News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Colin Powell Still Wants Answers
2. More Than Just a Fire: The Implications of the Bonhomme Richard Catastrophe
3. Behind the recovery, China's economy is wobbling
4. The case for robust defense spending Rep. Rob Wittman
5. The US Navy is making South China Sea memes as its warships anger China and challenge its sweeping claims
6. US-Backed 'Backbone of Internet Freedom' Entity Faces Possible Disruption
7. Military leaders pressure Esper to ban Confederate flag
8. Pentagon mulling plan to ban Confederate flag without mentioning it by name: report
9. FDD | The World's Most Dangerous Alliance
10. Marine Corps quietly cuts ties with former top Tucker Carlson writer after racist and sexist posts surface
11. Fears Dominic Cummings will axe Parachute Regiment to have more cyber funding
12. Pentagon finally releases Marine Special Operations document that reveals leadership cover ups
13. The World's Most Technologically Sophisticated Genocide Is Happening in Xinjiang
14. World splitting into pro and anti-Huawei camps
15. Russia's Attempted Vaccine Hack Suggests Research - and a Putin's Grand Plan - Has Stalled
16. Army, New York medical teams giving Houston a helping hand during pandemic
17. The Renewed Dependency on Mercenary Fighters
18. Opinion | There's no sign the U.S. is leaving the Middle East soon. And that's a good thing.
19. Celebrities hail 6-year-old as a hero after aunt says he saved his sister from a dog attack
1. Colin Powell Still Wants Answers
The New York Times · by Robert Draper · July 16, 2020
Not our finest hour perhaps. The decision to go to Iraq is going to haunt us for a long time.
2. More Than Just a Fire: The Implications of the Bonhomme Richard Catastrophe
warontherocks.com · by Bryan McGrath · July 16, 2020
A key [point from Byran McGrath: "While navalists tend to judge navies by the number of ships that comprise them, the plain truth is that not all ships are created equal. The loss of some ships is much worse than others" I am not a navalist but it seems but the title is obvious to me: there are a lot of "implications" and I think none of them are good. Byran lays out many here.
3. Behind the recovery, China's economy is wobbling
Financial Times · by Jamil Anderlini · July 16, 2020
Something to consider.
4. The case for robust defense spending Rep. Rob Wittman
Defense News · by Rep. Rob Wittman · July 16, 2020
The Armed Services Committee members must be making their cases.
5. The US Navy is making South China Sea memes as its warships anger China and challenge its sweeping claims
Business Insider · by Ryan Pickrell
See more of the memes at the link.
However, while we either laugh this off or denounce this, we should consider what are the potential influence effects on various target audiences. Sometimes our best "PSYOP" comes from the rank and file non-PSYOP professionals. Sometimes rather than "let slip the dogs of war" we should "turn loose the masters of memes."
6. US-Backed 'Backbone of Internet Freedom' Entity Faces Possible Disruption
voanews.com · by Michelle Quinn
Not good news here. This is or should be a critical capability for information and influence activities.
I also commend VOA for continuing to do their jobs and report the news even if it means reporting on the warts of its parent organization. I hope the journalists do not suffer any backlash. This is where the U.S. demonstrates support for freedom of the press - it funds media organizations that hold the government and its own organization accountable by providing the news.
7. Military leaders pressure Esper to ban Confederate flag
Politico· 16 July 2020
The SECDEF is in a tough spot. It will be interesting to see how he handles this in the coming months.
8. Pentagon mulling plan to ban Confederate flag without mentioning it by name: report
The Hill · by John Bowden · July 16, 2020
And here is an indication of how the SECDEF might be handling this. He is walking a tightrope.
