News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs
1. How America Fractured Into Four Parts
2. FDD | China’s Potemkin Peacekeeping
3. Top US general warns of Iran, China and Russia in Middle East
4. W(h)ither R: a marquee failure of leadership in foreign policy
5. For Now, ‘Over the Horizon’ Protection for Afghanistan Will Fly From Existing Hubs, Acting Air Force Secretary Says
6. Fight Digital Authoritarianism by Giving People the Tools to Counter It
7. Global police sting ensnares scores of alleged criminals duped by FBI app
8. FBI built fake phone company in global wiretapping operation of historic proportions
9. The never-ending, ever-frustrating hunt for the ‘Biden doctrine’
10. Ransomware attack hits House members’ web tool to communicate with voters
11. A Just Response to Beijing’s COVID-19 Abuses
12. How an informant and a messaging app led to huge global crime sting
13. Beijing accuses US of 'paranoid delusion' after innovation Bill passed
14. Biden’s Asia Czar Says China Is to Blame for Its Diplomatic Woes
15. Army nixes soldier roles for native Arabic, Pashto and Dari speakers
16. Pacific Commanders Want More Money for Biden’s Asia Pivot
17. New body armor carrier, plates and female-focused designs headed to soldiers
18. How does America intensify disinformation war? - Xinhua
19. Book excerpt: ‘The Other Face of Battle: America’s Forgotten Wars and the Experience of Combat’
20. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has a baller home worth nearly $3 million
1. How America Fractured Into Four Parts
The Atlantic · by George Packer · June 8, 2021
This requires some deep reflection. Ask yourself which of the four parts do you belong to? I think there are some hybrid categories and most of us do not fall neatly into one.
2. FDD | China’s Potemkin Peacekeeping
fdd.org · by Bradley Bowman Morgan Lorraine · June 8, 2021
Excerpts: “There has certainly been a genuine need for such oversight of PLA peacekeepers in South Sudan. During fighting in Juba in 2016, Chinese peacekeepers reportedly “abandoned their posts entirely.” Rather than courageously protecting vulnerable civilians seeking refuge, the PLA peacekeepers fled, “leaving weapons and ammunition behind.”
If Washington takes these steps, it can help promote peace and security in Africa and prevent the CCP from advancing authoritarian and mercantilist objectives under the guise of UN peacekeeping.
In an apparently apocryphal tale, 18th-century Russian military leader and statesman Grigory Potemkin created pretentious building facades to conceal from Empress Catherine the Great the shabby and impoverished reality of her subjects.
Today, in Africa, China suggests it supports U.N. peacekeeping to “defend world peace, contribute to global development and safeguard international order.” Observers would be wise to look behind the façade of these Potemkin peacekeeping missions.
3. Top US general warns of Iran, China and Russia in Middle East
I often wonder why these senior leaders omit north Korea from the equation. It proliferates weapons, technology, and training to Iran and its proxies (Hezbollah and Houthis) as well as other countries in North Africa. I think sometimes we need to look at all the revisionist and rogue powers and their activities that may or may not be coordinated or mutual supporting (either deliberately or by coincidence)
4. W(h)ither R: a marquee failure of leadership in foreign policy
Mountain Runner by Matt Armstrong· June 8, 2021
Fascinating, useful, and important analysis from Matt Armstrong who is one of our nation's experts on public diplomacy and all things related to influence (propaganda, psychological warfare, and psychological operations, and public affairs).
Please go to the link to view the graphics.
5. For Now, ‘Over the Horizon’ Protection for Afghanistan Will Fly From Existing Hubs, Acting Air Force Secretary Says
defenseone.com · by Tara Copp · June 8, 2021
Excerpts: “Pentagon leaders have been mum on where they will move the approximately 3,500 troops being withdrawn from Afghanistan, and how they will deliver air strikes, air cover, or other assistance to suppress terrorist groups and protect the limited number of U.S. government civilians who will remain in the country.
At a Center for a New American Security event Tuesday, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said that the United States would also provide “over the horizon” support to the Afghan security forces, but that the final shape for all of that support was still being planned.
“We are working through all of that right now,” Hicks said. “We have to take into account regional aspects and allied approaches. We will have, over the course of this summer, proposals to give to the president in terms of what that over-the-horizon capability should be.”
“It’s for counterterrorism. It’s not an over-the-horizon capability to do all things, to operate, as the United States was operating in Afghanistan.”
