American Grand Strategy & the Logic of War | Edward Luttwak

In Episode 338 of Hidden Forces, speaks with Dr. Edward Luttwak about American grand strategy and the logic of war. Dr. Luttwak is an author and consultant to governments and companies around the world and is known for his work on grand strategy, military strategy and history, and international relations.
Luttwak and Kofinas spend the first hour of their conversation discussing the logic of war and the dimensions of strategy, how the nature of a nation state’s political system influences its grand strategic objectives, and what American grand strategy is and should be given the strategic challenges the United States faces in the 21st century.
In the second hour, the conversation shifts to China given U.S. President Biden’s and Xi Jinping’s recent in-person meeting at the APEC summit in San Francisco. Edward Luttwak explains why he believes that it would be a very bad idea if China attempted to take Taiwan by force, how it would find itself at war with the United States and an assortment of regional and international allies, why it would lose that war, and why that still won’t deter Xi Jinping from trying to retake the island by force. The two also discuss the implications of China’s nearly three decade-long one-child policy for its military readiness and what Beijing’s push to increase domestic grain production as part of its initiative to promote food security (even at the expense of long-standing efforts to reforest the country) can tell us about Xi Jinping’s desire to ready the country for war.
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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas
Episode Recorded on 11/15/2023

[@ronalddash6520]

More in-depth interviews of Mr Luttwak please. Invaluable insights.

[@user-ey9eu1zb5f]

Thank you for sharing this interview with PhD Edward Luttwak!

[@markmarcas6523]

The idea that putin was so dumb that he thought he could take kiev/Ukraine with 190K soldiers was enough for me to stop listening

[@BrettHar123]

It wasn't Putin that started the war, the war started in 2014, with the US coup. We know Boris Johnson stopped the Ukrainians from negotiating with the Russians in April 2022. If the Ukrainians decided to negotiate with Russia now, the funds would stop and the Ukrainian state will collapse. Therefore they are forced to fight until the last Ukrainian against a superior Russia force. Forcing Ukraine to fight a losing battle by the West is a gross moral evil.

[@jamesburke3803]

Everyone thought it would be a cakewalk, and it almost was. When the US sent a transport to Kiev to rescue Zelensky and his family and staff, if he had left the war would have been over in a few weeks. Like Afghanistan. Instead, Zelensky said "I don't want transport out, i want ammo in." And at that moment the Russian invasion started to fall apart. Also, few had any idea how effective shoulder fired missiles would be against massed armor. It was like Agincourt or Crecy, when English longbowmen annihilated the French armored knights.

[@garbonomics]

Very interesting perspectives.

[@user-pi4jx7pb2u]

I think his working assumption about US foreign policy is slightly flawed. US is not invading Iraq or Vietnam for the sake of democracy to keep the peace in the region. It is precisely to destabilize for the sake of boosting the MIC and in the case of Iraq to enact regime change to also take the oil as payment for "liberating" and "rebuilding" a country after leveling it to the ground. By that measure the Administration's strategy was successful. Iran is next. US grand strategy is the export of security--- to supply weapons to every corner of the world. For those nations that are not our customers, we will work to replace with a government that will be. Wars are built into our business model therefore war must be perpetual... We don't spend that much on defense to spread joy and democracy it's a complete farce.... we will fund terrorists, warlords, dictators and cartels in order to achieve this goal. What's worse this is a bipartisan objective. Einsenhower made that very clear on his way out.

[@TheyDontKnowImHere]

Well said. The true function of a system is evident in the outcomes produced.

[@QUARTOPARTITO]

Great story teller and full of it!!

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

"Let us begin with this evident fact: Muscovy does not belong at all to Europe, but to Asia. It follows that judging Muscovy and the Muscovites by our European standards is a mistake to be avoided."-gonzague de reynold, 19501 In methodological terms, one should de-Europeanise any analysis of Muscovy policy.- thomas gomart, 20062 "

[@BlergleslinkVettermoo]

Good interview.

[@petervote7914]

I feel that Luttwak is a charlatan who has conned a lot of people.

[@ronalddash6520]

He isn't. He's incredibly successful unlike you losers on the internet lol.

