In our second year…we are All Marine, ALL the time
We’ll talk the news of the day, new terrorism bombing on the London subway; North Korea launches ICBM #2 over Japan and Iraq faces opportunity #3 to define itself after Saddam.
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Jerry Durrant, Col USMC (ret) joined us to talk about his time as a LCpl in Vietnam in 1970 as well as his thoughts on Iraq today.
He is currently part of a private company that does military education for the Iraqi military. He has interesting things to say about where Iraq is and what is next for the war-torn nation.
He raises concerns about Sunni’s being eliminated from the Iraqi military, the upcoming Kurdish referendum and genuine surprise at the visit Muqtada al Sadr made to Saudi Arabia recently.
Durrant is a great representative of the Marine Corps and a thoughtful guest.
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The principal of The Ubaldi Reports, John Ubaldi joins to talk about what comes next in Mosul. With large scale resistance quelled, the task now turns to what comes next? What role will Iran plan in the aftermath of Mosul? Will a Sunni population accept a largely Shiite Iraqi Army?
Always interesting.
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Scott Huesing, Major USMC (ret) joined us to talk about his career as an infantry Marine… both as an enlisted Marine and an officer… his transition from the active duty to civilian after twenty-four years of service as a Marine, becoming a author (Echo in Ramadi), a public speaker, a veteran’s advocate and a CEO of his own consulting company.
Scott has interesting things to say about becoming a writer and pointed things to say about leadership and why it’s important for leaders to genuinely care about those they lead.
Great stuff!
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The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe DUNFORD, appeared before the National Press Club yesterday (Monday, June 19 2017) and YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO HIS COMPLETE COMMENTS — you’ll be smarter, trust me.
The Chairman talks Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, SU-22’s being shot down, Russia, Turkey, Iran, North Korea, the Defense Budget and strategies in each of these regions as well as his vision of how American involvement contributes to success. What you’ll get is complete answers to difficult questions, not sound bites.
Well done by the National Press Club!
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Friday, June 09 2017, hour 2
Ben Connable of the RAND Corporation and a former machine gunner and intelligence officer in the USMC joined us to talk the issues surrounding the future of Iraq.
Ben lays out the complicated path for American strategy makers as they look at ISIS, the future of Syria post-ISIS and possibly post-Assad, Iranian involvement in Iraq and the relationship between the Kurds and the Turks and between the Kurds and the Iraqi nation.
Ben was named to “Task Force on the Future of Iraq” by Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The interview is solid insight into a difficult international problem that isn’t going away soon.
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00:00: Richard Caruso, former Cpl USMC, talks about the weekend in Scio, NY where he supervised the placing of a sign identifying the city of Scio as the home of Cpl Jason Dunham, USMC, Medal of Honor recipient for his actions against the enemy in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq.
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00:00 Minutes: SHOW OPEN: Thoughts on “Happy Memorial Day” and our long weekend.
00:35 Minutes: Defense Secretary James Mattis gave a 30 minute interview to CBS’s Face the Nation. You’ll hear his comments in their entirety. He discusses ISIS and changes that have been made in that fight to increase initiative by commanders and also to “annihilate” ISIS; civilian casualties in Mosul, North Korea, NATO and what keeps him up at night.
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Tom Draude, BGen USMC (ret), joins us to discuss the effect of President Trump’s visit to the Middle East on the Sunni – Shia dynamic in the region, a region that will continue to see upheaval as ISIL is defeated in the region and the fate of Syrian Leader Bashar al Assad is determined.
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Army Gen. Raymond Thomas, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Theresa Whelan, performing the duties of assistant defense secretary for special operations/low-intensity conflict, testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee, May 4, 2017. PART 1
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