme" to defraud the US Navy
1. The Declining Market for Secrets: U.S. Spy Agencies Must Adapt to an Open-Source World
Foreign Affairs · by Zachery Tyson Brown and Carmen A. Medina · March 9, 2021
I would like to listen to the debates within the IC over this one. I hear the 20 cents bouncing on the floor as the paradigm (pair of dimes) is breaking.
Conclusion: "The U.S. intelligence community should not stop collecting and keeping secrets altogether. Intelligence professionals will always remain in the business of finding out what foreign leaders are saying behind closed doors, for example, or assessing an enemy before a battlefield encounter. But the United States should place less emphasis on hard intelligence and realign its limited resources accordingly. As intelligence users become satisfied with the insight and context that a more open platform can provide, collection managers will be able to shift their focus, concentrating on those really difficult problems that only exquisite intelligence collection capabilities can address."
2. Pacific Commander Warns China Likely To Move On Taiwan; Guam A Target
breakingdefense.com · by Paul McLeary
I wish I was able to read the intelligence assessments to back this up.
Pacific Commander Warns China Likely To Move On Taiwan; Guam A Target
Taiwan may be targeted for annexation by 2027, Adm. Phil Davidson said, and Guam will have to be vigorously defended in a Pacific War.
3. Chinese Hackers Blamed for Massive Microsoft Server Hack
thediplomat.com · by Frank Bajak, Eric Tucker, and Matt O’Brien · March 10, 2021
Excerpts:
“On the scale of one to 10, this is a 20,” Kennedy said. “It was essentially a skeleton key to open up any company that had this Microsoft product installed.”
Asked for comment, the Chinese embassy in Washington pointed to remarks last week from Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin saying that China “firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cyber theft in all forms” and cautioning that attribution of cyberattacks should be based on evidence and not “groundless accusations.”
The hack did not affect the cloud-based Microsoft 365 email and collaboration systems favored by Fortune 500 companies and other organizations that can afford quality security. That highlights what some in the industry lament as two computing classes — the security “haves” and “have-nots.”
Ben Read, director of analysis at Mandiant, said the cybersecurity firm has not seen anyone leverage the hack for financial gain, “but for folks out there who are affected time is of the essence in terms of patching this issue.”
4. Secretary Austin Travels to Hawaii, Japan, Republic of Korea, India
defense.gov · March 10, 2021
5. Xi’s Gambit: China Plans for a World Without American Technology
The New York Times · by Paul Mozur and Steven Lee Myers · March 10, 2021
Surely this will backfire on Xi. As one of my former War College students used to say, Chinese R&D is based on "steal to leap ahead." China cannot dominate the world with technology without being able to steal from American innovations (perhaps that is a little over the top, I know).
6. Opinion | Unless America acts now, China could trounce it in artificial intelligence
The Washington Post · by Editorial Board · March 9, 2021
Another wake-up call on the US and AI. AI may be the single most important technology of the future.
7. First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people
CNN · by Ben Westcott and Rebecca Wright
Just so tragic. The brutality of the Chinese leadership and security services is beyond belief. How can the UN allow China to be in the human rights organization of the UN? That should be the first step in holding China accountable.
First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people
8. Why the Chinese Communist Party Sees Tibetan Monks as ‘Troublemakers’
under CCP rule, religion and Tibetan national identity are inextricable.
thediplomat.com · by Apa Lhamo · March 10, 2021
Excerpt:
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is seemingly in no hurry to unknot its “nets in the sky, traps on the ground” approach to control and surveillance over Tibetans. Neither is China amenable to re-negotiations with the Tibetan leadership-in-exile.
During his meeting with the Dalai Lama in 1954 in Beijing, Chairman Mao Zedong whispered that “religion is poison.” Almost seven decades later, this notorious message continues to haunt the sleep of the CCP leadership. Religion – more specifically, Tibetan Buddhism – remains an intrinsic part of Tibetan life. Monastic institutions attract more legitimacy than local communist authorities in Tibet and reverence for Buddhist leaders, especially the Dalai Lama, is palpable. For many Tibetans, even those
9. Conspiracy Stand Down: How Extremist Theories Like QAnon Threaten the Military and What to Do About It
warontherocks.com · by Christina Bembenek · March 10, 2021
An interesting perspective:
“Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered a 60-day Department of Defense-wide stand down to address extremism in the ranks. Even if QAnon groups and hashtags fade with the inauguration of a new administration, similar theories, even more closely associated with extremist positions, will arise and pose the same threat to unit cohesion, discipline, and readiness. Several far-right movements are already seeking to “groom” disenchanted QAnon believers into their fringe organizations that share the same beliefs about deep state actors and evil global cabals.
