Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast

We discuss coups, color revolutions and the changing face of political manipulation in the world.The world is not what it seems even in non-military political manipulation. The hybrid and grey zone conflict is real. Color revolution have hijacked Western democracy and precipitated he slow decline of modern civilization.ReferencesGlobal Instances of Coups from 1950 to 2010: A New DatasetColpus DatasetKGB defector Yuri Bezmenov's warning to AmericaA Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020.Edward Luttwak Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook, Revised EditionBruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good PoliticsOleg Karpovich Color Revolutions: Techniques in Breaking Down Modern Political RegimesErvand AbrahamianThe Coup: 1953, The CIA, and The Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian RelationsDavid Talbot The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret GovernmentGeorgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military TheoristMy Substack.Email at cgpodcast@pm.me

Memorial Day is a day to reflect on the existential moral outrage and trail of tears American military might has draped over the planet since the end of the nineteenth century.Wars of choice are by their very nature a path to corruption, excess and unintended consequences.The concept of moral injuries for soldiers and non-soldiers alike, the gift of fear and being a dead man walking and how to handle regret and shame.“As beasts are beneath human restraints, gods are above them... It would be foolish and untruthful to deny the appeal of exalted, godlike intoxication....We have seen the paradox that these godlike exalted moments often correspond to times when the men who have survived them say that they have acted like beasts....Above all, a sense of merely human virtue, a sense of being valued and of valuing anything seems to have fled their lives....However, all of our virtues come from not being gods. Generosity is meaningless to a god, who never suffers shortage or want. Courage is meaningless to a god, who is immortal and can never suffer permanent injury. The godlike berserk state can destroy the capacity for virtue. Whether the berserker is beneath humanity as an animal, above it as a god, or both, he is cut off from all human community when he is in this state.”― Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of CharacterThose millions of men who have been in combat over the millennia have always brought home invisible scar tissue and regret that manifests in many ways but most of us take it to our graves.References:The Roots Tribunal in CongressNick Turse Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in VietnamBill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of WarClark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial PurposeDick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent BattlespaceAndrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided WarsShauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect UsJonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of CharacterJonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of HomecomingMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Military sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a government effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization, destabilization, division, disruption, or destruction. It can take place left of bang or during war with the object the weakening of the military effort by an adversary.Military sabotage has been taking place since the early military adventures of men. The apocryphal story of the Trojan Horse is an ancient example and variations on the theme echo through historical warfare.References:Ian Jones Booby Traps!: The History of Deadly Devices, from World War I to VietnamGordon L. Rottman World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage TacticsGordon L. Rottman World War II Allied Sabotage Devices and Booby TrapsLester Grau and Michael Gress The Red Army's Do-it-Yourself, Nazi-Bashing Guerrilla Warfare Manual: The Partizan's Handbook, Updated and Revised Edition, 1942Roman Mars The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday DesignAccess All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban ExplorationOSS Simple Sabotage Field ManualFM 5-31 BoobytrapsTM 31-201-1 Unconventional Warfare Devices and Techniques: IncendiariesEric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

This episode examines American landscape one year later and whether the probability of attack is reduced or increased.My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it in Episodes 37, 41-43 and 49-50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.I discuss the outcome of the probable jihadist invasion of America. America is in a unique position in history in which it has facilitated the unfettered invasion of its borders and a large swath of military age males have been granted asylum or gone undetected to link up with legacy underground Islamist and terrorist groups across the country.References:William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackKarl DahlFactionFaction: With the CrusadersMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and DomesticForeign Enemies And TraitorsDomestic Enemies: The ReconquistaThe Red Cliffs of ZerhounCastigo CayEric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryHoward Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into DarknessMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

With Western conflict possible in Yemen and Iran, I discuss the vagaries and verities of mountain warfare. The special hell of high altitude and colder temperatures and their effect on fighting and warfare.I assess how the RMAs rapidly displacing centuries-old conflict norms are going to look for the remainder of the century.Buppert's Law of Military Topography:“Mountainous terrain held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.”References:Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. ScottLester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History)Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition]Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan WarMark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast AsiaSun Tzu The Art of WarCarl von Clausewitz On WarMiyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to StrategyH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareChristian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareQiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy AmericaMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I am an un-credentialed amateur historian who has done very little archive work and lack the substantial infrastructure credentialed historians have to practice their craft. I have debated esteemed historians and won on stage (Daniel Walker Howe looked at my CV and did not prepare) but that doesn't make me better than them.I think my various detours in life mostly outside the formal academy gives me a unique insight into how history works and why I think I am more sober than university historians.I describe some of the reasons I do it and the techniques I employ to get the single most accurate picture of what happened then to determine what's going on now.I am the Smedley D. Butler Fellow for Military Affairs at the Libertarian Institute.Recommended Reading:Mortimer Adler How To Read a BookRobert Strassler The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika (Landmark Series)Mike Snook How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana RevealedMike Snook Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke's DriftDavid Stahel Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the EastDavid Hackett Fischer Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical ThoughtKeith Windschuttle The Killing of HistoryJohn Burrow A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Twentieth CenturyHarry Elmer Barnes A History of Historical WritingUS Army Center of Military HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

