China’s Plan to Break Off U.S. Allies
By Tao Peng, The Diplomat: "There’s a reason Beijing is pressuring Canada – not the U.S. – over Meng Wanzhou’s arrest. Australia and New Zealand could be next."

Electronic Warfare – The Forgotten Discipline
By Malte von Spreckelsen, Joint Air Power Competence Centre: “Why is the Refocus on this Traditional Warfare Area Key for Modern Conflict?” 

Trump Pivots to Asia, but His Trade Policy Needs a Boost 
By Michael Auslin, National Review: “As usual with Trump, he has begun by blowing up past practice, specifically in no longer pretending China is a fair trading partner, in finally responding to cyber espionage, and in at least attempting to put more military pressure on Beijing by increasing naval freedom of navigation operations and aerial overflights near new Chinese military bases in the South China Sea. All in all, Trump’s approach is the first since the normalization of relations in 1979 to rattle the Chinese and put them on the back foot."

In recent years, top defense officials and internal Pentagon reports alike have cautioned about the rise of China as a military power, in large part due to its investments in high-end technologies like hypersonics and its development of indigenous capabilities like stealth fighters and aircraft carriers. – Defense News

A new report from the Defense Intelligence Agency provides insights into how the Chinese military might deploy cyber capabilities in a future conflict. – Defense News
​
The new report, released by the Defense Intelligence Agency, provides an assessment of the Chinese military and states that China views controlling the “information domain” as a prerequisite for victory in modern war. This tactic is essential for countering outside intervention in a conflict. – Defense News

Arthur Herman writes: China and the West are currently locked in a race to dominate the future of global telecommunications through so-called fifth generation or 5G technologies, which will not only accelerate everyone’s access to the Internet and data and networks, but also interconnect us all as never before. – Hudson Institute

• Heritage’s Thomas Spoehr: New Missile Defense Review is a well-considered response to a changing global threat landscape
  

Thomas Karako writes: The Trump administration has today released its long-awaited Missile Defense Review (MDR). Initiated pursuant to both congressional and presidential direction, the report represents an attempt to adapt U.S. missile defense policy, posture, and programs to the strategic environment of great power competition. The United States and its allies face a more complex and challenging aerial threat environment than ever before.  – Center for Strategic and International Studies

Expeditionary Forces Are America's Military Crown Jewel
By Terry McKnight, Proceedings Magazine: “U.S. Navy and Marine Corps forces are in higher demand than ever in the joint warfare fighting environment. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition James F. Geurts has clearly stated: “Expeditionary Warfare will be key to success in future battles, but in order to ensure overmatch, the U.S. military must increase its ability to quickly adapt to new threats.””
​

Versailles at 100

Homer on Decision-Making

https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Command-Alexander-Hannibal-Leadership/dp/1439164487/ref=tmmhrdswatch0?encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Trump's Strategic Vision Is More Coherent Than His Critics Imagine
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: “ ... even a cursory review of the Trump record before and during his presidency reveals a stable foundation of beliefs—beliefs that earlier generations of Republicans and even Democrats would have had little trouble embracing.” 
​

Comprehending the Mission to Advise Foreign Forces
By Edward E. Brown, Small Wars Journal: “The mission to advise has existed for many years. In fact, some could argue that the United States owes its existence at least in part to an advisor named Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian military expert employed by the fledgling Continental Army to train military maneuver.” ​

How to Rebalance US Global Security Cheaply and Easily
by Stephen Blank and Peter Huessy  •  December 5, 2018 at 5:00 am
        

• Russia, evidently not restrained by the agreement, is already building missiles outside the INF treaty, according to an October 29, 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service. The bottom line is: If the Russians do not comply with the INF arms control treaty, there is no treaty to be saved.
• Worse, as China was never a party to the INF treaty, it is deploying thousands of such INF range missiles in the Pacific, thereby putting the USA and its allies at a serious military disadvantage.
• To counter such threats effectively and stand up to the culture of intimidation and threats of both Russia and China, the US needs create a conventional missile and nuclear deterrent capability that is at least on a par with those of Moscow and Beijing. Such deployments, rather than undermining arms control, might even induce Russia and China to negotiate any future arms negotiations with the US in better faith, while simultaneously strengthening US security.
• If created with US allies in the Pacific, such relatively inexpensive and easily produced conventionally armed missiles would, in short order, rebalance the Pacific security situation in the favor of the US and its Indo-Pacific alliances.

The reason the Soviets eventually signed the INF treaty in 1987 was because the US and NATO deployment of hundreds of Pershing and ground launched cruise missiles in Western Europe exemplified NATO solidarity and vitiated the coercive threat that the earlier Soviet SS-20 missile deployments had hoped to secure to prevent a NATO response to potential Soviet aggression. Pictured: Pershing II missiles at Fort Bliss McGregor Range. (Image source: US Dept. of Defense)

2019 Annual Forecast
From Stratfor Worldview: “The Great Power Competition Intensifies. The United States will escalate its strategic offensive against China with tariffs, sanctions, regulatory buffers around emerging technologies, stronger backing for Taiwan and a more assertive posture in the South China Sea. At the same time, failing arms control pacts will accelerate an arms race among the United States, Russia and China ... ” ​