News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. 'The Outpost' Review: At War, in a Worst-Case Scenario
2. The Case for Kissinger
3. The Next American Terrorist
4. Duckworth to halt 1,100 military promotions if Pentagon retaliates against Vindman
5. The growing need for a modern aircraft platform for special forces
6. U.S. Steps up Military Training in Japan
7. Renewing America's Commitment to the Indo-Pacific
8. What Poland wants when it comes to US troops
9. Germany to Shake Up Special-Forces Unit Harboring Far-Right Militants
10. Forgetting Counterinsurgency, Again: Lessons from Reconstruction and Operation Iraqi Freedom
11. Crafting Strategy for Irregular Warfare: A Framework for Analysis and Action
12. HASC Passes NDAA 56-0: 'Yet Hope Remains, While The Company Is True'
13. China urges certain countries to stop using human rights to meddle in others' domestic affairs
14. Taiwan to re-open consulate on strategically-located U.S. island of Guam
15. The Week America Lost Control of the Pandemic
16. The 2020 War on the Rocks Summer Fiction Reading List
1. 'The Outpost' Review: At War, in a Worst-Case Scenario
The New York Times · by Glenn Kenny · July 2, 2020
Opening today. An interesting cast. This is a positive review.
2. The Case for Kissinger
The National Interest · by Jacob Heilbrunn · June 30, 2020
For those who love Kissinger and for those who do not. Some food for thought.
3. The Next American Terrorist
thecipherbrief.com · by Bruce Hoffman· July 2, 2020
From one of our nation's foremost scholars on terrorism (and my old boss). I am sure I will receive comments about what some people think may have been omitted.
4. Duckworth to halt 1,100 military promotions if Pentagon retaliates against Vindman
Axios · by Orion Rummler
My promotion to Major was delayed because the Senate held up the confirmation of all Services' promotion lists for all ranks for Tailhook back in 1992. But what I am interested in knowing is whether Vindman was actually selected by the promotion board for promotion to Colonel. It is certainly not automatic just because he worked on the NSC. He is a FAO and the selection rate for promotion to Colonel as a FAO is not that high (I think we are talking about 38%-45% versus 60% for Infantry (which was a couple of years ago). I can almost guarantee no one said to the members of the promotion board to either select him or not select him. So if the board did not select him what is Congress going to do? And if he was selected I am not sure what authority a Service Secretary or the SECDEF would have to remove him without cause. Obviously the services spend a lot of time vetting all the selectees after the list is made before it goes to Senate confirmation and anyone with bad paper that was not presented to the board might be cause for removal but so far as I know the actions Vindman took regarding testifying before Congress were not in contravention of any military regulation. So how does the SECDEF respond? I did not or will not remove him? Will he caveat and say if he is on the list I did not or will not remove him? Or I do not have the authority to remove him (I think only the
5. The growing need for a modern aircraft platform for Special Forces
The Hill · July 2, 2020
I am sure I will be taken to task by the purists as the title says "special forces" but the article is talking about all special operations forces. As everyone knows there is only one Special Forces (AKA Green Berets) in the US. But editors, scholars, and journalists use the generic "special forces" to describe what the US calls special operations forces. We can tilt at windmills or scream into the wind to try to change people's minds, but the journalist and academic community are not going to subscribe to what they consider a nuanced view of Special Forces and Special Operations Force that they feel will waste words and distract readers from the message (as I have distracted the reader here from reading this important article).
6. U.S. Steps up Military Training in Japan
english.chosun.com July 03, 2020
Another use of the term special forces to describe Air Force and Navy special operations forces in this article.
Note the comment from the former Korean military attaché to Japan, [the US and Japan] "conducted joint drills with the U.S. military for a total of 406 days of last year, up more than 40 percent from 2016." Since this is a Korean publication it goes on to note the cancellation of major Korean and US training exercises this year.
7. Renewing America's Commitment to the Indo-Pacific
thediplomat.com · Jim Inhofe and Cory Gardner · July 2, 2020
Some members of Congress are trying to support a real Asian Pivot. I guess a new acronym, PDI, will have to become ingrained in the lexicon.
8. What Poland wants when it comes to US troops
atlanticcouncil.org · Teri Schultz· July 2, 2020
Deterrence and Defense? (and not caught between the US and Germany)
9. Germany to Shake Up Special-Forces Unit Harboring Far-Right Militants
WSJ · Bojan Pancevski · July 1, 2020
(Another example of the use of "Special Forces" this time with a hyphen).
The reason is significant - ties to right wing neo-Nazi extremism.
10. Forgetting Counterinsurgency, Again: Lessons from Reconstruction and Operation Iraqi Freedom
mwi.usma.edu · by Alexandre Caillot · July 2, 2020
There are good lessons and bad lessons. We must learn them all and never forget. Remember when all COIN doctrine was purged from Army schools in 1975 when we said we will never fight another war like Vietnam again?
Note the reference to Michael Noonan's forthcoming book. I was one the reviewers of his manuscript and it will be a mist read when it is published.
11. Crafting Strategy for Irregular Warfare: A Framework for Analysis and Action
ndupress.ndu.edu David H. Ucko and Thomas A. Marks July 2, 2020
The 73 page strategic monograph can be downloaded here:
David Ucko and Thomas Marks will not let us forget Irregular Warfare.
12. HASC Passes NDAA 56-0: 'Yet Hope Remains, While The Company Is True'
breakingdefense.com · by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. and Paul McLeary · July 02, 2020
13. China urges certain countries to stop using human rights to meddle in others' domestic affairs
Or the Chinese Communist Party could stop abusing the human rights of its citizens.
14. Taiwan to re-open consulate on strategically-located U.S. island of Guam
Reuters · by Ben Blanchard · July 3, 2020
The CCP will not be happy about this.
15. The Week America Lost Control of the Pandemic
The Atlantic · by Robinson Meyer · July 2, 2020
This will be interpreted politically and upset many.
16. The 2020 War on the Rocks Summer Fiction Reading List
warontherocks.com · by WOTR Staff · July 3, 2020
My two recommendations are below (and of course both on Korea).
------------------
"Nothing is more wonderful than the art of being free, but nothing is harder to learn how to use than freedom."
- Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
- Alvin Toffler
From 1776 (On writing the Declaration of Independence)
John Dickinson: Mr. Jefferson, are you seriously suggesting that we publish a paper declaring to all the world that an illegal rebellion is, in reality, a legal one?
Dr. Benjamin Franklin: Oh, Mr. Dickinson, I'm surprised at you. You should know that rebellion is always legal in the first person, such as "our rebellion." It is only in the third person - "their rebellion" - that it is illegal.