Here is Part One:Ep 058 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part One"We continue the inquiry into the implications and future returns on going kinetic in the drug war as elucidated by worthies in the new administration.I examine the implications and the second and third order effects of this endeavor which is, by extension, a declaration of war on the Mexican government.References:Tom Wainwright Narconomics: How to Run a Drug CartelBenjamin T. Smith The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug TradeAnabel Hernandez Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their GodfathersIoan Grillo El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal InsurgencyDavid F. Marley Mexican Cartels: An Encyclopedia of Mexico's Crime and Drug WarsCarmen Boullosa A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War”Patrick Winn Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIAJesse Fink Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the CartelsMark Santiago A Bad Peace and a Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799Amy S. Greenberg A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of MexicoMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

Chasing Ghosts is back!There has been chatter and enthusiasm to use military means to take on the drugs and human trafficking organizations and cartels in Mexico (and I imagine the cartels in the north in Canada), this will not end well.I examine the implications and the second and third order effects of this endeavor which is, by extension, a declaration of war on the Mexican government.References:Benjamin T. Smith The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug TradeAnabel Hernandez Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their GodfathersIoan Grillo El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal InsurgencyDavid F. Marley Mexican Cartels: An Encyclopedia of Mexico's Crime and Drug WarsCarmen Boullosa A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War”Patrick Winn Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIAJesse Fink Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the CartelsMark Santiago A Bad Peace and a Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799Amy S. Greenberg A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of MexicoMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

I will be pausing Chasing Ghosts from its fortnightly cadence of issuance for the remainder of the year.I am taking the time to regroup and focus on the new occasional podcast series, WarNotes: A Conflict Podcast as a companion podcast focusing on conventional conflict and strategic thought.I think the new election results may be the time for the western military complexes to take a knee and refocus and re-calibrate strategic and grand strategic opportunities in addressing the real-time shortfalls in facing Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA) that are littering the battlefields of the 21st century.My first WarNotes series will be a comprehensive survey of how to fix the broken, shattered and most expensive paper tiger in the history of the world, the US military complex.The Fixing Fight Club series will be weekly until I finish the survey.The US is at a crossroads: continue to invest and spend on exquisite platforms that will simply be missile sponges in the emerging salvo competition landscape or retool a more thoughtful application of military power in concert with rationally extrapolating second and third order effects to stymie the pristine track record of military failure and stalemate since 1945.I suggest the American military complex has a mere generation to reset its arthritic, sclerotic and top heavy platforms and stratagems before irrelevance and abject systemic military failure becomes the sole avenue left.You can find the WarNotes podcast at my substack or look for it on your podcast vendor of choice.My SubstackEmail me at cgpodcast@pm.me

Mark Booher at Pearl Snap Tactical interviewed me discussing irregular warfare and the threat to the homeland.We discuss irregular warfare and the impacts of an up-sized catastrophic attack on the US homeland. We riff on and discuss my "Storming America" series (episodes 37, 41-43 and 49-50) on the CG podcast.The election results don't change the imminent danger but may alter the warp and woof of the probability and timeline of attack.Pearl Snap Tactical interview can be found here:https://substack.com/home/post/p-150848439?source=queueI talk about William Forstchen's "Day of Wrath" and Kurt Schlichter's "The Attack".References:William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

I am the Smedley D. Butler Fellow for Military Affairs at the Libertarian Institute.They asked me to comment on the recent podcast interview between Ben Shapiro and Niall Ferguson which of course, was a reaction to Darryl Cooper's (Martyrmade Podcast) recent appearance on Tucker Carlson.I find members of the academic historian cartel (even "right of center" types like Ferguson) are horrified that non-credentialed historical observers are weighing in on the consequences of war in history. I urge everyone to deprogram yourselves and listen to the rogue but right historians like Martyrmade and ProfCJ's Dangerous History podcasts to get the better and more accurate view of what actually happened in the past that shapes our present.Here's what you must realize about war: wars are won by the least incompetent forces and the world will not be shiny and new at the conclusion but it will different.I address some of these issues.I would urge you to listen to CG podcast Episode 052 on Churchill for a more in-depth indictment of His Nibs.My blogging at the Libertarian Institute.My SubstackWrite me at cgpodcast@pm.me

