Angry Planet

With Vladimir Putin and the United States staring at each other like the gunfighters in the final scene in the "Good, the Bad and the Ugly," War College takes a fresh look at NATO. We wanted to know what kind of shape the nearly 70-year-old alliance is in.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Barack Obama laid out a plan to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison this week. Even if it were to close by the time Obama leaves office, it will have been open for 15 years. So, why is the prison still open, and what would it take to close it? And how important is it, really, to close it?This week on War College, we talk to Reuters' own David Rohde. He's written extensively about Guantanamo and he also knows captivity from the other side, as a prisoner of the Taliban for seven months.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia is pulling out all the stops in showing off new weaponry — especially in Syria. Nick de Larrinaga, an expert at Jane’s Defense Weekly, joins the show and explains that the display of force is about more than winning a war. It also functions a kind of advertising campaign for the world’s second-largest arms dealer.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition leader who was ranked as the world's best chess player for most of 20 years, has a problem with the West’s response to Vladimir Putin’s Russia and warns of the dangers of the nation's global influence. The title of his new book – Winter Is Coming – is a conscious play on the famous Game of Thrones TV and book series and the sense of darkness stalking the world.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel’s defense forces are among the world’s elite. Their training methods are widely copied, actions taken by their soldiers and pilots are legendary. The Raid on Entebbe, the Six Day War, the 1981 air strike that took out a nuclear reactor under construction in Iraq.But those victories were long ago and Israel’s enemies have evolved. This week on War College, journalist Noga Tarnopolsky walks us through the changing face of the IDF. In a country where everybody serves, the role of the soldier is more highly scrutinized and respected than in America. Tarnopolsky explains why Israel is cutting back on officers, strengthening its borders and worrying less about Iran than you might expect.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saudi Arabia executes a cleric who is a member of the Saudi Shi’ite minority. Iran’s government, which sees itself as the leader of the Shi’ite world, doesn’t work very hard to stop an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran that follows the execution. Saudi Arabia closes its embassy and tensions between the two nations, which had been growing for years, hit a new high. With hot wars in Yemen and Syria, billions of dollars sloshing around between governments and militias and militant groups, its a good time to look at what’s really going on and what’s likely to happen next.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has used natural gas as a weapon against Ukraine and Europe as a whole. Threatening to turn shut off the pipes as the weather turns cold is a pretty effective way to influence foreign policy. But now it looks like one of Vladimir Putin’s key weapons is losing some its punch. This week on War College we’re looking at how shifts in the production of oil and natural gas are effecting global security, and where that leaves the United States.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

North Korea sets off a nuclear bomb and how does the U.S. respond? The Pentagon sends a 65-year-old airplane to buzz Korean airspace. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense if the warplane wasn’t the B-52 bomber. Designed in the aftermath of World War Two, obsolete nearly before the last one rolled off the line in 1961 – the Stratofortress may remain in the air for another 25 years.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

North Korea is the most mysterious and oppressive regime on earth. Few journalists penetrate Pyongyang and fewer still stay long enough to understand the country and its people. Jean Lee is one of those determined few. And she’s seen some strange stuff.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Islamic State has many enemies, both around the world and in the Middle East. But there’s one group of fighters that the men of Islamic State fear more than others because, rumors say, to be killed by them doesn’t lead to martyrdom, but to an eternity in hell. These fearsome warriors are members of the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units, and in this week’s War College, we look at the role they – and other women – are playing in the war against Islamic State.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.