Setting Out to Win: Why America Needs to Get Serious About Irregular Warfare

About this episode

This episode examines the failures of the United States in irregular warfare and discusses necessary changes to achieve success.

This episode examines why the United States has failed at irregular warfare and what it would take to reverse that trajectory—not merely to deter, but to actually win. Summary While irregular warfare is on the rise around the globe today, the United States has largely failed at irregular warfare over the past 75 years. Key issues our guests identify include a military oriented for conventional war, inconsistent knowledge and education about irregular warfare, as well as the lack of a dedicated US government organization that can increase interagency cooperation along with a focus on preparing the operational environment. The guests discuss the resilience and resistance model as a way of thinking about politics, with every state having some element of both resistance and resilience. Understanding these tensions within states reveals opportunities for US foreign policy to work with partners and undermine adversaries. Finally, the episode closes with a discussion of irregular warfare in deterrence and competition. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Charles T. Cleveland is a native of Arizona and a 1978 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. His military…

People in this episode

Guest: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Charles T. Cleveland

Topics covered

• irregular warfare
• U.S. military strategy
• foreign policy
• deterrence
• interagency cooperation
• politics

Keywords

• irregular warfare
• U.S. military
• foreign policy
• deterrence
• interagency cooperation
• resilience
• resistance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United States Military Academy, U.S. Army Special Operations Command

Places: Arizona, United States

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