The trillions dollar fragile American military complex is in big trouble in big war.It doesn't work.Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platforms that are over priced and have the same provenance of battleships planet-wide in January 1942.Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo competition costs are driven down.Hypervelocity munitions are here to stay.The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman].In my next podcast, we will discuss how to recover from the current collapse."Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr.References:A Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020.The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of AgeArmy Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareDaniel Bolger Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan WarsCraig Whitlock The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the WarMy Substack.Email at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platform that are over priced and have the same provenance of battleships planet-wide in January 1942.The electronic emissions environment in future conflicts will be a two-way street that will put any active acquisition sensors and attached effectors in the hazards if they emit and remain in one place.Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo competition costs are driven down.Hypervelocity munitions are here to stay.The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman].The Russian Strike Reconnaissance Complex has come of age and the Russians have one of the most effective fires synchronization modalities on Earth. The system is now battle proven in the first near-peer and peer conflict of the 21st century.Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment to bring the metal on target."Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr.References:A Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020.The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of AgeArmy Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareLester Grau & Charles K. Bartles The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground ForcesDavid Glantz Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945 (Soviet (Russian) Study of War)David Glantz Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle (Soviet (Russian) Military Theory and Practice)Georgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military TheoristMy Substack.Email at cgpodcast@pm.me.

This is an episode to examine what Churchill really did for the West after witnessing the emotional & ahistorical outbursts by the usual suspects after Darryl Cooper from the Martyrmade Podcast appeared on Tucker Carlson on 2 SEP 2024.I am simply addressing the claims of Churchill as "the chief villain" which I think was hyperbolic (Cooper accedes to this) because I think Churchill was one of many villains during WWII. I am a reluctant Anglophile and I think historical revisionism is a healthy reaction to triumphalist historiography in the West that has made questioning accepted narratives a scholar crime.Listen to the interview yourself before arriving at any conclusions.References:William Manchester The Last Lion Box Set: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874 - 1965Andrew Roberts Churchill: Walking with DestinyDavid Reynolds In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World WarJohn Charmley Churchill: The End of Glory : A Political BiographyJohn Charmley Churchill's Grand Alliance: The Anglo-American Special Relationship 1940-57Gordan Corrigan BLOOD, SWEAT AND ARROGANCE: The Myth's of Churchill's WarMadhusree Mukerjee Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War IIThomas Ricks Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for FreedomPatrick J. Buchanan Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the WorldNicolai Tolstoy Victims of Yalta: The Secret Betrayal of the Allies: 1944-1947Robert A. Pape Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in WarRalph Raico on Rethinking ChurchillThe Libertarian Institute BlogMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

This is an episode to examine what cell structures look like and the methodologies of guerrillas and insurgents use to conduct clandestine or covert action.I further discuss traditional, subversive, critical cell and mass-oriented and unconventional cell structures. We visit some historical parallels and why the US and the West may not catch the next wave of terror in America (not cooked up by the clownish FBI like the Whitmer disaster).References:How They HuntAQ Training ManualThe IRA GreenbookHunting the SleepersAn Analysis of Al-Qaida TradecraftModeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-RangeUnderstanding the Form, Function, and Logic of Clandestine Insurgent and Terrorist Networks: The First Step in Effective Counternetwork OperationsHR Kedward In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France, 1942-1944George Millar Maquis: An Englishman in the French ResistanceIan Wellsted SAS with the Maquis: In Action with the French Resistance, June–September 1944Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and MilitiasMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

This is an episode to examine what you can do about the coming civil unrest in America. I discuss some of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) the free range human can employ to prepare and protect themselves for the coming unpleasantness.I further discuss weapons, kit, preps and training to prepare for what I consider the inevitable conflict emerging in the West. One morning we will all wake up to simultaneous attacks by bad actors across the country on soft targets, if you agree with that morbid notion, you have an obligation to act since you are warned.References:Richard Feynman's Cargo Cult Commencement Address at CalTech 1974Water Filter: Katadyn Pocket Water Filter for Backpacking, Group Camping & Emergency PreparednessGunshot Trauma Kit/IFAK: EVERLIT Advanced Emergency Trauma Kit, CAT GEN-7 Tourniquet Tactical IFAKMy Vehicle Kit: North American Rescue Squad Medics Kit (CCRK) w/ Free Retractable Shears Leash (Multicam)Rations: Humanitarian Daily Ration MRE Case 10 pack, Inspection Date 1/2024 or Better.https://premierbodyarmor.com/blogs/pba/understanding-body-armor-ratingshttps://backofbeyondsite.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/ammo-inventory/INTERVIEW WITH C. REED KNIGHT, JR.: PART 2Gordon L. RottmanWorld War II Allied Sabotage Devices and Booby TrapsWorld War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage TacticsWilliam Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackKarl DahlFactionFaction: With the CrusadersMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

