WTH: Gen. Frank McKenzie Explains the Importance of American Strength in the Middle East

General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie was the Commander of United States
Central Command when the U.S. took out Iranian General Qassem
Soleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. What can we learn
from Gen. McKenzie’s time as CENTCOM Commander? It’s simple:
America’s enemies respect our strength. And when we fail to
punish bad actors, stand by our allies, or uphold our
commitments, our enemies – from Iran to Russia to China – are
emboldened. In our conversation with Gen. McKenzie, we discuss
his new book, lessons from his service under multiple
administrations, and the decision making leading up to America’s
withdrawal from Afghanistan.


General (Ret.) Frank McKenzie the former Commander of United
States Central Command. He currently serves as the Executive
Director of the University of South Florida’s Global National
Security Institute, the Executive Director of the Florida Center
for Cybersecurity, and as a Distinguished Senior Fellow on
National Security at the Middle East Institute. He is the author
of The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century
(Naval Institute Press, 2024).


Read the transcript here.


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