The General And The Ambassador: A Conversation

Former Assistant Secretary Tom Countryman and Dept of Defense WMD Military Advisor Colonel Pat Terrell discuss the 2013-2014 operation to remove and destroy Syria’s stock of chemical weapons and the diplomatic/ military tools required today given continued use of chemical weapons in Syria and new uses by countries such as Russia.

Generals Austin and Odierno & Ambassadors Crocker and Liberi on media relations, trust, briefing the President & the need for a civ/mil playbook from the lessons of Afghanistan/Iraq.

Panel at National Defense University on civilian/military relations: Gen. Odierno, Gen. Austin, Amb. Crocker, Amb. Liberi on working in Iraq and Afghanistan:  building long term stability,  planning & handing the media.

Blurb:  General Wright and Ambassador Schieffer talk about North Korea kidnapping of Japanese citizens, the 6 Party Talks, China, US diplomatic persuasion & military force, flying on Air Force Two and the value of America as an idea.   

Former Ambassador to Japan Tom Schieffer & Former Commander US Forces Japan General Bruce “Orville” Wright discuss their partnership, the US –Japanese military alliance, the 2010 North Korean missile attacks and doing the right thing in the aftermath of a rape by a US soldier.

Former AFRICOM Commander General Ham and former Ambassador to Libya Cretz on the 2011 revolt in Libya, the decision to use US military force to protect civilians, the coalition and key partnerships.

Former US Army Europe Commander Gen. Ben Hodges and Former US Ambassador to Poland, Amb. Steve Mull discuss their partnership to increase the US military presence in Poland & Eastern Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine. Diplomatic negotiations/ Public Affairs strategies/logistics/Russia/Kaliningrad/missile defense & burden sharing.

General Skip Sharp, former commander of UN, US-ROK & US Forces South Korea and former Ambassador Kathy Stephens on their partnership during the period of high tension after the 2010 North Korean attacks; current US military posture and burden sharing; the effectiveness of sanctions; US military sales and current prospects for negotiations with North Korea.

Admiral Michelle Howard, former US Naval Forces Europe & Africa, and former Ambassador to Greece David Pearce, discuss the European migrant crisis of 2015, US military and diplomatic engagement with Greece, Turkey and North Africa, NATO and the challenge of Russia.

Former CJTF Commander General Sonntag and US Ambassador to Djibouti Thomas Kelly talk about their partnership to advance US interests in the Horn of Africa region through military operations and diplomatic engagement including: fighting terrorists, extremists and pirates, protecting and evacuating US embassies and US citizens (Yemen, Sudan), assisting refugees, working with our other allies and the challenge of the first Chinese base in Africa.  

Ambassador John Tefft and US Embassy Military Attache Bruce McClintock provide an unique view of U.S engagement inside Russia and the operational climate for the U.S.Embassy and Consulates. They discuss Russian military doctrine/objectives/perceptions of NATO/Crimea/Ukraine/Syria and how the “man on the street” view Americans. 

The hard work of setting up the new US Military Command for AFRICA: General Kip Ward and Ambassador Mary Yates discuss how they got the phones to work, built a culturally sensitive multitalented team, dealt with skeptics, traveled the continent and expanded America’s military presence to boost US security.

Ambassador Deborah McCarthy discusses the purpose and content of the General and Ambassador series with Eric Ham on SiriusXM POTUS show.

Haiti: How senior US diplomatic and military leaders responded to the 2010 earthquake which killed over 200,000 people: The value of coordination, communication and relationships.

Former Ambassador to Iraq Jeffrey & General Austin, former Commander US Forces Iraq, talk about their partnership in the field, the role of Iran, US Civ-Mil teams & lessons learned.

Former White House/Defense/State Department spokespersons Rear Admiral John Kirby & Ambassador Michael Hammer on media relations, being in the story and forming the narrative & ethics and credibility.  

General Philip Breedlove and Ambassador Victoria Nuland: Former SACEUR and EUCOM Commander Breedlove and former Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland talk about the strong bonds they forged working together on US actions to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s deception campaign, the benefits to the US of being in NATO, working on a Soviet fishing trawler, being a fighter pilot and much more.

General Jack Gardner and Ambassador Kate Canavan on US military and diplomatic work at the US European Command in Germany: why do we have troops in Europe? What does the US get out of training with other countries? Georgia/Russia/refugees/evacuations…. and lessons from living next door to chef Julia Child in Boston!

Admiral Jim Stavridis & Ambassador Bill Brownfield discuss their partnership, their efforts to stop the flow of cocaine to the US,  the rescue of US hostages, the transformation of Colombia and the situation in Venezuela.  

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker discuss their partnership in Iraq 2007-2008 during the surge campaign – as running buddies and political/military strategists. They review their bad cop/good cop approach and warn about Iran.