News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Move Over, G7-We're Going to Get the "Democratic Ten" Now
2. Top US diplomat calls UN rights body 'a haven for dictators'
3. Push to purge Confederate names gets minimal traction around Fort Hood, but military is paying attention
4. Some Facebook groups created to protest lockdowns are now hotbeds for misinformation
5. A Conspiracy Made in America May Have Been Spread by Russia
6. Mission Failed: 5 Times U.S. Special Forces Couldn't Get The Job Done
7. 'Coronavirus cases in China were 37 times higher than reported in January'
8. How China Stole Its Way To Superpower Military Status (Thanks to Russia and America)
9. Japan Needs to Reconsider Its Decision to Suspend Its Aegis Ashore Deployments
10. China's 'open assault' on the West - China cyber attacks: Beijing's misinformation war against Australia
11. An Unlimited Attack on Limited War Draws a Counterattack on Theory
12. What American Cops Can Learn From the End of South Africa's Apartheid Policing
13. How America's Wars in Asia Militarized the Police at Home
14. Riots, Political Subversion, and the Communist Agitator's Playbook: A Lesson From History
15. There's Nothing Exceptional About Any Country
16. COVID-19 Air Traffic Visualization: COVID-19 Cases in China Were Likely 37 Times Higher Than Reported in January 2020
1. Move Over, G7-We're Going to Get the "Democratic Ten" Now
The National Interest · by James Rogers · June 20, 2020
The "D10." Let's commit this to our lexicon. It appears we are going to lining up with the open societies versus closed societies or authoritarian regimes versus democratic nations. This is my visualization. Per our NSS and NDS we have two revisionist powers (China and Russia) and two rogue powers (Iran and north Korea) and violent extremist organizations. All five are threats to democractic nations and the global order.
2. Top US diplomat calls UN rights body 'a haven for dictators'
The Washington Post · by Associated Press
3. Push to purge Confederate names gets minimal traction around Fort Hood, but military is paying attention
expressnews.com · June 20, 2020
4. Some Facebook groups created to protest lockdowns are now hotbeds for misinformation
CNN · by Brian Fung, CNN Business
I do not think you need to be a member of these groups to see the misinformation about the coronavirus. I see it all the time on Facebook.
5. A Conspiracy Made in America May Have Been Spread by Russia
The New York Times · by Nicole Perlroth · June 15, 2020
There should be no doubt in any of our minds that the Russians (and others) are trying to undermine our election process especially through active measures and disinformation. It is up to us as citizens to defend ourselves.
We should heed these words from our National Security Strategy.
6. Mission Failed: 5 Times U.S. Special Forces Couldn't Get The Job Done
The National Interest · by Robert Farley · June 21, 2020
Professor Farley reviews Mark Moyer's new book. Mark has written a number of books on the Intelligence and SOF community and military operations:
https://maxoki161.blogspot.com/2014/03/20-characteristics-of-special.html
Phoenix and the Birds of Prey: The CIA's Secret Campaign to Destroy the Viet Cong (1997) ISBN 1-55750-593-4
Republished in 2007 as Phoenix and the Birds of Prey: Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism in Vietnam with a foreword by Harry Summers and a new preface and chapter; ISBN 0-8032-1602-5
Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 (2006) ISBN 0-521-86911-0
A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq (2009) ISBN 0-300-15276-0
Strategic Failure: How President Obama's Drone Warfare, Defense Cuts, and Military Amateurism Have Imperiled America (2015) ISBN 1-4767-1324-3
Aid for Elites: Building Partner Nations and Ending Poverty through Human Capital (2016) ISBN 978-1-107-12548-3
Oppose Any Foe: The Rise of America's Special Operations Forces (2017) ISBN 978-0465053933
When reading about these failures (and any SOF operations) I recommend referring to the late LTG Sam Wilson's Characteristics of Special Operations, Principles of Special Operations, and Special Operations Planning Suggestions at this link.
https://maxoki161.blogspot.com/2014/03/20-characteristics-of-special.html
7. 'Coronavirus cases in China were 37 times higher than reported in January'
Livemint · June 21, 2020
8. How China Stole Its Way To Superpower Military Status (Thanks to Russia and America)
The National Interest · by Robert Farley · June 20, 2020
As one of my war college students said a decade ago, Chinese R&D is based on the method of "steal to leap ahead."
9. Japan Needs to Reconsider Its Decision to Suspend Its Aegis Ashore Deployments
realcleardefense.com · by Dan Gouré
But as we have read, Japanese domestic politics will trump this system.
