War on the Rocks

Gen. Xavier T. Brunson is a busy man. As the senior U.S. military leader on the Korean Peninsula, he has three jobs, commanding U.N. Command, South Korean-U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea. What all this boils down to is, if the balloon goes up with North Korea, or another adversary in the region, the forces under his command are expected to be ready to "fight tonight." During a visit to Washington, Gen. Brunson popped into WOTR HQ to discuss the security environment, his vision of command, and a host of other issues.    This episode was supported by Legion. Learn more about our friends at Legion here: https://warontherocks.com/legion

Since joining NATO in 2024, Sweden has taken on a more prominent role in European security. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson joined Ryan in Washington to discuss how Sweden is supporting Ukraine, rebuilding its own military with more resources, and pushing for a faster, more agile defense acquisition system.

When should Ukraine commit more forces to a perhaps desperate stand to hold ground it will likely lose? And when is it the difficult but correct choice to preserve the force and pull back to the next defensive line? This is the real, agonizing strategic dilemma shaping the war, now highlighted in the fight for Pokrovsk. Distinguished strategist Lawrence Freedman joins Ryan at a cafe in Vilnius, where they were both speaking at a conference, to dissect this critical question. They also sort through how this relates to each side's theory of victory and the shifting realities of the battlefield.

The American president has a ... different approach to strategy than his predecessors. To make sense of the extent American strategy can work and is working at the moment, Ryan was joined by Frank Hoffman, Justin Logan (Cato Institute), and Rebecca Friedman Lissner (Council on Foreign Relations). Join for the brilliant minds. Stay for the spicy takes on American statecraft in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. 

Gen. (ret.) CQ Brown, Jr. may have been removed from his post as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but he isn't finished serving. He joined Ryan at War on the Rocks HQ to talk about how America can realize the true promise of its faltering defense industrial enterprise (the focus of a recent article he authored). Brown argues the playbook already exists. What is missing is concerted action. He also opens up about his abrupt dismissal and how he sees his duty to the nation in the years ahead.   You can read his article here: https://warontherocks.com/2025/11/racing-against-time-realizing-a-true-defense-industrial-enterprise/