6. Fight Digital Authoritarianism by Giving People the Tools to Counter It
Defense One · by Joshua Baron· June 8, 2021
Excerpt: "Digital authoritarianism is the use of digital information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations. Such tools track and censor internet activities, but they can also be used to restrict physical interactions—think of facial recognition and other technologies used to crack down on protests. Most broadly, technologies such as China’s social credit system can serve as a population-scale coercive mechanism. "
Key point: "Defense leaders should not wait for the rest of the government to act. In response to this gap, they should prioritize countering digital authoritarianism by refocusing research and development and posturing to engage in the fight against this threat. They should aim to create new levers to persistently and directly engage its adversaries and strengthen its advantages on the digital battlefield. To this end, they should also begin to establish working relationships with other government and non-government organizations that are working to counter digital authoritarianism. These include the U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for Global Media (specifically the Open Technology Fund), USAID, National Endowment for Democracy, and digital rights non-governmental organizations. None of these organizations currently performs long-term, much less high-risk, research, so the DOD could help foster the kinds of revolutionary technical capabilities that they are not able to develop or obtain on their own. At the same time, building these ties must proceed with care so that these organizations preserve their independence from the DOD. Finally, defense leaders should also build a new strategy to address this critical shortfall in DOD capability, including bringing efforts that are currently siloed into a larger strategic framework. "
I would argue this is what Dr. Baron is describing is a key component of modern unconventional warfare and support to resistance. (e.g., activities to support an insurgency or resistance movement to coerce, disrupt, or overthrow a government of occupying power). Dr. Baron is describing the need to provide capabilities to indigenous resistance capabilities with emphasis on coercing or disrupting authoritarian governments (not necessarily overthrowing them - too many people focus on UW as only the overthrow of a government and that is just old thinking - still important when it is necessary to support US interests but in the modern era UW should not be so narrowly applied).
And I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the application of the two SOF trinities: irregular warfare, unconventional warfare, and support to political warfare (and it is UW that is the foundational capability for the other two). The second is the comparative advantage of SOF (but of course not exclusively SOF) influence, governance, and support to indigenous forces and populations. I am not saying that SOF should have a lead role in this effort, but it may have a supporting one. But the organizations outlined above might benefit from some UW type thinking.
7. Global police sting ensnares scores of alleged criminals duped by FBI app
The Washington Post · by Rachel Pannett and Michael Birnbaum · June 8, 2021
I supposed we released this information because we intend for it to serve as a deterrent.
8. FBI built fake phone company in global wiretapping operation of historic proportions
intelnews.org · by Joseph Fitsanakis · June 8, 2021
Another look at this FBI operation.
9. The never-ending, ever-frustrating hunt for the ‘Biden doctrine’
Excerpts: “It seems fair to ask, then: Why is it necessary to define a president’s foreign policy "doctrine" at all? Isn’t dealing with some 200 countries, not to mention transnational threats like climate change and terrorism, complicated enough to defy easy summarization? Why do pundits try so hard to impose order on the messy reality of governing?
“I don’t know, honestly,” said Michael Singh, a Middle East specialist who served in former President George W. Bush’s National Security Council. “Maybe we’re trying to make sense of the chaotic world around us? Maybe there’s an existential need for this?”
Maybe. Doctrine-hunting amounts to a full-time employment program for the community of foreign policy watchers in and around Washington. Analysts and historians have long sought to divine and distill presidents’ guiding principles of foreign policy into their pithy, memorable essence.
Credit for the doctrine craze usually goes to former President James Monroe, who declared in 1823 that Europe should stop trying to colonize countries in the Western Hemisphere — leaving them more open for U.S. influence and trade. Many years later, former President Harry S. Truman’s doctrine proclaimed that the U.S. would devote resources to fending off communism and other authoritarian forces around the globe.
10. Ransomware attack hits House members’ web tool to communicate with voters
washingtontimes.com · by Ryan Lovelace
Excerpts: “The federal government is stepping up its efforts to respond to the increasing pace and fury of ransomware attacks. Justice Department officials said Monday that they recovered $2.3 million of the ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline. The company acknowledged that it paid the $4.4 million ransom. An FBI affidavit filed in federal court Monday revealed the steps that law enforcement took to recover a portion of the ransom payment.
The national security community also has had a role in targeting ransomware attackers since the Biden administration elevated the cybersecurity threat from a criminal challenge to a terrorism matter. A Justice Department memo distributed last week directed U.S. attorneys offices to treat ransomware investigations with the same priority as terrorism investigations.
The White House said President Biden was pursuing an “action plan” to handle ransomware attacks alongside U.S. allies when he attends meetings of the Group of Seven leading industrial countries in the United Kingdom this week.
