A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

International law can actually be a very powerful tool in the regulation of warfare In 1907 the major powers of the world gathered in the Netherlands for the Second Hague Conference. Building on the agreements of the First Hague Conference of 1899 the participants noted that many warring parties were not observing the international laws agreed upon by civilized nations. Of particular concern was t...

When disaster strikes in the United States we are fortunate to have the National Guard available to bolster and support our civilian first responders. Experts in logistics and transportation, organization and construction as well as medical experts, the Guard is vital in supporting the long term recovery operations that follow any disastrous event. The Guard response to the current COVID-19 pandem...

The DoD has [set] a precedent for using its service members for drug tests, for vaccines, for things that they think may be of benefit to the warfighter...I don't see that it would be too wild to also include CBD Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound found in both marijuana and hemp plants and it's the hot product in the health/self-care market. And it's the perfect topic for us to discuss in the studio...

The key thing is relationships. When we build those relationships those are bridges that help us to go throughout all the situations we face in our career as military [members]. One of the finest aspects of the resident class each year at the U.S. Army War College is the cohort of International Fellows (IF). For the last 42 years the best and brightest from our allied nation's militaries have atte...

It wasn't long before the aircraft were able to fly to much greater altitudes and at greater speeds and get into an environment where humans just could not function correctly and humans became sort of the weak link or the limiting factor Anyone who watches military aviation knows that many believe the F-35 will be the last manned fighter aircraft produced by the United States. Remotely piloted air...

Burden sharing has been an issue in the alliance from the very beginning, from the drafting of the treaty when members of the U.S. Congress wanted to make sure that the Europeans were going to be able to hold up their end of the deal In discussing NATO and our European allies, burden sharing has been a hot topic for the last several years under the current administration. But the fact of the matte...

I think in a lot of ways our job...is to move the dialog out of the Pentagon and into the field. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Brian Linn, renowned student and historian of the U.S. Army as an institution. Linn joins Michael Neiberg in the studio to discuss how he began his work first looking at the counterinsurgency in the Philippines at the turn of the century. The author of eight books on the history...

My abiding memory of colonels is that they really are the pivot between the engine room and the ultimate decision makers particularly, for example, in a corps headquarters. A BETTER PEACE welcomes General Timothy Radford of the British Army to the studio to discuss his perspectives on strategic leadership, vision and effect. Radford was in Carlisle to address the 2020 resident class of the U.S. Ar...

Martial Citizenship...is the concept that since soldiers serve the state the state therefore owes something back. The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service released its report "Inspired to Serve" on 25 March 2020. The Commission's two primary statutory charges were: (1) to "conduct a review of the military selective service process" and (2) to "consider methods to increase...

Don't just know the soldier in the uniform, know the man or the woman behind the uniform. Military members, law enforcement officers, and first responders are sadly no strangers to tragedy and trauma. How well individuals and organizations respond to those events, and just as importantly avoid future events, can be highly dependent on the leadership displayed during those trying times. A BETTER PE...

I think the most important thing the public should know about classification is that there are rules. The Department of Defense does not just make up what they think is classified. No, NOTHING in this episode is classified. If you're a novice to the world of classification, have you ever wondered who classifies something and why they do it, and can it ever be declassified? A BETTER PEACE welcomes...

If he didn't do that, he should have. If you've ever spent any time with historians you know that they are the worst people to watch a movie with. Custer never said that, Roosevelt didn't jump up from his wheelchair, there was no grass on that battlefield in 1917. A BETTER PEACE gathered three of our senior editors to lay waste to some of your favorite historical movies. Tom Bruscino, Jacqueline W...

The President, and all policy makers should have the unvarnished truth as best as the intelligence community can serve it up. A BETTER PEACE welcomes former Director of National Intelligence (DNI), James Clapper to discuss the role of the ODNI and the current state of the position. Clapper joins guest host Genevieve Lester, Chair of Strategic Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. They examine...