This is an episode to examine what you can do about the coming civil unrest in America. I discuss some of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) the free range human can employ to prepare and protect themselves for the coming unpleasantness.I wanted to add a great note from one of my listeners [H/T to MG] that is a great addition to the recommendations for an entry price point Stoner platform. Be sure to get a red dot.I would like to bring one thing to your attention. Garand Thumb did a video on the Palmetto State Armory (PSA) $400 AR-15 platform. Title of video: "How Many Rounds Will A 400 Dollar AR-15 Last"?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHGtjx_2qbQHe matched up the PSA upper to a lower that allowed automatic fire to speed up the test. The rifle performed flawlessly into the 6500 rnds fired range to include engaging targets out to 700m to demonstrate barrel wear conditions.Now consider that your high end AR platform will start experiencing problems in the 10-12 thousand rounds fired range and cost 3-4x the price of the PSA AR platform. For that same high end AR price you could purchase 3-5 of the PSA's rifles.My key takeaway from the video, for new gun owners and/or strict budget due to our current economic decline and late stage empire, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone to buy 1-2 PSA rifles, a quality optic, and a 1-2 thousand rounds and yet still be under the price of a high end AR and it's high end optic normally paired.References:https://backofbeyondsite.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/ammo-inventory/INTERVIEW WITH C. REED KNIGHT, JR.: PART 2William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackKarl DahlFactionFaction: With the CrusadersMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment.The West has no working system to coordinate its artillery, air and Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) assets in a peer or near-peer fight that works.The Russians do.The Russian Strike Reconnaissance Complex has come of age and the Russians have one of the most effective fires synchronization modalities on Earth. The system is now battle proven in the first near-peer and peer conflict of the 21st century.Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment to bring the metal on target."Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr.References:The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of AgeArmy Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareLester Grau & Charles K. Bartles The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground ForcesDavid Glantz Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945 (Soviet (Russian) Study of War)David Glantz Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle (Soviet (Russian) Military Theory and Practice)Georgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military TheoristMy Substack.Email at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I discuss the Fall 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the tiny sliver of Nagorno-Karabakh and why I would suggest that it was a glimpse into the future of warfare for the remainder of this century. the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) for the following reasons:Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platform that are over priced and have the same provenance of battleships planet-wide in January 1942.The electronic emissions environment in future conflicts will be a two-way street that will put any active acquisition sensors and attached effectors in the hazards if they emit and remain in one place.Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo competition costs are driven down.The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman].The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen a remarkable increase in martial effectiveness since the Russians looked carefully at what happened in N-K, took notes and made changes to Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) in concert with the wholesale revamping of the Russian armed forces since 2008.My Substack.Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I discuss the slaughter of over 500 unarmed men, women and children in My Lai in March 1968 by American soldiers.In concert with the Tet Offensive in 1968, this was the end of American arms in Vietnam.The collision of barbarism, toxic leadership and moral injury make everyone of these pages bleed. One of the most searing indictments of American arms you will read. This book is an acquired taste because it may crush your soul.I caution you before you listen to this that the telling of this tale is will haunt any decent human being forever.References:Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into DarknessKarl Marlantes What It Is Like to Go to WarBill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of WarClark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial PurposeDick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent BattlespaceAndrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided WarsShauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect UsJonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of CharacterJonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of HomecomingAnother podcast:Martyrmade: Anything That Moves - The My Lai Massacre (w/History on Fire)My SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I continue a rather technical treatment of developing and using Concepts of Operations (CONOPS).This episode examines the finer points of getting baselines and expectations right for small and large projects alike.If you take these simple concepts for building a CONOPS to include how to do decomposition in Product Breakdown Structures (PBS) and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) as described in MILSTD 881F and apply it wherever you happen to work at a small or large company, everybody will be in awe of the black magic you perform and it a. guaranteed Return on Investment (ROI) in how much money you will save downstream.References:Special Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide GTA 31-01-003 January 2020DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARD PRACTICE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES FOR DEFENSE MATERIEL ITEMS MILSTD 881F 13 May 2022NASA Systems Engineering Handbook Rev 2Cost of 13 NASA projects skyrocket due to improper reviewsThe US Submarine Force is SunkJames Hornfischer "The Fleet at Flood Tide" My SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

