ReConsider

Erik Fogg

A podcast to examine your life, because the unexamined life is not worth living. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Ukraine XI: Asymmetric Momentum

    2022-10-18

    Ukraine XI: Asymmetric Momentum

    There’s something really interesting happening in Ukraine. The few and far between Russian victories seem to be making them weaker. Yes, you read that right. Russian victories are draining the life out of their soldiers, making it harder to win the battles that come next. On the other hand, Ukrainian victories have been swift, dramatic, and devastating - with each win seemingly making them stronger. The big question is, why is it that Ukrainians gain momentum with every win, but Russia can’t seem to build on their victories? Well, it all comes down to asymmetric momentum. And there are 6 major reasons for this.  Tune in to hear what these 6 reasons are and how the recent Ukrainian victories mark a critical juncture that will determine the course of the war. Topics Covered Include:00:00 Introduction 02:40 What is asymmetric momentum? 04:49 Ukrain’s positional warfare 06:55 Understanding Ukraine’s offensive and defensive strategies 08:16 Russia’s unintelligent retreat 10:37 How Russian political interests are affecting their progress 14:54 The poor discipline and lack of drive in Russian forces 16:42 Is the Russian army competent enough to win this war? 18:00 How Russia’s desire for a quick war is slowing their progress 20:40 Ukrainian motivation and their willingness to die for the right reasons 24:58 The impatient side of Russians uncovered 28:30 Many Russian conscripts will die due to lack of training and morale 29:36 The psychology behind Putin’s destructive Soviet-style leadership 32:04 Ukraine is playing the patient game 34:07 Summary 35:36 Parting thoughts  Ukrainian victories on the ground have been swift, dramatic, and devastating. And each win seems to make them stronger. Russian victories (back when they happened), seemed to be slow and grinding, and wear the Rusisans down, making them weaker. Why is it that Russians lose momentum with each victory, but Ukrainians gain it? Why such asymmetric momentum? I see 6 (or 7, depending) major reasons: 1. Russian Politics (“quick war”): impatience -> meat grinder, not admitting defeat, vs Ukraine’s patience2. Russian Politics (show territorial progress): territory vs. Ukraine’s “defeat the enemy” -> meat grinder3. Russian Politics (don’t let Ukraine show territorial progress): no retreat allowed -> break and rout4. Morale, espirit de corps, discipline, "why are we here" vs fighting for home and life -> Ukrainians will die for the right reasons, Russians are drunk, will break and refuse to fight5. Russian atrocities: hardens Ukrainian morale and turns them into 24/7 machines of war who get smarter and become veterans6. Soviet vs. NATO style: NATO style allows for initiative and invests in training; Soviet style mass forces of limited training and centralized command means they are very predictable7. Putin: total centralized control by someone who has clearly lost touch with reality Links and Resources:Reconsidermedia.com Reconsider Media on Twitter - https://twitter.com/reconsidermedia Reconsider Media on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ReConsiderMedia/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  2. 2022-10-17

    Reconsidering Russia 2: Russia's Interest & What to Expect with Prof. Mitchell Orenstein

    Mitchell Orenstein is a professor of Central and East European Politics in the Slavic department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard. His research focuses on the political economy and international affairs of Central and Eastern Europe. This episode is the latest installment to the four-part series on Reconsidering Russia, where we try to dig into Russia's historical and geopolitical context to help you better understand some of their moves today and what's going on in their country today. Tune in to hear Eric, Xander, and Professor Orenstein dive deep into Russia's real objective in Ukraine, Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership, why Russia really needs to diversify its economy, and so much more. 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Why Geopolitics is not about reforms or democracy 03:49 What does Russia really want? 05:49 Understanding Russia's national interests and foreign policy preferences 12:59 Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership 16:33 Comparing Russian perceptions to the American interpretation 20:10 What does the 'Near Abroad' mean? 20:54 The democratization of Russia's 'Near Abroad' 24:12 Consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union 28:10 The strategic and fundamental importance of Ukraine 32:14 Russian interests in Finland 34:57 The Nature of Germany's relationship with Russia 39:01 Caucasus as a region of strategic importance to Russia 44:15 Chinese and Russian interests in South-East Asia 47:15 China-Russia relations: Eternal rivals or emerging alliance  50:41 Russia's views on China's growth in power and influence  52:38 Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril Islands  54:50 Thoughts on Russia's domestic politics and foreign policy 58:35 Why Russia really needs to diversify its economy 01:01:58 What to expect from Russia in the next 5 to 10 years 01:05:18 Russia - a gas station with nuclear weapons 01:08:03 Parting thoughts  Links and Resources: Reconsidermedia.com Mitchel's website - https://www.mitchellorenstein.com/ Mitchel's profile on the Foreign Affairs Magazine - https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/mitchell-orenstein Reconsider Media on Twitter - https://twitter.com/reconsidermedia Reconsider Media on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ReConsiderMedia/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 tim 9 min
  3. Ukraine IX: Oh HI, MARS

    2022-08-10

    Ukraine IX: Oh HI, MARS

    Hot Updates Severodonetsk fell slowly as expected, but then Lysychansk fell quickly because Russian troops surrounded it, and Ukrainian troops had to retreat rather than be destroyed. It’s possible the Ukrainians were out-gamed by Russian mid-level commanders.So far, Russians have not been able to break out of Donetsk city -- that part of the original Feb 24 defense line is holdingRussia appears to have deployed nearly 100% of its conventional combat capabilities to Ukraine, and is still getting clobbered.https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/25/ukraine-russia-balance-of-forces/ Russia is trying to recruit “volunteer” regiments to deploy in Ukraine to relieve Russian troops -- they will be low quality, and so their use would be to hang tight in certain areas and try to pin down Ukrainian units. Not useless, but not super useful. Once again we have returned to slow movement along the front lines now that Severodonetsk and Lysychansk fell. Ukrainians fell back to the 2nd of 3 highly defensible urban areas in Donetsk oblast, with Siversk and Bakhmut the big towns there. Bakhmut is under a lot of pressure; Russians are trying to surround it, but so far to no avail.Russians attempting to attack directly on those two towns, but also continuing to try the end-around from Izium toward Sloviansk to try to create a pocket that can be cut off. So far it’s really not working. It looks like Russia might be deprioritizing that angle as of July 31.WHAT IS HIMARS? WHY DOES IT MATTER? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min

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A podcast to examine your life, because the unexamined life is not worth living. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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