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Retired Army colonel, decorated combat veteran and the author of five books
Retired Army colonel, decorated combat veteran and the author of five books, most recently Margin of Victory: Five Battles that Changed the Face of Modern War
PROFILE
Douglas MacGregor
Guest
FROM Douglas MacGregor
Which Way, L.A.?
Iraq Troop Surge Ends Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says we are at the endgame in Iraq, but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says we might not be winning in Afghanistan. As General David Petraeus completes his tour of duty in Iraq, has the war reached a turning point? Has the surge worked? Will Afghanistan once again become the top priority in the Bush Administration's war on terror? Will the next president be offered a new set of military options for Iraq and Afghanistan? How will Petraeus' priorities change when he leaves Iraq and takes over Centcom with responsibility for the entire region?
To the Point
Iraq Troop Surge Ends Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says we are at the endgame in Iraq, but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs says we might not be winning in Afghanistan. As General David Petraeus completes his tour of duty in Iraq, has the war reached a turning point? Has the surge worked? Will Afghanistan once again become the top priority in the Bush Administration's war on terror? Will the next president be offered a new set of military options for Iraq and Afghanistan? How will Petraeus' priorities change when he leaves Iraq and takes over Centcom with responsibility for the entire region?
To the Point
Rethinking the Art of War After America's defeat in Vietnam, the US Army abandoned counterinsurgency doctrine and prepared for a big war with the Soviet Union. That never happened, and the Army was left ill-prepared for the kind of operations required in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the end of this month, the Association of the United States Army will debate proposed changes in the operations manual that defines what the Army is all about. Currently, doctrine focuses on defeating adversaries on the battlefield. The new manual would give equal importance to stabilizing war-torn nations. We hear how efforts to turn the Army around are being hotly resisted within the Army itself. Is war fighting more than guns, tanks and boots on the ground? Are proposed changes needed or are they a recipe for a new kind of colonialism?
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To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.