I discuss a rather technical treatment of developing and using Concepts of Operations (CONOPS).This episode examines the timeless and tedious process of getting baselines and expectations right for small and large projects alike.References:Special Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide GTA 31-01-003 January 2020DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARD PRACTICE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES FOR DEFENSE MATERIEL ITEMS MILSTD 881F 13 May 2022NASA Systems Engineering Handbook Rev 2Cost of 13 NASA projects skyrocket due to improper reviewsMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

I discuss the outcome of the probable jihadist invasion of America. America is in a unique position in history in which it has facilitated the unfettered invasion of its borders and a large swath of military age males have been granted asylum or gone undetected to link up with legacy underground Islamist and terrorist groups across the country.This episodes examines the smoking ruins and speculate what the next stage of American civilization will look like.References:Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into DarknessWilliam Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackKarl DahlFactionFaction: With the CrusadersMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me

In this episode I discuss what the attack looks like in America.This is not if, this is when.The country is poised to experience this through a combination of neglect and the sheer hubris of meddling in the world without realize the unintended consequences.I wish I had better news but you have been warned, it's on the horizon.I talk about William Forstchen's "Day of Wrath" and Kurt Schlichter's "The Attack".References:William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

This is a continuation of my "Storming America Series" where I will tease out and describe why the inevitable internal attack on America by external forces will be made real.In this episode, I will examine what intelligence looks like from a professional perspective and why America and the West consistently engage in existential chaos avalanches that make the world a worse place.The bureaucratic impulse in the West has been a significant factor in making the intelligence community (IC), like the military community, a paper tiger that is a far greater danger to the inhabitants of the west than an ally. Until the IC is restructured and made more effective, it will consume roughly 100 billion a year to produce shoddy analysis, inform bad policy and a Keystone Kops foreign covert operations history that is a national shame.Like 9/11 and its existential failures, the next attack on America will have them simply asking for more money and more power.If you leveled the FBI, NSA and CIA tomorrow morning, made each of their budgets one dollar and fired all their employees, you would still be safe as a country.References:Richard J. Heuer The Psychology of Intelligence AnalysisDavid Talbot The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret GovernmentMortimer Adler How to Read a BookTim Weiner Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIAJohn Prado The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of DarknessMy Substack.Contact me at cgpodcast@pm.me.

