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Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast

Bill Buppert

An unauthorized podcast series peeking behind the curtain at the vast machinery and briar patch politics of fighting terrorism and insurgency and everything in between. I'm a "COINtra" and not a "COINdinista", the latter are the vast army of apparatchiks and apologists who fire the engines of Irregular Warfare (IW) planet-wide. We're the skeptics and doubters of all things IW and special operations. And we are a tiny sliver of the IW community. I have noticed a jarring gap in this part of the discussion and intend on filling the breach.

Substack: Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast

Smedley D. Butler Fellow for Military Affairs at the Libertarian Institute

Chasing Ghosts Podcast on YouTube

I am an Amazon Affiliate.

You can contact me at cgpodcast@pm.me

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  • 23 episodes
  • Avg 54 min
  • English

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Episodes 23

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  • S1 · E69
    Aug 4, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min

    Ep 069 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time and the Backbenchers Lament 25.1"

    It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:. What are your personal weapons of choice: rifle or pistol? How do you fix the defense acquisition system? Is the American military really in terminal collapse? Storming America; is it still coming to the US? Is America headed to civil war? I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forward. References: RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots (2017) Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack Email at cgpodcast@pm.me

  • S1 · E68
    Jul 7, 2025 · 59 min

    Ep 068 "The Military Drone Revolution: Make All Flesh Forfeit"

    Despite what you are told by the mainstream news sources in the media, the drone war is here to stay and it will be the most significant war modality for the next generation. It has literally exposed all ground troops and the exquisite platforms the West relies upon in war-making for detailed neutralization and destruction. In concert with the democratized distribution of ubiquitous missile technology, it is the end of Western dominance in warfare. Despite what you may think, the US conventional forces are in terminal collapse and completely unprepared for 21st century peer conflict. I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forward. References: RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots (2017) Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack Email at cgpodcast@pm.me

  • S1 · E67
    Jun 23, 2025 · 54 min

    Ep 067 "The Mountains of Madness: Military Defeat and Terrain Part II"

    This will be the first CG episode to get the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series. The WarNotes episode catalog has been completely re-fabbed using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth. Let me know what you think. We discuss the latest missteps by the West in Iran. The recent American involvement in direct military intervention in Iran changed the temper and nature of the war inevitably. I assess how the RMAs rapidly displacing centuries-old conflict norms are going to look for the remainder of the century. Buppert’s Law of Military Topography: “Mountainous terrain held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.” References: Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. Scott Lester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History) Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition] Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War Mark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919 James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack: https://t.co/7a8jn2Mmnx Email at cgpodcast@pm.me.

Showing 21–23 of 23 episodes