General David Petraeus joins the show to discuss his new book (co-authored by Andrew Roberts, our recent episode with him here), Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine.

Primarily through the lenses of Ukraine and Israel, Cliff and the General examine what has evolved into modern-day warfare.

They discuss the status of Ukraine's defensive war against Russia, including criticism that the U.S. provides only enough assistance to prevent Kyiv from losing the war but not enough to win it. 

The General shares his concerns related to Israel's defensive war in Gaza, his thoughts on "the day after" — from the role of the UN to preventing Hamas from reconstituting, and his advice for Israel's War Cabinet based on his experience in Iraq. Cliff also asks him how Israel should handle Hezbollah, and — speaking of — does he think the U.S. has adopted a policy of appeasement towards Iran? What was his reaction to the U.S.-led Red Sea coalition announced earlier this week?

General David Petraeus

Gen. Petraeus served in the U.S. Army for 37 years with six consecutive commands as a general officer — five of which were in combat, including command of the “Surge” in Iraq, U.S. Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. In addition to later serving as director of the CIA, he has held academic appointments at six universities and is a senior fellow and lecturer at Yale. Also worth noting: he was sanctioned by Russia in 2022.