School of War

Toshi Yoshihara, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, author of Mao’s Army Goes to Sea, and contributor to the New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about Sun Tzu and Mao’s strategic thought.▪️Times     •    02:14 Introduction     •    02:33 Who was Sun Tzu?      •    05:38 Spring and Autumn     •    08:27 Legitimizing the text    •    11:18 Rational analysis     •    13:51 Clausewitz versus Sun Tzu    •    20:28 A dangerous optimism     •    24:40 Shih    •    29:59 Mao in ’49 and ’50    •    34:11 Chinese intervention in Korea    •    38:36 The origins of Chinese sea power     •    43:11 Amphibious operations    •    47:33 D-Day without any advantages Andrew Rhodes Map D-Day Invasion compared to potential Taiwan InvasionFollow along on Instagram

Mark Moyar, the William P. Harris Chair of Military History at Hillsdale College, author of Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968 and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to reconsider the history of the Vietnam War.▪️Times • 01:53 Introduction • 04:30 Beginnings • 08:43 Early success • 12:23 Fallout from the coup• 14:00 LBJ takes over • 19:06 Domino theory• 22:20 China and Vietnam • 25:40 Buying time• 28:23 Johnson and McNamara• 34:22 Maintaining the shield • 35:53 Westmoreland and attrition • 41:42 South Vietnam • 45:33 ParallelsFollow along on Instagram

Carter Malkasian, chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about counterterrorism and counterinsurgency since 9/11.▪️Times     •    01:39 Introduction     •    02:01 From academia to Garmsir     •    03:48 Center for Naval Analysis     •    05:45 Two faces of the same coin    •    08:51 Counterterrorism vs counterinsurgency     •    13:00 McChrystal and Petraeus    •    16:29 Types of insurgency     •    20:34 The Sunni Awakening and the Surge    •    24:32 Two different wars    •    30:51 Gilding the lily     •    37:46 The Obama Administration    •    41:42 ISIS    •    44:45 Withdrawal deadlineFollow along on Instagram

Matthew Kroenig, professor in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and contributor to the New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about one of the most influential strategic thinkers of all time, Niccolo Machiavelli.▪️Times • 02:21 Introduction • 03:52 Teaching Machiavelli • 05:38 Machiavelli’s relevance• 07:49 Who was Niccolo?• 10:00 A lasting effect • 12:16 The Art of War• 15:52 A bad reputation• 19:58 A return to republic• 22:25 The Prince• 25:45 An early realist • 30:35 Classical influences• 35:12 Bullish on democracyFollow along on Instagram

John Gaddis, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military & Naval History at Yale University and a contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about the foundations of strategic thought.▪️Times  • 02:01 Introduction  • 02:42 Makers of Modern Strategy  • 05:21 Democracy and strategy  • 07:42 Do authoritarians do strategy better? • 10:32 A guide for future action • 14:19 Grammar and logic • 17:42 Ecological sensitivity • 21:00 Maintain credibility  • 23:25 NSC-68 • 28:04 Reactions   • 32:18 Self-correction • 37:12 Tolerating contradictions  • 41:29 Robert Kagan • 42:43 Intellectual humilityFollow along on Instagram

Will Scharf, former federal prosecutor and candidate for Missouri Attorney General, joins the show to talk about how the Chinese Communist Party uses fentanyl as part of a broader strategy to pressure the United States.▪️Times  • 01:16 Introduction  • 02:19 Law enforcement and policy • 04:39 What is fentanyl?  • 06:53 Violent Crimes • 09:00 Fentanyl’s strength • 12:02 Fentanyl vs opium • 13:24 Origins • 17:52 China’s role • 21:09 The Opium Wars  • 25:41 The Chinese enigma  • 34:13 What can we do?  • 38:02 The cartels • 41:03 Cui bono?

John Lisle, a historian of science and the American intelligence community and author of The Dirty Tricks Department, joins the show to talk about the World War Two-era Office of Strategic Services and its Research and Development Branch.▪️Times • 01:44 Introduction • 02:10 “Wild Bill” Donovan• 05:54 Donovan’s style • 08:53 Stanley Lovell• 12:35 An unconventional training process• 16:40 Explosive pancake batter• 19:24 Limpet mines and Java Man• 23:33 A meaningful legacy?• 27:34 Target: Werner Heisenberg• 31:51 WMDs • 35:40 Truth Serum• 39:02 From OSS to CIAFollow along on Instagram

Peter H. Wilson, Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls, Oxford, and author of Iron and Blood: A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples since 1500, joins the show to talk about Germany, Germans, and German-speakers at war.▪️Times  • 01:52 Introduction  • 03:07 A dominance myth?  • 06:58 The Holy Roman Empire  • 10:33 HRE longevity • 12:38 The Thirty Years War • 15:31 Westphalia • 21:24 Prussia rising • 24:09 Prussia and Austria  • 27:56 Napoleon  • 31:43 The Imperial legacy  • 34:42 Bismarck’s wars   • 37:06 1914 vs 1940  • 40:03 Blitzkrieg

Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush and lead editor of Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama, joins the show to talk about the lasting effects of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Bush administration’s dealings with Russia and China.▪️Times  • 01:38 Introduction  • 02:03 Transitions • 06:41 Russia and China then and now  • 08:45 Democratic values and our interests • 15:20 Democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan • 19:39 Missing ingredients in Afghanistan • 24:07 Departing Iraq • 30:05 A better outcome for Afghanistan?  • 33:33 Commitments • 38:30 China and Russia from ’01 to ’09  • 44:57 Integrating China into the international system   • 47:37 NATO expansion

Michael E. O’Hanlon, senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and author of Military History for the Modern Strategist: America’s Major Wars Since 1861, joins the show to talk about how the patterns of military history can shed light on today’s concerns.▪️Times  • 01:16 Introduction  • 01:50 Military history for the modern strategist • 05:16 Is military history relevant?  • 09:05 Lessons from the Civil War • 22:47 Could the South have succeeded? • 27:46 America starts slow • 35:35 MaArthur’s dismissal • 41:16 Could the Korean War have ended earlier?  • 45:11 What is our grand strategy?