This episode will be an addendum to my initial coverage in October 2023 of the Gaza-Israel conflict in Episode 027 and riffing off the domestic implications in Episode 037 of a similar attack on CONUS. If you wish to listen to those before you do this one, you may but I have crafted this so that isn't necessary.The clock is closer to midnight than it was in October 2023.References:William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail me at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I am reusing a previous episode I used in the now moribund Stoicism podcast I started, The Dash, which I ran out of steam on.Applying Stoic values and discipline to the vocation and avocations we practice in life may be the hardest part outside of making a Stoic life a lived lifestyle. I find the management industry is a giant cargo cult that publishes books whose pages number in the hundreds but could simply be a page or two.References:James Clear Atomic HabitsMarcus Aurelius MeditationsWhitney J. Oakes (editor) The Stoic and Epicurean Philosophers: The Complete Extant Writings of Epicurus, Epictetus, Lucretius and Marcus AureliusMy SubstackEmail me at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The concept of moral injuries for soldiers and non-soldiers alike, the gift of fear and being a dead man walking and how to handle regret and shame.“As beasts are beneath human restraints, gods are above them... It would be foolish and untruthful to deny the appeal of exalted, godlike intoxication....We have seen the paradox that these godlike exalted moments often correspond to times when the men who have survived them say that they have acted like beasts....Above all, a sense of merely human virtue, a sense of being valued and of valuing anything seems to have fled their lives....However, all of our virtues come from not being gods. Generosity is meaningless to a god, who never suffers shortage or want. Courage is meaningless to a god, who is immortal and can never suffer permanent injury. The godlike berserk state can destroy the capacity for virtue. Whether the berserker is beneath humanity as an animal, above it as a god, or both, he is cut off from all human community when he is in this state.”― Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of CharacterThose millions of men who have been in combat over the millennia have always brought home invisible scar tissue and regret that manifests in many ways but most of us take it to our graves.“…or the pilots doing nine-to-five jobs at computer consoles in Nevada killing people in Iraq and Afghanistan with drones and commuting to and from their homes like any other commuters. Imagine the psychic split that must ensue from bringing in death and destruction from the sky on a group of terrorists—young men who have mothers and a misplaced idealism that has led them into horrible criminal acts, but nevertheless young and brave men—and then driving home from the base to dinner with the spouse and kids. “Have a nice day at the office, hon?”― Karl Marlantes, What It is Like to Go to WarReferences:Karl Marlantes What It Is Like to Go to WarBill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of WarClark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial PurposeDick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent BattlespaceAndrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided WarsShauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect UsJonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of CharacterJonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of HomecomingMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The hybrid and gray zone fight will come to America in the next war. Once the declining American colossus shuffles into the next near-peer and peer conflict, the 21st century will see the continental US come under a unified attack by external forces for the first time since the War of 1812 and the Mexican border issues in 1916. How the 9/11/2001 events have not been replicated is a cipher to me. We need to war-game all the possibilities once a war is initiated with a near-peer or peer adversary. The kinetic forces on the ground will be sleepers, NOCs or recently arrived illegals in addition to cadres recruited over time and left in place.The police have no duty to protect citizens.Supreme Court cases per police protection:Castle Rock v. GonzalezWarren v. District of ColumbiaDeShaney v. Winnebago CountyPer the attack on Israel out of Gaza on 7 October 2023, only 140,000 Israelis out of a population of 9 million, or under two percent, were allowed to own a firearm prior to October and that is restricted to a handgun only and ammunition was limited to 50 rounds.I talk about William Forstchen's "Day of Wrath" and Kurt Schlichter's "The Attack".References:William Forstchen Day of WrathKurt Schlichter The AttackMatt Bracken:Enemies Foreign and Domestic.Foreign Enemies And Traitors.Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista.The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun.Castigo Cay.Eric Frank Russell The WaspMichael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series)Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of FranceRobert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistoryMy SubstackEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The direct action concentration of US Army Special Forces (SF) in the conduct of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the expense of the specialized and storied legend of what SF could do in non-permissive environments raising partisan forces behind enemy lines. The Army SF concentrated on perfecting a craft that numerous other combat organizations like the USMC 0311, .Army 11Bs and the exquisitely talented Ranger Regiment could do handily not to mention the legendary prowess of the Tier One units.SF could capitalize on the rich heritage of a regional expertise harnessed to a deep cultural IQ and understanding of allied and coalition fighting organizations. In concert with the deep intelligence and actionable intelligence infrastructure in a naturally expeditionary mindset practice strategic compression: the employment of tactical means to achieve and satisfy strategic end-states.SF needs to carve out their talent-stacks and showcase what makes them unique.References:David Maxwell Counter-Unconventional Warfare (2014)Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareMark Bowden Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern WarBob Scales Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at RiskAaron B. O'Connell Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and MindsHy S. Rothstein Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional WarfareRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistorySpecial Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide HQDA January 2020My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Everyone and everything has an origin story, while I had a sneaking suspicion early on in my modest career in special operations and irregular warfare (IW) that something was fundamentally wrong with the western way of war in these endeavors, it was Douglas Porch who probably set my course straight. In this book, he makes a compelling historical and logical case for why the IW efforts planet-wide have not only been a failure but ones that repeat themselves again and again.References:Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarNathaniel Moir Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary WarfareMartin Windrow The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in VietnamTed Morgan Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Vietnam WarMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Excursions is a new addition to the CG universe to cover adjacent conflict issues to the irregular warfare fight.***In the future near-peer and peer fight, salvo competition will be the preeminent means by which one country will kinetically overwhelm the other in a fight. I discuss the way the West is in an existential hazard of being woefully under-prepared to meet the threat if Western forces go toe toe with regional hegemons in the East or West.Let's anticipate the disasters now that are the Spanish in the English Channel in 1588, the British Royal Navy at Jutland in 1916, and the discovery in WWII all these battleships were not really capital ships, or had adequate armaments, yet their political dimensions compel not only their continuous construction but are the most devastating when lost.The aircraft carrier has been a signature component of US naval power and prestige for more than a century. The utility has continued to diminish since the end of WWII. The tremendous disadvantage of putting so much manpower and treasure into these single use leviathan systems in the modern world of distributed missile and PGM systems, emerging near-peer & peer adversaries and concentration of power in vulnerable systems is a recipe for future disaster.References:Gerry Doyle Carrier Killer: China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the early 21st CenturyDavid Lee Russell Early U.S. Navy Carrier Raids, February-April 1942: Five Operations That Tested a New Dimension of American Air PowerJeff Vandenengel Questioning the Carrier: Opportunities in Fleet Design for the U.S. NavyJeff Vandenengel interview on Midrats with CDR SalamanderIvan Gogin Fighting ships of the PEOPLE LIBERATION ARMY NAVY 1949 - 2023Jerry Hendrix Retreat From Range: The Rise and Fall of Carrier AviationMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Excursions will be a new addition to the CG universe to cover adjacent conflict issues to the irregular warfare fight.In the future near-peer and peer fight, salvo competition will be the preeminent means by which one country will kinetically overwhelm the other in a fight. I discuss the way the West is in an existential hazard of being woefully under-prepared to meet the threat if Western forces go toe toe with regional hegemons in the East or West.The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of AgeReferences:Nassim Taleb Antifragile: Things That Gain from DisorderMark Gunzinger & Bryan Clark Winning the Salvo Competition: Rebalancing America's Air and Missile DefenseChristian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The emerging anti-fragile forces of indigenous irregular warfare forces in concert or independent of near-peer and peer competitors challenging US and western global hegemony are on the march and will in the end succeed.References:David Maxwell Counter-Unconventional Warfare (2014)Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareMark Bowden Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern WarBob Scales Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at RiskAaron B. O'Connell Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and MindsHy S. Rothstein Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional WarfareRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistorySpecial Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide HQDA January 2020My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

