News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Ahyoung Shin.
1. America is giving up on the Pandemic
2. WHO says pandemic 'far from over' as daily cases hit record high
3. Coronavirus spread by people with no symptoms 'appears to be rare,' WHO official says
4. How the Pentagon could cut forces in Germany, and which bases might be affected
5. Trump's troop cut in Germany blindsided senior U.S. officials
6. Observers skeptical over reports on planned US troop withdrawal from Germany
7. Exclusive: U.S. Navy test shows 60 percent of carrier crew have coronavirus antibodies
8. Radio Beijing (Tiananmen Protests): June 4, 1989
9. Novel coronavirus may have been spreading in China in August, Harvard research indicates
10. Hal Brands - China, US, India and the Landscape of the 21st Century
11. Gordon Chang: America must 'un-teach' years of 'bad lessons' to China
12. The Covert Art of China's Military Activity in the East China Sea
13. China reins in nationalists clamoring for an invasion of Taiwan
14. The rise of strategic corruption - How states weaponize graft
15. Senate panel says U.S. telecoms failed for decades to prevent Chinese spying
16. Army adjusts 'leader first' policy, plans to integrate women into last 9 brigade combat teams this year
17. Four areas SOCOM's chief information officer wants to modernize
18. Special Operations Command wants to upgrade its data analytics platform
19. The Principles of Resignation: A Primer
20. Netflix snags Space Force trademarks ahead of US military
1. America is giving up on the Pandemic
defenseone.com · by The Atlantic · June 8, 2020
It ain't over 'til it's over. We become complacent about or ignore this risk at our peril. As of this morning the US has 1,961,185 cases and suffered 111.007 deaths. (world wide 7,136,366 cases and 406,813 deaths).
2. WHO says pandemic 'far from over' as daily cases hit record high
Reuters · by Stephanie Nebehay, Emma Farge · June 9, 2020
Just saying.
3. Coronavirus spread by people with no symptoms 'appears to be rare,' WHO official says
CNN · by Jacqueline Howard · June 9, 2020
But I think those who are pre-symptomatic (who do not have symptoms but do develop the infection) are contagious versus those who are asymptomatic and then never develop the infection. But we cannot know whether someone is asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic unless the person is tested and then we can only know the status of that person's infection or no-infection at the time of the test. I believe this is why we need to continue measures to limit the transmission of the virus.
4. How the Pentagon could cut forces in Germany, and which bases might be affected
Stars and Stripes · by John Vandiver · June 8, 2020
This will be a complex challenge. Has anyone asked Congress for the funds to do this?
5. Trump's troop cut in Germany blindsided senior U.S. officials
Reuters · by Jonathan Landay, Andrea Shalal, Arshad Mohammed · June 9, 2020
Did we have contingency plans for this? Surely we must by now have known that this was likely to come based on the President's words over the past 3 1/2 years. Maybe we did not know the specific number but surely we have planned for this. The next question is have we planned for near simultaneous withdrawals from both Germany and Korea? What if POTUS directs withdrawal from both theaters by the end of the year? Can he get Congress to fund the withdrawals?
6. Observers skeptical over reports on planned US troop withdrawal from Germany
DW · by Deutsche Welle · June 8, 2020
I am sure anyone trying to slow roll this action will be dealt with severely. And these kinds of reports will only harden POTUS' resolve to get it done. Any chance of getting him to reverse this decision becomes unlikely with reports like these.
I imagine the bureaucracy might try to wait him out and see how the November elections turn out. And the issue will be this might be so logistically challenging that it might not be able to be accomplished by the end of the year so it will give the appearance that there are people who are trying to slow-roll, stymie, or reverse this action.
But the question is what forces (number and types) does the EUCOM commander need to accomplish his missions across the spectrum of contingencies and potential conflict?
7. Exclusive: U.S. Navy test shows 60 percent of carrier crew have coronavirus antibodies
Reuters · by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart · June 8, 2020
I will leave this to the medical professionals and scientists to evaluate but this seems like an incredible number. I suppose this is due to the close confines in which the crew lives and work. I wonder if this can be exploited somehow to develop solutions to the coronavirus problem.
8. Radio Beijing (Tiananmen Protests): June 4, 1989
shortwavearchive.com · by Tom Gavaras · May 17, 2020
You can listen to the English language broadcast at the link. The transcript is below.
9. Novel coronavirus may have been spreading in China in August, Harvard research indicates
Reuters · June 9, 2020
Of course, China is dismissive. Or perhaps lie, defy, and deny. Or admit nothing, deny everything, and make counter-accusations.
10. Hal Brands - China, US, India and the Landscape of the 21st Century
english.aawsat.com · by Hal Brands · June 9, 2020
A useful summary of the situation and conditions surrounding the US, India, and PRC relationship. Dr Brands offers some useful practical advice for American policy makers.
11. Gordon Chang: America must 'un-teach' years of 'bad lessons' to China
foxnews.com · by Julia Musto · May 28, 2020
The bottom line from Gordon.
12. The Covert Art of China's Military Activity in the East China Sea
The National Interest · by Michael Auslin · June 8, 2020
This is the key point from Michael Auslin. He provides a historical, theoretical, and geopolitical survey of China's actions.
13. China reins in nationalists clamoring for an invasion of Taiwan
Los Angeles Times · by David Pierson · June 9, 2020
Militant Nationalists? Aren't those the ones in the Chinese Communist Party?
14. The rise of strategic corruption - How states weaponize graft
Foreign Affairs · by Philip Zelikow, Eric Edelman, Kristofer Harrison, and Celeste Ward Gventer · June 9, 2020
The authors argue the weaponization of graft by states into an instrument of national power is a new phenomenon which has caused a shift in international politics. Now the fight against corruption can no longer be marginalized. hey introduce some new terms (new to me anyway): "Strategic corruption" and "grand corruption" and I think. we have already known about "bureaucratic corruption." In the end they argue the corruption scandal in Ukraine should reset the policy agenda and they call it a warning concluding that states are "vulnerable to a new form of political warfare, a strategy that takes advantage of freedoms in order to discredit them."
15. Senate panel says U.S. telecoms failed for decades to prevent Chinese spying
The Washington Post · by Joseph Marks
16. Army adjusts 'leader first' policy, plans to integrate women into last 9 brigade combat teams this year
armytimes.com · by Kyle Rempfer · June 8, 2020
In a year or so this will be old news and the new normal.
17. Four areas SOCOM's chief information officer wants to modernize
c4isrnet.com · by Andrew Eversden · June 8, 2020
The four areas:
A new software development platform
Improving data efficiency
Overcoming the talent shortage
COVID-19 changes
18. Special Operations Command wants to upgrade its data analytics platform
c4isrnet.com · by Andrew Eversden · June 9, 2020
19. The Principles of Resignation: A Primer
ausa.org · by Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik · June 6, 2020
Given the state of civil-military relations I think it is useful to read this "primer" from LTG Jim Dubik who is arguably one of the leader thinkers on ethics in the military.
20. Netflix snags Space Force trademarks ahead of US military
cnet.com · by Shelby Brown · June 8, 2020
I wonder if this issue will be parodied in a future episode of Space Force on Netflix. How would the writers do that? :-). The show irreverently parodies current events. I am sure it will figure out how to parody this.
What I want to know is if they get the rights to the name in the US and the show is a failure and is not renewed what will happen to the trademark? Although I find the show hilarious my daughter tells me it is not at all popular among Generation Z.
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