The Pursuit of Scrappiness #55 “The Baltics were always going to be next” What can we do and what not to worry about w/ David Holahan, former US Defense Attache and Iraq war veteran
David Holahan is a former US Defense Attache to Latvia. He is also a retired US Marine Lt. Col. a 21-year veteran of the US Marine Corps. Having served in conflicts in Iraq and Somalia.
David spent over 10 years living in Baltics which gives him a unique viewpoint on the defense and security matters of our region both from local as well as US policy maker and NATO perspective.
This episode is first in a series of special episodes on how the Russian invasion of Ukraine affects us in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
It was recorded on March 29 and we bring you full-length unedited conversation.
NEW! Watch full-length video conversation on YouTube > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsoM_RGae2E
Remember to support Ukraine > https://war.ukraine.ua/
The topics covered in this episode with Timestamps
[01:45] - David’s background in military and US Diplomatic Service
[07:30] - Was Russia’s invasion a surprise
[10:50] - NATO was designed to keep the Germans down and the Russians out
[14:30] - Russia hate when the Baltics flip them off
[19:30] - What are the implications for the the Baltics
[20:20] - The Baltics were always going to be next
[26:00] - The Baltic countries are not working closely enough together on their defense
[33:00] - How might the current war in Ukraine end?
[36:10] - The nuke is a huge bluff
[39:10] - The battlefield is unpredictable, Russian army can disintegrate
[40:15] - Suggestions from David’s military experience on how to deal with stress
NEW! Watch this conversation in full-length on YouTube >
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA
Listen to our previous episode with David > https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/episodes/episode-10-interview-david-holahan
Find out over 50 other full length podcast episodes on > https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/
Support for this episode comes from Nexpay > https://paynexpay.com/
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