In this episode, I will be a heretic to the current military establishment in America and the west. They can't do unconventional warfare and I must be very specific in the conditional problem I propose: the western military has no capability to conduct long term partisan warfare in concert with indigenous forces fighting an insurgency in a non-permissive environment. It doesn't have the language skills, cultural IQ, sophisticated intelligence/communications infrastructure to support stay-behind missions, isolated stand-in force capability (nor does the USMC for FD2030 fantasies) comprehensive bushcraft and primitive skills for long loiter missions nor a fighting force that is capable of living in third world conditions for years (rotational longevity) at a time.This is Part One of a two part series in which we will discuss the converse capabilities conundrum in counter UW for the west in Part Two published o/a 26 December 2023.References:David Maxwell Counter-Unconventional Warfare (2014)Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareMark Bowden Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern WarBob Scales Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at RiskAaron B. O'Connell Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and MindsHy S. Rothstein Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional WarfareRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistorySpecial Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide HQDA January 2020My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Here we do a deep dive in US Army Special Forces (SF) and why a complete overhaul is needed to resurrect the original charter to save SF from itself. Over two decades of fighting neo-colonial conflicts throughout the Middle East and Africa has decimated the original construct and mission of what made SF so special.References:Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareMark Bowden Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern WarBob Scales Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at RiskAaron B. O'Connell Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and MindsHy S. Rothstein Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional WarfareRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistorySpecial Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide HQDA January 2020My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Today, I'll do a deep dive into the US Army vanilla SOF organziations and get acquainted with the capabilities and opportunities for US Army special operations.My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

A brief introduction to the Department of Defense activities in special operations. I will not be discussing the dark organizations and specifically address the "vanilla" SOF in all the services.References:Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareMark Bowden Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern WarBob Scales Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at RiskAaron B. O'Connell Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts and MindsHy S. Rothstein Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional WarfareRobert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In HistorySpecial Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide HQDA January 2020My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

We discuss the Israeli emergency in its latest iteration in the horrific attacks by Hamas into Israel in October 2023 and the simmering conflict bands that emerging globally in which this is another explosion in the global conflict rift. For those who thought the podcast died, its death has been greatly exaggerated. My move to FL from AZ is now complete and many apologies for the disturbance of my fortnightly podcast episode rhythm by being late two weeks with a new episode.The podcast studio took some time to resurrect but here we are.I said Pat Keller in the the podcast, it is Bob Keller; apologies Bob, senior moment.References:David Fromkin A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle EastJonathan Schneer The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli ConflictKenneth Pollack Armies of Sand: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military EffectivenessDarryl Cooper & MartyrMade Fear & Loathing in the New Jerusalem [podcast]My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Every war has a seminal novel, a book that really resonates with generation that wrote it and the following generations from the Iliad to Gore Vidal's historical fiction to The Centurions by Jean Larteguy to From Here to Eternity by James Jones to this one.References:Paul Avallone Tattoo Zoo: A Novel of the Afghan WarJean Larteguy The CenturionsAnton Myrer Once an EagleMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

