At the Water's Edge

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With death tolls rising on all sides, Israel's military operation in Gaza to rescue it's hostages and root out the Hamas terrorists that attacked it on October 7th continues to grind on. As imagines of Palestinian suffering reach audiences around the globe, South Africa has brought charges of genocide against Israel, claiming that the suffering of Palestinians isn't a tragic but inevitable result of Israel exercising its right to self defense, but instead a deliberate plan to destroy them as a nation. 

To unpack this, Francis Boyle (PhD) and Professor Amichai Cohen share their insights on the merits of South Africa's case, the role of the International Court of Justice, and how this case and recent rulings by the court will impact events moving forward. 

Francis Boyle (PhD): https://law.illinois.edu/faculty-research/faculty-profiles/francis-boyle/
Professor Amichai Cohen: https://en.idi.org.il/experts/1491

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Scott and Jahara 'FRANKY' Matisek discuss the misconceptions surrounding US military assistance and coups in Africa. They explore the goals of US security assistance in Africa and the challenges of promoting democracy through this assistance. They also delve into the need for a whole-of-government approach and the importance of staffing embassies and addressing economic development. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the Lobito Corridor as a development project aimed at countering China's Belt and Road Initiative in Africa. The conversation explores the geopolitical significance of the Libido Corridor, a transportation project in Africa that aims to counter China's Belt and Road Initiative. It discusses the importance of the corridor in securing rare earths and minerals in the Congo and its potential benefits for African countries. The conversation then shifts to the idea of building Army Corps of Engineers in African countries to facilitate development and foster positive civil-military relations. It also highlights the advocacy for a peace engineering corps in every African military. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the challenges and depressing realities in Africa, including the rise of insurgency, terrorism, and declining democracies.

original article: https://irregularwarfare.org/articles/to-coup-or-not-to-coup-the-cold-war-hangover-of-us-security-assistance/

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Sean O'Keefe's wide ranging career in government stretched from being the staff director for the Senate appropriations committee, chief financial officer for the Department of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, and leading NASA. He shares his views on globalization, America's role in the world, the difficulties in creating an effective industrial policy to support America's national security, and how states need to cooperate in Space. 

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Ethan Brown is an Airforce Special Operations veteran who is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. He wrote an article that deep dived the impact of 20 years of the Global War on Terror has had on how the American public sees the military and impacts recruiting. 

Link to article: https://mwi.westpoint.edu/the-ghost-of-gwot-haunting-the-military-recruiting-crisis/

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Retired Army Special Forces two-star general Kurt Sonntag discusses the transition of special operations from counterterrorism to great power competition. He shares his experience leading the Combined Joint Task Force -  Horn of Africa and highlights the challenges of coordinating efforts with partner nations and interagency organizations. MG Sonntag also discusses the activities of great power actors in the region, including Iran, Russia, Turkey, and China. He emphasizes the importance of campaign planning and the need for better coordination between intelligence and special operations. MG Sonntag concludes by addressing the impact of billet cuts on special operations. In this conversation, MG Sonntag discusses the challenges in manning Special Forces and the need to maintain the proper force structure. He highlights the reduced manning strength of ODAs (Operational Detachment-Alpha) during the early stages of the war on 9/11 and the impact it had on their capabilities. MG Sonntag emphasizes the importance of maintaining the base organization of 10 to 12 members per ODA and the risks associated with deploying smaller teams. He also discusses his role in restructuring the Special Forces Qualification Course (Q Course) to address attrition rates and training inefficiencies.

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America is struggling to produce enough ammunition and other hardware to support our allies in a time of need, which has exposed deep cracks in our defense industrial base. Matt Stoller looked at how a series of consolidations among America's defense contractors has increased the costs while reducing the output of military equipment, and how there is no incentive among private industry to address the issue. Link to his article here: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/why-america-is-out-of-ammunition

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In this conversation, Judge Baker discusses the sources of sovereignty and legitimacy in international law, the role of law in security beyond war crimes, and the challenges and importance of working with lawyers in the military. He also explores the two great legal challenges of our time: Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the rise of authoritarianism. Judge Baker explains the three purposes of law: authority, process, and values, and discusses the sources of international law, including treaties and customary law. He emphasizes the importance of supporting Ukraine and the rule of law, despite the practical limitations and potential risks involved. The conversation covers various topics related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including the question of escalation, increasing support to Ukraine, hesitation in providing support, concerns about the misuse of American weapons, security assurances, and NATO membership. It also discusses the Ring Around Russia initiative, which aims to promote the importance of national security law in the frontline states. 

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Check out Jon's book here: https://www.wireless-wars.com/

The conversation explores the competition between the US and China in the development and implementation of 5G technology. It highlights the importance of 5G in various sectors and the risks associated with relying on Chinese companies like Huawei. The conversation delves into China's approach to business relationships, including intellectual property theft. It also discusses the need for OpenRAN architecture as a solution to counter China's dominance in the telecom industry. The conversation concludes by emphasizing the challenges and importance of economic decoupling from China and the need for trust-based ecosystems. The conversation explores the challenges and potential of Open RAN, a new approach to building telecom networks. It discusses the need for established companies like Nokia and Ericsson to shift to Open RAN and the difficulties they may face. The role of engineers in designing complicated networks is highlighted, as well as the lack of expertise within carriers. The business incentives for vendors to adopt Open RAN are examined, along with the complexity of spectrum allocation. The conversation concludes by emphasizing the ongoing nature of the Open RAN story and its geopolitical significance.

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This episode explores the arguments for and against supporting the current rules-based international order and promoting freedom and democracy as a consistent American foreign policy principle. It discusses the historical context of the post-World War II era, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the questioning of America's role in the world. The episode examines the effectiveness of the current international order, highlighting the decrease in global violence and poverty. It delves into the democratic peace theory and the theory of capitalist peace, along with their criticisms and limitations. The episode emphasizes the need for cautious and nuanced foreign policy decisions and the responsibility of citizens to hold leaders accountable.

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Bob Curris served over 30 years in the military and led Psychological Operations teams around the world. He's concerned the Army is making cuts that will degrade America's ability to conduct information and influence operations as the need to compete in the information space is only increasing with the shift from the GWOT era to the era of Great Power Competition. Link to his original Military Times article here: https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2023/11/01/the-army-needs-to-invest-in-psychological-operations-not-cut-them/

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