Small Wars Journal

06/22/2020 News & Commentary – National Security

Mon, 06/22/2020 - 9:13am

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

1. Why the U.S. Is Moving Troops Out of Germany

2. The Challenges of Effective Counterterrorism Intelligence in the 2020s

3. A War of Meaningless Words

4.  "Beyond the Beltway" - What's the Civil-Military Crisis?

5. Opinion | Hegemony of china threatens the Asian century

6. Analysis | Who caused the violence at protests? It wasn't antifa.

7. China aims to complete its own GPS system, giving Beijing military independence in case of conflict

8. Trump's data-hungry, invasive app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power

9.  Trump's Retreat From Germany Is a Victory for Putin

10. Taiwan boosts domestic defence development plan with new jet

11. Taiwan special forces train to counter Chinese incursions

12. Options for the U.S. to Wage Conflict in the Cognitive Domain

13.  On Deterrence, Defense and Arm Control: In Honor of Colin S. Gray

14. Mackenzie Eaglen on "5 Lessons the U.S. Military Learned From the Pandemic"

15. Military training develops mindset, not muscle

  

1. Why the U.S. Is Moving Troops Out of Germany

WSJ · by Robert C. O'Brien ·

I am sorry but the National Security Advisor's argument/explanation does not do it for me.  You do not give up the high ground because it is too hard to retake it.

 

2. The Challenges of Effective Counterterrorism Intelligence in the 2020s

lawfareblog.com · By Bruce Hoffman, Jacob Ware · June 21, 2020

Wise words and excellent analysis of the current and evolving terrorism landscape from my old boss.

 

3. A War of Meaningless Words

WSJ · by Andy Kessler · June 21, 2020

Words have meaning.  Or they don't. Or they have double meanings Or hidden meanings.  (or as Lewis Carroll wrote, "what I choose it to mean.)

 

4. "Beyond the Beltway" - What's the Civil-Military Crisis?

warontherocks.com · by Paula Thornhill · June 17, 2020

Some good questions from Paula Thornhill.

 

5. Opinion | Hegemony of china threatens the Asian century

Livemint · by Anil Padmanabhan · June 21, 2020

Does China seek hegemony?  If so what is China's definition of hegemony?  Interesting analysis of the China-India conflict.

 

6. Analysis | Who caused the violence at protests? It wasn't Antifa.

The Washington Post · by Meg Kelly and Elyse Samuels· June 22, 2020

This will get a rise out of some people.  This certainly does not track with the analysis on Fox News and OAN

 

7. China aims to complete its own GPS system, giving Beijing military independence in case of conflict

CNBC · by Arjun Kharpal · June 22, 2020

Will this be a game changer?  Does this mean China will attempt to take down our system?   Do not throw away your map, compass, and protractor. 

 

8. Trump's data-hungry, invasive app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power

Technology Review · by Jacob Gursky and Samuel Wooley

So what if this was developed by the US government?  How would we feel about it?  Imagine if we developed something like this to do contact tracing and public health "surveillance?" Can a political party do what a government cannot?  And what are they going to do with all this data after the election?

 

9. Trump's Retreat From Germany Is a Victory for Putin

Bloomberg · by James Stavridis · June 22, 2020

From the former Supreme Allied Commander.

 

11. Taiwan special forces train to counter Chinese incursions

taiwannews.com.tw · by Taiwan News

I wish we could re-establish our old Special Forces Detachment in Taiwan as we had in the 1950s/1960s.  Taiwan should be developing an indigenous civilian resistance force as one part of its deterrence efforts.

 

12. Options for the U.S. to Wage Conflict in the Cognitive Domain

divergentoptions.org · by Divergent Options · June 22, 2020

We have to effectively operate in the cognitive domain! I actually want us to adopt all four of his recommendations. We not only have to be able to outfight our adversaries, we have to be able to outthink them. :-)

 

13. On Deterrence, Defense and Arm Control: In Honor of Colin S. Gray

realcleardefense.com · by Keith B. Payne

We can never study deterrence too much.

 

14. Mackenzie Eaglen on "5 Lessons the U.S. Military Learned From the Pandemic"

sites.duke.edu · by Charlie Dunlap, J.D. · June 17, 2020

Some of these excellent lessons will have very useful application well beyond the coronavirus crisis.  Kudos to USFK.

 

15. Military training develops mindset, not muscle

militarytimes.com · by Jonathan Cleck · June 18, 2020

 

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"Without a doubt, psychological warfare has proven its right to a place of dignity in our military arsenal."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
- Buckminster Fuller

 

"A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it."
- Albert Einstein

 

Categories: News