9. FDD | The World's Most Dangerous Alliance
fdd.org · by Thomas Joscelyn Senior Fellow and Senior Editor of FDD's Long War Journal · July 15, 2020
Spoiler alert: China and Russia (or more specifically Xi-Putin)
10. Marine Corps quietly cuts ties with former top Tucker Carlson writer after racist and sexist posts surface
taskandpurpose.com · by Paul Szoldra
Wow. I wonder what were this 29 year old's qualifications to be a war gaming subject matter expert at the Marine War College.
11. Fears Dominic Cummings will axe Parachute Regiment to have more cyber funding
Mirror · by Phil Cardy · July 11, 2020
Why does the Parachute Regiment still exist? Time for the old arguments about the efficacy of airborne operations.
"When one commits one's self to an airborne craft and the door is fastened against earth and home, there is no escape even by running away. The result is a strange sense of peace - desperate, perhaps, but peace."
Pearl S. Buck
"When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears."
Philippe Halsman
For Mr. Cummings (of course his response will be Monte had an 90% success [failure] at Operation Market Garden (it was a bridge too far):
"What Manner Of Men Are These That Wear The Maroon Beret?
They are firstly all volunteers and are toughened by physical training. As a result they have infectious optimism and that offensive eagerness which comes from well-being. They have 'jumped' from the air and by doing so have conquered fear.
Their duty lies in the van of the battle. They are proud of this honour. They have the highest standards in all things whether it be skill in battle or smartness in the execution of all peace time duties. They are in fact - men apart - every man an emperor.
Of all the factors, which make for success in battle, the spirit of the warrior is the most decisive. That spirit will be found in full measure in the men who wear the maroon beret"
- Bernard Montgomery
12. Pentagon finally releases Marine Special Operations document that reveals leadership cover ups
sofrep.com · July 16, 2020
It will be interesting when (and if) the complete story is told.
13. The World's Most Technologically Sophisticated Genocide Is Happening in Xinjiang
Foreign Policy · by Yonah Diamond, Rayhan Asat · July 15, 2020
A terrible human tragedy inflicted on the Uighurs by the Chinese Communist Party.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
14. World splitting into pro and anti-Huawei camps
asiatimes.com · by Scott Foster · July 16, 2020
Really? Push the firm farther ahead? It seems like the free world is beginning to wake to the very real threat from Huawei.
15. Russia's Attempted Vaccine Hack Suggests Research - and a Putin's Grand Plan - Has Stalled
defenseone.com · by Patrick Tucker· July 17, 2020
This should not be unexpected. Either the attempted hack and theft or the Russian's inability to create a vaccine.
16. Army, New York medical teams giving Houston a helping hand during pandemic
armytimes.com · by Nomaan Merchant and Juan A. Lozano, The Associated Press · July 16, 2020
Yes I remember all the pundits saying how wrong we were to have deployed medical personnel and assets to New York and Los Angeles since they had so little to do. I am sure we will hear it again.
17. The Renewed Dependency on Mercenary Fighters
Spiegel · by Adam Asaad, Christoph Reuter, Maximilian Popp, Mirco Keilberth
I look forward to comments from Sean McFate and Chris Taylor.
18. Opinion | There's no sign the U.S. is leaving the Middle East soon. And that's a good thing.
Washington Post· by David Ignatius · July 16, 2020
I am sure there are those who want to push back on Ignatius. But I think he is right about this: "One reason it's so hard for the United States to leave this region is that there's always a new crisis."
19. Celebrities hail 6-year-old as a hero after aunt says he saved his sister from a dog attack
CBS News · by Caitlin O'Kane
What an incredible story. When they need a picture of selfless service they should put this 6 year old's photo. Go to the link here and view the photos. The last photo has his face all stitched up. Incredible heroism by this 6 year old.
----------------------
"Radical groups with distant goals could find comfort in an isolated purity, while those who tasted success saw the value of accommodating the views of others."
- Lawrence Freedman, Strategy: A History
"In Korea the Government forces, which were armed to prevent border raids and to preserve internal security, were attacked by invading forces from North Korea....The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war." -President Harry Truman
"Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy."
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War