In the one year anniversary episode (!), we chat about the use of thin-skinned vehicles in the modern age and the asymmetric nature of the fight. The employment of commercially produced vehicles for conduct of raids and ambushes employing a wide array of weapons medium- to heavy-machine guns to mortars to ATGMs and everything in between. Please note that Toyota outside of Japan does not produce these for purpose-built military employment. And to my fellow CruiserHeads, I salute you.References:Leigh Neville Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special ForcesAlaric Searle & Ed Nash Kurdish Armour Against ISIS: YPG/SDF tanks, technicals and AFVs in the Syrian Civil War, 2014–19My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I take the time to discuss some of the conventional ramifications of modern warfare and book recommendations that have given me a deeper and more nuanced understanding of why wars begin and end as they do.References:Sun Tzu The Art of WarCarl von Clausewitz On WarMiyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to StrategyH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to WarfareChristian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech WarfareQiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy AmericaMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The defeat of the USSR in Afghanistan was part of a broad tapestry of disasters that eventually brought the Russian communist state crashing down. The shattering of Soviet forces by the indigenous rebels aided by foreign fighters and sophisticated weapons technology from the West doomed the USSR to failure. The Americans would later respond with: "Hold my beer..."References:Ahmed Rashid Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central AsiaRodric Braithewaite Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89Daniel P. Bolger Feast of Bones: A NovelMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

We examine the Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On by Leigh Neville and Matt Eversmann to discuss the book, the event and what led up to the event.References:Leigh Neville & Matt Eversmann Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years OnMark Bowden Blackhawk DownMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

We discuss the book, guerrilla and insurgency warfare during the American war in 1861-65, the atrocity cycle, guerrilla math and the hopelessness of occupation avoiding the injury of civilians.References:Tom McKinney Jack Hinson's One-Man War, A Civil War SniperDaniel E. Sutherland A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil WarMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

It appears the West just can't get counterinsurgency right. I talk about some of the framework ideas that would be good lessons learned for those who I think wisely and would try to avoid COIN. The major takeaway is that insurgencies are rather antifragile and bureaucracies are the enemy of effectiveness and innovation.References:Nassim Taleb Incerto: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes, Antifragile, Skin in the GameDouglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

I discuss the complex adaptive system that is war that Clausewitz categorically identified as "friction" in the nineteenth century. We'll examine what chaos and complexity has to do with conflict, why it is inevitable and why wars are won by the least incompetent armies and navies.References:Nassim Taleb Incerto: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes, Antifragile, Skin in the GameCarl von Clausewitz On WarMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

The April 1961 Generals' Putsch of Algiers (Putsch des généraux), was a failed military action to press French President Charles de Gaulle to not abandon French Algeria, along with French people and pro-French Arabs living there. The putsch in French Algeria was conducted by four retired generals, led by Maurice Challe, the commander of the French Armed Forces in Algeria in 1958-60 and the author of the successful Challe Plan. The plan which in effect helped to defeat militant rebels across Algeria.References:Martin Windrow Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935Douglas Porch The French Foreign Legion: A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting ForceDouglas Porch CounterinsurgencyAlistair Horne A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962Martin Evans Algeria: France's Undeclared War (Making of the Modern World)My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

In this episode, I go through some of the more interesting emails and comments I have gotten since the podcast began in September 2022.My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

his episodes examines the unconventional and eccentric mind sets of Lawrence and other famous and obscure military figures. We examine the way some armies embrace this while others discourage it.References:Scott Anderson Lawrence of Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle EastJames J. Schneider Guerrilla Leader: TE Lawrence and the Arab RevoltTE Lawrence Seven Pillars of WisdomDesmond Stewart TE Lawrence: A New BiographyJeremy Wilson Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorized Biography of TE LawrenceRanulph Fiennes Lawrence of Arabia: My Journey in Search of T. E. LawrenceMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.

In this episode we will discuss how Lawrence's medievalism gave him a tremendous advantage serendipitously advising and leading the local Arab revolt during WWI against the Turks and more deeply, Allied efforts to map a post-war world. His predilections in study, preparation and application of his 27 points led to a success the British army and the larger Allied effort could not have achieved without him.References:Scott Anderson Lawrence of Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle EastJames J. Schneider Guerrilla Leader: TE Lawrence and the Arab RevoltTE Lawrence Seven Pillars of WisdomDesmond Stewart TE Lawrence: A New BiographyJeremy Wilson Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorized Biography of TE LawrenceRanulph Fiennes Lawrence of Arabia: My Journey in Search of T. E. LawrenceMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.