11/01/2020 News & Commentary – National Security

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Daniel Riggs.

1. The Chinese View of WESTPAC

2. An Ancient Hill and Forgotten Dead: Afghanistan's Haunted Outpost

3.  What really drives the South China Sea conflict

4. A Navy SEAL, a Quadcopter, and a Quest to Save Lives in Combat

5. Drone wars: U.S. military maneuvers to defeat enemy unmanned aircraft

6. Bitter dispute sees US-Japan navy play war games against China's Coast Guard

7. Opinion: U.S. obsession with military hegemony threatens world peace

8. Will Pompeo's Asia trip help arrest China influence? It's not a one-day match, say experts

9. US Cyber Command exposes new Russian malware

10. With China, India Has Revealed a Blind Faith in Diplomacy

11. "The Talk" | Defense360 (Structural Racism essay related to national security and foreign policy)

12. What Americans Can Do to Address Bias and Structural Racism in the U.S. Foreign Affairs and National Security Workforce

13. Cubans lose access to vital dollar remittances after latest US sanctions

14. The Pandemic Is in Uncharted Territory

15. How the Best Forecasters Predict Events Such as Election Outcomes

16. How Conflict Shaped Us (Book Review)

17. Rebuilding Marawi: Too Early for Congratulations

18. 90% of NPA cadres recruited from schools: ex-commie (Philippines)

19. At Over 1,000 Strong, the Army's Delta Force Can't Be Taken Lightly

20. Stakeknife: unmasking the infamous IRA mole

 

1. The Chinese View of WESTPAC

USNI · CDR Salamander

Excellent graphic in the blog post. 

 

2. An Ancient Hill and Forgotten Dead: Afghanistan's Haunted Outpost

The New York Times · by Thomas Gibbons-Neff · November 1, 2020

 

3. What really drives the South China Sea conflict

asiatimes.com · by Mark J. Valencia · November 1, 2020

Is it really that simple?  Are we trying to maintain hegemony?  Or is it the clash of ideologies? (This is in the Asia Times and not the Global Times or Xinhua).

Excerpts:

“At base is a clash of political systems - authoritarian communism versus democratic capitalism - and their underlying ideology and values. Although the US hoped that China's values and system would become more like its own, that is now recognized as unlikely, and probably always was. This dialectic is driving the Americans' desire to dominate Southeast Asia and, in particular, the South China Sea.”

“China's motives are primarily self-defense and what it views as the rightful restoration of its sphere of influence. The US wants to maintain its hegemony and the "international order" it helped build and now leads to its asymmetric benefit.”

“As kinetic conflict looms, the US needs to decide what it really wants and why, what it is willing to pay to get it, and if it is too much, re-evaluate and adjust its goals. Is it willing to spend blood and increasingly dwindling treasure to continue to dominate militarily a sea and region that are not directly critical to its national security? Will its populace support yet another pursuit of vague goals in a foreign conflict halfway around the world?”

 

4. A Navy SEAL, a Quadcopter, and a Quest to Save Lives in Combat

Wired · by Elliott Ackerman

Interesting innovation.

 

5. Drone wars: U.S. military maneuvers to defeat enemy unmanned aircraft

washingtontimes.com · by Ben Wolfgang

We led the way in UAS (drone) development and employment.  We need to lead the way in UAS defense.

 

6. Bitter dispute sees US-Japan navy play war games against China's Coast Guard

nzherald.co.nz

Excerpt: " It's part of exercise Keen Sword 21. Its mission is "to deliver combat troops to defend the Senkakus or respond to other crises or contingencies".

 

7. Opinion: U.S. obsession with military hegemony threatens world peace

theprint.in · November 1, 2020

CCP Propaganda.

 

8. Will Pompeo's Asia trip help arrest China influence? It's not a one-day match, say experts

theprint.in · November 1, 2020

 

9. US Cyber Command exposes new Russian malware

ZDNet · by Catalin Cimpanu

There should be no doubt this is part of Russian political warfare.

