Benjamin Netanyahu is Playing with Fire | Countering Chinese Digital Espionage in Routers | Russia Carrying Out Illegal Chemical Attacks on Ukrainian Soldiers, and more

Benjamin Netanyahu is Playing with Fire  (Dov S. Zakheim, National Interest)
Netanyahu must be aware that he has treated the president with disdain once too often. He is playing with American fire. If he does not take heed of American concerns, his country, already reeling from the horrors of October 7 and the plight of the hostages, will indeed be burned as a result.

Don’t Abandon Europe in the Name of ‘Asia First’  (Paul Cormarie, Newsweek / RAND)
In the debate over the future of U.S. grand strategy in the 1990s, some analysts proposed a strategy of “neo-isolationism,” in which the United States would purposefully seek to preserve its freedom of action. The future of NATO would be left to Europe, as would Asian security to Asia. 

The Messy Battlespace That Would Be a U.S. vs. China War  (James Holmes, National Interest)
It’s a truism that the Pacific is an amphibian theater. Just look at your map and behold! the oceanic region’s majestic vacantness. That being the case, it takes amphibian forces to seize, hold, and defend terrain, chiefly though not exclusively along Asia’s first offshore island chain. 

Into the Breach: Countering Chinese Digital Espionage in Routers  (Joshua Levine, National Interest)
For anyone following the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) actions related to digital technology, the specter that Chinese companies could be leveraged to conduct intelligence activities has been ever-present. 

Self-kidnappings by Chinese Students Abroad: Mystery Solved  (Magnus Fiskesjö, The Diplomat)
One of the most baffling news items in recent years has been the cases of Chinese students abroad who effectively kidnap themselves for ransom. They leave home, even tie themselves up with ropes, all on the orders of Chinese cyber-criminals – who are not even there with them. 

What Chinese Navy Planners Are Learning from Ukraine’s Use of Unmanned Surface Vessels  (Lyle Goldstein and Nathan Waechter, The Diplomat)
The continued success of Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel (USV) attacks on Russian naval facilities and warships has kept USVs in the defense analytical spotlight and naval analysts around the world, particularly those in China, are taking note.

The Khan Review Proves Britain Has a Blasphemy Problem  (Liam Duffy, Unherd)
Thanks to the newly published Khan review, we now have the clearest picture to date of what actually happened in Batley in March 2021, when a schoolteacher was forced into hiding after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. 

Russia Carrying Out Illegal Chemical Attacks on Ukrainian Soldiers  (James Rushton, The Telegraph)
Russian troops are carrying out a systematic campaign of illegal chemical attacks against Ukrainian soldiers, according to a Telegraph investigation.