A Quick Run Around the Web (6/5/2020)

"Is the Glock 48 the New 'Do Everything' Glock?"--Lucky Gunner (12 min.)

The author notes that the Glock 19 sits in a sweet spot where it has the magazine capacity and sight radius to a viable combat pistol, but still small enough to be used for concealed carry. The availability of 15-round aftermarket magazines from Shield Arms though makes the Glock 48 a possible alternative to the Glock 19. 

• Active Response Training has a new Weekend Knowledge Dump. Topics include an article by a former police officer who was forced to use deadly force as a rookie discussing the aftermath, particularly the emotional aftermath of whether he would be prosecuted and/or lose his job, and dealing with the emotional issues arising from his religious beliefs. It's a longer read, but worth it. Other topics covered include an article on the "myths" used by some to justify using a revolver for self-defense (there are good reasons for selecting a revolver, but the "six is enough" and the other myths discussed are not among those); a review of the Ergo Delta Grip for J-frame revolvers (note: I have had and used one for years and haven't found it to be the hindrance to concealment that the author describes--if my pocket is too small to conceal the grip, the revolver itself will be printing too much to really count as concealed); some advice on what to do (and what not to do) when using a 1911; eight problems with the single-point sling; the split-the-difference drill; an article on reading deer tracks; and a lot more.
• Also, I missed it earlier, but Grant Cunningham did publish a Hump Day Reading List for June 3, 2020. The three topics this week: choosing between a small pistol or small revolver; an example of how not to act if the police pull you over; and a look at some of the misconceptions that keep people from prepping, explaining why they are misconceptions or overcoming them. The latter would be a good article for sharing with someone that has expressed an interest in prepping but hasn't yet taken the plunge.
• You can't fix stupid: "Despite Confiscation, New Zealand Sees Most Gun Crime in a Decade"--Ammo Land.

      It should come as no surprise that New Zealand's new gun control laws haven't appeared to affect gun crime. After all, gang members told the government as much.

      At the outset of the gun control push, the Waikato branch president of the Mongrel Mob street gang, Sonny Fatu, made clear to the press that his gang and others have no intention of obeying further gun laws. The gang leader stated, “Will gangs get rid of their weapons? No. Because of who we are, we can't guarantee our own safety.”

     Moreover, as noted in the April 5, 2019, NRA-ILA article, the research on Australia's confiscation program is clear. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice reviewed the available research on Australia’s firearm confiscation program and issued a memorandum that concluded that the effort had no effect on crime generally. In coming to this determination, the memorandum cited work from University of Maryland Professor Peter Reuter and Jenny Mouzos, aptly titled, “Australia: A Massive Buyback of Low-Risk Guns.”The NIJ memo made clear that the researchers “found no effect on crime.”

      With this new data it is tempting to call the New Zealand's gun control efforts a failure. However, to do so one must assume that Ardern and her government's goal was to reduce crime perpetrated with firearms rather than to attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

• "No, the Marine Corps is not replacing the M27 with the Army’s next-generation squad weapon after all"--Task and Purpose. Actually, the more interesting part of the article to me was the tacit admission that the Marines aren't going to be replacing their M4's with the M27:

Back in 2017, then-Commandant Gen. Robert Neller was looking into having the M27 replace the M4 carbine for most infantry Marines in rifle squads. However, one drawback of the M27 is that it each rifle costs three times as much as an M4.

• And while we are on the topic of the next generation squad weapon, it seems to be an appropriate time to note that Hornady has formally announced its new 6 mm Advanced Rifle Cartridge (ARC). Ballistic Magazine reports:

       Reviewing the ballistics comparison between the 6mm ARC and a few .308 loads, it is evident the smaller cartridge provides some advantages. The ARC firing a 108-grain ELD-Match bullet with a .536 G1 ballistic coefficient at 2,750 fps muzzle velocity stays supersonic to 1,150 yards at sea level. Fired from the same length 24-inch barrel, a .308 178-grain boat-tail hollow-point with comparable BC and a muzzle velocity of 2,600 fps goes subsonic just beyond 1,000 yards. Other 175- to 178-grain .308 bullets go subsonic at shorter ranges. Delivering a precision pill accurately more than a football field farther than a standard-issue .308 sniper round—what’s not to like?

