Shield of the Republic

Eric and Eliot discuss three dangerous men (Russian General Valeriy Gerasimov, the late Iranian IRGC leader Ghassem Soleimani and PRC Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia) with Seth Jones who has written a new book on irregular or, if you prefer, political warfare. They discuss the active conflict in this domain in which the US finds itself with Russia, China, and Iran as Russia'...

Former National Security Council Senior Director for Europe (and star impeachment witness) Fiona Hill is this week's guest discussing her book, There is Nothing For You Here, her service in the Trump Administration, the mortification of Trump's press conference with Putin at Helsinki (and transient thoughts of faking a seizure to make it stop) as well as the causes of and remedies for authoritaria...

In this episode Eliot and Eric explore why Woodrow Wilson was unable to end World War I in 1916 despite the exhaustion of Britain, France, and Germany (the main combatants on the Western Front), how the lack of an adequate staffing may have contributed, the rise of a staffing culture inside the US government and the more recent loss of staffing and strategic competence, the role of reviewing past...

A discussion of why the war in Afghanistan was in General Mark Milley’s words “a strategic failure,” why the Afghan government failed to inspire Afghans to fight for their own country, and the legacy of former ambassador and peace agreement negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad. Our special guest is Carter Malkasian, who was a political advisor to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commanding General...