1/26/2021 News & Commentary - National Security

News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.

1. New campaign targeting security researchers

2. Unspecified 'events' keeping Guard in DC as agencies dodge threat questions

3. Biden set his sights on China

4. Biden’s opening salvo on Beijing

5. A fake story about the secretary of defense stole my real byline

6. Biden, Congress should defend terrorism sanctions imposed on Iran

7. Trump got a space force. Biden should get a cyber force.

8. China’s leader attacks his greatest threat

9. Dissidents first: a foreign policy doctrine for the Biden administration

10. China gets a message that Taiwan is a bipartisan U.S. issue

11.  The U.S. military's real foe: the tyranny of distance

12. To defeat enemy drone swarms, troops may have to take a back seat to machines, general says

13. Taking stock of America’s pacing competitor: China at the start of 2021

14. Ike was wrong: the military-industrial-congressional complex turns 60

15. 'Secret force' comprising Tibetans gets award for operation against China in Ladakh

16. Trump-purged editors back at VOA, Radio Free Asia

17. Army general officer assignments

18. A lower bar for the cyber czar

19. It’s time to move the Army ladder

20. '2034: a novel of the next world war,' an exclusive excerpt

21. Strategic Latency Unleashed

1. New campaign targeting security researchers

Threat Analysis Group · Adam Weidemann · January 25, 2021

2. Unspecified ‘events’ keeping Guard in DC as agencies dodge threat questions

Washington Examiner · Abraham Mahshie · January 25, 2021

I think the potential threat list is pretty obvious. We can all see the indicators on social media. At some point, I worry we could see a convergence of those anarchists who are "demonstrating" in Portland and the Pacfic Northwest and those who attacked the Capitol on January 6. Of course, the likely time for this would be the Senate impeachment trial when the verdict is announced.

3. Biden set his sights on China

Axios · Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian · January 26, 2021

4. Biden’s opening salvo on Beijing

Wall Street Journal · Walter Russell Mead · January 25, 2021

5. A fake story about the secretary of defense stole my real byline

Defense News · Joe Gould · January 25, 2021

I saw this on social media. Commenters immediately debunked it, but there were those who thought this was a real story. I wonder if we will see more of this type of information warfare.

6. Biden, Congress should defend terrorism sanctions imposed on Iran

FDD · Richard Goldberg et al · January 25, 2021

From my FDD colleagues. For those who follow, Iran I recommend this.

7. Trump got a space force. Biden should get a cyber force.

Bloomberg · James Stavridis · January 25, 2021

I guess the Joint Chief of Staff will move from a fire team size to a platoon size (note: sarcasm).

8. China’s leader attacks his greatest threat

Atlantic · John Pomfret · January 25, 2021

9. Dissidents first: a foreign policy doctrine for the Biden administration

New York Times · Bret Stephens · January 25, 2021

Human rights is a national security issue as well as a moral imperative.

10. China gets a message that Taiwan is a bipartisan U.S. issue

Bloomberg · Tim Culpan · January 25, 2021

This is important. If we can approach China with bipartisan support we can successfully compete.

11. The U.S. military's real foe: the tyranny of distance

1945 · Patrick Hulme & Erik Gartzke · January 26, 2021

There are two laws of physics that can never be violated: time and distance.

12. To defeat enemy drone swarms, troops may have to take a back seat to machines, general says

Military.com · Matthew Cox · January 25, 2021

A very scary title.

13. Taking stock of America’s pacing competitor: China at the start of 2021

Modern War Institute · Ali Wyne · January 25, 2021

14. Ike was wrong: the military-industrial-congressional complex turns 60

Breaking Defense · Bill Greenwalt · January 25, 2021

15. ‘Secret force’ comprising Tibetans gets award for operation against China in Ladakh

India Today · Abhishek Bhalla · January 26, 2021

They have done a good job keeping this force a secret. I was certainly unaware of it.

16. Trump-purged editors back at VOA, Radio Free Asia

Asia Times · Shaun Tandon · January 26, 2021

VOA, RFA, et al. make important contributions to our national security through the information instrument of national power.

17. Army general officer assignments

US Department of Defense · January 25, 2021

Congratulations to LTG Bryan Fenton.

Some moves in the INDOPACFIC. With LTG Flynn going to USARPAC, the question is where will General LaCamera go?

18. A lower bar for the cyber czar

War On the Rocks · Joshua Rovner · January 26, 2021

19. It’s time to move the Army ladder

War On the Rocks · Eric Wesley & Robert Simpson · January 26, 2021

A very blunt conclusion to a very fascinating read. This article should be discussed on the Pentagon, in PME classes, and on the Hill.

20. '2034: A Novel of the Next World War,' an exclusive excerpt

Wired · January 26, 2021

Yes, this is unusual.

21. Strategic Latency Unleashed

Center for Global Security Research · Zachary S. Davis et al · January 2021

This 500+ page PDF should keep the special operations community reading for some time

The focus on the future and technology and concepts.

“The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself.”

- Jane Addams

“For some of us, politics means fighting for our right to exist”

- Scott Westerfeld, Shatter City

“All that makes existence valuable to anyone depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of other people.”

 - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty