Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast

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.