      Ever heard the phrase “ounces make pounds, and pounds make pain”? Launching a 6mm ARC from a weapon platform that weighs a third less? Splendid. Carrying more ammo to the fight in the same loadout? Now we’re talkin’. Starting to see where this is going?

     Tuesday, 18 rifle manufacturers signed on to build 6mm ARC rifles. Since I woke up this morning, at least one more has joined the race. ...

And from Guns & Ammo:

      Hornady’s 6mm Advanced Rifle Cartridge (ARC) is the first time in history that the commercial announcement of a cartridge was preceded by adoption within the military. While Hornady has been extremely secretive about who adopted the cartridge, they can say that it is a “notable Department of Defense (DOD) entity.”

     The reasons a military unit would be interested in the 6mm ARC are for its utility and mild manners that ensure long firearm life. Threats have learned to stay 500 to 600 meters away from our troops on the battlefield to be safe from the effectiveness of our 5.56mm rifles, carbines and machine guns. The U.S. military has been looking for a solution. 

     The 6mm ARC is unique among rifle cartridges in that it fits in an AR-15-pattern action, functions reliably out of standard-capacity 24- or 17-round magazines, and remains supersonic beyond 1,000 yards in a standard atmosphere. This allows a rifle chambered in this cartridge to be used for everything from close quarters battle (CQB) to sniper missions while simplifying logistics for the units that carry it.

As Guns America reports, Barrett Firearms was awarded a contract by the Department of Defense for a batch of REC7 DI rifle chambered in 6mm ARC. And from the American Rifleman:

      Compared to 7.62 NATO/.308 Win., the Hornady 6mm ARC features similar ballistic profiles and beats the .308 Win. in terms of wind deflection. The trajectory of both the 7.62 NATO and 6mm ARC are said to be similar. However, the main material benefits between 7.62 NATO and 6mm ARC platforms come in the weight reduction, recoil reduction and magazine capacity of both.

     Rifles chambered in 6mm ARC are, on average, 30 percent lighter than comparable 7.62 NATO rifles, and there's a 30 percent reduction in the ammunition weight alone. The reduced recoil of 6mm ARC rifles means that shooters can spot their own shots, preventing the need for a spotter along with a shooter in a combat environment. Higher magazine capacity on 6mm ARC rifles also means that users can spend more time shooting and less time reloading.

Gun University further explains: "Also, there’s a 'not available to the public bullet' that performed as well on real targets and barricades at distance as the 308 Win (not the same 'energy' but similar or same penetration, effect on target, etc.)." Now, what I think would be amusing is if the military decided to use this cartridge over the 6.8 mm cartridges that they are experimenting with now. 

• "Concealed Carry Corner: Learning to Carry With Pistol Optics"--The Firearm Blog.
• "What is Ballistics?"--NRA Family.

The word "ballistics" is derived from the Greek word ballista, which was an ancient military siege engine resembling a large bow stretched with cords and thongs and employed to hurl stones. These days, ballistics may be defined as the science of the motion of projectiles in flight, as well as the analysis of the flight characteristics of a projectile. Additionally, ballisticians study the processes within a firearm as it is fired, along with the end result of a projectile (or multiple projectiles) striking a target. As a result of centuries of cumulative ballistic investigation, shooters and hunters are now able to obtain a working knowledge of both the expected and actual performances of firearms and ammunition. The science of ballistics is usually divided into three sequential parts: interior, exterior and terminal.

• "Terminal Ballistics & Stopping Power"--NRA Family. Part 1 of a three-part series:

      The truth is that a small-caliber rifle or pistol bullet will rarely stop or knock down a living target immediately simply by virtue of its sheer impact power. Depictions on TV and in motion pictures that show bullet impact immediately knocking a character off his feet are unrealistic. In many respects, the general perception of "stopping power" is not supported by scientific evidence. Accordingly, attempts to establish an accurate, neutral and repeatable system to measure bullet stopping power have failed. A bullet can cause immediate incapacitation if it strikes and penetrates a critical nerve center such as the brain or spine. However, this is the result of precise bullet placement, not impact power.  