 

10. With China, India Has Revealed a Blind Faith in Diplomacy

thewire.in · by Ashok K. Mehta

Interesting analysis from India.

Quite a dilemma here:

“The LAC standoff will see Chinese border guards and PLA and Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police battle it out in winter for survival. But even now India has left door to diplomacy open as part of its policy of engagement and containment. After November 15, India will not be able to pull back its troops from LAC as passes will have closed.

The PLA has no such problem. As India has bipartisan support in US, presidential election results on November 3, will not alter the foundation of the relationship though the pre-election rhetoric on China will moderate. Especially a Trump return, if it is gentle on Beijing, invoking his affection for 'very, very, very good friend Xi' could upset the apple cart of India's perceived pressure points.”

 

11. "The Talk" | Defense360 (Structural Racism essay related to national security and foreign policy)

defense360.csis.org · by Anthony "Tony" Johnson · October 26, 2020

Conclusion:

In 1857, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech in which he said: "[people] may lie down until [they] ha[ve] sense enough to stand up," and "power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." Americans of color must be full participants in the dialogue about where, when, and how the United States acts abroad. Our perspectives should be integral to U.S. foreign policy and national decision making at every level of government, from the White House Situation Room to the halls of Congress to the E ring of the Pentagon. Our perspectives ensure that U.S. security policy is not blind to the cultural factors and nuances that influence foreign relations. Without multicultural perspectives and advice, our leaders will make important decisions about American foreign policy through a mirror darkly.

 

12. What Americans Can Do to Address Bias and Structural Racism in the U.S. Foreign Affairs and National Security Workforce

defense360.csis.org · October 30, 2020

A follow-up to the previous essay. This requires reflection.  I know Tony.  He is a good man and a great American.

 

13. Cubans lose access to vital dollar remittances after latest US sanctions

The Guardian · by Ed Augustin · November 1, 2020

All actions have second and third effects.

 

14. The Pandemic Is in Uncharted Territory

Scientific American · by Pavel Atanasov · October 20, 2020

Key Points:

Testing accessibility and in-hospital patient care have improved, so it seems unlikely that we'll return to the case-fatality rates of the spring. The lower death rates from COVID-19, however, are predicated on stable and functioning health-care systems. As this outbreak continues to grow in so many urban and rural communities, public-health officials have brought back the "Flatten the curve" mantra of the spring. Each fall, hospitals prepare for an increase in patients requiring respiratory support due to influenza season.

What was true in the spring is true now: If hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, they cannot provide the quality of care that has reduced the number of Americans who die from this disease, and from other health emergencies. And local reporting suggests that communities from El Paso to Green Bay are in danger of letting the virus grow beyond the capacity of health-care workers to contain the damage.

 

16.  How Conflict Shaped Us (Book Review)

diplomaticourier.com · by Joshua Huminski

 

17. Rebuilding Marawi: Too Early for Congratulations

thediplomat.com· by Gus Miclat · October 30, 2020

Can the conditions be changed?

 

18.  90% of NPA cadres recruited from schools: ex-commie (Philippines)

pna.gov.ph · by Marita Moaje · October 31, 2020

Excerpts:

“Ka Eric also called on House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco to let him and other former cadres speak at the Congress and face the Makabayan bloc representatives, and for Senate President Tito Sotto to conduct a Senate inquiry into his revelations.”

"This is going to be war, a war of information, a war of decision for standing up for the truth and war to side with the people," he added.

 

19. At Over 1,000 Strong, the Army's Delta Force Can't Be Taken Lightly

The National Interest · by Joseph Trevithick · October 31, 2020

 

20. Stakeknife: unmasking the infamous IRA mole

GQ · by James Harkin

More fascinating history.

 

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"All politics is based on the indifference of the majority."

- James "Scotty" Reston

 

"No man has the right to be ignorant. In a country like this, ignorance is a crime.If a man is going to vote, if he's going to take part in his country and his government, then it's up to him to understand."

- Louis L'Amour 

"Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners"

 - Laurence Sterne