interview with H. R. McMaster, Janan Mosazai via Uncommon Knowledge
H.R. McMaster and Janan Mosazai discuss the current state of Afghanistan, it’s position in the Middle East and Asia, and the path forward for the country.
by Bing West via Military History in the News
In early winter of 2001, an invading force of fewer than 10,000 American soldiers, Marines, Special Forces, and CIA operatives stampeded the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces across Afghanistan. A punitive campaign of historic brevity and one-sided casualties was about to end. Then our most senior officials made two disastrous decisions. First, General Tommy Franks, the commander of the invasion, refused to employ American forces to seal off the al-Qaeda remnants, including Osama bin Laden, hiding in the Tora Bora mountains. Instead, General Franks handed the fight over to unreliable Afghan warlords, who let bin Laden and al-Qaeda escape into Afghanistan.
featuring John Abizaid via Military Times
A retired four-star general is President Donald Trump’s pick to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, filling a key diplomatic vacancy at a time when U.S.-Saudi relations are being tested by the slaying of a journalist critical of the Saudi royal family.