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At the Water's Edge

At the Water's Edge

Written by: WRKdefined Podcast Network
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The At the Water’s Edge Podcast explores national security and geopolitics from an insider’s perspective, looking at how national power, industrial policy, diplomacy, and military might shape our world and America’s place in it.All rights reserved by WRKdefined Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • U.S. Brigades Last 24 Hours Against Ukraine’s Drones | MG Duane Miller

    U.S. Brigades Last 24 Hours Against Ukraine’s Drones | MG Duane Miller
    Oct 13 2026
    What happens when a U.S. brigade trains against Ukraine's drone forces? They usually have to reset the exercise within 24 hours. Major General Duane Miller, until recently Deputy Commanding General of Security Assistance Group–Ukraine, explains why America is not ready for the speed of modern war. After more than two years watching Ukraine fight, MG Miller argues that the speed of learning is now a measure of national power. Ukraine pushes new tactics, software updates, and drone fixes to the front in two to three weeks. The U.S. averages over a decade to field a new weapon system. In this episode: - Why Ukraine's edge isn't the drones but the learning loop behind them - What happens when U.S. brigades face Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Force - Why Patriot software updates still move by courier - Why Ukraine has stopped wanting some U.S. munitions - How defense primes and procurement rules slow innovation - What the U.S. military should change before the next first battle Links: MG Miller's article, "The Speed of Learning: The New Measure of National Power": https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/speed-learning-new-measure-national-power-duane-miller-ldake/ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Had-NK89U_I At the Water's Edge is a national security and geopolitics podcast hosted by Scott Kelly, a former Green Beret. The views expressed are those of the guest and do not represent the official position of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.
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    50 mins
  • The Rise of the Mecca Alliance: Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia's Game Plan

    The Rise of the Mecca Alliance: Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia's Game Plan
    Oct 9 2026
    Fifty-nine days after it was signed, the Mecca Pact has been activated. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey have agreed to send forces to defend the kingdom against the Houthis. The alliance itself isn’t the real danger. The danger is when it was formed. Scott breaks down how the Houthis pushed Riyadh to call in its new allies: strikes on four Saudi cities, attacks on the East-West pipeline that lets Saudi oil bypass the Strait of Hormuz, threats to Saudi airspace, and a drone the Saudis say was headed for Mecca. He separates what the pact is from what it isn’t, and reads the fine print on domestic approval, “all those responsible,” and Pakistan’s insistence that the pact is purely defensive. Scott also covers what Turkey can actually bring (combat-proven drones, a growing defense industry, and a conscript army that isn’t built for “away games”), why Turkey’s constitution puts treaty approval and troop deployments in separate articles, and why Yemen is nothing like northern Syria. Then Pakistan: nearly six decades of military ties to Saudi Arabia, a three-front squeeze at home, and a delicate role as mediator between Washington and Tehran. Finally, the big picture: with the U.S. tied down in its war with Iran, middle powers are building their own security order. Could alliances formed after a war starts create a 1914-style escalation chain? And why this is about state power politics, not a Sunni religious bloc. What does the Mecca Pact mean for Israel? The members-only companion episode is available now in The Briefing Room, our members-only community on YouTube: [MEMBERSHIP LINK] Follow Scott on Substack: https://substack.com/@scottatthewatersedgeorg
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    26 mins
  • The Most Dangerous Weeks of the Iran War Are Here | Robert Pape

    The Most Dangerous Weeks of the Iran War Are Here | Robert Pape
    Oct 8 2026
    We’re in the most dangerous weeks of the Iran war since March, and the midterms are the reason. Professor Robert Pape returns to explain the wicked incentives pushing President Trump toward escalation before November 3rd, and why every option likely landing on his desk hands Tehran the advantage. Pape walks through the three clocks converging on the midterms. The USS Theodore Roosevelt and a second Marine Expeditionary Unit are closing within striking range of Iran. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has plateaued while Iran strikes more tankers in Hormuz than in any week of the war. And inflation inside Iran, which Pape puts near 100%, is tempting Washington to try to break Iran’s economy with air power. He explains why striking Iran’s refineries could invite a retaliatory strike on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq facility that would hurt America more than Iran, and why landing Marines on Larak Island, Hormuz Island, or near Chabahar would hand Iran fixed targets without breaking its kill chain. We also cover the recent Tel Aviv flight incident, the drone threat that moved U.S. B-1 bombers out of an RAF base, and what history says about how long it takes a suicide terrorism campaign to reach the U.S. homeland once ground forces are committed. Want Pape’s take on whether the Mecca Pact pulls Pakistan and Turkey into this war, and whether the overlapping U.S. and Israeli elections double the danger? The rest of the conversation is available in The Briefing Room, our members-only community on YouTube: [MEMBERSHIP LINK] Read Robert Pape’s Substack, The Escalation Trap: https://escalationtrap.substack.com Follow Scott on Substack: https://substack.com/@scottatthewatersedgeorg Watch on YouTube: [YOUTUBE LINK] At the Water’s Edge brings you insights beyond the headlines, with a practitioner’s view on national security and geopolitics. Hosted by Scott Kelly, former Green Beret and founder of Grayzone Advisory.
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    34 mins
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