Special Forces to CIA in Afghanistan Fighting the Soviets | Mike Vickers (throwback)

original air date 12/1/23
Michael 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/05Lzlki9

00:00 — Start
02:19 — Michael Vickers’ Origin Story
03:39 — 10th Special Forces Group During the Cold War
07:14 — Berlin, Detachment A, and Denied-Area Tradecraft
08:28 — Training With Man-Portable Nuclear Weapons
12:30 — OCS, Panama, and 7th Special Forces Group
15:16 — Embassy Rescue Prep and the RST Mission
21:16 — Leaving Special Forces for the CIA
22:27 — CIA Training, Suriname, and the Road to Grenada
26:16 — First Combat in Grenada
30:33 — Beirut, Hezbollah, and Failed Policy
33:49 — Ground Branch and the Afghanistan Assignment
40:31 — How the Afghan Covert Action Program Evolved
45:12 — “By All Means Available”: Defeating the Soviets
50:45 — Blowpipe, Stingers, and Escalating the War
53:12 — Selling the Strategy to Foreign Partners
56:18 — Working With Chinese Intelligence
01:00:07 — The Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan
01:03:32 — Reagan Doctrine and the Global Irregular War
01:10:21 — CIA Covert Action vs. Special Forces
01:18:23 — China, the New Cold War, and U.S. Power
01:30:38 — Cyber Attacks as Acts of War
01:37:09 — Chips, Rare Earths, and Protecting U.S. Infrastructure

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