The #BruteCast

Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. Today Dr. Weber gave an overview of the new correlation of forces in eastern Ukraine as Putin prepares his last throw of the dice, and Maj Brown laid out the potential future combined arms employment of the new shopping list of weapons the U.S. just offered to Ukraine. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

As Russia's military and political goals for its invasion of Ukraine continue to be frustrated, there has been much discussion over the possibility, and potential means of employment, for unconventional weapons. The Russian nuclear arsenal has naturally been a part of this conversation, especially its large inventory of "tactical" nuclear warheads. Dr. Lasha Tchantouridzé will provide an overview and analysis of Russia's nuclear options in the context of its broader objectives in Ukraine. Dr. Lasha Tchantouridzé is Professor and Director of the graduate programs in Diplomacy and International Relations at Norwich University. He is also a Davis Center Associate at Harvard University, Boston, MA; Research Fellow, the Center for Defence and Security Studies, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; and Advisory Board Member of Peace & War Center at Norwich University. He earned his PhD in International Relations from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Tchantouridzé’s research interests are at the intersection of diplomacy and force in international politics, and his academic publications are in the areas of geopolitics, Russian foreign policy, Canadian foreign policy, the Arctic, the Black Sea basin, international politics in the Caucasus, and NATO-Russia relations. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

#TeamKrulak is proud to present one of the crown jewels of both our Krulak Scholars program and Non-Resident Fellow outreach. Capt Casey Lamar, USMC, and Dr. Leah Windsor first started collaborating on a research project while Capt Lamar attended Expeditionary Warfare School in AY20-21. That project went from a research paper to a presentation that has been highlighted in academic conferences, most recently at the 2022 U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence and Academic Alliance Conference. We were excited to learn more about their work in this #BruteCast!  Capt Lamar and Dr. Windsor examined the style and substance of linguistic similarity between the U.S. and host countries for troops. They looked at the relationship between troop drawdowns, base closures, and significant policy shifts alongside stylistic (syntactic/semantic) similarity. Cold War: dissimilarity. Post-Cold War (1990-2010): similarity. Post-post-Cold War (2011-present): massive dissimilarity. They also modeled the content similarity of language between the U.S. and other countries in the world. The goal of this research is to use this data to help explain countries' alignment with the U.S., and the ebbs and flows of closeness and differences regarding the presence of U.S. troops.  Dr. Leah Windsor is an Associate Professor in the Department of English (Applied Linguistics) and the Institute for Intelligent Systems at The University of Memphis where she directs the Languages Across Cultures lab. She is PI on an NSF grant studying multimodal communication. Her book with Dr. Kerry F. Crawford, The PhD Parenthood Trap, is available with Georgetown University Press. She serves on the Editorial Board of International Studies Quarterly and International Studies Perspectives. She is also a 2020-2021 Non-Resident Fellow for the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine Corps University.  Captain Casey LaMar is an Intelligence Officer currently serving with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He graduated from George Washington University, where he studied International Affairs and Arabic. He was previously published in the Journal of International Negotiation and Small Wars Journal. When not writing, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and their two Australian Shepherds in Southern California.  The slides from this presentation are available as an attachment on the episode page hosted on our website here: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic/customObject/viewCustomObject/5f323f055e40 Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we examined a couple of events from the last 24 hours that have raised real questions about whether Putin's command and control over his subordinates is breaking down. Are Putin's intentions being effectively conveyed in public by his ministers and spokespeople, or are the inmates running the asylum? All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Listener discretion is advised - Dr. Weber and Maj Brown discuss emerging details of abuses and atrocities committed by the Russian military against Ukrainian civilians in areas from which Russia has withdrawn or been expelled by counterattack. Graphic content. Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we looked at emerging stories of abuses and atrocities committed by the Russian military against civilians in Ukrainian towns from which they have withdrawn or been expelled. We discussed how this potentially impacts war aims for both sides, as well as Western responses both in the near and far terms. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

In 2019, Islamic State's setbacks in Syria and Iraq seemed to herald the organization's death knell. Yet, its affiliates continue to endure and even thrive, particularly those in Africa. Indeed, many of its African affiliates have been reinvigorated and have reaffirmed their loyalty and ties to the central leadership. This lecture will explore the history, evolution, and expansion of Islamic State's African affiliates and discuss how they have evolved mostly autonomously, using the "Islamic State" brand as a means for accruing power while receiving relatively little, if any, direction or material support from the core organization's leadership. Given this pattern, Islamic State Central's relative decline in the Middle East has had little impact on its African affiliates, which are likely to remain committed to the "Caliphate's" cause for the foreseeable future, posing a unique security challenge to the United States and its allies. Dr. Jason Warner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and leads Africa research at the Combating Terrorist Center, also at West Point. He holds a Ph.D. in African Studies from Harvard University. He is the co-author of The Islamic State in Africa: The Emergence, Evolution, and Future of the Next Jihadist Battlefront (Oxford University Press, 2022). Click here for more info on Dr. Warner: https://www.westpoint.edu/social-sciences/profile/jason_warnerollow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

In this episode we kept looking at Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but our topic was one we hadn't really delved into yet. It’s the dog that didn’t bark; or rather, it’s barked in a very different way than many people expected. Our panel examined the cyber aspect of this conflict: what both Russia and Ukraine did that our panelists did not expect, lessons from those activities for US cyber strategy, and how the PME community needs to respond to these revelations. Our panelists were: Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider (Hoover Institution), Dr. Sean Lawson (University of Utah and a #TeamKrulak Non-Resident Fellow), Dr. Melissa Thomas (Air Force Cyber College), and Dr. Carl Horn (Air Force Cyber College). The panel was moderated by Dr. Brandon Valeriano, a #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow. Our panelists referenced a number of articles and publications, which included: What Ukraine Shows About Cyber Defense and Partnerships (https://nationalinterest.org/blog/techland-when-great-power-competition-meets-digital-world/what-ukraine-shows-about-cyber) The Logic of Coercion in Cyberspace (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09636412.2017.1306396) Distinguishing Cyberattacks by Difficulty (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08850607.2021.2018565?journalCode=ujic20) Unleashing the U.S. Military's Thinking About Cyber Power (https://warontherocks.com/2021/11/unleashing-the-u-s-militarys-thinking-about-cyber-power/) Cyber and Nuclear Threats Make for a Dangerous Mix in Ukraine (https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/30439/cyber-and-nuclear-make-for-a-dangerous-mix-in-the-ukraine-war) Evaluating A Bursty-Signal Mesh Network to Support C2 Constructs of Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/67688) The Challenge of Educating the Military on Cyber Strategy (https://warontherocks.com/2021/06/the-challenge-of-educating-the-military-on-cyber-strategy/) Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we looked at the state of current peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which - reports of poisoning inflicted on Ukrainian negotiators notwithstanding - indicate a significant downshift in Putin's war aims...or does it? We also took a quick look at the prospects for the new draft class of Russian conscripts scheduled for just a few days from now. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of daily events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we examined the highlights of today's extraordinary NATO summit, especially the reinforcement of NATO countries bordering #Ukraine and the activation of the CBRN Defence Battalion.  All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's new mini-series featuring a snapshot of daily events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. This episode looks at the question of territorial concessions from the perspectives of #Russia and #Ukraine - what each side is fighting for, and what they might accept in a negotiated peace. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/outro music is "Epic" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brute-krulak-center-for-innovation-and-future-warfare Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic