The Foundation for Constitutional Government has just released Bill Kristol’s “Conversation” with Gen. Jack Keane. The “Conversation” is one in a series of long-form interviews conducted by Bill with key intellectuals and players. Bill reports that “the reaction to this particular conversation has been terrific,” so he urges interested readers to take a look. He adds: “If you agree it’s worthwhile, do recommend it to others, especially those in the military or considering joining it.” I am posting it here because it is clearly of general interest.
Watching General Keane’s appearances on FOX News, I have always been left wanting more. In this 90-minute video (transcript here), General Keane reviews 1) his role in urging the adoption of the surge (the first 15 minutes), 2) President Bush and his generals (approximately the next 13 minutes), 3) his military career (the next 17 minutes), 4) his dramatic testimony to what he saw on 9/11 at the Pentagon (the next 14 minutes), and 5) his assessment of the continuing threat (the final 21 minutes). The interview is posted in its entirety and also broken down into chapters for easy viewing here. General Keane presents a devastating indictment of our current leadership in the concluding segment of the video. After 90 minutes, I am still left wanting more.
General Keane is a deeply thoughtful and patriotic man of the kind that makes for a great American and a man in full. Putting to one side his concluding indictment of Obama, I found General Keane’s accounts of his contribution to the surge and of his Army career of great interest along with the rest of the video. To recover from the damage Obama has done, we will need his like more than ever.
Quotable quote: “I don’t think it ever occurred to anybody that we would wind up with no troops in Iraq.”
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