      We can, however, test bullets for reliable expansion, penetration and weight retention...all of which will give us an idea of how that bullet and caliber combination will behave in an environment that simulates living tissue. With bullets intended for hunting or self-defense, tissue simulants that are as close as possible to "the real thing" are chosen. The material must be cheap, reliable and easy to use. Some materials used for bullet testing over the years include: modeling clay, paraffin wax, bundled newspapers or telephone directories (wet or dry),watermelon, grapefruit, meat and ballistic gelatin. The consensus among expert ballisticians is that properly prepared ballistic gelatin is the cheapest, most reliable and easy to use and prepare. The standard for most tests is 10 percent ballistic gelatin molded into transparent blocks measuring approximately 24 inches long by 12 inches high by 12 inches deep. 

      Using properly calibrated ballistic gelatin, it is possible to perform standardized comparisons of bullet expansion, penetration, weight retention and permanent wound tracks. With high-speed photography, the temporary cavity that's produced when a projectile penetrates living tissue can also be measured.

• Related: "Terminal Ballistics & How to Choose the Right Ammunition (Pt. 2)"--NRA Family.

• Related: "Terminal Ballistics & How to Choose the Right Ammunition (Pt. 3)"--NRA Family.

• "3 HOME DEFENSE SHOTGUN MYTHS AND 2 IMPORTANT REALITIES"--Guns Magazine. An excerpt: "Racking the slide of a shotgun in order to scare away a threat means you’ve just chambered a round and/or ejected an unused round. In either case, you’ve wasted precious time and not been ready to shoot."

"NOPD vs Unarmed Civilians - Danziger Bridge, Sept. 4, 2005"--In Range TV (10 min.)

A look back at an incident that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when several members of the New Orleans Police Department gunned down unarmed people and then attempted to cover up the murders. Note that black officers were involved, as well, so this was not a white-on-black incident.

• "New Undercover Video Blows Lid Off Antifa Domestic Terrorists"--PJ Media.

      The first video dropped, in a series that will be released in O’Keefe’s usual slow-drip style, shows antifa organizers admitting that they go to events to cause damage and violence to Trump supporters. “It’s not boxing, it’s not kickboxing, it’s like destroying your enemy.”

     This would explain why we see images of antifa stomping and kicking the heads of people they’ve already knocked out. It’s never a fair fight and they never get held to account.

• "EXCLUSIVE: Antifa planned anti-government insurgency for months, law enforcement official says"--Washington Times.

      Activists of the far-left Antifa movement began planning to foment a nationwide anti-government insurgency as early as November as the U.S. presidential campaign season kicked off in earnest, according to a law enforcement official with access to intelligence behind the shadowy group.

     The radical movement has emerged as a key focus for investigators in the wake of violent protests and looting across the country after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and private security experts.

    The law enforcement official would not speak on the record about Antifa’s plans as the election season heats up, but longtime analysts of the group say such a move would be entirely in character.

• Another hypocrite self-identifies: "The US Protests Reveal How Gun Culture Has Always Been About White Supremacy" by CJ Werleman at the Byline Times. The author's thesis:

      As America burns under the weight of racial and economic injustice and failed leadership, one must ask where are all the National Rifle Association (NRA)-supporting, pro-AR15 gun advocates are – because this is their moment, given that they have spent the past decade arguing that nothing should be done to stop school kids being gunned down in their classrooms by battlefield sophisticated weaponry because one day ‘we the people’ will be called upon to defend the Constitution from a tyrannical government.

     Well, our tyrannical government is here, but they have failed to show up. And the reason is this: their semi-automatic weapons were never about ‘defending the Constitution’ but about defending white supremacy. Therefore they don’t mind their Government shooting black protestors and their anti-racist white allies.

This is, of course, BS. The gun community has always been cognizant of police abuses and warned against the increasing trend of no-knock raids, the over-use of SWAT teams, while celebrating the spread of gun ownership among all segments of the American public. But we also know that the Left will stab us in the back at the first opportunity. For instance, just last year, Werleman was bashing white gunowners and calling for changes to gun laws. Although not addressing this particular article, Larry Corriea has penned a quite good response to Werleman's argument (warning: strong language):

     ... I’ve seen this sentiment a lot too over the last few days, so please if you are so incredibly fucking dumb that you are actually wondering why America’s gun culture aren’t commuting into the democrat cities you have banned us from in order to get into gun fights with the National Guard on your behalf, allow me to elaborate.