[@henrykennedy457]

Love this guy

[@marsmotion]

yeah this guy is a breath of fresh air

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

«…Браты мае, мужыкі родныя. З-пад шыбеніцы маскоўскай прыходзіць мне да вас пісаці, і, можа, раз астатні. Горка пакінуць зямельку родную і цябе, дарагі мой народзе. Грудзі застогнуць, забаліць сэрца, - но не жаль згінуць за тваю праўду… Няма ш, браткі, большага шчасця на гэтым свеце, як калі чалавек у галаве мае розум і науку… Но як дзень з ноччу не ходзіць разам, так не ідзе разам наука праўдзіва з няволяй маскоўскай. Дапокуль яна ў нас будзе, у нас нічога не будзе, не будзе праўды, багацтва і ніякай наукі, - адно намі, як скацінай, варочаць будуць не для дабра, но на пагібель нашу… Бо я табе з-пад шыбеніцы кажу, Народзе, што тагды толькі зажывеш шчасліва, калі над табою Маскаля ўжэ не будзе. Твой слуга Яська-гаспадар з-пад Вільні»

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

; With cost of “black gold” at 15-23 dollars per barrel, the USSR economy collapsed, and the sovok itself collapsed, and the "golden" horde ("russia") budget can only be fulfilled only with oil price at $ 42.4 and higher

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

each person develop divine central authority for nations at UN

[@johnomirth]

You're going to force me to subscribe and pay in order to hear the second hour, aren't you? 😂

[@MiauZi69]

He is right about the incompetence of the CIA.

[@stevensica89]

Speaking of incompetence, see the Mossad and the IDF and Oct 7th.

[@MiauZi69]

To be honest, I am not so sure about that one. Seems to fit too much the agenda of the hard Zionist / settlers that want to expand and need a pretext for it. I mean ... the most observed border fucked up like that? And no one came for hours, although Israel is that small? Sorry, but got my doubts. @@stevensica89

[@jamesburke3803]

Edward Luttwak is one of the great minds of our time. Why are there so few people tuning in?

[@paulheydarian1281]

It feels like he's strangled a number of people during his long life. He sounds like a killer. 😅

[@utiz4321]

All I heard from this interview is “I have been a grifter all my life and it is good”.

[@debralegorreta1375]

With advisors like Luttwako, it's no wonder the US is fucked.

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

Moscow horde´s war record :- 1856 defeated by Britain and France 1905 defeated by Japan 1917 defeated by Germany 1920 defeated by Poland, Finland, Estonia and all Baltic states 1939 defeated by Finland 1969 defeated by China 1989 defeated by Afghanistan 1989 defeated in the Cold War. 1996 defeated by Chechnya 2022 defeated by Ukraine WW2 won USA/Britain , meanwhile Stalin's officers were shot or sent to the Gulags. Millions went to the Gulags, including Solzhenitsyn Moscow's only victories come from invading smaller countries :- a) Hungary 1956 b) Czechoslovakia 1968 c) Moldova 1992 d) Georgia 2008

[@joem0088]

are you dumb. What about the defeat of Nazi Germany ? is that victory over a smaller country ?

[@andreaserafini1688]

Strange ideas of defeats...

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

@@andreaserafini1688 Безопасность Европы и мира в целом это развал MOSCOW Horde (орды 🇷🇺 🌴) ...

[@andreaserafini1688]

Лучше начните с англосаксов...

[@hybridarmyoffreeworld]

@@andreaserafini1688 Безопасность Европы и мира в целом это развал MOSCOW Horde (орды 🇷🇺 🌴) ...

[@abdallamubder1118]

content has taken a hit recently in my opinion. Guy here states that he knows about the Russian decision making process, as if hes involved with president Putin in the table. how is that possible? And you're not doing enough in questioning them. felt less about education and objective facts recently and more about people spreading their agenda.

[@ronalddash6520]

You should go watch RT and Sputnik to please your ears.

