Episode 96: Discussing Russia & Ukraine - Ash Carter

In this episode, Anthony talks with Ash Carter, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, who was nominated by President Obama for the role in December 2014, and author of the book ‘Inside the Five-Sided Box’. The conversation begins with Ash reflecting on when he started working in the Pentagon in 1993, more specifically his work on international relations with Russia, identifying the first warning signs of Putin’s aggression.Ash gives his take on whether the West was “too slow to understand the danger posed by Putin”; touching on whether the invasion of Ukraine was something that could have been avoided and whether recent NATO applications by Sweden and Finland will spark a response from Putin. Finally, Ash talks about his book, which gives the reader a bird’s-eye view of what is behind the walls of the Pentagon and how it’s run. They debate the importance of demystifying government agencies and whether transparency of its inner workings is vital to maintaining trust between people and their political institutions.