J. Michael Waller

Episode 183: “Have US and EU Blunders Led to Putin’s War?” with J. Michael Waller

In this episode I’m talking again with Dr. J. Michael Waller, Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Mike’s Secret Empire: The KGB in Russia Today predicted the rise of the KGB, and inevitably, a Vladimir Putin. He was also Annenberg Professor of International Communication at the Institute of World Politics, and instructor in SYOPS operation at the Kennedy Special Warfare Center School at Fort Bragg. In this wide ranging and of necessity, speculative conversation we ask whether, after the Cold War ended, the United States could have brought Russia into alignment with the West. There are many what if’s. Here’s some of what we speculate about. Is the war in Ukraine a product of Putin’s aggression or US/EU fecklessness, or both?   Why did President Bush 41’s Administration fear the collapse of the Soviet Union? and even urged countries, such as Ukraine, to temper their hopes for a popularly elected government?   After the USSR collapsed, the U.S. had a real opportunity to shape post-Soviet Russia. Why did we leave it to an unholy alliance of criminal cartels, […]

Episode 172: Ukraine: Is the Biden Administration Unleashing Furies It Does Not Understand? with Dr Peter Vincent Pry and J. Michael Waller

There are growing calls among political elites in Washington for the United States to “do something” about preventing a Russian invasion of the Ukraine.  But do we have the military capabilities to stop it? Why do we want Ukraine to join NATO? Does Ukraine matter?  Why are American politicians who have been so soft toward Moscow for their entire political careers all of a sudden turn uber hawks against Vladimir Putin. Are we pushing China and Russia to make common cause with each other? Does the Biden foreign policy team have a clue what they’re doing? To get some answers to these and many many other questions, two seasoned national security analysts – and returning guests – Peter Pry and Mike Waller – weigh in. J. Michael Waller, PhD, is Senior Analyst for Strategy at the Center for Security Policy and  Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, is the former Executive Director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security Some sample observations:  “Russia and China are already in an alliance that poses the most formidable combination that the Western […]

Episode 144: “Wokeness: A Grave Risk to America’s Military”

Today we are witnessing a growing threat to our American military. A threat that is capable of doing what no foreign enemy ever could:  Fracture the world’s greatest armed forces from within, through divisive political indoctrination and controls. That threat is called “wokeness.”  At its root, “wokeness” imposes the resentful mindset of an extremist few onto society – in this case the American military.  It has infected the Pentagon and its top leaders, and it has been metastasizing for years. Joining me to explore this alarming development is Lt. Gen. (Ret.) William G. Boykin, one of the original combat commanders of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force. Jerry also commanded all the Army’s Green Berets as well as the Special Warfare Center and School and served for four years as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. “Our military should be about readiness, and its mission must be winning the nation’s wars,” explains Jerry.  “There is nothing more important on the battlefield than cohesion – which wokeness undermines. You win wars because of cohesion, not because of technology.” Also returning to […]

Episode 135: “A Woke CIA is a Broke CIA” with Fred Fleitz and Mike Waller

“I used to struggle with imposter syndrome, but at age thirty six I refuse to internalize misguided patriarchal ideas of what a woman can or should be. I am tired of feeling like I’m supposed to apologize for the space I occupied rather than intoxicate people with my effort, my brilliance. I am proud of me, full stop.”    Is this a quote from a self-help workshop in a “safe space” on a university campus? No, it’s taken from a recent CIA recruitment ad.  What’s going on here? What kind of people does the CIA want to recruit?   American national security agencies are charged with protecting the United States and its citizens from foreign threats to our safety and liberties. But it seems that “national security” is no longer just about threats to our freedom from external enemies.  Our national security agencies have been drifting leftward for decades and have become increasingly “woke” and hostile to political adversaries. Recently former CIA Chief John Brennan declared that political libertarians in America should now be considered domestic terror threats.    How […]