Aug 24, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 10 segments
Despite America's promises of remaining engaged in the Indo-Pacific, the Philippines and other nations remain on edge after the US announced it will be scaling back its military exercises with South…
Manny MogatoHostUh, well, mm, what I can say about, about that is that, uh, maybe it's, it's also nice to recall, uh, back, back, uh, in history, uh, World War II.
For those of us who remember or the students who read their history, if we recall Adolf Hitler, especially towards the end of the Second World War, when he, uh, uh, rejected the, the advices of his seasoned, uh, military commanders.
Uh, initially in the, in the war, they were, they were, of course, winning, uh, blitzkrieg and all that, and of course, with the, also with the, uh, uh, entry of the United States into the war.
But my point is that sometimes we have, uh, political leaders and, uh, I'm now trying to make a, uh, similar comparison, not exactly of course, but a similar comparison between President Trump and, uh, Adolf Hitler, for instance, or the likes of political leaders who, for their political reasons, of course, make the decisions that, that they do, uh, disrega- disregarding the advices of their, uh, uh, I, I emphasize seasoned, seasoned military commanders, because these are commanders who are used to, uh, fighting wars, uh, from a very, uh, realistic standpoint, meaning, uh, they are the, they are the people on the ground.
And so what I'm saying today is that, um, as a, as a former, uh, military officer, is that, uh, again, there, there are some, uh, basic strategic, um, principles that are being violated, I think, uh, one of which, for instance, is- The, the principle of not scattering your, your forces, uh, too thinly a- across the globe, especially today.
We just read reports about how the United States has, uh, lost, uh, a lot of its munitions because of the war in Iran.
And now, uh, uh, there was a, uh, an article I read which said that it may take, uh, a two-year sprint for the United States to make up for these, uh, spent munitions.
Uh, and, and hard to make munitions, so they might, they might follow the lead of Ukraine in shifting to, uh, more inexpensive drones.
But this shifting of, of, uh, of an air- aircraft carrier from one location, strategic location to the Middle East, and then, uh, scaling back, uh, American forces from South Korea just because South Korea refuses to [laughs] lend support to the United States in Iran, right? There's a lot of, uh, uh, classic transactional, uh, Trump leadership, right? So, uh, military pieces are being moved like, like pawns to support, uh, political, uh, decisions by the American president.
But also, uh, there, there are, there are things that are very unpredictable because as we all know, even social, political, economic situations can, can, uh, can, if not quickly, gradually escalate into possible military conflict down the road, right? So I think that is really what, uh ...
Well, to, to, uh, military, uh, veterans like myself, we, we kind of always, uh, have that reality at the back of our minds, that when all of these political decisions and their consequences, uh, escalate because of unforeseen, uh, circumstances or consequences ...
Because really, you know, even if, uh, strate- uh, strategic analysts, uh, public administration analysts, and, uh, uh, political policymakers make their informed decisions, ultimately it is a, uh, executive leader like President Trump, for instance, who, who makes the final decision, right? And, uh, even with the most informed decisions, uh, there are un- there are still unforeseen circumstances that can come about.
And, and how much more if you have a political leader with a strong personality like President Trump, and, uh, perhaps ...
I mean, it's, he, he operates not within an authoritarian space, unlike Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin, right? And yet, he's able to, to get his way.
Uh, we, we see a lot of decisions being made that, that really, uh, [lip smacks] uh, that, that seem to be, um, personalistic, uh, on the part of the US president.
He, he, he, he probably listens to the advices, but we see the resulting executive action to be, uh, unilateral on his part.
Uh, well, mm, what I can say about, about that is that, uh, maybe it's, it's also nice to recall, uh, back, back, uh, in history, uh, World War II.
For those of us who remember or the students who read their history, if we recall Adolf Hitler, especially towards the end of the Second World War, when he, uh, uh, rejected the, the advices of his seasoned, uh, military commanders.
Uh, initially in the, in the war, they were, they were, of course, winning, uh, blitzkrieg and all that, and of course, with the, also with the, uh, uh, entry of the United States into the war.
But my point is that sometimes we have, uh, political leaders and, uh, I'm now trying to make a, uh, similar comparison, not exactly of course, but a similar comparison between President Trump and, uh, Adolf Hitler, for instance, or the likes of political leaders who, for their political reasons, of course, make the decisions that, that they do, uh, disrega- disregarding the advices of their, uh, uh, I, I emphasize seasoned, seasoned military commanders, because these are commanders who are used to, uh, fighting wars, uh, from a very, uh, realistic standpoint, meaning, uh, they are the, they are the people on the ground.
And so what I'm saying today is that, um, as a, as a former, uh, military officer, is that, uh, again, there, there are some, uh, basic strategic, um, principles that are being violated, I think, uh, one of which, for instance, is- The, the principle of not scattering your, your forces, uh, too thinly a- across the globe, especially today.
We just read reports about how the United States has, uh, lost, uh, a lot of its munitions because of the war in Iran.
And now, uh, uh, there was a, uh, an article I read which said that it may take, uh, a two-year sprint for the United States to make up for these, uh, spent munitions.
Uh, and, and hard to make munitions, so they might, they might follow the lead of Ukraine in shifting to, uh, more inexpensive drones.
But this shifting of, of, uh, of an air- aircraft carrier from one location, strategic location to the Middle East, and then, uh, scaling back, uh, American forces from South Korea just because South Korea refuses to [laughs] lend support to the United States in Iran, right? There's a lot of, uh, uh, classic transactional, uh, Trump leadership, right? So, uh, military pieces are being moved like, like pawns to support, uh, political, uh, decisions by the American president.
But also, uh, there, there are, there are things that are very unpredictable because as we all know, even social, political, economic situations can, can, uh, can, if not quickly, gradually escalate into possible military conflict down the road, right? So I think that is really what, uh ...
Well, to, to, uh, military, uh, veterans like myself, we, we kind of always, uh, have that reality at the back of our minds, that when all of these political decisions and their consequences, uh, escalate because of unforeseen, uh, circumstances or consequences ...
Because really, you know, even if, uh, strate- uh, strategic analysts, uh, public administration analysts, and, uh, uh, political policymakers make their informed decisions, ultimately it is a, uh, executive leader like President Trump, for instance, who, who makes the final decision, right? And, uh, even with the most informed decisions, uh, there are un- there are still unforeseen circumstances that can come about.
And, and how much more if you have a political leader with a strong personality like President Trump, and, uh, perhaps ...
I mean, it's, he, he operates not within an authoritarian space, unlike Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin, right? And yet, he's able to, to get his way.
Uh, we, we see a lot of decisions being made that, that really, uh, [lip smacks] uh, that, that seem to be, um, personalistic, uh, on the part of the US president.
He, he, he, he probably listens to the advices, but we see the resulting executive action to be, uh, unilateral on his part.
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