News and Commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and Published by Daniel Riggs
1. Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Supporting our Indian Partners
2. China launches app for citizens to report 'mistaken opinions'
3. Four Ways a China-U.S. War at Sea Could Play Out
4. The Latest: Biden says US set on helping India with pandemic
5. Air Force Academy grads revolt against superintendent's 'both sides' position on violent extremism
6. Top US general in Afghanistan says military begins closing down operations
7. Xi Jinping: Master Of Strategy Or Deluded Autocrat? – Analysis
8. Diplomatic Posturing And The Power Game In Southeast Asia
9. Bring Back Education for Seapower
10. Special Operations News Update - Monday, April 26, 2021 | SOF News
11. Options for a Dedicated Stability Operations Force Supporting Large Scale Combat Operations
12. Enough about ‘not picking sides.’ The only right position is against white supremacy and extremism
13. Was the Postwar U.S. International Order Truly Liberal?
14. War in All but Name
15. Special Operations Command blames hacker for tweet about Islamic State, Afghanistan
16. U.S. military’s appetite for information fueling demand for space technology
17. Interests, Not Values, Should Guide America’s China Strategy
18. China’s surprising drone sales in the Middle East
19. FDD | Why the Russia-China Alignment Is So Worrisome
1. Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Supporting our Indian Partners
defense.gov · April 25, 2021
2. China launches app for citizens to report 'mistaken opinions'
Daily Mail · by Chris Jewers · April 19, 2021
3. Four Ways a China-U.S. War at Sea Could Play Out
Bloomberg · by James Stavridis · April 25, 2021
Excerpts: “China stakes a territorial claim over essentially the entire body of water. Relying on voyages of the admiral Zheng He from the 1600s, China in the 1940s delineated what it calls the “Nine-Dash Line,” a maritime boundary within which it maintains the fiction of sovereignty. This is disputed by virtually every other nation in the region (many of whom have overlapping and competing claims with not only China, but each other as well). An international court largely dismissed the overarching Chinese claim in 2016.
As China plays the long game to consolidate control, it is building artificial islands. These are mostly in areas with promising oil and gas fields in the sea’s southern reaches and around the Spratly Islands, which are themselves disputed between several of the nations. There are seven completed islands, all militarized and some with airfields, but nobody thinks Beijing will stop there.
...
How great are the chances of such a multi-ocean military conflict between the two superpowers and their allies? Far, far lower than the likelihood of a flare-up in the Taiwan Strait or East China Sea. But much as Europe stumbled into World War I because of extensive networks of alliances, it is entirely possible a war in the western Pacific could bring conflict to Indian waters.
It would have been hard for young Ensign Stavridis to imagine any of this while sailing across the Pacific in the 1970s — but alliances have significantly shifted, even if geography has not.
4. The Latest: Biden says US set on helping India with pandemic
mercurynews.com · by Associated Press · April 25, 2021
And other COVID information around the world.
5. Air Force Academy grads revolt against superintendent's 'both sides' position on violent extremism
Raw Story · by Bob Brigham · April 24, 2021
6. Top US general in Afghanistan says military begins closing down operations
militarytimes.com · by Kathy Gannon · April 25, 2021
7. Xi Jinping: Master Of Strategy Or Deluded Autocrat? – Analysis
eurasiareview.com · by IWPR · April 25, 2021
Excerpts: “China’s most dominant ruler since Mao Zedong doesn’t set much store on being loved by foreigners. He looks happy to settle for fear or respect, and in many parts of the world, from Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America and the Balkans, he’s already succeeded.
But for all his gains, including closer partnerships with Iran and Russia, Xi’s aggressive posture often appears reckless, alerting leaders from Washington and Brussels to Hanoi and Delhi to a new and pressing danger.
Certainly, China’s pugnacious territorial claims in the East and South China Seas have breathed fresh life into the Quad, the security forum in the Indian and Pacific oceans that brings together the United States, Japan, India and Australia.
But analysts caution that Western politicians are in danger of a profound misunderstanding if they try to assess Beijing’s national security strategy on the same terms as those in democratic countries.
8. Diplomatic Posturing And The Power Game In Southeast Asia
eurasiareview.com · by Eurasia Review · April 25, 2021
A new fleet? 365 day presence?
Conclusion: "The US needs to designate a dedicated naval fleet for the South China Sea, so it has a constant presence 365 days a year. This would limit the influence of China in the region, restore the symmetry of trade relations to some extent and stop the undue exploitation of smaller states by the People’s Republic of China. Naval cooperation and joint exercises in the South China Sea challenge China in particular when French and Canadian navies are involved. Quad and Quad-plus like cooperation is the way forward, however, this could lead to catastrophe if maritime management systems and communications channels are not established. China has to adjust to the presence of an extra-regional power in the South China Sea, and the US and allies have to work to keep China’s assertive behaviour at bay while avoiding accidental conflict."
9. Bring Back Education for Seapower
usni.org · by Mark R. Folse · April 20, 2021
All services need to increase investment in education.
There is some truth to this statement. When I was the chief of SF officer assignments more officers wanted to go to Newport than any other school and more senior leaders weighed in to recommend officers go to Newport due to the respect for its excellent education program.
Excerpt: "The Navy sends junior officers into higher echelon programs, and staff corps officers (dentists and chaplains) to the war colleges instead of surface warfare officers and aviators. It has been said as a joke that “the Naval War College is the school to which every branch but the Navy sends its best and brightest.”
