A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

Latest Episodes:

OUR 300th FREAKIN' EPISODE! May 03, 2022

Show notes

This week we are celebrating WAR ROOM's fifth birthday! We published our first article on 1 May 2017 and our first podcast episode a couple of weeks later on 17 May. Today we celebrate where we've been and where we're going with our 300th podcast episode! It's estimated that nearly 75% of all the podcasts started podfade, or slowly stop producing new episodes, often after only about 7 episodes. So you can understand why we're pretty proud to to publish our 300th episode and thrilled that you are still out there listening along. Jacqueline Whitt, our first podcast editor, now Editor-in-Chief, and Ron Granieri, our current podcast editor sit down in the virtual studio to discuss the start of it all. They talk about what it takes to produce an episode, what WAR ROOM hopes to contribute to the NATSEC conversation and where we're hoping to take the conversation. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners as well as all of our guests, and here's to the next 300 episodes. What do you want to hear us talk about? EDITOR'S CORRECTION: Ron mistakenly credits Buck as the voice of the opening credits. That voice is actually Professor Douglas "Muddy" Waters (CAPT, USN, Ret) from the Department of Command, Leadership and Management, and a friend of WAR ROOM. Buck just reads all of the legal disclaimers. BTW: Episode 75 is THREE PIONEERS OF AIRPOWER (GREAT STRATEGISTS) and Episode 123 is BEYOND TASK FORCE SMITH: ‘NATIONAL’ UNPREPAREDNESS FOR WAR IN KOREA

K.M PANIKKAR: INDIAN SCHOLAR, DIPLOMAT, STRATEGIST (GREAT STRATEGISTS) Apr 26, 2022

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Four years ago the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) underwent a name change in hopes of signifying a change in thinking in the region. The new name, United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), was in recognition of "the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans as America focuses West." In studying the region it quickly becomes clear that India, and particularly Indian naval strategy must be examined to understand the dynamics of the situation. A BETTER PEACE welcomes back Patrick Bratton to share his studies of Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, an Indian scholar statesman and the author of among dozens of other works, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History. Patrick joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the studio to look at the life and works of Panikkar and how India's first ambassador to China has lessons to offer to anyone interested in understanding INDOPACOM.

IF-THEN: DEFINING THE RED LINE IN CYBERSPACE Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

Conditional statements or as they're more commonly known, IF-THEN statements, are the foundation of almost all programming languages. They allow an automation that looks for a certain circumstance, and if that circumstance exists then an action happens. The action may be the end result or it may send the automation down a path searching for more circumstances, but it is the building block for decision making processes, cyber or otherwise. That's why it's so odd that when it comes to defining cyber warfare there doesn't seem to be a clear set of rules for decision making. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Patrick Walsh to look at defining the red line in cyberspace. What defines an act of warfare, versus crime, versus terrorism in cyberspace. Patrick joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the studio to share his years of experience prosecuting cybercrimes and how he feels laws can better inform decision making and responses to actions in the cyber realm.

CASUALTY ASSISTANCE IN CHANGING TIMES Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

Casualties are a fact of military life. Whether the result of a training accident, peacekeeping operations or full scale combat, the military has made the commitment to guide families through the very difficult circumstances of a service member's death with the aid of Casualty Assistance Officers (CAO). Sadly through repetition the U.S. Army has created training and programs and processes that are world class. Unfortunately, when the odd circumstances surrounding the captivity of Bowe Bergdahl by the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan occurred, it highlighted the deficiencies of the CAO program when addressing prisoners of non-state actors and violent extremist organizations (VEOs). This isn't the story of Bergdahl's ordeal. It's the experiences of Kevin Hickey the CAO for the Bergdahl family and he joins Ron Granieri in the studio to discuss his observations over five long years supporting them. He's researching and proposing improvements and changes to the traditional CAO program to make sure that the U.S. Army is prepared for situations like the Bergdahl's when it happens again one day.

TO HELP HEAL THE PEOPLE: JAN SCRUGGS Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

CAUTION: This episode contains a first-person account of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attempted suicide. These are incredibly important topics that need to be discussed, but we want our listeners to be aware that the conversation can be very frank at times. If you or someone you know is in crisis, there are options available to help you cope. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Last week on March 29th the nation observed National Vietnam War Veterans Day. This week we'd like to share a conversation with Jan Scruggs, the man who conceived of and eventually built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. A combat veteran of the Vietnam War himself, Jan tells the incredible story of his motivations, obstructions, collaborations and finally success in creating a striking symbol of the conflict and its cost that is visited by over 3 million people each year. He joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the virtual studio to discuss his experience in Vietnam and the post traumatic stress he suffered upon his return. Jan tells the story of his mission to recognize the sacrifices and losses of his generation and to help heal the people that are sent out to fight their nation's wars.