Officials responsible for personnel need to appreciate the appeal of QAnon and similar extremist conspiracies and actively work to shift the narrative to the values that have made the military one of the most respected institutions in the country. This is not a partisan endeavor, and the military should not feel compelled to find examples on “both sides” of extremism. Civic education and media literacy delivered through innovative storytelling to young servicemembers and veterans form the bedrock of this campaign. The continued success of the military rests on its ability to recruit diverse and dedicated patriots and to maintain the trust of the nation.
10. Opinion | How the Pentagon is campaigning against white extremism in its ranks
The Washington Post · by David Ignatius · March 10, 2021
Reflect on this:
“McKenzie argues that one reason the military has spawned extremists is that the volunteer force that fought our wars in recent decades began to see itself as a warrior “elite.” The four-star Marine general explains: “You can come back [from deployments abroad] and feel that you’re inherently superior to your fellow citizens. Perhaps you’ve borne a very heavy share of the responsibilities. . . . But actually, we’re all citizens in the end.”
When the symbols of patriotism are embraced by one side in a divided country, they become political emblems. Who could have imagined that singing the national anthem or saluting the flag, or, for that matter, wearing a mask, could become a polarizing ideological statement?
The military carried a heavy load for the country the past two decades, and perhaps that made some veterans feel they had a special status as protectors of the republic — even to the treacherous point of insurrection.”
11. Academic faces Chinese lawsuit for exposing human rights abuses in Xinjiang
The Washington Post · by Eva Dou · March 10, 2021
China's Lawfare?
See Dean Cheng's important report here.
12. Taiwan an acid test of Biden’s Asia policy
asiatimes.com · by Richard Javad Heydarian · March 10, 2021
I hope it is an acid test and not an acid trip. We cannot afford to have any hallucinations about the challenge of the Taiwan challenge.
13. GOP Lawmakers Push Chinese Threat at Indo-Pacific Commander’s Hearing
defenseone.com · by Elizabeth Howe
The China challenge, like the north Korean threat, should be a bipartisan issue.
14. This Salty Former Marine Corporal Now Grills Generals on Capitol Hill
military.com · by Steve Beynon · March 9, 2021
It is good to see a member of the "E4 mafia" in a leadership role.
But I hope we can help him understand SOF and China and the global competition with China and how SOF contributes to US national security in more indirect ways than in preparing for possible "commando"(suicide) missions in China during wartime. I hope someone briefs him on the SOF trinities.
Excerpts:
“He also now chairs the newly formed House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations, where he said a big focus would be on trying to reorient special operations for a fight with China and not spending all their time training other militaries.
Gallego noted that training other nations in basic military tasks and marksmanship could be done by any unit. He said the time and money invested in special operations need to be reexamined for the long term, adding that the huge volume of deployments is an unfair burden on the special operations community.”
15. Thai woman faces charges for involvement in "massive scheme" to defraud the US Navy
thethaiger.com · by Caitlin Ashworth · March 10, 2021
More fallout from Fat Leonard.
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"I will set up a new agency patterned after the erstwhile Office of Strategic Services. A modern-day OSS could draw together specialists in unconventional warfare, civil affairs, and psychological warfare; covert-action operators; and experts in anthropology, advertising, and other relevant disciplines from inside and outside government. Like the original OSS, this would be a small, nimble, can-do organization. It would fight terrorist subversion around the world and in cyberspace. It could take risks that our bureaucracies today rarely consider taking—such as deploying infiltrating agents without diplomatic cover in terrorist states and organizations—and play a key role in frontline efforts to rebuild failed states."
-John McCain https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2007-11-01/enduring-peace-built-freedom.
"It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes... we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones."
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.”
- John Adams, The Letters of John and Abigail Adams