11. A Just Response to Beijing’s COVID-19 Abuses
hudson.org · by David Asher, Miles Yu, David Feith, Matthew Zweig & Thomas DiNanno
Conclusion: There is an opportunity for a bipartisan, bicameral initiative to establish a 21st-century framework for defending the United States and international partners against the prospect of another devastating pandemic. We cannot afford further impunity by Beijing and passivity from Washington as we enter what may be a century of synthetic biological adventurism and potential biowarfare.
12. How an informant and a messaging app led to huge global crime sting
Reuters · by Tom Allard
13. Beijing accuses US of 'paranoid delusion' after innovation Bill passed
14. Biden’s Asia Czar Says China Is to Blame for Its Diplomatic Woes
Bloomberg · by Peter Martin · June 8, 2021
An important question from Dr. Campbell:
Campbell said the Chinese foreign policy establishment understands that the country’s policies, which include militarizing artificial islands and outcroppings in the South China Sea and a more assertive approach to global diplomacy, have helped to cause a global backlash against Beijing.
“But is that getting through to the most inner-circle in the Chinese leadership? I think that’s a question we can’t answer,” Campbell said.
15. Army nixes soldier roles for native Arabic, Pashto and Dari speakers
armytimes.com · by Todd South · June 8, 2021
Because we are never going back to the Middle East, Central Asia, or North Africa. (Apologies for the sarcasm). But of course, if we are pulling out we cannot just maintain an organization of translators that will not be gainfully employed. This is the end of the 09L program only. However, we are not eliminating the language training for non-native speakers to develop such personnel as intelligence collectors and Foreign Area Officers and others.
16. Pacific Commanders Want More Money for Biden’s Asia Pivot
Foreign Policy · by Jack Detsch · June 8, 2021
Excerpts: “In a statement provided to Foreign Policy on Monday in response to questions about the PDI, Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood insisted that the Department of Defense’s ongoing review of the U.S. military’s global footprint would include many of the requests that Davidson, the former Indopacom chief, made to Congress earlier this year.
But the brewing crisis over Taiwan has put renewed urgency on bringing more military might to bear for Biden’s Asia pivot, aides and officials said, as the administration has ramped up unofficial contacts with the island. China has sent fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on a daily basis for over a year in an effort to exhaust opposing pilots and aircraft, and the United States is carefully watching Chinese military drills get more coordinated and complex, such as by bringing in more naval and rocket forces.
“This is, at some level, rehearsing tactical strikes in and around Taiwan,” a senior defense official said.
17. New body armor carrier, plates and female-focused designs headed to soldiers
armytimes.com · by Todd South · June 8, 2021
It is sad that it has taken this long to develop and implement these changes.
Excerpts: “A good fit is about more than comfort. It can mean the difference when firing a weapon accurately, preventing repetitive use injuries and shielding soldiers from shrapnel.
Designers have also reconfigured helmet retention straps in the Integrated Head Protection system to better fit female soldiers whose hairstyles might have previously prevented a good-fitting helmet. That’s because a bad fit could cut down on their peripheral vision.
18. How does America intensify disinformation war? - Xinhua
Admit nothing, deny everything. Make counter accusations. This is the Chinese Communist Party making counter accusations.
19. Book excerpt: ‘The Other Face of Battle: America’s Forgotten Wars and the Experience of Combat’
militarytimes.com · by Wayne E. Lee, David L. Preston, Anthony E. Carlson, and David Silbey · June 8, 2021
Another book for the "to read" pile.
20. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has a baller home worth nearly $3 million
taskandpurpose.com · by Paul Szoldra · June 7, 2021
I am not sure if the author is using the "gimmick" of the focus on the SECDEF's home to call attention to the snake blood drinking and PETA protests or using the snakes and PETA as a gimmick to highlight the SECDEF's home.
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“Let us immediately establish the point. Our enemies know full well that news is an important weapon in modern warfare and they are unceasingly applying their knowledge as they wages total war. How they do so directly affects every one of us.”
- Matthew Gordon, News is a Weapon
“Cyber warfare is as much about psychological strategy as technical prowess.”
- James Scott, Senior Fellow, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology
A meme (rhymes with dream) is a unit of information (a catchphrase, a concept, a tune, a notion of fashion, philosophy or politics) that leaps from brain to brain. Memes compete with one another for replication, and are passed down through a population much the same way genes pass through a species. Potent memes can change minds, alter behavior, catalyze collective mindshifts and transform cultures. Which is why meme warfare has become the geopolitical battle of our information age. Whoever has the memes has the power.
- Kalle Lasn