LESSONS OF AFGHANISTAN: A CONVERSATION WITH MG BRIAN MENNES Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

For many, Afghanistan and the lessons that should have been learned have been overshadowed recently by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. And as much as Ukraine deserves the attention of the world, national security professionals have a duty to learn as much as possible from the successes and failures of Afghanistan. To that end, A BETTER PEACE is extremely pleased to welcome Maj Gen Brian Mennes, the Deputy Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He joins Tom Spahr in the virtual studio to discuss his experiences in Afghanistan during his multiple tours in the theater. Tom and the general served together on three separate tours in Afghanistan and their conversation focuses on the wins that they achieved along the way along with the losses and the eventual fall of the Afghan government in August 2021.

WAR BY OTHER MEANS? SANCTIONS AND CONFLICT Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Sanctions. They're the talk of the town right now as the world watches Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Social media and the news networks are full of "experts" sharing their opinions on every aspect of sanctions associated with the current world situation. Should they have happened sooner? Did the West wait long enough? Are they too harsh? Should they be much tougher? Is there a clear criteria for Russia to comply with to have them removed? Will they ever completely go away? A BETTER PEACE welcomes Mark Duckenfield, former Department Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy to discuss the topic. Mark holds a PhD in political science from Harvard University where he specialized in European political economy. He joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the virtual studio to look at sanctions from a historical perspective. When have sanctions worked? When have they failed? What are the necessary conditions of economies, cultures and people that will enhance or stymie the effects of economic sanctions?

CHINA'S WILD WEST Mar 08, 2022

Show notes

Chinese leaders have struggled to develop coherent policies toward Eurasia for centuries. And the work of building a policy for the larger Central Asian region has serious implications for the building of the modern Chinese state. Beijing's efforts to reduce the influence of the Uyghur population of Xinjiang Province is a perfect example of the failing policies of the region. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Zenel Garcia to discuss his latest book China’s Western Frontier and Eurasia The Politics of State and Region-Building. Zenel joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the virtual studio to examine how China has attempted to handle its western frontier through a series of state-building initiatives. Their conversation looks at how China's region-building project in Eurasia has been complicated by the collapse of the USSR, increasing globalization, and the party’s professed concerns about terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

FEAR, HONOR, INTEREST: THUCYDIDES'S LESSONS FOR UKRAINE Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

WAR ROOM isn't a news outlet and we don't do up to the minute reporting. But when Dr. Joel Hillison came to us last week and wanted to discuss the ongoing situation on the Ukraine border we happily welcomed him back to the podcast. Joel joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the BETTER PEACE virtual studio to discuss what it takes to be truly effective deterring an adversary. It's often easier to declare your enemy irrational, maniacal. or power hungry than it is to try and understand their motivation or point of view. Joel tries to apply strategic empathy (and years of NATO experience and study) to place himself in the shoes of Russian leadership to better grasp what is driving their thought process and actions. The goal is to determine what is important, what is threatening, what consequences are too painful, and where is there room to negotiate? At the time of this episodes release tensions are still high with limited hostilities continuing along the border and avenues of communication still open. Joel and Ron's hope is that at the moment you listen to this episode the conversations are still ongoing, because the alternative is not good for anyone.

TRUE SPIES: STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING MODERN ESPIONAGE Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

Admit it. In your most self-aggrandizing dreams you're as charming as Sydney Bristow, as lethal as Jason Bourne, and as intuitive and intellectual as Jack Ryan. If Austin Powers was anywhere in that mix you might want to keep that to yourself. But you know that real life spies don't really live like that. Right - you know that? A BETTER PEACE welcomes author, analyst and educator Amy Zegart to the virtual studio to set the record straight on the realities of the intelligence world in the digital age and talk about her new book Spies, Lies and Algorithms. She joins our own Gen Lester to discuss what real intelligence work looks like, what the role of AI is in the future of information collection and analysis and what intelligence priorities should look like going forward.