News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.
1. Pompeo Says Russia Was Behind Cyberattack on U.S.
2. Statement on Transition Activities by Acting Secretary of Defense Miller
3. Space Force Troops Get a Name: 'Guardians'
4. The Marines' Missile Imperative
5. Joe Biden will face an inbox of complex foreign policy problems from the start
6. Acting Secretary Accepts Inclusion Board's 15 Recommendations
7. Beijing Tests Joe Biden
8. International Criminal Court Will Not Take Further The Case Of The Uyghurs
9. U.S. Cyber Experts Scramble to Assess the Scope of the 'Hack of a Decade'
10. Hacked networks will need to be burned 'down to the ground'
11. Suspected Russian hack: Was it an epic cyber attack or spy operation?
12. What we know - and still don't - about the worst-ever US government cyber attack
13. Trump to CIA: Say Goodbye to Your War on Terror
14. Federal prosecutors accuse Zoom executive of working with Chinese government to surveil users and suppress video calls
15. Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus
16. Army leaders push back on Mike Flynn's call for the military to 're-run' the 2020 election
17. China-Based Executive at U.S. Telecommunications Company Charged with Disrupting Video Meetings Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre
18. China accused of planning to exploit undersea cable networks to spy on other countries, report says
19. Pentagon Memo Maps Out Plan to Expand Diversity in the Force
20. Mission impossible: The origins of Delta Force
1. Pompeo Says Russia Was Behind Cyberattack on U.S.
The New York Times · by David E. Sanger, Nicole Perloth, Eric Schmitt, and Julian Barnes · December 19, 2020
What are our options? (I ask that rhetorically of course, some we may learn of, others might not be for public release.)
2. Statement on Transition Activities by Acting Secretary of Defense Miller
Despite the press reports I am told this "pause" was mutually agreed upon.
3. Space Force Troops Get a Name: 'Guardians'
defenseone.com · by Marcus Weisgerber
It is going to be a mouthful: "soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, coast guardsman, and guardians." I wonder if the SF (Space Force) will demand guardians be capitalized to be equal to the Marines. I wonder also if the Coast Guard signed off on this since guardians kind of encourages on its name.
On a separate note, I have been reading on social media calls for the incoming administration to disband the SF when it takes office? Could the SF be undone? Should it be undone?
4. The Marines' Missile Imperative
WSJ · by The Editorial Board
I think for ground forces (Army and Marines) the two most important capabilities for the future of high intensity conflict will be missile forces (long range precision fires) and air defense capabilities (from missile defense to defense against air breathers to defense against drones).
5. Joe Biden will face an inbox of complex foreign policy problems from the start
The Guardian · by Peter Beaumont · December 19, 2020
But doesn't every administration?
6. Acting Secretary Accepts Inclusion Board's 15 Recommendations
defense.gov · by Jim Garamone
7. Beijing Tests Joe Biden
WSJ · by The Editorial Board
The transition period is a vulnerable time. But is the "test" valid? Should the president-elect react since he is not yet president? Does not reacting remove options? Or does reacting now then limit future options? Does not acting provide Beijing with the correct "lesson?"
8. International Criminal Court Will Not Take Further The Case Of The Uyghurs
Forbes · by Ewelina U. Ochab · December 15, 2020
One more example that undermines the legitimacy of the ICC (or the influence of China over international organizations, or both).
9. U.S. Cyber Experts Scramble to Assess the Scope of the 'Hack of a Decade'
TIME · by Kimberly Dozier
Excerpts:
“Ironically, it was a failure to update software that enabled what's still seen as the worst cyberattack on the U.S. government, when Chinese hackers stole the personnel files of 4.2 million government employees, as reported by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in 2015, including the real names of intelligence officers serving in covert positions around the world.”
“Responding to news of the hack, the incoming Biden Administration released a statement Thursday vowing to make dealing with "what appears to be a massive cybersecurity breach affecting potentially thousands of victims .... a top priority from the moment we take office."
“Alperovitch, who is now the chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington, D.C.-based cyber think tank, warned against U.S. officials or lawmakers overreacting to what he calls run-of-the-mill spying, as opposed to an act of war. "This is a case where we should say good for them, shame on us for letting them," he says. "We need to use this as a wake-up call to reorganize our government to better deal with this massive intelligence failure and massive failure of cybersecurity."
10. Hacked networks will need to be burned 'down to the ground'
AP · by Frank Bajak· December 18, 2020
I guess this will be "Operation Scorched Networks." Or this is the scorched earth defense to cyber attacks. This of course would probably be a desired outcome for the Russians. They would benefit from the cyber fratricide from our scorched earth defense that would destroy our networks (have to burn a network to save it) after they have completed as much cyber espionage they were able to accomplish.
11. Suspected Russian hack: Was it an epic cyber attack or spy operation?
NBC News · by Ken Dilanian · December 18, 2020
A new level of "Spy vs. Spy" in the cyber domain.
12. What we know - and still don't - about the worst-ever US government cyber attack
The Guardian · by Kari Paul · December 19, 2020
13. Trump to CIA: Say Goodbye to Your War on Terror
The Intercept · by Matthew Cole · December 19, 2020
I am told the Acting SECDEF's memo was blown out of proportion. It was merely informing the DCIA that DOD is re-examining the more than a decade old memorandum of agreement for support.
This Intercept article is an interesting take on the simple review of the MOA.
Excerpt:
“But interviews with six current and former national security officials, including some directly involved in the Pentagon's review, suggest it is neither immediate nor controversial. Instead, the review serves as a coda for the Trump administration's chaos - and as an unintentional gift to the incoming Biden administration.”
14. Federal prosecutors accuse Zoom executive of working with Chinese government to surveil users and suppress video calls
The Washington Post· Drew Harwell and Ellen Nakashima · December 18, 2020
If I was going to be subversive I would organize nation wide Zoom conferences to discuss the effects of Tiananmen Square. I would try to overwhelm the Chinese censors with references to Tiananmen. In fact, regardless of the subject of the Zoom conference I simply add this to the title (And Don't Forget the Crimes Against Humanity at Tiananmen).
15. Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus
ProPublica · by Raymond Zhong, Paul Mozur and Aaron Krolik, The New York Times, and Jeff Kao
16. Army leaders push back on Mike Flynn's call for the military to 're-run' the 2020 election
taskandpurpose.com by Haley Britzky · December 18, 2020
Partisan politics aside this is why retired general officers need to be careful about their public statements. These types of remarks damage the Army and the military,
17. China-Based Executive at U.S. Telecommunications Company Charged with Disrupting Video Meetings Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre
justice.gov · December 18, 2020
Good work DOJ.
18. China accused of planning to exploit undersea cable networks to spy on other countries, report says
Business Insider · by Sophia Ankel
This harkens back to the Cold War - who says it is over?
19. Pentagon Memo Maps Out Plan to Expand Diversity in the Force
military.com · by Lolita C. Baldor · December 18, 2020
20. Mission impossible: The origins of Delta Force
asiatimes.com · by Dave Makichuk · December 18, 2020
They are expendable???? I am not sure I would characterize its members that way/. Willing to be put at high risk? Yes. But expendable, no.
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The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it."
-George Orwell
"The way of a superior man is three-fold: virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear."
- Confucius
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."
- Abraham Lincoln