War on the Rocks

This is the podcast in which War on the Rocks fixes the Middle East...ok, we kid, but it is a fascinating conversation with some of the most astute and informed U.S. experts on Iraq and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Have a listen!   We were joined by: J.M. Berger, author of the new book, ISIS: State of Terror (along with Jessica Stern) and a nonresident fellow in the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution. William McCants, author of the forthcoming book, ISIS Apocalypse, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy and director of the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution. Denise Natali, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (her views do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government). Douglas Ollivant, a senior national security fellow with the New America Foundation and a managing partner and the Senior Vice President of Mantid International. Ryan Evans, editor-in-chief of War on the Rocks, moderated with Lagavulin 16 neat in hand.

We got together a great panel of experts to talk all things cybersecurity, with a little bit of ClintonEmail.com and comedy troupes mixed in. Listen here to Jason Healey of the Atlantic Council, Shane Harris of The Daily Beast, and John Amble and Mark Stout, both of War on the Rocks, as they talk about cyber over drinks. (And yes, only Jason had a Sazerac, but alliteration won out over absolute accuracy. We trust you'll forgive us.)     Image Credit: Paul Hartzog, CC

Last night, just hours before President Obama delivered the State of the Union address, Ryan Evans sat down with Mira-Rapp Hooper of CSIS, Bryan McGrath of the Hudson Institute's Center for American Seapower, RADM Mike McDevitt (ret) of CNA, and Scott Cheney-Peters of CIMSEC.  Their beverage-fueled conversation ranged widely, from China's disputes with the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan to the balance of seapower in the Asia Pacific. Have a listen! Make sure you visit the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and read RADM McDevitt's latest report on the South China Sea! Image: Philippines Navy ship BRP Artemio Ricarte. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dave Gordon

Andrew Small of the German Marshall Fund, Stephen Tankel of American University and WOTR, and Joshua White of the Stimson Center joined Ryan Evans to talk about South and East Asian regional affairs, including the complex web of relations between Pakistan, China, India, and Afghanistan. Have a listen and read Andrew's new book, The China-Pakistan Axis.

We recently sat down with the gang at the Center for a New American Security to discuss offset strategies. As you can see from the photo, we had all the important props one would need to plan how the United States will maintain its military technological superiority, including Star Wars action figures, a drone from Radio Shack, a model drone, a plastic shotgun, a fake robot, and - of course - a bottle of bourbon. We had a lot of fun recording this and we hope you have fun listening to it. Read more about our Beyond Offset series here.

Editor's note: Recently, the Clements Center of the University of Texas at Austin and the King's College London War Studies Department held an important conference on the "special relationship" between the United Kingdom and the United States in the larger context of grand strategy. Many WOTR friends and contributors were involved, including John Bew, MLR Smith, Kori Schake, Tim Hoyt, Ryan Evans, and --- of course --- Lawrence Freedman, who gave the final keynote lecture on a subject near and dear to WOTR readers: strategy. Read Freedman's Strategy: A History if you haven't already. And if you have, read it again!   Lawrence Freedman has been Professor of War Studies at King’s College London since 1982. His most recent book is Strategy: A History (OUP, 2013). He is a Contributing Editor at War on the Rocks.

Admiral Chris Parry (ret.) of the Royal United Services Institute, Bryan McGrath of Hudson's Center for American Seapower, and Evan Montgomery of CSBA joined Ryan Evans for a wide-ranging conversation on naval strategy, a rising China, territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, NATO's ability to project power in the Baltic and Black Seas, and much more. Have a listen and read Admiral Parry's new book, Super Highway: Sea Power in the 21st Century.   Image: U.S. Navy

We sat down to talk Asian security at the Jefferson Hotel's Quill Bar. Our guests included: Dean Cheng, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Robert Haddick, an independent consultant for special operations command and author of Fire on the Water: China, America, and the Future of the Pacific (Naval Institute Press, 2014). TX Hammes, who needs no introduction. With Ryan Evans moderating, the participants buzzed through a number of contentious issues related to Asian security including the ongoing protests in Taiwan, North Korea, tensions between South Korea and Japan, and whether or not the U.S. military is appropriately preparing itself for a potential conflict with China. Have a listen!   Photo credit: Official U.S. Navy Imagery

Some of the sharpest minds on the Middle East in town sat down over drinks to tackle some of the most troublesome problems in the world's most troublesome region. Have a listen! Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He is the author of  The Rise of Turkey. Ryan Evans is the editor-in-chief of War on the Rocks. Douglas A. Ollivant is a Senior National Security Fellow with the New America Foundation and the Senior Vice President of Mantid International, LLC. Afshon Ostovar is a senior analyst at the CNA Corporation. Joshua W. Walker is a Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and a Fellow at the Truman National Security Project,   Image: Flickr, Argenberg, CC

Yesterday, Ryan Evans sat down with Sean Kay over a couple beers at the Jefferson Hotel's wonderful Quill Bar to discuss America's foreign policy trajectory and Sean's new book, America's Search for Security: The Triumph of Idealism and the Return of Realism.  This wide-ranging conversation covered every topic a foreign policy wonk could dream of: Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, the Cold War, NATO, Russia, President Obama, Ukraine, the Asia Pivot, the Middle East, and more. Sean has insightful points to offer on all of these topics and more based on his perspective as a scholar of foreign relations and still recovering government adviser.   Image: White House