488: Gen. Frank McKenzie: High Command and War in the 21st Century - From the Killing of Soleimani to the Fall of Kabul

The Realignment

Technology, News Commentary, National Security, Marshall Kosloff, International Relations, News, Public Policy, Economics, Politics, Saager Enjeti, U.s. Politics, Policy

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Gen. Frank McKenzie, retired Commander of U.S. Central Command and author of The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Frank discuss his time at Central Command, from the strikes on Qassem Soleimani and two leaders of ISIS to deterrence operations against Iran and the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul. They also discuss The Melting Point's three themes: civilian control of the military, the role of the combatant commander, and the centrality of leaders in today's battlefield environment.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Marshall here.
0:01.0	Welcome back to the realignment.
0:03.0	Hey everyone, welcome back to the realignment.
0:10.0	My guest today on the realignment is retired general Frank at Mackenzie.
0:13.7	He has a new book out, the melting point, high command and war in the 21st century.
0:19.3	General Mackenzie retired from the Marine Corps after holding the commanding role at Centscom.
0:24.8	He presided over the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the campaign against ISIS, and of course
0:30.2	the killing of Khasam so Amani in terms of the US conflict with Iran over the Middle East and the early 20s.
0:38.0	He's had a really interesting career and has now written a book that deals with both those events, but also the lessons for our present moment from the
0:45.2	tensions when it comes to civil military relations to a broader question of the US military's purpose
0:50.0	after 20 years of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
0:53.3	Lots of, I think, really helpful frameworks and just history here.
0:56.8	Hope you all enjoy the conversation and of course a huge thank you to the Foundation
1:00.7	for American Innovation.
1:01.8	Hey guys, quick note before we get into today's episode, I wanted to take a quick second to share some good and exciting news about the Foundation for American Innovation's upcoming fall conference, reboot
1:15.2	2024, the new reality.
1:17.8	As listeners will know, especially long-time ones, FAI hosts a great conference called
1:22.4	reboot every year and this version is going to be in San Francisco, California, September 4th and 5th.
1:29.0	Listeners to the realignment can get access to a 25% discount by going to the link to reboot 2024 in your show
1:36.9	notes, going to the coupon code section of the checkout with your tickets and putting in the term
1:43.2	re-alignment. Past realignment guests are going to be speaking at the
1:46.9	conference everyone from Y Combinators President CEO Gary Tan to Antonio
	...

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