Privatized War with Tim Shorrock

Today we interview journalist Tim Shorrock to talk to us about privatized military intelligence, US counter-insurgency methods and his article in The Baffler called <a href="https://thebaffler.com/salvos/making-coin-shorrock">Making COIN: The Modern History of an Unstoppable Bad Idea</a><br/><br/>Examples of COIN<br/><br/>Tim talks about his Cold-War upbringing in Japan and Korea during the aftermath of World War II, the Korean war and through Vietnam, explaining how it gave him an honest &#8220;introduction to American politics and American foreign policy&#8221; which led him to a career in freelance journalism with a focus on Asian Studies.<br/><br/>Show Notes<br/><br/>4:25-8:15<br/><br/>Private companies are profiting at every level from military spending. In recent years we have seen an unprecedented merging of the military and private finance, &#8220;the integration of national security and business.&#8221;<br/><br/>&#8220;The privatizing of intelligence took off in the 1990&#8217;s.&#8221;<br/><br/><a href="https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZGFTBXZEJc1GMe9nUpBFx97NEdDqjXLbyfk">The Peace Dividend</a><br/><br/>Following the Cold War, as austerity and neoliberal budget-cuts were implemented, a wave of people previously employed in intelligence went on to work in the private sector with government contractors.<br/><br/>In the latter years of the Clinton administration, we began to see an increase of private military contractors being used to collect intelligence in places like Bosnia and Serbia.<br/><br/>Tim explains that after 9/11, under the false pretense of national security, billions were spent on increased military budgets, making contractors &#8220;essential parts of US military and intelligence operations&#8221;.&#160;<br/><br/>As the Bush doctrine continued, the Washington consensus increasingly encouraged &#8220;the contracting of strategic operations.&#8221;<br/><br/>8:15-13:05<br/><br/>COIN<br/><br/>Counter-insurgency methods of the US:&#160; &#8220;the people become the enemy.&#8221;<br/><br