The Ancient Art of Modern Warfare

E49: Do we learn from history?

In 1938 the Western powers allowed Nazi Germany to annex the border regions of Czechoslovakia and, a few months later, dismember the rest of that country. Some people say that this model is replaying itself today. Have we learned from history? Have others learned lessons we have not?

E48 The American Way of War w Col Jayson Altieri

Initiative, Imagination, Independence. These principles seem more important than ever in today’s vague, ambiguous, complex, and uncertain strategic environment. But, has the United States gone in another direction? COL Jayson Altieri of the USAF Air War College joins me to discuss this.

E47:Great Commander Pt 3 - von Moltke and the General Staff

What does a Prussian general, a product of the enlightenment, have in common with a Greek commander who studied under Aristotle? More important, how does that continue to affect warfare in the 21^st century?

E46 Great Commanders Part 2: Alexander

Can one man change warfare, or history? I asked colleagues for their recommendations. Everyone's list included the same name. Alexander of Macedon. His vision changed warfare and the world, with effects that continue to this day.

E45: Commanders Part 1

If war is a human endeavor, can the actions of one person, against all odds, change the course of a battle or a war? Times may bring out the man, but sometimes one person can change history.

E44: Cultural Warfare

War is a human endeavor and, by its nature, a social activity. Success in war depends on understanding the enemy's cultures to identify strategic weakness and red-lines that must not be crossed.

E43: How to Lose a War

In the previous episode I proposed that Tolstoy’s statement that all happy families are alike and that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way, might also apply to success and failure in war. In that podcast, I asserted that that all successful wars are alike. Now I will explore the idea that every unsuccessful war is unsuccessful in its own way.

E42 All Successful Wars Are Alike

Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina begins: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Could this line from the author of “War and Peace” also apply to war? That is the topic of this episode of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare.

E41: Mercenary Risk Management

Prior episodes described what Quasi-mercenary forces are, what they do, how they get their support, and who controls them. The big question is what – if anything -- we can do about them? I am joined by Dr. Deborah Avant of the University of Denver, Dr. Sorcha McLeod of the UN Working Group on Mercenaries, and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gary Motsek

E40: Interlude

Why does the United States seem to ignore the basic tenets of strategy in our military interventions? What does our abandoning Afghanistan mean for international security? I am interrupting the discussion on mercenaries to address this issue.