Rational Security · The Lawfare Institute

The “Living La Vida Off Camera” Edition

December 3, 2025·1 hr 29 min·8 clips

Eric Charmella argues that Vladimir Putin keeps saving the Trump administration by rejecting peace deals, forcing them to walk back proposals.

The cold open is mostly housekeeping. Before the excerpt gets to the serious stuff, listeners hear an AI customer service ad and Scott R. Anderson's reminder to send holiday episode topics by December 17. Then the episode turns to coercion. A speaker argues that sanctions alone will not solve the Russia problem, but they still matter. Carrots are already there. The worry is that Russia can see benefits in a deal without believing things will get worse if it says no. That leaves the leverage looking thin. The discussion treats this as a national power problem, not just a sanctions question or one diplomatic move. Anderson then changes theaters. He calls the expected fourth round of diplomacy weird and awkward, with subtle pieces in play, before moving to the Caribbean. The contrast lands hard. One segment is about winding down a war on bad terms; the next asks whether the Trump administration may be edging toward starting one. The Caribbean reporting does the work here. Anderson notes strikes against alleged narcotics traffickers in the Southern Caribbean, approaching two dozen by his count, plus a handful in the Pacific. The September 2 strike is the sharper issue. Media reports, as described in the excerpt, say the first boat strike included a second pass after the initial attack. The newer detail is that the second pass was reportedly aimed at two people clinging to the vessel, not people still active on it. The excerpt does not settle the legal or factual questions. It puts them on the table. The close returns to Lawfare support, social media, ratings, production credits, and Anderson signing off with Eric, Ben, and Natalie.

As heard by us

A sharp Rational Security roundtable on Ukraine leverage, Russia sanctions, and the legal stakes of Caribbean boat strikes.

Rational Security sounds a little looser off camera, but the conversation stays fixed on serious national security problems. The Ukraine section circles a blunt point: sanctions may matter, and security arrangements may matter, but neither means much unless the United States and…

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For a careful read on sanctions, Putin, and the Caribbean strikes, press play.

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