News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Opinion | Biden Ditches the Generals, Finally
2. Montenegro mortgaged itself to China. Now it wants Europe’s help to cut it free.
3. President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Eight Key Administration Leaders
4. Biden Rebuffed Commanders’ Advice in Decision to Leave Afghanistan
5. Xinhua Commentary: U.S., Japan should stop colluding against China
6. A 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack: The Untold Story Of The SolarWinds Hack
7. FDD | America’s mission in Afghanistan isn’t accomplished
8. On foreign policy decisions, Biden faces drag of pragmatism
9. “I Felt Hate More Than Anything”: How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War
10. Teacher in America's wealthiest county blasts Critical Race Theory
11. Biden’s Afghan Pullout Is Risky Politics and Geopolitics
12. Biden's blinking red lights: Taiwan, Ukraine and Iran
13. Afghanistan withdrawal will likely dismantle a CIA intelligence network built up over 20 years
14. West Point cadets expelled over worst cheating scandal in 40 years
1. Opinion | Biden Ditches the Generals, Finally
The New York Times · by Maureen Dowd · April 17, 2021
Is it is civil-military relations crisis when the president makes a decision that goes against the general's advice?
2. Montenegro mortgaged itself to China. Now it wants Europe’s help to cut it free.
The Washington Post · by Michael Birnbaum · April 17, 2021
Chinese debt trap diplomacy.
3. President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Eight Key Administration Leaders
Officer of the President · April 16, 2021 · Statements and Releases
4. Biden Rebuffed Commanders’ Advice in Decision to Leave Afghanistan
WSJ · by Michael R. Gordon, Gordon Lubold and Vivian Salama
Perhaps this was the reason President Biden did not select Ms. Flournoy as the SECDEF (though I think she will likely be Secretary Austin's successor).
Excerpt: “I totally understand and support the notion that U.S. involvement in this war has to end at some point,” said Michele Flournoy, who served as a senior Defense official under Mr. Obama and was a candidate to serve as defense secretary for Mr. Biden. “But we are in a position where our forces are like the boy with the finger in the dyke, and when we remove that finger I think that the flood is going to come.”
“My worry is that civil war will heat up again. You’ll see a lot of Afghan deaths and persecution of women,” she added.
5. Xinhua Commentary: U.S., Japan should stop colluding against China
Colluding. I wonder why they chose that word?
Excerpts: “Also, the U.S.-Japan alliance is misjudging the international situation. In the age of globalization, the two governments still appear stuck in an outdated Cold-War mentality. Their audacious attempt to incite confrontation and form an anti-China bloc runs counter to the worldwide aspiration for peace, development and cooperation.
China, a staunch force to uphold peace in the region and the world, pursues friendship and partnership with its neighbors and seeks to bring amity, security and common prosperity to the region.
As regards the normal development of U.S.-Japan relations, China has no intention to comment on it, but the United States and Japan should not underestimate China's determination and resolve to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests.
6. A 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack: The Untold Story Of The SolarWinds Hack
NPR · by Dina Temple-Raston · April 16, 2021
Excerpts: “A federal review might help with one of the issues that has plagued cyberspace up to now: how to ensure software and hardware vendors disclose hacks when they discover them. Could a review board take the sting out of the reputation damage of admitting publicly you've been hacked? Would it give companies like Volexity and Palo Alto Networks somewhere to go when they see a problem?
Ultimately, the goal is to connect the dots and respond in a way that makes us safer. And the impetus for all of this might be that tainted routine update. That's one of the key reasons SolarWinds decided to go public, Ramakrishna said.
"We went out and published the entire source code because what we wanted people to do, no matter the vendor, whether it could be a competitor of ours or not, is to check your software, make sure you don't have a situation like this, and if there is, clean it up," he said. "So while it was unfortunate that we were the subject of this attack, my hope is, by us learning from it, we can also help the broader community."
Even so, there are parts of this story that may sound familiar: missed opportunities, hints of a problem that were ignored, the failure of U.S. intelligence officials to connect the dots. Who would have thought a routine software update could launch a cyberattack of epic proportions?
"This was an intelligence collection operation meant to steal information and it's not the last time that's going to happen," Adam Meyers warned. "This is going to happen every day. ... And I think there's a lot that we all need to do to work together to stop this from happening."
