
Ep 018 "American Military Stalemate and Defeat: A Sterling Record"
From WarNotes: A Conflict Podcast by Bill Buppert
July 21, 2025 · 1h 2m · Season 1 · Episode 18
About this episode
The episode discusses the history of US military failures since WWI and the implications for modern warfare.
I discuss the thumbnail sketches of US military failure since the end of WWI and try to elucidate some of the reasons for the failure and the existential threat this cavalcade of calamities is to 21st century America if the ship of state doesn't reverse course. This a a dangerous time for America to continue its bad habits of wars of choice and allowing its intelligence organizations and their cutout mischief-makers to poke the bear and create black swan events out of whole cloth. America boasts a magnificent 20th century war machine not fit for purpose for 21st century peer warfare. The crossroads is chock-full of landmines. References: Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Martin van Creveld The Transformation of War: The Most Radical Reinterpretation of Armed Conflict Since Clausewitz Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 Colin Gray Strategy and History: Essays on Theory and Practice Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy William Lind Maneuver Warfare Handbook John Boyd Patterns of Conflict Michael…
People in this episode
Host: Bill Buppert
Topics covered
- US military history
- military strategy
- 21st century warfare
- intelligence organizations
- military failures
- existential threats
Keywords
- military failure
- US military
- war strategy
- intelligence
- 21st century
- existential threat
- war machine
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America, The Transformation of War: The Most Radical Reinterpretation of Armed Conflict Since Clausewitz, Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945, Strategy and History: Essays on Theory and Practice, Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy, Maneuver Warfare Handbook, Patterns of Conflict, Legacy of Ashes: History of the CIA, The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness
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- Ep 017 "Military Science Fiction and the Profession of Arms" · April 28, 2025 · 58 min
- Ep 016 "Fixing Fight Club: Just Say No to NATO: Part Two" · March 24, 2025 · 55 min
- Ep 015 "Freeboot Reboot: 21st Century PMC in War"" · March 10, 2025 · 59 min
- Ep 014 "The Pause That Refreshes"" · February 24, 2025 · 16 min
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