10. Special Operations News Update - Monday, April 26, 2021 | SOF News
sof.news · by SOF News · April 26, 2021
11. Options for a Dedicated Stability Operations Force Supporting Large Scale Combat Operations
divergentoptions.org · by Kevin Maguire · April 26, 2021
Stability operations are inherent long term. Would such a force be committed for the duration? (Plus six months such as enlistments in WWII - the duration plus 6 months). Or to sustain the force over time would it take "three to make one?" Would we need a force that is three times the projected size in order to sustain long duration operations? Wouldn't that be a huge drain on service end strength?
12. Enough about ‘not picking sides.’ The only right position is against white supremacy and extremism
airforcetimes.com · by Esteban Castellanos · April 24, 2021
13. Was the Postwar U.S. International Order Truly Liberal?
theimaginativeconservative.org · by Andrew Latham · April 25, 2021
The post WWII liberal order: more imperial than liberal?
A review of two books.
14. War in All but Name
thestrategybridge.org · by Derek S. Bernsen · April 26, 2021
Key point that we must understand and embrace: "Information warfare provides the perfect mechanism to erode U.S. power without resorting to direct conflict."
Conclusion: “Finally, the Department of Defense needs to continue to grow its cyber force. U.S. Cyber Command has come a long way in demonstrating its value, conducting operations, and even helping the information security community through malware disclosures.[41] This momentum needs to be seized upon. As U.S. Cyber Command continues to hone its craft, it needs to start integrating with the more traditional parts of the military. Special Operations Forces are the obvious first candidate for integrating with cyber operations. Special Operations personnel are already asked to do more than the average unit and often are the first to experiment with new technology. The innovative and can-do mindset present in these units combined with the many unique skills and cross-training these units receive creates the perfect environment for the military to experiment with cyber and kinetic operations integration. Add in Special Operations’ history of psychological operations and influence campaigns which are already considered Information Warfare, and cyber becomes the logical next step for bringing the force into the future. Eventually the U.S. will need to realize the goal of integrating cyberspace operations with every operational branch of the military from infantry and armor, to ships, aircraft, and spacecraft. Furthermore, retired Admiral James Stavridis articulates the argument for a separate cyber branch of the military.[42]
While the U.S. is already at war, if it can incorporate and prioritize these four actions in the new National Security Strategy it will be significantly better positioned to compete, defend, and fight with information warfare. Adversaries will avoid a direct conflict and instead seek to leverage information warfare to undermine the U.S. and gain a dominant global position. A strategy enabling the U.S. to fight back must incorporate the rebuilding of the United States Information Agency, lessons from Estonia, incentivize the overhaul of our legacy systems, and fully integrate cyberspace operations throughout the military.
15. Special Operations Command blames hacker for tweet about Islamic State, Afghanistan
Stars and Stripes · by Seth Robson · April 25, 2021
16. U.S. military’s appetite for information fueling demand for space technology
spacenews.com · by Sandra Erwin · April 25, 2021
17. Interests, Not Values, Should Guide America’s China Strategy
The National Interest · by Elbridge Colby · April 25, 2021
It cannot be either/or. It must be both/and in my opinion.
Values based approach excerpt: “The problem is that this approach will almost certainly disappoint and, if resolutely pursued, risks weakening U.S. links with many of the very countries that will be most key to confronting China—many of which are not democracies or are considered only “partly free” by institutions such as Freedom House. The basic flaw in this now ascendant U.S. approach is twofold. First, it mislocates the decisive arena of competition with China. The results of the competition with China will not primarily be determined by global political institutions and perceptions of our respective political systems but rather chiefly by the balance of hard economic and military power, especially in Asia. Second, it misidentifies the main reason countries will or will not collaborate with Washington vis-à-vis China. Exaggerating the role of “values” and ideology in international politics, it inherently downplays the salience of security and economic interests. This leads to an over-expectation of what democracies, especially in Europe, will do, while discounting the central importance of what other states, especially in Asia, need to do.
Conclusion: “AMERICA NEEDS its allies to do more. That much is clear. The question now is how. The idea of a league of democracies is a stirring answer, but is very likely to be more inspirational than consequential. Washington must instead found its efforts with allies and partners on sturdier, if perhaps lower, ground—that of common interest. With this approach, America can collaborate with a wide variety of different types of states in differing arrangements, bound together by shared fears and organizing based on aligned interests. America can and should still stand for freedom, decent treatment, and republican government, but within the constraints and logic of this overarching interest-based approach—not as a primary driver of U.S. strategy. This approach may move hearts less, but it is more likely to move mind and muscle—and ultimately to better protect Americans’ own freedom and prosperity as well as the autonomy of other countries to chart their own futures free of another’s domination.
18. China’s surprising drone sales in the Middle East
Defense News · by Bradley Bowman, Jared Thompson, and Ryan Brobst · April 23, 2021
19. FDD | Why the Russia-China Alignment Is So Worrisome
fdd.org · by Thomas Joscelyn · April 23, 2021
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"That priceless galaxy of misinformation called the mind."
- Djuna Barnes
"The lowest form of popular culture—lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives—has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage."
-Carl Bernstein
"Beware a majority when mentally poisoned with misinformation, for collective ignorance does not become wisdom."
-William J.H. Boetchker