      Hypothetical Liberal “Ally” Who Lives in the Suburbs Which Aren’t On Fire – “Hey, gun owners! Here is some civil unrest! Why won’t you come and help us?”

      Snort. Fuck off. :D

     “Pussies! Why not?”

      Well, every single gun nut in America has spent their entire adult life being continually mocked, insulted, and belittled by the left. You’ve done nothing but paint us as the bad guys.

      In Hollywood, we’re always evil, stupid, violent, malicious, redneck, racist, murderers. That’s so ingrained in the liberal religion that when “ally” Harvey Weinstein was trying to get out of being a sleazy rapist, his repentance consisted of promising to make more movies about how the NRA is bad.

      In the news, everything is always our fault. If there is a mass murder, we can always count on the vultures to swoop in and blame America’s gun culture. They flog it for weeks on end, 24/7 coverage, hoping for gun control. And if the identity of the shooter doesn’t fit the narrative, it drops off the news in mere hours.

     And then at the local, state, and federal level, legally speaking, the left fucks us at every opportunity. You ban everything you can get away with. You ban things that literally make no sense. You ban shit just out of spite.

      When we fight back against gun control laws, you declare we are stupid because only the police should have guns (hey, aren’t those the guys you are protesting right now?)

      “Stupid racist rednecks! We live in a civilized society! Don’t you realize the police will protect us?” until when your democrat cities are on fire, and you call 911 and the operator tells you sorry, the police can’t come to your house right now, please try not to get murdered… How is that strict gun control working out for you?

      Then you did everything in your power to chase gun owners out of your sainted liberal strongholds. You passed laws. You banned everything we like. Forced all the shooting ranges to close. Forced most of the gun stores to close. And just generally let us know that our kind is not welcome there.

      But now you’ve started some shit, YOU want US to go into democrat cities, with democrat mayors, and democrat police chiefs enforcing democrat policies which cause strife among democrats, in order to get into gun fights on your behalf?

      How fucking gullible do you think we are? :D Like holy shit. Damn dude!

      Because we all know that literally 30 seconds after a gun nut blows away a government employee on your behalf, then all the national media coverage of the riots will instantly cease (sorta like the Corona Virus coverage did) and it’ll be back to the news breathlessly reporting about right wing extremist gun nuts, and all you useless fucks would go back to whining for more dumb ass gun control.

      You’ve already thrown the black community under the bus, cheering as their neighborhoods get burned and yours are safe. Seriously, white liberals are the shittiest “allies” in history, and your moral foundation has the consistency of Play-Doh. Your moral compass is a wind sock.

      Just a little while ago, gun nuts had a massive peaceful protest in Virginia. Tens of thousands of people turned out to protest gun control proposals from a democrat with a penchant for wearing black face (he still considers himself an “ally” though!) They didn’t break any windows. They didn’t kill any puppies. They didn’t burn any horses. They didn’t flip any police cars or murder any security guards. They were downright boring. They were polite, and even cleaned up their litter.

      Except then you called them domestic terrorists, and were super sad that they didn’t get massacred by the government (said government you are now mad at for killing people, because again, you fuckers ain’t exactly consistent).

      Liberal “allies” are quick to call gun nuts the bad guys, but we’re not trying to disarm people. We want everybody to be able to defend themselves. It’s a common thing to see some meme on the internet, showing a black family shooting or posing with their guns, with some caption like “bet this offends the NRA”, which is liberal projection, because in reality in my social circles everybody is like, “fuck yeah, good for them”. And the harshest complaints I’ve seen have been about trigger finger discipline or lack of eye protection.

      My side isn’t the one that wants the state to have a monopoly on force. We know the 2nd is for everybody, regardless of skin color or where you live. You fuckers are the ones who keep declaring we can’t fight the government with AR-15s because they have tanks and nukes, but then you bumbling fuckheads try it by throwing rocks?

      So not only no, but hell no.

• Related: "FEDS: Angry Leftist Brings Rifle to Lubbock George Floyd Protest to ‘Off Racists and MAGA People’"--The Firearm Blog.

