News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. How the US Can Prevent the Next 'Cyber 9/11'
2. Pentagon chief expresses concern to Chinese counterpart about Beijing's activity in South China
3. Ongoing Defense Department Reforms Align With National Defense Strategy
4. NSA Releases Guidance on Limiting Location Data Exposure
5. America should learn from Australia on China, says key US Congressman
6. SOLIC Nominee Faces Questions On Khashoggi Killing, Social Media Posts
7. After The F-35's Success, The Army Wants Uniforms That Are Invisible To Radar
8. A Mix of Optimism and Pessimism for Security of the 2020 Election
9. US mulls moving troops from Germany to Romania, Baltics and Poland, Esper says
10. US special ops orders inflatable satellite antennas
11. NYT Quietly Scrubs Chinese Propaganda
12. Locsin, Pompeo discuss US policy shift in South China Sea
13. US-China relations: Trump administration’s Chinese advisers could create more uncertainty, observers say
14. An Overview of the Risks and Opportunities Faced by Hong Kong’s "International Front Line" by Joshua Wong and X
15. Trump advisers hesitated to give military options and warned adversaries over fears he might start a war
16. New York Attorney General Moves To Dissolve The NRA After Fraud Investigation
17. This is What Democracy Looks Like
18. The intriguing military origins of the term 'special operator'
19. Apparently The Captain Of The Navy's 6th Fleet Flagship Pulls Security Duty
1. How the US Can Prevent the Next 'Cyber 9/11'
Wired · by Justin Sherman
We should not consider "Cyber 9-11" hyperbole.
2. Pentagon chief expresses concern to Chinese counterpart about Beijing's activity in South China
Reuters · by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart · August 6, 2020
Talking and engagement is good. (and tough, frank, and blunt talk is necessary)
3. Ongoing Defense Department Reforms Align With National Defense Strategy
Despite POTUS rhetoric we must assure our allies that the force posture reviews we are conducting should be viewed through the lens of optimizing that posture to support our National defense strategy.
4. NSA Releases Guidance on Limiting Location Data Exposure
The two documents can be accessed at these links:
Privacy and Mobile Device Apps
We need a whole of society approach to cyber civil defense and cyber hygiene. We all must consider it our civic duty to protect the networks we belong to.
5. America should learn from Australia on China, says key US Congressman
The Age · by Farrah Tomazin · August 6, 2020
We should be willing to learn and apply lessons from anyone or any nation.
6. SOLIC Nominee Faces Questions On Khashoggi Killing, Social Media Posts
breakingdefense.com · by Paul McLeary
I watched the hearing and especially the exchanges on this topic. It did not look good for him. I was surprised there were no comments about the importance of the Leahy Amendment and human rights vetting and how important that is for SOF engagements and training. I thought for sure a Senator would draw that parallel. I wonder if this is going to cause some Senators to rethink their support.
As an aside, I have never heard the "SOF enterprise" used so many times in one briefing or hearing. The constant reference to it was distracting and frankly in my opinion does not sound good. I guess it is a modern buzz phrase but it sounds too much like business. But that is just me. I guess this is the way to refer to the special operations command and the special operations community.
7. After The F-35's Success, The Army Wants Uniforms That Are Invisible To Radar
The National Interest · by Michael Peck · August 6, 2020
8. A Mix of Optimism and Pessimism for Security of the 2020 Election
darkreading.com· by Kelly Jackson Higgins · August 6, 2020
We need more optimism and less pessimism.
9. US mulls moving troops from Germany to Romania, Baltics and Poland, Esper says
Stars and Stripes · by John Vandiver · August 6, 2020
10. US special ops orders inflatable satellite antennas
c4isrnet.com · by Nathan Strout · August 6, 2020
"Be advised: the H-250 microphone is not inflatable" (I had a commander who used to say that on the radio every time someone keyed the mike and blew into it before than transmitted anything)
11. NYT Quietly Scrubs Chinese Propaganda
freebeacon.com · by Yuichiro Kakutani · August 4, 2020
Hmmm....
12. Locsin, Pompeo discuss US policy shift in South China Sea
philstar.com · by Patricia Lourdes Viray· August 4, 2020
13. US-China relations: Trump administration’s Chinese advisers could create more uncertainty, observers say
SCMP · by Jun Mai · August 7, 2020
14. An Overview of the Risks and Opportunities Faced by Hong Kong’s "International Front Line" by Joshua Wong and X
cpreview.org· by Joshua Wong and X · August 6, 2020
15. Trump advisers hesitated to give military options and warned adversaries over fears he might start a war
CNN · by Jim Sciutto
Another bombshell book? Note the discussion on Korea.
16. New York Attorney General Moves To Dissolve The NRA After Fraud Investigation
NPR · by Tim Mak · August 6, 2020
I saw some comments on social media that this is the beginning of the end of the second amendment. If that is the case we have some real problems if we are dependent on this kind of an organization to protect a Constitutional right.
17. This is What Democracy Looks Like
bushcenter.org · Nicole Bibbins Sedaca
I am sure this will turn off many. But I concur with Professor Bibbens Sedaca. Protests are part of American history and I would say our culture. It is a fundamental part of democracy. We might not like what some stand for and we certainly do not like the violence, nor should we condone it. But the larger issue is the importance of being able to assemble and air grievances against the government. And of course, the way to stop protests is not to crack heads but to take the grievances seriously and address them.
18. The intriguing military origins of the term 'special operator'
Business Insider · by Stavros Atlamazoglou
Like most everything in special operations it started with Special Forces.
19. Apparently The Captain Of The Navy's 6th Fleet Flagship Pulls Security Duty
thedrive.com · by Tyler Rogoway · August 4, 2020
Here is a Captain leading the way. And he has a very impressive resume. It is amazing the jobs, qualifications and schools he has. He has to be among the most elite in the Navy. And to pull watch like his sailors while symbolic is a testament to leadership adage you have to be willing to do anything you ask of your men/women.
Bravo Zulu.
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"The first great center of area studies in the United States was not located in any university, but in Washington,"
-McGeorge Bundy, onetime dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and then president of the Ford Foundation, observed in 1964. The OSS, he said, was "a remarkable institution, half cops-and-robbers and half faculty meeting."
"Where there is power, there is resistance."
- Michel Foucault
"It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end."
- Leonardo da Vinci
"What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic."
- Carl Sagan