School of War

Eliot Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, author of The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics; and co-host of the Shield of the Republic podcast, joins School of War to discuss the recent agreement between the United States and Iran. Did the United States and Israel accomplish their objectives against Iran? What does the conflict reveal about the U.S. military's readiness for future wars? And did Trump negotiate from a position of strength, or squander one?

01:22 - Eliot Cohen on the war with Iran

03:34 - Judging Trump by outcomes

05:08 - A war 47 years in the making

06:45 - What we don't know about the air campaign

08:08 - Negotiating from strength?

09:10 - Trump's negotiating style

12:05 - Questions about America's conduct of the war

14:31 - The Strait of Hormuz becomes the objective

15:41 - Why the war ended when it did

17:25 - Trump and the nature of war

19:01 - Has Iran succeeded?

23:21 - The decline of the Iranian empire

28:09 - Why Trump got a bad deal

31:36 - Auditing the U.S. military

39:39 - Has warfare been transformed?

42:10 - What should America do next?

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Arthur Herman, senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Founder’s Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump, joins School of War to discuss how America’s Founding Fathers helped create a culture of innovation in technology, industry, and warfare. Who are the most important founders of the past and present? What lessons can they teach us about today’s revolution in warfare? And what makes American ingenuity so unique?

02:45 - Defining founders

10:56 - Technology at America's founding

 13:49  - Alex Karp and the founder mindset

14:45 - The creation of Springfield Arsenal

15:40 - Thomas Jefferson and American weapons

19:10 - Today's revolution in warfare

20:53 - AI on the battlefield

21:49 - Why a strong economy matters

24:40 - China's defense industry

26:32  - American industrial policy

29:11 - Lessons from Ukraine

31:29 - Declining competition in weapons manufacturing

33:38 - The burden of weapons regulations

37:50 - Elon Musk's founder mentality

41:52 - The future of American ingenuity

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Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Iran Program and a senior fellow specializing in Iranian security and political issues, returns to School of War to discuss the latest round of fighting between Israel and Iran. Why did this latest wave of Iranian missile attacks feel different? Why does a weakened Iran seem emboldened? Where is the regime most vulnerable? And will politics in Washington prevent the U.S. from doing what is necessary to stop it?

02:30 - Israel in Southern Lebanon

04:37 - Iran's Missile Barrage Against Israel

06:20 - FPV Drone Warfare in Lebanon

08:30 - A New Iranian Strategy?

12:16 - Cover for Terror Proxies

14:14 - The Danger of a Weakened Iran

17:44 - The Nazi Germany Comparison

21:00 - The Wehrmacht's Last Stand

22:07 - Iran's Reaction to Pressure

25:09 - Targets in Iran and Israel

30:15 - Where Is Iran Most Vulnerable?

31:47 - The Iran-Iraq War Analogy

32:44 - Exploiting Divisions in Iran

35:09 - Political Obstacles to Maximum Pressure

38:17 - Trump's Record on Iran Policy

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Anthony Vinci—co-founder and CEO of Vico, an AI company that empowers judgment and analysis in finance and national security, and author of The Fourth Intelligence Revolution—joins School of War to discuss the technological evolution of spycraft. How does an intelligence officer operate in a world of rapidly advancing technology? What happens when machines begin to assist, or even replace, human judgment? And are we being spied on constantly?

02:33 - The Job of an Intelligence Officer

03:43 - Technology and Intelligence Work

05:58 - Living Under Surveillance

07:43 - AI as an Intelligence Analyst

09:37 - The Origins of American Intelligence

10:15 - Who Was Wild Bill Donovan?

12:37 - The Modern Intelligence Community

14:25 - The Evolution of Spy Technology

16:39 - The Intelligence Gap Before 9/11

18:58 - A Mossad Chief's Critique

23:10 - The Fourth Intelligence Revolution

25:02 - AI and Autonomy

27:49 - Are We All Being Spied On?

30:05 - China's Political Warfare

34:00 - The COVID Intelligence Failure

39:59 - The Dangers of AI Language Models

48:37 - TikTok and Surveillance

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Rep. Michael Baumgartner, who represents Washington’s 5th Congressional District, joins the show from Singapore at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. What was the tone and significance of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech? How are the Asian economies fairing in lieu of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz? And what is the future of the American-led order in East Asia?

03:07 - Tone of the Shangri-La Dialogue

05:30 - Asia and the Strait of Hormuz

09:35 - The UAE's Distance from Iran

11:47 - America's Role in Asian Security

13:06 - Asia's Reaction to Trump's China Summit

15:25 - The Diversity of Asia

16:54 - Pete Hegseth's Speech

19:07 - The CCP's Control of China

20:59 - Korean and Japanese Views on China

24:07 - Drones and Autonomous Warfare

24:50 - Vietnam's Reinvention

28:07 - Singapore-U.S. Relations

30:21 - Paused Arms Sales

34:00 - Iran and Electoral Politics

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