OUR PICKSThe Dangerous New Civil-Military Bargain | RFK’s Anti-Vax Flock Turns on Him | DO to Pull Back on Litigating Cryptocurrency Fraud, and more

Anti-Vaxxers Should Be Forced to Visit Graveyards  (Suzanne Moore, The Telegraph)
The number of tiny graves is a reminder that cholera, smallpox and measles used to kill millions of children –and could do again.

RFKs Anti-Vax Flock Turns on Him  (Will Sommer, The Bulwark)
RFK endorsed the MMR vaccine. His followers want to go MMA on him for it.

Justice Dept. Says It Will Pull Back on Litigating Cryptocurrency Fraud  (Washington Post)
In a memo sent to the Justice Department on Monday night, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department will largely stop bringing cases that violate the Bank Secrecy Act or contain unregistered broker dealer violations, instead focusing on crimes that people commit with cryptocurrency, such as illicit drugs and human trafficking.
This is the latest example of the Trump administration easing up on white-collar crime enforcement.

AI Isn’t What We Should Be Worried About –It’s the Humans Controlling It  (Billy J. Stratton, The Conversation)
Investigation into the mass stabbing in the German city last year raises questions about Kremlin intelligence and hybrid warfare.

The Dangerous New Civil-Military Bargain  (Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs)
Trump’s demands for loyalty will weaken the U.S. armed forces.

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact Battlefield Operations?  (David Kirichenko, Lawfare)
AI is reshaping warfare, accelerating decision-making, and impacting civilian casualties—but over-reliance poses risks and vulnerabilities.

The Dangers of AI Sovereignty  (Kevin Frazier, Lawfare)
Nations are racing toward AI sovereignty, prioritizing military control over human welfare. We need a new path before it’s too late.

Greenland’s Military Possibilities for the United States  (Aaron Brady, War on the Rocks)
Over a thousand years ago, the Viking leader Erik the Red discovered a new land after being exiled for murdering his neighbor. To entice his fellow Vikings to settle the icy island, he called it Greenland, highlighting its more hospitable southern and western coasts. The settlers that took the bait struggled but endured.
Today, Greenland’s value needs no exaggeration. Its mineral wealth is well-understood, certainly by some in Washington, who seek to acquire the island — ­­a Danish territory. Some of the same voices also promote Greenland’s military value. Gaining political control of the island may, in fact, be a bad deal for the United States, but Washington cannot afford to ignore Greenland’s importance to Arctic and North Atlantic security.
The 2024 Defense Arctic Strategy of monitor-and-respond is insufficiently resourced for competition and not viable for conflict. A geostrategic view shows that the United States should view the Arctic as a connective region with important military ramifications for Europe and the Indo-Pacific, rather than as a separate theater. The United States should re-imagine its strategic framework to view its geostrategic position as a large “line of contact” extending from the South China Sea, over the Arctic, to the Black Sea. Greenland is a linchpin in this framework, providing basing and sensor opportunities permissible by the 1951 Defense of Greenland treaty, with Danish concurrence. Modest investments in sensors and bases in Greenland would significantly enhance America’s strategic Arctic position.

Trump Administration Aims to Spend $45 Billion to Expand Immigrant Detention  (Allison McCannAlexandra Berzon and Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times)
A request for proposals for new detention facilities and other services would allow the government to expedite the contracting process and rapidly expand detention.