War College

Afghanistan. If you’re listening to this show you’ve probably been following the news. Despite what the Pentagon or White House will tell you, the evacuation isn’t going great. There is a dichotomy between what officials tell us and what’s actually happening that—in the age of mass communication—seems … insulting.That dichotomy and how it affected America’s view of Afghanistan is at the heart of the new book—The Afghanistan Papers. Craig Whitlock, its author, is here with us today. Whitlock is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post who has covered America’s War on Terror since the beginning.Recorded August 25, the day before the attacks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Conquerors and nations have been trying to rebuild Afghanistan in their own image for thousands of years. The U.S. is just the latest to fail.The Soviet Union also failed, with a little push from the United States. But they learned their lesson in only 10 years, from 1979-1989.Mark Galeotti joins us today to talk about the lessons the U.S. probably should have learned from the USSR. He’s Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and has literally written the book - no three books! - on this very subject. We’ll put links in the show notes.Storm-333: KGB and Spetsnaz seize Kabul, Soviet-Afghan War 1979The Panjshir Valley 1980–86Afghanistan: The Soviet Union's Last War  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

America is leaving Afghanistan. President Joe Biden has set a September 11th withdrawal date and things are continuing apace. As America packs up its gear and goes home it’s leaving behind something far more valuable than MRAPs and M16s—people.For two decades individual Afghans have stepped up to help the United States and as it leaves the battlefield, some of these interpreters are being left behind.With us today is former Marine Sergeant, Afghanistan War veteran, and Purple Heart recipient Michael Wendt. He’s an advocate for interpreters and recently published an op-ed in The Hill titled “Getting Afghan interpreters out of Afghanistan isn't progressive: It's the right thing to do.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are we living in a declining empire in need of renewal? Maybe.But one thing to keep in mind? Romans thought the same thing centuries before the great empire fell.So what’s up with the fascination with the decline and fall of Rome? And what lessons does it have for US politics?To help us answer that question, we’ve got Edward J. Watts. He’s a professor of history at UC San Diego and the author of a new book, The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Life in Haiti has rarely been easy. It’s the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Corruption is rampant. And it’s been invaded more than once since independence, including by the United States.It’s little wonder that the half-Island nation has suffered repression and political turmoilAnd, on July 7, it’s president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated.To help us understand the current situation -- and a bit of the history as well -- I’m joined by Francois Pierre-Louis of Queens College in New York.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When I was a kid I learned about the Alamo. It’s 1836. Houston said to Travis, fortify the Alamo. Volunteers came from across the continent to fight and die for the dream of a free and independent Texas. Like the Ballad said, One hundred and eighty five holding back five thousand.In the southern part of Texas, near the town of San Antone, like a statue on his pinto rides a cowboy all alone. And he sees the cattle grazing where a century before Santa Anna’s guns were blazing and the cannons used to roar. And his eyes turn sorta misty and his heart begins to glow and he takes his hat off slowly. To the men of the Alamo. To the thirteen days of glory at the siege of Alamo.What a load of bullshit.The Alamo and its effect on Texas, the country, and Phil Collins, is the subject of the new book Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of An American Myth. Two of its three authors are here with me today, Bryan Burrough and Chris Tomlinson. They’re both writers and they’re both from Texas, so you can be sure that what

Afghanistan, the site of America’s longest war, is changing. The Taliban is gaining ground in the North while peace talks stall. The U.S. continues its withdrawal and the Afghan military is left to pick up the pieces.Here to help us understand what’s going on is Ali M. Latifi.Latifi is an Afghan journalist living in Kabul. His work has appeared in Al Jazeera, Business Insider, and NBC News.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It doesn’t take high technology to kill someone. Simple chemicals propel pieces of lead out of steel tubes. Other simple chemicals are placed in larger vessels and are triggered by the weight of a vehicle or even a human body. Some are even set off by strings attached to fuses. Not one computer involved.But the weapons of warfare do evolve - some into trillion dollar monsters that gobble up whole defense budgets and can destroy life on earth with the turn of a key. And new weapons are always on the horizon.Today, we’ve brought on Patrick Tucker to talk about some recent developments and what may lie ahead. Patrick is the technology editor at Defense One and writes about weapons technology every day.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So far, in the political battles at the heart of our democracy, they have been AWOL. Just as they should be.The military is an expressly non-political institution, even if they do report to an elected commander-in-chief.But with political divisions deepening, could that change?Eliott Ackerman took on just that issue in a recent column for the New York Times. Ackerman is a combat veteran, journalist and author. And he’s here to talk to us today.Ackermans’ article is here:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/opinion/contested-elections-military.htmlAngry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.  See acast.com/privacy

Over the past few months the world watched as the conflict between Israel and Palestine flared up. I’m not interested in litigating the facts of that conflict in this opening and you’ve likely already decided where you stand on the conflict.For some, it’s complicated. For others, the very idea that someone would call it complicated is an insult.Here to help us untangle some of what’s happened and to discuss the future of Palestine is Joey Ayoub. Joey is a writer, scholar, and podcaster who grew up in Lebanon and is of Palestinian descent. He writes, broadly, about the experiences of displaced peoples with a particular focus on the Middle East.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.

