Ep. 1: H.R. McMaster on the Gulf War

School of War

Retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster discusses his new book, Battlegrounds, and his time leading troops during the Gulf War

BiographyH. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.He is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Battlegrounds-Fight-Defend-Free-World/dp/0062899465">Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World</a> and Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam.  Times<ul>
<li>03:10 - Introduction</li>
<li>04:02 - Biography</li>
<li>06:35 - Leading Eagle Troop</li>
<li>08:16 - Post Cold War preparation for Desert Shield and Desert Storm</li>
<li>15:17 - The Battle of the 73 Easting</li>
<li>23:17 - Advantages of the American military</li>
<li>26:12 - Overconfidence in American military dominance</li>
<li>29:16 - China's reaction to the Gulf War and technological development</li>
<li>32:30 - China's tactics</li>
<li>35:04 - The Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan</li>
</ul> Recorded August 31, 2021

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This podcast seeks to learn what war teaches. There’s a steady decline in the study of military history and its associated theoretical discipline, strategy. Avoiding the knowledge of war is dangerous. This podcast solves that problem by diving into military and diplomatic history.&nbsp; We study strategy, and the words and deeds of significant battlefield commanders, diplomats, strategists, policymakers, and statesmen who have trained directly in the school of war.&nbsp;&nbsp; This podcast is primarily an interview show. The subject of any given episode may be the story of an historical battle, campaign, or conflict; the conduct of policy in the course of a major international competition; the work of a famous strategist; the nature of a famous weapon; the legacy of an important military commander or political leader in wartime.&nbsp;&nbsp;