[@KipIngram]

48:15 - "Early 1990's spread of free enterprise, etc." This is exactly what George H. W. Bush wanted to "do with globalization" after the Soviet Union no longer existed as the primary *reason* for the global system (as far as America was concerned). The whole point of the system had been to create a situation in which the Soviet Union faced an alliance after WWII and couldn't just pluck European nations off one at a time. It worked. But as of the early 1990's that was no longer necessary. Bush *wanted* us to use the alliance instead to improve the world. Spread capitalism. Root out human rights abuses. Etc. But the American people apparently weren't interested, because we laughed at his "thousand points of light" speech and voted him out of office. It's hard to say how much better the world might be today if we'd taken him up on that idea. I do kind of get it, though. We'd lived for decades under the imminent thread of Soviet nuclear attack, and we were tired. We just wanted to not have some big deal thing to worry about for a while. Well, we got that, but I think the rest period is over now. Coming years are going to be interesting again.

[@CarlRoberts-ji8mw]

He is a script writer for.movies Holly wood.movies emigination. Running wyle😂😂😂

[@carlohernandez3941]

Sounds knowledgeable however his take on Ukraine leaves me wondering if he is.

[@paulheydarian1281]

I understand he dabbles in magic mushrooms... 🍄

[@marsmotion]

hey finally someone with a clue. very good.

[@digitaldemocracyai-rob]

Very hard to listen to. Shouts. Opinionated. Personal anecdotes instead of analysis. Repetitive. Knowledgeable obviously......but hard to listen to.

[@valdomero738]

He's an Israeli asset, and it's good to see these people are being exposed.

[@ronalddash6520]

Nothing wrong in that. Israel is a successful, civilized country. But you're a Jihadi supporter getting resentful. Cope.

[@stevensica89]

Yeah. I had that impression since I first learned about him around 1977-78.

[@siddarthshah1773]

Israel is the biggest ally of usa.. so?? How are they harming you??

[@Alex-lg6nz]

Does anyone else find it extremely irritating, when people just pretend they know a language? Interview is a conversation, not a lecture. It's stilll a dialogue, not a monologue.

[@abdallamubder1118]

what are you referring to here?

[@Alex-lg6nz]

@@abdallamubder1118 The guest has a habit of ignoring the question and talking about whatever he wants to talk about.

[@digitaldemocracyai-rob]

Agree. @@Alex-lg6nz

[@jtlon1]

If only you not start your videos with "what's up everybody" and pronounce your own name intelligibly, that would be great. This is not a teenager audience

[@fredfrond6148]

I bet he was as keen to go to war in Iraq, Afghanistan and now in Palestine.

[@MiauZi69]

Syria too, and against Gaddafi ... I bet, he liked the Clean-Brake-Memo

[@fredfrond6148]

@@MiauZi69 liked the clean break memo? Anybody that wrote a memo that said Israel and the US should kill brown or yellow people probably gives him a hard on. Imagine putting him in charge of your foreign policy. Oh wait.

[@ronalddash6520]

Nope, Iraq and Afghanistan was always a stupid decision.

[@giusepperaciti1591]

He has been in Golan during Yom Kippur war. Just saying

[@fredfrond6148]

@@giusepperaciti1591 fair enough, but his plan was to make peace with Russia, because the Russians were getting their asses kicked😳🙄🤦‍♂️. Then he wanted to make war with China. Not sure how being in the Golan heights qualifies him with managing world war 3. Also a big time strategist should have maybe been telling Netanyahu to be vigilant on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur attack. Especially if he was there on the 73 war.

[@panagiotisbalaktaris7825]

Using common sense in order to criticize Edward Luttwak is a failure. This guy is a giant in Strategy.

[@laszlokovacs6154]

Warmongers

[@MiauZi69]

East European Jews seem to have these tendencies

[@Kavala76]

"Serious" ego, scant modesty and intellectual hubris. His take on the Russian invasion of Ukraine put me off.

[@craigb4913]

A frustrating listen. If you want him to answer an important question, don't throw 5 questions at him. He never adequately answered the one question I tuned in for.

[@franknjamen3044]

Anotha Zionist

[@fredfrond6148]

And a murderous psychopath.

[@davidekamagi9107]

Shit