Show notes
original air date 12/1/23Michael Vickers joins us to discuss his path from 10th Special Forces Group to the CIA, including Cold War missions, Berlin tradecraft, Grenada, Beirut, and Ground Branch. We also get into the covert war in Afghanistan, the Reagan Doctrine, working with foreign partners like Pakistan and China, and how the U.S. helped drive the Soviet Union out by all means available.Grab Mike's book here:https://a.co/d/05Lzlki900:00 — Start02:19 — Michael Vickers’ Origin Story03:39 — 10th Special Forces Group During the Cold War07:14 — Berlin, Detachment A, and Denied-Area Tradecraft08:28 — Training With Man-Portable Nuclear Weapons12:30 — OCS, Panama, and 7th Special Forces Group15:16 — Embassy Rescue Prep and the RST Mission21:16 — Leaving Special Forces for the CIA22:27 — CIA Training, Suriname, and the Road to Grenada26:16 — First Combat in Grenada30:33 — Beirut, Hezbollah, and Failed Policy33:49 — Ground Branch and the Afghanistan Assignment40:31 — How the Afghan Covert Action Program Evolved45:12 — “By All Means Available”: Defeating the Soviets50:45 — Blowpipe, Stingers, and Escalating the War53:12 — Selling the Strategy to Foreign Partners56:18 — Working With Chinese Intelligence01:00:07 — The Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan01:03:32 — Reagan Doctrine and the Global Irregular War01:10:21 — CIA Covert Action vs. Special Forces01:18:23 — China, the New Cold War, and U.S. Power01:30:38 — Cyber Attacks as Acts of War01:37:09 — Chips, Rare Earths, and Protecting U.S. InfrastructureBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support.