10. China's 'open assault' on the West - China cyber attacks: Beijing's misinformation war against Australia
news.com.au · Jamie Seidel June 21, 2020
Political warfare with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese Three Warfares: Psychological Warfare, Legal Warfare (Lawfare), and Media (or Public Opinion) Warfare.
I had to beat the horse even more dead but again the words in our NSS apply to more than just American but rather to all democratic countries and their populations:
"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation." (Page 14)
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf
11. An Unlimited Attack on Limited War Draws a Counterattack on Theory
realcleardefense.com · by Patrick Brady
I am reminded of some quotes on limited war.
"The utility of military power is limited only when the aims are limited, as they are now. When the aims, and potential consequences, of military action go up, so does the utility of military power." James Greer, COL, Ret former Director of SAMS
"It's limited war for Americans, and total war for those fighting Americans. The United States has more power; its foes have more willpower."
- Dominic Tierney
"In limited war, applying technological band-aids to political vagueness and uncertainty. In total war, applying annihilating force to both economize and punish."
- Dean Cheng, September 21, 2013
"You will kill ten of our men, and we will kill one of yours, and in the end it will be you who tires of it".
- Ho Chi Minh (1969)
12. What American Cops Can Learn From the End of South Africa's Apartheid Policing
Daily Beast · Susan Collin Marks· June 21, 2020
Interesting insights. The key point is political will. And pressure must come from the bottom up and not top down.
The old system of apartheid had broken down, a new system had not yet been born, and the country was trying to navigate the vacuum in between.
13. How America's Wars in Asia Militarized the Police at Home
thediplomat.com · by Alireza Ahmadi· June 18, 2020
Interesting thesis. I had not thought about the current situation in this way.
14. Riots, Political Subversion, and the Communist Agitator's Playbook: A Lesson From History
spectator.org · by Larry Alex Taunton
So much to learn from the Communists. Surprisingly this article focuses on the Korean War and the north Korean prisoners on Koje island and the negotiations at Panmunjom. An interesting read.
As an aside my basic reading list includes these publications:
In addition to Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, ARIS, Mao, The USMC Small Wars Manual, Sam Sarkesian, Jack McKuen, and Military and Civilian Reading Lists:
Ted Gurr - Why Men Rebel, 1970
Eric Hoffer - The True Believer, 1951 (23d ed., 2002)
Crane Brinton - Anatomy of a Revolution, 1965
Anna Simons - "21st Century Cultures of War: Advantage Them," (FPRI, April 1013)
Montgomery McFate - Military Anthropology: Soldiers, Scholars, and Subjects the Margins of Empire (2018)
China's Unrestricted Warfare (1999)
Gene Sharp - From Dictatorship to Democracy, 2002
Saul Alinksy - Rules for Radicals, 1971
15. There's Nothing Exceptional About Any Country
Bloomberg · by Andreas Kluth · June 20, 2020
I would push back a little on this. I do not say this with any intentional hubris but de Toqueville described why American was exceptional (geography, natural resources, security from two oceans, and the rugged individualism of Americans - but this combination is accidental and not found anywhere else). But what makes America exceptional is that it is the only country founded on an idea and ideals. That is exceptional but it should be viewed in an arrogant way. The author is right, all countries are exceptional in that they have their unique characteristics. Every country is unique is its own way. The problem with exceptionalism is when it is applied in the context of my country is superior to yours when instead we should be respectful of each country's exceptionalism while proud of our own and we should focus on protecting values rather than projecting (though we do believe in universal human rights and should always come down on the side of political and economic freedom for all without imposing our unique system).
16. COVID-19 Air Traffic Visualization: COVID-19 Cases in China Were Likely 37 Times Higher Than Reported in January 2020
Rand Corporation by Christopher A. Mouton, Russell Hanson, Adam R. Grissom, John P. Godges
A new RAND study. Interesting graphic.
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"A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
- James Madison, from a letter to W.T. Barry, August 4, 1822
"If in taking a native den one thinks chiefly of the market that he will establish there on the morrow, one does not take it in the ordinary way."
- Lyautey: The Colonial Role of the Army, Revue Des Deux Mondes, 15 February 1900
"In a national insurrection the center of gravity to be destroyed lies in the person of the chief leader and in public opinion; against these points the blow must be directed."
- Clausewitz, 1833.The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-century Land Warfare: An Illustrated World View By Byron Farwell, page 424.