• Speaking of hypocrites: "Nancy Pelosi Surrounded by Guards as She Walks Among Protesters"--Breitbart. If the protests are peaceful, why does she need bodyguards?
• You probably have seen or heard the term "anti-racist" thrown around a lot, generally without explanation. Thankfully, Lifehacker has an explanation:

      To not be racist means that somewhere in your humanity you realize that all humans have an equal right to respect and tolerance. When you are not racist, you do not see yourself as better or more deserving of anything in this world because although we are not all the same or share the same experiences, we have the right to be afforded the same access to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

     However, just because you may not be racist does not mean that you are not complicit or engaged in upholding the benefits and privileges given as a result of systemic racism

     Being anti-racist, on the other hand, means that you are actively doing the work to combat racism. NAC International Perspectives: Women and Global Solidarity affirms that “Anti-racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.”

In other words, it's the attitude that "if you're not with me, you're against me."

       Not to be outdone, Good Housekeeping (via Yahoo) explains why it's wrong to say "all lives matter": 

At its face, "All Lives Matter" sounds like a we're-all-in-this-together statement. Some may be using the phrase to suggest that all races should join hands and stand together against racism, which is a sentiment that comes from a good place. But the problem is, the phrase actually takes the focus away from those who need it. Saying "All Lives Matter" redirects the attention from Black lives, who are the ones in peril.

Because if a black person is arrested, loses a job, doesn't get a job, has his/her car break down, dog dies, etc., etc., it is because of racism. There can be no other explanation.

"Carly Simon - You're So Vain" (4 min.)

• It's all fun and games until they come after you: "Life Comes At you Fast"--Loose Rounds. A series of tweets from Chris Martin Palmer, a black sports announcer, celebrating the rioting and calling for the rioters to burn it all down, then suddenly changing tunes when the rioters started attacking businesses near his gated community.
• "Black Lives Matter-Inspired Terror Attack? Three Blacks In Atlanta Track Police To Suburban Homes, Throw Molotov Cocktails At Police Cars In Parked In Driveways"--VDare.
• "All Rioters, Arsonists, Looters in St. Louis Freed from Jail Without Charges"--Breitbart.
• "Obama-era ex-intel official secures bail for NYC lawyer suspected of hurling Molotov cocktail in George Floyd unrest"--Fox News. 

      A former high-level Obama administration intelligence official has guaranteed the $250,000 bail for the New York City lawyer who allegedly firebombed an unoccupied NYPD police cruiser early Saturday, calling the suspect her "best friend," Fox News has confirmed.

     The Washington Free Beacon first reported that Salmah Rizvi, who served in the Defense Department and State Department during the Obama administration, went to bat for Urooj Rahman, who was arrested this weekend alongside Pryor Cashman associate Colinford Mattis.

     Rizvi, an associate at the law firm Ropes & Gray, told the court: "Urooj Rahman is my best friend and I am an associate at the law firm Ropes & Gray in Washington, D.C. ... I earn $255,000 a year."

     The Free Beacon noted that, according to her biography at the Islamic Scholarship Fund, Rizvi's "high-value work would often inform the president's daily briefs." Rizvi's biography on Ropes & Gray's website states that she was an analyst "focusing primarily on sanctioned finance operations."

     Rizvi also received a scholarship supported by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a radical anti-Israel group, and was a fellow at a legal organization that supports boycotting Israel. In 2009, the FBI severed its once-close ties to CAIR amid mounting evidence that the group had links to a support network for Hamas.

     Rizvi additionally received scholarship funds from the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, founded by the brother of left-wing megadonor George Soros.

And, in case there was any doubt, she is Muslim.

• So she is admitting that the President could invoke the Insurrection Act? "Nutcase Maxine Waters Argues That The Term ‘Rioting’ Is Racist--'I choose to call it an insurrection.'"--Newswars.

      In the wake of inner city looting and rioting across America, including destruction of people’s businesses and property, as well as violence against police and everyday Americans, Democratic rep. Maxine Waters has decreed that the use of the term ‘rioting’ is racist.

     In an interview with The Cut, Waters seriously contended that the term “rioting” constitutes “negative language used far too often in a description of black people by folks who fundamentally don’t see black people the same way they see whites and others.”