For the last two decades, America has been possessed with a Global War on Terror. The threat of militant Islam has funded the security state and given the Pentagon an overarching goal. But that threat feels increasingly distant and a new specter is haunting America—that of white nationalism.Both groups are complicated, varied, and prone to in-fighting. Both groups rely on apocalyptic visions of the future to drive home their message. Both groups are waging war against the United States.With us to talk through all this is Dr. Sara Kamali. Kamali is a scholar of white nationalism, militant Islam, and systemic inequality. Her new book is Homegrown Hate: Why White Nationalists and Military Islamists Are Waging War Against the United States.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When you hear the word Sparta, there’s an immediate association with war and the military. Of the Greek City States, it’s the one most associated with battle. Spartan men were expected to be warriors and their society was geared almost entirely toward training for war. For generations, military leaders have drawn inspiration from Sparta.Much of the romance around Sparta centers Around the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, where the Persian Empire crushed a small and ill-equipped collection of elite soldiers. Since then, historians, propagandists, Hollywood, and the American military have turned Sparta’s epic defeat at the gates of fire into a myth of slavery vs freedom, east vs west, and democracy vs despotism. But the thing is … a lot of what hear about the Spartans is bullshit, the truth is more complicated.Here to help us unpack modern day mythos around Sparta is Pauline Kaurin. Kaurin is the Chair of Military Ethics at the US Naval War College and the author of The Warrior, Military Ethics and Contemporar

There’s a maxim that says “No two countries that both have a McDonald’s have ever fought a war against each other.” This so-called Golden Arches theory enjoyed a brief moment of prominence in the 1990s, got shaky after 9/11, and has been out-right assaulted by pundits and political theorists in the past ten years. It died it’s final death in October when McDonald’s Azerbaijan took public sides in the fight between Armenia and Azerbaijan.Here to walk us through the Golden Arches Theory and what the hell was wrong with all of us in the 1990s is Paul Musgrave. Musgrave is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His recent article in Foreign Policy about this topic is titled “The Beautiful, Dumb Dream of McDonald’s Peace Theory.”Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes,

In the summer of 2020, violent riots broke out across America between ordinary citizens and police. These riots led to groups finding ways to develop their own security forces to deal with violence from police, opposition groups, and other antagonists on the ground.Here to help us understand what’s going on is Nikki West. West is a local Seattle photojournalist who was previously on the show talking about the Chapel Hill Autonomous Zone. She’s documented the push and pull between protestors and tracked the development of new tactics.One particularly unique tactic is the development of Seattle’s car brigade. This protection force consists of a multi-layered security system that is centered around a highly organized car brigade. Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS direc

Literally recorded as missiles hit and news broke.Guest: Noga Tarnopolsky, a reporter on Israel and Palestine.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Russia and Ukraine have been fighting ever since Little Green Men invaded Crimea in 2014. That wasn’t enough for Russia. The former evil empire then aided separatist enclaves inside the rest of Ukraine.The Ukrainian military was unprepared, the world mostly sat back and watched, and an ugly stalemate ensued. If a stalemate includes tanks firing at each other.Recently, Russia massed troops on Ukraine’s border as rhetoric ratcheted up.To help us understand what exactly is going on, we have Michael Kofman. He’s a Senior Research Scientist at CNA Corporation, which advises governments and organizations on security issues.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“From mud, through blood, to the green fields beyond.” The tank was meant to push through entrenched enemy lines and put an end to the stale-mate of trench warfare during The Great War. It created a whole new kind of combat. It was high risk, high reward, as men in armored units trundled across the world.With us today is comics writer Garth Ennis. Ennis is the diabolical mind behind Sara, Hitman, War Stories, The Boys, and Preacher. He’s here today talking about his new collection of war stories—Tankies. Set during WWII and the Korean War, Tankies tells the story of British tank crews as they fight across Europe and Asia.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplan

The Taliban - we all know them, few of us love them, and it looks like they’re going to rule Afghanistan - again.So, what was it like the first time the Islamic militants took over, in 1996?Today, we have two journalists who were in Afghanistan in the 90s. Scott Neuman was working for United Press International and wrote from the scene.Alan Chin is a photographer who went to Afghanistan to take pictures for The New York Times. I’ve known them both for more than 20 years.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When Islamic State’s capital, Raqqa, finally fell in late 2017, America wasn’t really paying close attention. We’d had nearly a year of turmoil here at home, and, in many ways, Islamic State was old news.And if we weren’t paying that much attention to the fight, we paid even less attention to the fighters. So, today we’ll tell the story of the Kurdish men and women who led the Syrian Democratic Forces.To take us through it, we have Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, who’s just published Daughters of Kobani, which tells the story of the Kurdish fight against Islamic State. Lemmon is a journalist and best-selling author who last appeared on the show to talk about her book Ashley’s War. Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on ou

Guns, guns, guns. America loves them and their use is enshrined in the second amendment. It’s such a big deal here that an entire culture has grown around it. From the outside looking in, gun culture can seem...surreal and fetishistic. The truth is more complicated. The overwhelming majority of American gun owners are responsible and are not taking photos of themselves aiming a loaded weapon at their own dick. Yes, that’s a thing.Here to talk to us about the second amendment and gun culture is Tacticool Girlfriend. Tacticool Girlfriend is a YouTuber whose channel covers gun safety and gun culture. And she does it all with style and flair that you don’t normally see in the space.Angry Planet has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach u