School of War – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Matt Pottinger, distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, Chairman of FDD’s China Program, and author of The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan, joins the show to talk about how a war over Taiwan might start and how it may be prevented. ▪️ Times      •      01:13 Introduction      •      03:11 The Boiling Moat     •      04:54 Is Xi serious?     •      11:35 How to deter China      •      17:40 Out with the old, in with the new     •      24:30 Mapping the scenarios     •      30:14 No such thing as an accidental war     •      35:44 A cognitive trap     •      39:22 Left with no choice Follow along  on Instagram Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joins the show to discuss his plan to spend five percent of America’s GDP on defense. Click the link to read more Peace through Strength: A Generational Investment in the U.S. Military  ▪️ Times      •      01:31 Introduction      •      01:40 Service years     •      04:39 3% vs 5%     •      9:00 Peace through Strength        •      12:50 More money, more problems?     •      16:40 “Let’s get some more shipyards…”     •      19:37 Modernizing the nuclear arsenal     •      23:14 Force Design 2030 Follow along  on Instagram Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Mahnken, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about how strategic fallacies have played a role in Ukraine. ▪️ Times      •      01:33 Introduction      •      02:30 Fallacies of rationality      •      05:36 Is war irrational?      •      10:02 Germany willed WWI to happen     •      15:40 Fallacy of the irrational/hyper-rational adversary       •      22:53 Rational/irrational Hitler      •      28:09 Wrapped around the rational axle         •      30:34 Fallacy of over/underestimating the adversary     •      37:53 Losing the contingency       •      41:08 Fallacies of interaction         •      45:56 Learning but not doing     •      50:53 Building defenses against fallacies Follow along  on Instagram Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian Easton, senior director at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy, joins the show to talk about Xi Jinping, the ideology that shaped Jinping and by which he rules, and why his vision for the world should not be dismissed.  ▪️ Times  • 01:56 Introduction • 02:22 Interested In China • 05:01 Discovering Taiwan • 10:32 Perceptions Of The PRC  • 13:11 How The Chinese Government Works • 17:47 Who Is Xi Jinping? • 23:42 The Tactics Of Ideology And Control • 26:29 The “Scourge Of The Corrupt” • 29:36 Authentic Socialism • 31:25 Does China’s Communism Matter?     • 37:04 The Blending Of Communism And Nationalism • 43:04 Exporting Xi Jinping Thought     • 49:19 Absolute Control • 52:41 Does Xi Jinping Have Rivals?       • 56:04 Optimisim To Pessimism In Taiwan   • 01:04:00 It’s Not All Dark Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hal Brands, Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Michael Beckley, associate professor of political science at Tufts University, join the show to talk about how an armed confrontation with China could be coming more quickly than most expect.  ▪️ Times  • 01:30 Introduction • 02:28 Danger Zone  • 05:13 A Matter Of Timing • 07:55 A Thucydides Trap? • 13:07 Historical Analogies and 1914 • 20:32 Getting To The Long Game • 25:37 Sleepwalking Into War? • 31:10 China’s Problems And Plans • 35:06 The “Lenin Trap” • 36:44 Why Does Taiwan Matter?     • 40:27 Commitments And Capabilities  • 44:37 What Will War Look Like?     • 48:24 Cold War Lessons  • 52:22 Getting Through The Danger Zone  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael S. Neiberg, Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College, joins the show to talk American policy towards Vichy France. ▪️ Times  • 01:21 Introduction • 02:15 Vichy France - An Overview • 06:38 A Phony War • 09:16 American Assumptions Pre-war • 13:09 Isolationism No Longer Works • 24:30 Roosevelt’s Policy  • 28:45 Stress In The Anglo-American Alliance • 33:03 American Vision Of A Post-War World • 36:00 Vichy Unveiled  • 39:01 Chaos In North Africa     • 43:19 Vichy’s Shame • 51:57 de Gaulle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ocie Vest, retired Marine infantry officer, joins the show to talk about his experiences as a platoon commander in the Battle of Marjah and later as a combat leader in Nimruz Province, lessons learned in training and in combat, and how the war can continue after the fighting ends. Second of a two-part conversation. ▪️ Times  • 01:27 Violent Months • 06:15 “Do Whatever Those Guys Do” • 09:42 Tactical Adaptation • 13:32 A Fighting Exit • 18:03 “That Sucked…Why’d We Want To Do That So Bad?” • 21:29 Dispersed Operations • 26:36 Nimruz Province  • 30:43 Hope For The Future • 34:39 Leadership • 36:11 Medically Retired, Twice     • 38:53 The Work Works • 45:47 “Now Its Up To Them” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ocie Vest, retired Marine infantry officer, joins the show to talk about his experiences as a platoon commander in the Battle of Marjah and later as a combat leader in Nimruz Province, lessons learned in training and in combat, and how the war can continue after the fighting ends. First of a two-part conversation. ▪️ Times  • 01:46 Introduction • 02:24 Joining The Marines • 03:55 Quantico • 09:00 Becoming An Infantry Officer • 20:22 Camp Lejeune • 27:21 False Start • 35:06 Crossing The Line Of Departure  • 40:49 On The Job Learning • 44:40 Marjah • 50:43 First Combat     • 59:11 Sustained Combat • 1:02:45 Different Neighborhood, Different War Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexander Watson, Professor of History at Goldsmiths, University of London, joins the show to talk about the Eastern Front in World War One, and how the events of 1914/15 foreshadowed tragedies to come and the crisis in Ukraine today.  ▪️ Times  • 01:43 Introduction • 02:40 WWI In The East • 05:29 Battlefield - Austria-Hungary  • 10:10 The Austro-Hungarian Army • 13:28 Coveted Galicia • 17:44 1914 - A Primordial Soup • 19:02 The Siege Begins • 26:27 Przemysl’s Defensive Plan • 29:50 The Russians Take A Direct Approach • 36:08 Inside A City Under Siege     • 40:19 Total Exhaustion  • 44:45 Military And Human Consequences • 50:00 Birthplace Of The Bloodlands • 55:09 Strange Ends Maps Courtesy of United States Military Academy West Point Eastern Europe, 1914 and Planned Army Concentration Areas in Central Europe, 1914  Operations on The Eastern Front to 20 September 1914 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Laderman, lecturer at King’s College London and co-author of Hitler's American Gamble, joins the show to talk about his latest book, which covers the crucial days between the attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s perplexing declaration of war on the United States. ▪️ Times  • 01:52 Introduction • 02:50 Wasn’t War Inevitable? • 07:12 Japan And Germany - Strange Bedfellows • 11:10 Hitler’s Blurred Vision • 14:45 Japan - Will They, Won’t They Attack  • 15:51 Churchill’s Outlook • 22:58 Anti-Interventionist Sentiment • 26:57 Anti-Semitism • 31:18 Roosevelt Sees Things Clearly • 35:21 A War With Germany, Not Japan     • 38:40 Catastrophic German Strategic Errors • 43:23 Hitler’s American Gamble  • 49:15 Pearl Harbor Condemned The European Jews • 53:54 Alarmingly Relevant Parallels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices