The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity.

This is a global player original podcast. On this episode of Newsagents USA, we're concentrating

on the desperate situation in the Middle East and what might unfold with President Biden

due in the region.

We've been speaking to David Petraeus, the general who was in charge of U.S. forces in Iraq,

Afghanistan, and became the head of the CIA.

I think it's worse than the 9-11 moment, but I think it's instructive to recall, again, the understandable

outrage, desire for revenge, the urgency of taking out of the al-Qaeda sanctuary in which the

9-11 attacks were planned in Afghanistan and then taking down the Taliban

because they refused to allow, they bring the al-Qaeda leaders to justice and so forth.

But we conducted some actions that when you look back later, are instructive. For example, in particular,

what do you do after you've taken down a regime? You know, the post-conflict planning,

obviously for Iraq proved to be wholly inadequate. And then there were some decisions made

that made that even more challenging, firing the Iraqi

military without telling them how they'd provide for their families and firing the government

bureaucrats basically without an agreed reconciliation process. So there are some very instructive

moments here. But I think this is far worse. We lost nearly 3,000 innocent civilians and the horrific

attacks on 9-11. The Israelis lost the equivalent of well over, well over that, and they're still

doing the accounting. As you know, right now, they're at 1,300 innocent Israeli civilians,, of course, done in a way that's truly

unspeakable and barbaric.

Newsagents USA, available on Global Player.

Thanks for listening to the Newsagents', brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity.

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