Ben Hodges is a retired United States Army officer, who became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, and held that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018. Until recently he was the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies, at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, specialising in NATO, Transatlantic relationship and international security.
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DESCRIPTION:
Analyzing the US Peace Process and Ukraine Conflict with General Ben Hodges
In this episode, David and Jonathan welcome General Ben Hodges, former Commander of US Army Europe, to explore the intricacies of the US administration's approach to the Ukraine conflict and peace process. The discussion covers the missteps by the US administration, the resilience and strategy of Ukraine, and the implications of various geopolitical maneuvers. They dive deeply into the current state of US-Russia relations, the role of European allies, and potential future outcomes. Additionally, the conversation touches on domestic US issues like federal law enforcement activities and the potential for martial law. The episode concludes with a look at ongoing support initiatives for Ukraine and reflections on the broader state of global democracy.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction and Initial Critique of the Peace Process
00:27 Welcoming General Ben Hodges
01:28 Discussion on the Performative Peace Process
02:44 Analysis of US and European Roles in the Conflict
07:25 Ukraine's Military Strategy and Innovations
10:32 Support for the Channel and Future Plans
12:42 Impact of Ukrainian Attacks on Russian Infrastructure
18:26 Speculations on Russia's Future and Hybrid Warfare
27:16 Discussing the Future of European Politics
29:37 US Foreign Policy and Greenland
34:11 Domestic Issues in America
37:36 Military and Legal Implications
42:08 International Relations and Consequences
45:55 Optimism and Future Outlook
51:47 Fundraising for Ukraine
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📝 Transcript
Transcribing... This may take a few minutes.
Top Comments
@CyberBeep_kenshi
There never was a peaceprocess. It was all deliberately wasting time, with a small possibility that ukraine would surrender. Disgusting.
291 likes
@mattgoulden4779
Always informative to hear Gen. Hodge's perspective.
80 likes
@voetstoets
'If we have elections...': dark times indeed.
7 likes
@andersliwenborg3355
The Suicide Pact: What Happens the Moment We Touch Greenland…
Why is invade Greenland is not the same as Venezuela.
I did not write this. It was written by Brent Molnar. This sounds bad, very bad.
🌍🔥 The Suicide Pact: What Happens the Moment We Touch Greenland…
If the United States follows through on the threat to invade Greenland, we need to be crystal clear about what happens the next morning. This is not a real estate transaction or a routine military exercise. It is the geopolitical equivalent of pulling the pin on a grenade in a crowded elevator. The moment American boots hit the ground in Nuuk to seize territory from a fellow NATO member, the world as we know it ends. The consequences will not be temporary sanctions or angry letters. They will be total, permanent, and devastating.
The first domino to fall is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization itself. NATO is built on the sacred promise of Article 5, that an attack on one is an attack on all. If the U.S. attacks Denmark, we are not just breaking the treaty; we are triggering it against ourselves. NATO dissolves instantly. The alliance that kept the peace in Europe for 75 years evaporates, leaving the continent to rearm and realign against the new aggressor across the Atlantic. We don't just lose an ally; we create a unified enemy.
The military repercussions will be swift and humiliating. Europe will immediately demand the closure of every U.S. military base on the continent. Ramstein in Germany, Aviano in Italy, Lakenheath in the UK, all gone. Our ability to project power into the Middle East and Africa vanishes overnight. We will be evicted from the very soil we helped liberate and defended for decades, forced to retreat to our own shores as a fortress nation, isolated and friendless.
Then comes the economic nuclear option. The European Union is the largest single market in the world, and they will weaponize it. Europe will likely move to call in U.S. debt and dump their dollar reserves, sending the value of our currency into a death spiral. The U.S. economy, which relies on the dollar being the global reserve currency, will collapse. Inflation will make the post-COVID spikes look like a rounding error. Your savings will be worthless before the ink dries on the invasion orders.
Corporate America will face an extinction event. U.S. companies will be expelled from the European market. Apple, Google, McDonald's, and Tesla will see their assets seized or their operations banned. Trillions of dollars in market capitalization will be incinerated in minutes. The stock market will not just crash; it will close. We are talking about the complete de-globalization of American industry, cutting us off from the wealthiest consumers on the planet.