      “A lot of negative language gets used against black people, describing what whites often believe is true about us: that language includes ‘lazy,’ ‘criminal,’ and ‘rioting,’” Waters added.

     Waters explained that she prefers to label the rioting as “insurrection”.

     “I said ‘insurrection’. People acting out of frustration and hopelessness and understanding that they don’t have an establishment — political or otherwise — that really cared about their ability to work or have good health care. Yes, I choose to call it an insurrection.” Waters declares.

• From Herschel at the Captain's Journal: 

     I’ve tried, my colleague gun bloggers have tried, and Lord knows, we’ve tried so hard.  But we haven’t really been as successful as we’d like.

     Enter, Antifa.  You created memes.  You made a hero out of folks who disarm you.  You outed your sponsors, you showed what it takes to stop you, and you showed just how bad you are.

     I’ve known it all along, me and my readers, the fact that the police aren’t there to protect us.  We knew it from Warren v. D.C. and Castle Rock v. Gonzalez.

     But now America knows it viscerally, existentially.  They know it for real, in terms of home, hearth and family.

     Congratulations!  You did what I could never have achieved.

     For that, I thank you.

Not to be a downer, but the Watts Riots of 1965 had a similar impact on America's psyche, and three years later, Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968.

• "Future"--Confessions of a Street Pharmacist. "So when BLM gets their wish nationwide and there are no more police, what happens? Of course crime will skyrocket. Do you think that Americans will just sit there and do nothing? With no cops, there is nothing stopping me from making machine guns."

• Related: "Minneapolis City Council president, Dem Jeremiah Ellison claim they'll 'dismantle' police"--Fox News.

• Related: "L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti to Cut $150 Million from Police; ‘Reinvest’ in ‘Communities of Color’"--Breitbart.

• "Chinese cheating rampant in U.S. college applications, and in classrooms"--Campus Reform. I could have told you that decades ago. When the Chinese students are talking to each other during the Calculus test, they aren't discussing the weather.
• "The Tiananmen Square Massacre: From China's Authoritarian Roots to the Iconic 'Tank Man'"--Ammo Land. An excerpt:

The Historical Significance of Tiananmen Square

      The Tiananmen Square Massacre: From China's Authoritarian Roots to the Iconic Tank ManHistorically, Tiananmen Square held great significance in Chinese politics. It was the place where the May Fourth Movement of 1919 occurred, when students’ protests aired grievances with the Chinese government’s tepid response to the Treaty of Versailles, which awarded Japan territories in the Shandong province. This movement helped jumpstart the Chinese Communist and Nationalist movements respectively.

      Fast forward 30 years, the Proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949, took place on Tiananmen Square as well. This marked the end of the Chinese Communist Revolution (1945-1949) and ushered in the Communist Party’s dominance over Chinese politics.

     In 1989, student protestors sought to use this same square as their platform to make history by demanding the introduction of basic civil liberties – such as free speech and the right to peacefully assemble against the government – concepts which were unheard of throughout China’s long political history. In the fateful month of April 1989, they took to the streets in protest. Indeed, these students made history, but things didn't go as planned for them.

Chinese Leadership Becomes Weary of the Threat of Democratic Reforms

      Wanting to preserve the Communist Party’s political supremacy at all costs, China’s paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, along with his Communist Party brain trust, perceived the protests as a political threat. Wasting no time in responding to these protests, the Chinese government proceeded to use force after the Chinese State Council declared martial law on May 20th, and deployed approximately 300,000 troops to Beijing. When troops arrived in Beijing on June 4th, they began killing protestors and bystanders.

     The Chinese government arrested thousands of protesters, cracked down on other demonstrations in the country, kicked out foreign journalists, censored coverage of the Tiananmen incident in the press, bolstered police powers, and purged officials it believed to be receptive to the protestors’ cause. Estimates pin the death toll from several hundred to thousands.

     Unsurprisingly, this incident received international condemnation. However, China’s status as a nuclear power and its newfound prosperity positioned it where it could avoid any direct military confrontation from other countries who disapproved of its agenda. Unlike 19th century China, 20th century China could take bold political actions without the fear of international actors trying to directly attack it.

Read the whole thing.