News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Will the United States Really Go to Zero Troops in Afghanistan?
2. Top Voice of America officials resign after confirmation of Trump appointee
3. Chinese Propaganda Outlet Has Paid US Newspapers $19 Million for Advertising, Printing
4. U.S. National Pride Falls to Record Low
5. Japan halts deployment of Aegis Ashore missile defence system
6. Playing hardball with China works – the west is right to move to a ‘constrainment’ strategy
7. Was the Coronavirus Outbreak an Intelligence Failure?
8. Latest Pentagon official overseeing special operations leaving as musical chairs continue
9. China Is Condemning Racism in the US. Here’s Why Its Brand of Propaganda Is Problematic.
10. VOA to be run by Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Trump CEO pick Michael Pack, so two top VOA directors just quit
11. Taiwan jets 'drive away' intruding Chinese fighter plane, third intrusion in days
12. Three Directions and a Warning for U.S. Army Base Re-Naming Initiatives
13. A reprieve for the US–Philippines military alliance
14. Balance with the Political End State: Case Studies from Korea and Vietnam
15. Pompeo to Meet His Chinese Counterpart in Hawaii for Talks
16. Why America's V-22 Osprey Just Keeps Getting Better
1. Will the United States Really Go to Zero Troops in Afghanistan?
lawfareblog.com · by Jonathan Schroden · June 15, 2020
Is that where we are going? To zero?
2. Top Voice of America officials resign after confirmation of Trump appointee
Axios · by Jacob Knutson
I do not have all the politics behind these moves. But I want to say that Voice of America (and Radio Free Asia, et al) is a national treasure. The journalists are some of the best in the world who are trying to ensure the free flow of information and news into denied areas where authoritarian regimes violate one of the very basic human rights, access to the truth and news from around the world. Please keep partisan politics away from VOA, RFA, et al.
3. Chinese Propaganda Outlet Has Paid US Newspapers $19 Million for Advertising, Printing
dailysignal.com · by Chuck Ross · June 15, 2020
Our free and open society. I have no problem with this as long as we are exposing the CCP strategy and we inform our fellow American as to what they are seeing and why. We can take their money and print their papers. Think of the service they provide by providing newspapers for their dogs' and cats' litter boxes.
4. U.S. National Pride Falls to Record Low
news.gallup.com · by Gallup, Inc. · June 15, 2020
It saddens me to read this but I guess we should not be surprised.
5. Japan halts deployment of Aegis Ashore missile defence system
Did this catch us by surprise? I will leave it to the missile defense experts to assess this decision. Certainly North Korea is happy about this.
6. Playing hardball with China works – the west is right to move to a ‘constrainment’ strategy
hongkongfp.com · by Andreas Fulda, The Conversation · June 16, 2020
"Constrainment." An interesting word. Since it was introduced in the 1990's I guess it did not catch on. I don't recall seeing it used in the last two decades. The author argues that constrainment against an authoritarian regime may appear hard but he says it is more than a theoretical possibility and he provides some examples to illustrate it.
7. Was the Coronavirus Outbreak an Intelligence Failure?
defenseone.com · by Erik J. Dahl, The Conversation
We love to blame everything on intelligence failures. (It is amazing that anyone would want to go into the intelligence community since they receive only blame and their successes go unheralded). Usually it is not an intelligence failure but a leadership and operational failure. And if we do not learn from the coronavirus outbreak it will be a continued leadership failure.
8. Latest Pentagon official overseeing special operations leaving as musical chairs continue
taskandpurpose.com · by Jeff Schogol
Note Chris Miller was nominated for the Director of NCTC in March. On the surface it appears we are gutting our civilian special operations staff and oversight capabilities.
9. China Is Condemning Racism in the US. Here’s Why Its Brand of Propaganda Is Problematic.
Vice · June 16, 2020
Yes in the US we have racial problems including institutional racism. But we admit our problems and we take corrective action. We admit that America is still an experiment. We continue to strive to form a more perfect union. But what makes us different than China or any authoritarian is that we admit our mistakes and take corrective action. The response to Chinese propaganda should be to say yes we have problems and we are working to become our better selves. However, China viciously continues to daily suppress freedom and human rights against minority groups in their borders.
10. VOA to be run by Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Trump CEO pick Michael Pack, so two top VOA directors just quit and Sebastian Gorka Being Considered for Leadership Position at Voice of America
Boing Boing · by Xeni Jardin · June 15, 2020
The Daily Beast · by Madeline Charbonneau · June 15, 2020
Clickbait headlines for the 2 articles. Is this fake news? (though I know it is a fact the VOA's director and assistant director have resigned).
11. Taiwan jets 'drive away' intruding Chinese fighter plane, third intrusion in days
Tensions rising? Beijing becoming bolder? Perhaps we ought to deploy some F-35s to conduct some combined training with the Taiwanese air force. That would send a message.
12. Three Directions and a Warning for U.S. Army Base
realcleardefense.com · by Chad Storlie · June 16, 2020
For those who do not want to rename the installations in the name of preserving history, perhaps we should consider this proposal. This would be my recommendation: With the name of each installation we should include this history. "This installation was named during the Jim Crow era some 45-75 years after the Civil War. It is the result of subversive actions by those who sought to subtly perpetuate the ideals of the Confederacy. The US government allowed these names so that it could establish military installations in these states and locations. These names are a reminder that there are those who tried to prevent equal rights for all Americans many decades after the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments." This is the history that is being defended when the argument is made to keep the names so we do not "erase history." These bases were not given these names to honor these Confederate generals but solely as an act of subversion to perpetuate ideals that are contrary to our trying to form a more perfect union.
13. A reprieve for the US–Philippines military alliance
aspistrategist.org.au · by Malcolm Cook · June 16, 2020
Do not give up the high ground. We may need this alliance in the future. But given current domestic politics in the Philippines our alliance will always remain on shaky footing.
14. Balance with the Political End State: Case Studies from Korea and Vietnam
thestrategybridge.org · Paul K. Wyatt Jr. · June 16, 2020
We must seek and try to achieve balance and coherency of ends, ways, and means. We need to continuous assessment of the conditions and constantly challenge our assumptions. If our assumptions prove erroneous we must adjust our end state and rebalance our ends, ways, and means. I am also an advocate of LTG James Dubik's idea of considering replacing the end state with identifying the acceptable, durable, political arrangement that will project, sustain, and advance US interests.
15. Pompeo to Meet His Chinese Counterpart in Hawaii for Talks
Bloomberg · by Nick Wadhams · June 15, 2020
I hope the coronavirus threat is low in Hawaii. It will be interesting to learn what is on the agenda but as noted secrecy surrounds the meeting.
16. Why America's V-22 Osprey Just Keeps Getting Better
The National Interest · by Kris Osborn · June 15, 2020
I regret I never was able to ride in a CV-22 when I was on active duty. I have to admit that I was always skeptical about this aircraft but it seems to have come into its own.
------
“A healthy and fully functioning society must allocate its resources among a variety of competing interests, all of which are more or less valid but none of which should take precedence over national security."
- Herman Kahn
"Despite unprecedented levels of technological advancement and the interconnectedness of the world, the pursuit of truth in the realms of foreign policy and national security remains a critical issue. This is because the level of 'noise' that must be sifted through has also reached an unprecedented size and scope."
- Will Hurd
"If [people] cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
- George Orwell