The skies will go silent. European aviation authorities will almost certainly ground all Boeing jets and ban U.S. airlines from their airspace. Transatlantic travel will cease. If you are in Paris or Berlin, you are stuck there. The logistical arteries that feed our supply chains will be severed. We will be cut off from European medicine, machinery, and technology. We will be an island nation in the worst possible sense.
The cultural isolation will be just as stinging. The International Olympic Committee and FIFA will have no choice but to bar the United States from competition, just as they did with Russia. There will be no World Cup matches in New Jersey. There will be no Team USA in the Olympics. We will be treated as a pariah state, unwelcome on the global stage, forced to watch the world celebrate without us.
For individual Americans, the consequences will be personal and painful. Visa-free travel to Europe will end immediately. Americans currently living or working in Europe will lose their legal protections and residency status. They will become persona non grata, potentially facing deportation or internment. The "blue passport" that used to open every door will suddenly be a red flag at every border crossing.
This is the end of trust, and it does not reset. You cannot invade a democratic ally and then say "my bad" four years later. The psychological break will be permanent. Europe will realize that the United States is no longer a partner but a predator. They will build their own defense architecture, their own financial systems, and their own alliances that specifically exclude us. The West will continue, but the United States will no longer be part of it.
Invading Greenland is not a show of strength; it is an act of national suicide. We are trading our reputation, our economy, and our security for a frozen island and a handful of minerals we can't even process. The price of this real estate deal is everything we built over the last century. If we cross this line, there is no going back. We will be the lonely superpower, ruling over nothing but our own decline.
By Brent Molnar
#Greenland #NATO #Article5 #EconomicCollapse #Boeing #WorldCup #PariahState #Geopolitics #EndOfTheWest #VoiceOfReason
36 likes
@GijsMK
I think David is right (50:40) that elections/midterm are "iffy". Too many MAGA people are implicated in trespassing the law but now get away with it because Trump hold the power. Too many need the security that Trump/Maga is keeping a hold on power. The elections are either; 1. not gonna be held due to "social unrest", 2. ICE is gonna scare all minorities away from election waiting lines, 3. results are not gonna be recognized or will be outright rigged. Democracy in the land of the free is gone people just don't wanna see it and ackownledge it.
Just like many Europeans are still not recognizing that their "protector" USA is no more (or even a threat). They are on their own now and that they are like a fat goose hardly able to fly away. Just waiting for one with the will and power to shoot it and have a feast on the remains. The western future is grim.
8 likes
@alasdairmacdonald6429
General Hodges speaks so much sense, Europe and UK must grow a backbone and really stand up to Trump. Fawning all over him just makes him think hes invincible.
65 likes
@esakoivuniemi
Europe should send, say, 10,000 troops to Greenland and state that they are strengthening Greenland’s defenses against Russia and China. They should also add that those troops have standing orders to shoot first and ask questions later if anyone approaches them with hostile intent. If Trump were still to choose to invade Greenland, he and the United States would effectively have to declare war on Europe and pay a price so high that I doubt even Trump would be willing to pay it.
43 likes
@jesperyde-w2g
As a dane - who once lived in Greenland - I find comfort in listening to you three. You are wonderful.
56 likes
@gatonegro5193
Thank you Jonathan… 👏🤘👍🫶🙏🫡🇺🇦🐈⬛
17 likes
@Cillekat
Denmark is a small country. It feels like a lot to support Ukraine, while also push back on Russia AND USA.
We will continue, but I definitely hope Europe will be by on or side. We all have to step up, and quickly.
29 likes
@user-zp8sp4hj3d
Again, from someone who knows, if “you are not making any advances on the battlefield “ and are the invader, you are loosing.
If there are no advances on the battlefield and you are defending, you are winning.
12 likes
@SerendipityNow123
Gen Ben!!!
He is such a cool, clean glass of water in these hellish times.
7 likes
@JohnBl7167
If Trump takes Greenland the rest of the world will dump US bonds and the dollar as the global reserve currency sending the US into hyperinflation overnight and economic collapse.
91 likes
@BrianJensen-ym5gk
"IF we have elections...." Do you realise how crazy it sounds to even entertain that thought about a nation that has been a democracy since 1776?
4 likes
@DavidMee-yu6mg
The US Congress have the powers to pass laws preventing the US military attacking Greenland. They do not have to wait till Trump tries to do it. I so not see this happening. They are too spineless.