7. FDD | America’s mission in Afghanistan isn’t accomplished
fdd.org · by Bradley Bowman · April 17, 2021
Excerpts: “Americans should understand that there is a real risk that civil war could erupt once the U.S.-led coalition withdraws, and we could eventually see a Taliban-controlled, al-Qaeda-influenced country bordering nuclear-armed Pakistan.
These threats won’t just go away once we leave. Rather than looking for the exits, then, the prudent course would be to view a modest U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, with troop levels roughly comparable to the coalition presence there now, as part of America’s enduring global military posture, a manageable investment in American security. To put it in perspective, U.S. strength in Afghanistan today is around 10 percent of the U.S. force stationed in South Korea.
Clearly, we must always ensure our troops have what they need to defend themselves and carry out their mission. And we certainly shouldn’t keep our service members in harm’s way a day longer than America’s interests require. Every military casualty is a tragedy, as is every death here at home from a terrorist attack. But given the continued threats in Afghanistan and the benefits of retaining a modest force there, the burden of proof rests with anyone — including members of Congress and the president — making the case to the American public that we can safely withdraw in September.
8. On foreign policy decisions, Biden faces drag of pragmatism
AP · by Aamer Madhani · April 17, 2021
And pragmatism is a bad thing?
Excerpt: "Yet, as this past week has shown, Biden is finding that when it comes to the painstaking process of statecraft, the drag of pragmatism can slow the sprint toward big-picture aspirations."
9. “I Felt Hate More Than Anything”: How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War
ProPublica · by Gisela Pérez de Acha, Kathryn Hurd, Ellie Lightfoot
Excerpts: “Over two hours of interviews, Carrillo himself did not attribute any of his actions to mental illness. Instead, he forthrightly proclaimed his support for the Boogaloo Bois and repeatedly challenged what he views as misconceptions about the group.
“I just want to say, the Boogaloo movement, you know, there’s a lot in the paper that I feel like people don’t understand,” he said. “And that is the Boogaloo movement, it’s all inclusive. It includes everyone. It’s not a thing about race. It’s about people that love freedom, liberty, and they’re unhappy with the level of control that the government takes over our lives. So it’s just a movement, it’s a thought about freedom. It’s just a complete love for freedom.”
Meanwhile, as Carrillo sits in jail awaiting trial, his political evolution continues. In a letter he wrote to reporters in October, he referred to Joe Biden as a man who “sniffs kids,” echoing QAnon, a pro-Trump conspiracy theory that falsely accuses the Democratic Party of running a Satan-worshipping child sex-trafficking ring.
Carrillo’s defense lawyers declined to comment.
Amaya continues to stand by Carrillo. “I know him, and I think he can change,” she said.
On Christmas Day the couple exchanged vows through a video call from the Santa Rita Jail. “I love your lips, baby,” Carrillo told her.
She promised to love him “forever and always.”
10. Teacher in America's wealthiest county blasts Critical Race Theory
Daily Mail · by Andrew Court · April 17, 2021
11. Biden’s Afghan Pullout Is Risky Politics and Geopolitics
Bloomberg · by Hal Brands · April 18, 2021
The subtitle is an interesting question: "Are Americans so sick of the "forever wars" that they will put up with a resurgent terrorist threat?" I guess only time will tell.
12. Biden's blinking red lights: Taiwan, Ukraine and Iran
Axios · by Dave Lawler
Excerpt: What to watch: Just about all that’s missing from this cocktail of crises is another North Korean missile test.
13. Afghanistan withdrawal will likely dismantle a CIA intelligence network built up over 20 years
CNN · by Zachary Cohen, Katie Bo Williams and Barbara Starr
I have to believe that we know how to adapt this network and protect it and continue to exploit it. We cannot allow intelligence to be dependent on a military presence. That said, our military presence is a double edged sword. It provides opportunities for aggressive intelligence operations. On the other hand, we developed networks and conducted operations that became dependent on the military presence.
14. West Point cadets expelled over worst cheating scandal in 40 years
CBS News · by Eleanor Watson
Again, this is so troubling.
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"The mind is everything. What you think you become."
- Buddha
"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."
- Amelia Earhart