Badlands Book Club Ep. 9: Government Gangsters by Kash Patel - Chapters 15 & 16

In Episode 9 of Badlands Book Club, CannCon and Ashe in America dive into Chapters 15 and 16 of Kash Patel’s Government Gangsters, which deliver a blistering exposé of corruption, insubordination, and globalist entrenchment inside the Department of Defense. Patel recounts his time as Chief of Staff at the DoD under Trump, detailing how a hostile bureaucracy, a corrupt officer class, and unconstitutional overreach by figures like General Mark Milley subverted the president’s chain of command and sabotaged efforts to end America’s forever wars.

The episode covers Trump’s conditions-based withdrawal from Afghanistan, the strategic importance of Bagram Airfield, and Biden’s catastrophic reversal that led to chaos, death, and disgrace. CannCon and Ashe unpack Patel’s firsthand account of how Milley illegally positioned himself as operational authority and even warned China, an act they unequivocally call treason.

Ashe draws connections between Patel’s reform blueprint and Trump’s current moves to dismantle globalist influence inside the military and reestablish civilian control. The duo also tackles the revolving door between the Pentagon and defense contractors, exposes the wasteful corruption of military procurement, and calls for abolishing offices like Net Assessment, which secretly funded Russiagate architect Stefan Halper.

Packed with raw emotion, military insight, and real-time geopolitical parallels to Trump’s recent Middle East diplomacy, this episode underscores the stakes of 2025. It’s not just about winning elections, it’s about gutting the Deep State and restoring a military that serves the Constitution, not the war machine.