What we do know is that all of the movement of people and animals made this virus transmit much faster around the world than it would have otherwise. And you can directly associate it with the effects of the war. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Michael Neiberg to examine the misnamed Spanish Flu of 1918. Neiberg joins our Editor-In-Chief Jacqueline Whitt as they consider the factors that lead to the devas...

A BETTER PEACE welcomes three native Spanish speakers as they take over the mics. Three students in the AY20 Resident class of the U.S. Army War College sat down to record our first ever all Spanish podcast. International Fellows Alfredo Pozzo and Fernando Prada joined fellow U.S. student Andres Paz to discuss their initial impressions of the Carlisle experience as they embarked on their academic...

There has never been anything like it in recorded history where a country has put…a trillion dollars aside to help in jump starting all of these infrastructure projects around the country Much has been made of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Wary watcher's are quick to point out the spread of Chinese influence in many resource rich countries. Critics promptly highlight the missteps that Ch...

The Army prides itself on being able to learn, but it also has shown throughout history it also forgets pretty quick too. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Brian Linn and Conrad Crane to discuss the inter-war periods throughout U.S. history and what they've meant to the further development of the U.S. Army. WAR ROOM Senior Editor JP Clark joins them to look at how post-war versus pre-war mindsets have guide...

If you go into reading history with an open mind what you're looking for is to be surprised; you're looking for things that tell you something you didn't know. The liberation of an oppressed people is indeed a noble venture. But as the U.S. learned in Iraq, it's a complicated relationship between the liberated and their liberators. A BETTER PEACE welcomes William Hitchcock to discuss the lessons t...

I worry that we're going to field many of these systems without really thinking through both the legality and morality of putting them into the field. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Dr. Paul Springer Chair of the Department of Research at the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College. Paul joins our Editor-In-Chief Jacqueline Whitt to examine the current state of autonomous warfare and the look ahead...

To really have a successful mission you have to be willing to stay A BETTER PEACE welcomes Mary Elizabeth Walters to discuss to calculus of humanitarian operations involving the U.S. military. The decision to render aid or enter into humanitarian operations in another country isn't always an easy one. It may seem like a simple endeavor, help wherever and whoever you can, but what happens when help...

The United States has been in favor of a more autonomous Europe ever since the end of WWII. But it’s possible that there have been a few mixed messages throughout the years. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Robert Gleckler and Joel Hillison to the studio to examine just what it is the U.S. means when it speaks of EU strategic autonomy, how that message has evolved and how the European governments have resp...

A BETTER PEACE welcomes Major General Torgeir Gråtrud, commander of the Norwegian Special Operations Command, to the studio to discuss his perspectives on strategic leadership. Major General Gråtrud was in Carlisle to attend his induction into the International Fellows Hall of Fame at the U.S. Army War College. He becomes the 70th International Fellow to receive the honor. During the podcast he ad...

Back in the 1930s, Air Force officers who were assigned instructor duty at the Air Corps Tactical School…would wear these little…pledge pins on their uniforms. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Dr. John Terino, Chair of the Department of Airpower at the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College (ACSC.) John joins our Editor-In-Chief, Jacqueline Whitt to discuss professional military education (PME) in th...

It's not that Dundas was opposed to the use of light infantry he thought it was, the pejorative term was, 'it's very American'   A BETTER PEACE welcomes Dr. Huw Davies of King's College London. Huw joins WAR ROOM Editor-In-Chief Jacqueline Whitt to trace the development of Great Britain's Light Infantry. It's easy to call yourself a learning organization, but to do so there must be a serious exami...

This was never meant to be the be all and the end all...let's remember this title of my little 4-page magnum opus...'Toward An Understanding of Military Strategy' A BETTER PEACE welcomes back U.S. Army Colonel (retired) Arthur F. Lykke for the second and final part of his interview. Having explained the birthplace of the three-legged-stool model in part one, Art goes on to share his thoughts on wh...