Guns, Drugs and Crypto – Who’s funding the return of asymmetric warfare?

This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

Podmasters

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why does the militarily weaker side lose many battles but often win the war? In the 21st Century the David-vs-Goliath threat of asymmetric warfare – where small non-state militias and terror groups defeat vastly better armed nation states in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere – is back. Now armed groups including Yemen’s Houthi, Hamas and Islamic State are growing and re-energised by a vast new funding sources: the global drugs trade, and even crypto. Gavin Esler speaks to Dr David Ucko – professor at the College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University – and counterinsurgency and organised crime expert Vanda Felbab-Brown to find out why asymmetric warfare has returned, who’s funding it… and whether we can ever defeat it. • “We have put a lot of stock in fences and walls which may soon prove inadequate. What if you can fly a drone from North Africa with pinpoint accuracy into a civilian airport?” – Dr David Ucko • “A global revolution in synthetic drugs is sweeping the world… and everywhere it’s associated with intensified violence.” – Vanda Felbab-Brown • “If we ignore this, then you get the Wagner Group and other players trying to do their thing, as we see in the Sahel and across Africa.” – Dr David Ucko Support This Is Not A Drill on Patreon to get early episodes, merchandise and more. Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. *The views of Dr David Ucko belong to the contributor and do not represent the views of the Department of Defense or its components or the USF administration or its component. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:26.0	18 plus until the 14th of April 2024, Tees and sees apply.
0:30.0	This episode is brought to you by Krakhan.
0:33.0	Krypto is like finance, but different.
0:36.0	It doesn't care when you invest, trade or save,
0:40.0	do it on weekends, or at 5 a.m.
0:42.0	Or on Christmas Day, at 5 a.m. or on Christmas day at 5 a.m.
0:45.2	crypto is finance for everyone, everywhere all the time.
0:49.4	Visit crackin.com slash see what crypto can be to learn more. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money. Second, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
1:07.0	oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, The fear for us is that this war on terrorism has unleashed a polarization of the world
1:30.0	which if it takes place outside a framework of multilateral agreement and effort to seek consensus and of rules,
1:38.0	you know, really does risk setting one part of the world against another in a way that certainly would have the consequences of causing humanity
1:47.0	huge distress and hardship in the decades ahead.
1:52.0	Here's a lesson for great powers. From Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and maybe even in Gaza and Ukraine.
2:00.0	Why does the militarily weaker side lose many battles yet eventually win the war?
2:06.4	I'm Gavin Esler.
2:07.9	This is not a drill. Oh, In the jargon of security and intelligence experts, Hamas, the Taliban,
2:38.8	the Viet Cong, Hezbollah, Al-Shabaab and Somalia, Islamic State, and even in the UK the IRA are or were non-state actors
	...

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