News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Riley Murray.
1. Flight of the Superpower: America accelerates its withdrawal from the world.
2. Retired Army special forces officer named as Pentagon intel nominee
3. Poland and U.S. deny that Fort Trump proposal is bogged down
4. Superpowers clash in the battle to crown the new head of the WTO
5. EXCLUSIVE: Counterterrorism Expert Says 'The Goal Of Antifa Is To Overthrow The Government'
6. Scant evidence of antifa shows how sweeping the protests for racial justice have become
7. US developing powerful drone to combat fighter jets
8. China Has Way Too Much Power Over Zoom. These Activists Learned the Hard Way.
9. Opinion | Amal Clooney: A test for democracy in the Philippines
10. Standing Guard, Picking Up Trash And Getting Booted From a D.C. Hotel. Inside A Special Forces Unit's Controversial Deployment to DC
11. It's Not Too Late to Save the 2020 Election
12. Rename Fort Bragg? Don't Do It
13. Fox News reports Monty Python joke as proof of turmoil in Seattle
1. Flight of the Superpower: America accelerates its withdrawal from the world.
National Review Online · by Matthew Continetti · June 13, 2020
Is this our intention by withdrawing troops from Germany? And according to former Ambassador Grenell we intend to withdraw troops from other countries, to include Korea and Japan as well. Is this how we intend to support our National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy.
Some excerpts from our NSS (2017) https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf
America's allies are now contributing more to our common defense, strengthening even our strongest alliances.
To prevail, we must integrate all elements of America's national power-political, economic, and military. Our allies and partners must also contribute the capabilities, and demonstrate the will, to confront shared threats. Experience suggests that the willingness of rivals to abandon or forgo aggression depends on their perception of U.S. strength and the vitality of our alliances.
Fair and reciprocal trade, investments, and exchanges of knowledge deepen our alliances and partnerships, which are necessary to succeed in today's competitive geopolitical environment.
We are not going to impose our values on others. Our alliances, partnerships, and coalitions are built on free will and shared interests. When the United States partners with other states, we develop policies that enable us to achieve our goals while our partners achieve theirs.
These principles form the foundation of our most enduring alliances, and the United States will continue to champion them. Governments that respect the rights of their citizens remain the best vehicle for prosperity, human happiness, and peace.
U.S. allies are critical to respond to mutual threats, such as North Korea, and to preserving our mutual interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
We will redouble our commitment to established alliances and partnerships, while expanding and deepening relationships with new partners that share respect for sovereignty, fair and reciprocal trade, and the rule of law.
The NATO alliance of free and sovereign states is a one of our great advantages over our competitors, and the United States remains committed to Article V of the Washington Treaty.
From the 2018 Summary of the National Defense Strategy.https://dod.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf
Although this system has evolved since the end of the Cold War, our network of alliances and partnerships remain the backbone of global security.
The willingness of rivals to abandon aggression will depend on their perception of U.S. strength and the vitality of our alliances and partnerships.
Mutually beneficial alliances and partnerships are crucial to our strategy, providing a durable, asymmetric strategic advantage that no competitor or rival can match.
We will strengthen and evolve our alliances and partnerships into an extended network capable of deterring or decisively acting to meet the shared challenges of our time.
Our alliances and coalitions are built on free will and shared responsibilities. While we will unapologetically represent America's values and belief in democracy, we will not seek to impose our way of life by force.
2. Retired Army special forces officer named as Pentagon intel nominee
Defense News · by Aaron Mehta · June 12, 2020
I do not know this gentleman. There is not much background in the article (it focuses more on the shortage of political appointments). Interestingly Mr. Hansell served in both the Naval Special Warfare Command and Army Special Forces. Here is his bio from his time at a Tillman Scholar at UVA. https://pattillmanfoundation.org/meet-our-scholars/brad-hansell/
3. Poland and U.S. deny that Fort Trump proposal is bogged down
Reuters · by 3 Min Read · June 13, 2020
Fake news?
4. Superpowers clash in the battle to crown the new head of the WTO
The Telegraph · by Lizzy Burden – 13 June 2020
We do not want the WTO to go the way of the WHO. This is the battlefield of political warfare in the era of Great Power Competition. We have to ensure the new head of the WTO cannot be co-opted or coerced by the PRC.
5. EXCLUSIVE: Counterterrorism Expert Says 'The Goal of Antifa Is To Overthrow The Government'
An 18-minute video at the link.
https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/13/counterterrorism-expert-antifa-overthrow-the-government/
6. Scant evidence of antifa shows how sweeping the protests for racial justice have become
The Washington Post – Isaac Stanley-Becker – 13 June 2020
A contrarian view of ANTIFA.
7. US developing powerful drone to combat fighter jets
almasdarnews.com · June 13, 2020
8. China Has Way Too Much Power Over Zoom. These Activists Learned the Hard Way.
The National Interest · by Chris White · June 13, 2020
Interestingly the account was reinstated. Is that a result of the public relations fallout?
9. Opinion | Amal Clooney: A test for democracy in the Philippines
The Washington Post · by Amal Clooney
We should all be thinking about our good friend Maria Ressa. This is a terrible situation for her and for freedom of the press. I hope our government is putting pressure on the Philippines.
10. Standing Guard, Picking Up Trash and Getting Booted From a D.C. Hotel. Inside A Special Forces Unit's Controversial Deployment to DC
TIME · by W.J. Hennigan – 12 June 2020
Interesting story.
11. It's Not Too Late to Save the 2020 Election
Wall Street Journal – Nathaniel Persily – 12 June 2020
An ominous warning with some good recommendations. As a nation we need to ensure the security and effectiveness of our election process.
12. Rename Fort Bragg? Don't Do It.
spectator.org · by Patrick O'Hannigan
Okay. For those who do not want to rename the installations in the name of preserving history, perhaps we should consider this proposal. This would be my recommendation: With the name of each installation we should include this history. "This installation was named during the Jim Crow era some 60-90 years after the Civil War. It is the result of subversive actions by those who seek to subtly perpetuate the ideal of the Confederacy. The US government allowed these names so that it could establish military installations in these states and locations. These names are a reminder that there are those who tried to prevent equal rights for all Americans many decades after the Emancipation Proclamation."
13. Fox News reports Monty Python joke as proof of turmoil in Seattle
Daily Mail · by Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com · June 14, 2020
On a lighter note. you have to love Monty Python.
"The most extravagant idea that can be born in the head of a political thinker is to believe that it suffices for people to enter, weapons in hand, among a foreign people and expect to have its laws and constitution embraced. No one loves armed missionaries. The first lesson of nature and prudence is to repulse them as enemies."
- French Revolutionary leader Robespierre, in a speech he gave to the Jacobin Club on 2 January 1792
"There are those who would draw a sharp line between power politics and a principled foreign policy based on values. This polarized view - you are either a realist or devoted to norms and values - may be just fine in academic debate, but it is a disaster for American foreign policy. American values are universal."
- Condoleezza Rice
"We thought that the dispatch of American forces to any of these threatened areas would, in fact, be self-defeating. The idea of strategic bombing as a weapon against communist infiltration and subversion would have been strange to us. What seemed to us desirable was to stimulate and encourage the rise of indigenous political resistance to communist pressures in the threatened countries. We believed that unless the people and governments of those countries operating through their own political systems, could be induced to pick up the great burden of this load, success was not likely. For us to attempt to carry that burden would have effects - such as the paralysis of local initiative and responsibility, or the negative impact which a great foreign presence inevitably has on the natives of a country - which would tend to defeat the purpose of the undertaking."
- George Kennan, 1967