Angry Planet

According to Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, the United States is a shining “city upon a hill." It’s a beacon of democracy in a dark world full of cruel dictators and vicious despots. But history shows the United States has also been willing to side with despots in the name of stability. This week on War College, we talk to Brian Klaas, a Oxford University graduate and expert on political violence, about his new book – The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy. According to Klaas, powerful countries should stop forcing democracy down the throats of their less stable counterparts and avoid settling for despots to achieve stability. He makes the case for co-opting the rank-and-file of old regimes into new ones to prevent state collapse, and for using measured military force and foreign aid money to coax tyrants out of power. Plus, he explores “counterfeit democracies,” and a new city upon a hill in West Africa: The Gambia.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the U.S. refugee program. One week later, after several legal challenges and protests at America’s airports, a federal judge blocked several key provisions of the order. Moral, legal and ethical questions aside, the ban would create national security challenges for America. This week on War College, Joshua Hampson of the Niskanen center walks us through the possible military implications of the executive order. According to Hampson, Trump’s plan plays into the propaganda of the Islamic State. He also critiques Trump’s new plan to solve the refugee crisis - creating “safe zones,” in Syria. Safe zones need protection – the Srebrenica genocide is a stark reminder of what happens when they aren’t – and the kind of camp Trump is talking about creating would require a major troop presence to keep safe.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

War has changed in the 21st century and combat is not always kinetic. Russia’s battlefields are the internet, financial markets and television airwaves. The goal is not necessarily to take and hold territory but to expand Russia’s sphere of influence and achieve political goals. This is hybrid warfare, or gibridnaya voina, the much hyped and discussed way of war. But, as intelligence expert Mark Galeotti tells us on this week’s War College, Moscow’s conception of hybrid war isn’t new - it’s a reaction to and an Eastern adaptation of American military strategy during the Cold War. The goal is simple - expand Russian soft power to make the world more agreeable to the Kremlin’s point of view. Galeotti explains how hybrid war is fought, and how to best combat it in this week’s episode. By Matthew Gault Produced and edited by Bethel HabteSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, was obsessed with the occult. He attempted to read minds and used astrological star charts to inform his battle plans. On the allied side, English magician Aleister Crowley kept in contact with German occultists, fed them false information, and even created the V for Victory. Today on War College, we sit down with media theorist, documentarian and author Douglas Rushkoff to talk about the bizarre occult history of World War II and how it affected strategic decisions during the war. His latest book – Aleister & Adolf – is a historical fiction that tells the story of a strange ‘magickal’ battle between the Allies and Axis powers during World War II. It spans the globe, and connects Crowley, Hitler, General Patton, Heinrich Himmler and even Ian Fleming – the creator of super spy James Bond.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Jan. 9, 2017, Gizmodo ran a story titled “Trump Just Dismissed the People in Charge of Maintaining Our Nuclear Arsenal.” The article published claims from unnamed members of the National Nuclear Security Administration who said the incoming president had ordered them to clear out their desks before his inauguration. People on Twitter traded speculation about what an empty NNSA might mean for America’s nuclear security come Jan. 21. Within several hours, however, Gizmodo updated the story, changed the title (to “Trump Is Letting Go the People in Charge of Maintaining Our Nuclear Arsenal”) and issued a correction. The situation, it seemed, was not as dire as everyone suspected. During the first few hours after the stories publication, U.S. Naval War College professor and nuclear policy expert Tom Nichols took to Twitter to calm everyone down. He urged caution in the face of panic, reminded people that the NNSA wasn’t a very old agency, its role in nuclear security unclear and that transitions are always messy. But that doesn’t mean he’s not worried about the President-elect’s plans for America’s nuclear arsenal. This week on War College, we sit down with Tom Nichols to discuss the Gizmodo story, the NNSA and Trump’s nuclear ambitions. For Nichols, when it comes to Trump you never know until he takes action. When it comes to nukes, even minor actions can have dire consequences. by Matthew Gault edited and produced by Bethel HabteSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right now, America is fighting a war in Afghanistan – the longest in its history – a war against the Islamic State in the Middle East, a war against Islamic radicals in Pakistan, several different operations in and around the Horn of Africa and – if you ask the Houthi rebels – a war in Yemen. That’s a short list. Today on War College, we sit down with freelance journalist and independent researcher Joseph Trevithick, who has spent the better part of the last year compiling a list of all the military operations America is fighting overseas. He uses the Freedom of Information Act and a spreadsheet to keep everything straight. As of this recording, his list of American military operations is up to 190. The nature of these conflicts is often small-scale and powered by special operations forces and drones. Trevithick says most of these operations aren’t secret, it’s just that they’re complicated and often, through legal loopholes, avoid Congressional oversight.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill lost his reelection bid for Prime Minister of England. The British Bulldog was down, but not out. He worried of a coming conflict with Stalin and the growing Soviet Empire, and he wanted the world to listen. On this week’s War College, author Lord Alan Watson argues that two speeches Churchill gave after the war laid the intellectual groundwork for Western geopolitical thought during the Cold War. More than that, he says they saved the world. His new book – Churchill’s Legacy: Two Speeches to Save the World tells the story of the former Prime Minister’s post-war career and how his legacy shaped the West. Without Churchill, Watson argues, there would be no European Union, no NATO and no peace.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Months before 9/11, U.S. Air Force captain Scott Swanson patrolled the skies over Afghanistan with a Predator drone. Swanson and his team were hunting Osama bin Laden. And they found him. But this was months before the new drones could fire missiles, and the pilots could only watch as bin Laden walked away. On Jan 23, 2001 – just three days into George W. Bush’s presidency – a Predator drone test fired a Hellfire missile for the first time. A new age of war had begun. Swanson is the first human to use a Predator-fired Hellfire missile to take a life. From a trailer truck in a garage behind CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, Swanson loosed a missile from a drone roughly 7,000 miles away in Kandahar. The missile struck its target – a pickup truck outside a building that intelligence said was hiding Taliban leader Mohammad Omar. The missile hit and killed two of Omar’s bodyguards. This week on War College, we replay our conversation with Swanson. He walks us through the early years of the drone program, how it changed him, and how it changed the world. (Corrects distance from Langley to Kandahar from 2,500 miles to 7,000 miles in fourth paragraph)Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America’s 2016 election was plagued by fake news. Online, it’s easy to fake authority, and millions of Americans fall for the stories. It may seem new to Americans, but Russians have lived with a strange, conspiracy-driven media for years.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia's aircraft carrier may be creaky, but its submarines are among the best in the business and they ply the currents beneath the Arctic at will - though not unchallenged. So, who's challenging Russia and what are the world's powers fighting over in the warming waters?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.