The General and the Ambassador: A Conversation

General Tod Wolters and Ambassador David Satterfield talk about the key elements of their successful partnership in managing the US-Turkey security relationship (2019-2022): having a clear strategy, relying on the strong US/NATO/Turkey mil to mil relationship and holding frank talks.  Topics:  Turkey’s strong commitment to NATO;  US Turkish differences over the US partnership with the SDF in Syria;  Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile defense systems; Greek/Turkish clashes & Turkey’s relationship with Russia.

Admiral James Foggo and Ambassador Philip Kosnett talk about their collaboration to launch the book “Boots and Suits”,  share their personal observations of US civil military relations in the field and explain how they led US diplomatic and military engagement in Kosovo in the midst of continued tensions with Serbia and Russian influence operations in the Balkans.

General Mejia and Ambassador Whitaker discuss the arduous effort to negotiate a peace agreement between the Govt of Colombia and the FARC. Topics include: the campaign plan (Espada de Honor) in which the military got access to new key intelligence & used tactics/ equipment provided by the US through Plan Colombia, to drive the FARC to the table;  the multiyear negotiations pursued in Cuba in the presence of a special US envoy; the complicated broad terms of the agreement; how it has been implemented (demobilization, transitional justice and coca cultivation); and the continued challenge of dissident FARC members, other insurgent/paramilitary groups & criminal networks.

Mississippi Adjutant General, General Janson Boyles, and former US Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Pamela Spratlen discuss the role of the US national guard overseas, focusing on the State Partnership Program between the Mississippi National Guard and Uzbekistan.  They review the US-Uzbek security relationship over the years;  their joint efforts to encourage the country’s emergence from isolation; the Mississippi National Guard’s role in influencing Uzbek military leadership and in strengthening bilateral civilian/economic ties; and the important role of the Mississippi Assistant Adjutant General, Congressman Trent Kelly.

Admiral Franken and Ambassador Pasi talk about shifting US strategic interests in Africa, the key role of the US base in Djibouti,  the challenge of regional terrorist groups (Al Shabaab, Boko Haram),  the policy of “sound bites” of the Trump Administration, sitting on prayer rugs to inform the government of Chad of the Trump travel ban,  the effects of China’s vast economic investments across the continent and Russia’s “moon” promises to the region.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Erikson and Ambassador Luis Arreaga review the transformation of the role of the military Latin America, attempts by some governments today to use them for political purpose, the value of US regional engagement in training/disaster response/climate change/cybersecurity and how the region views China. 

General Curtis Scaparrotti and Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison talk about how they tag teamed to engage with NATO during the Trump Administration: pressuring NATO members to boost defense expenditures, expanding the US military presence in Europe, training the Ukrainian military, talking to Russia, traveling to Afghanistan with key partners and keeping them informed of the US-Taliban negotiations. They stress the importance of NATO to the US and explain membership requirements which permit some countries (Finland/Sweden) to join more easily than others.

General Darren McDew, former Commander US TRANSCOM and Dr. Alan Misenheimer, former Political Advisor to TRANSCOM, explain how the command projects and sustains US military operations around the globe, drawing on its formidable assets and those of private industry.  They describe how the Dept of Defense and the Dept of State negotiate transit access for US military equipment and personnel as well as the threats posed by Chinese global infrastructure investments and by constant cyberattacks on the networks TRANSCOM depends on.

Ambassador Kathleen Doherty and former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Rachel Ellehuus talk about their work together on Cyprus - the effects of the division of the island on US engagement in the region and on NATO,  the decision to lift the long standing US arms embargo,  the dispute over energy resources between Cyprus and Turkey,  Russia’s decades long ties to the island and the “time warp” of the UN monitored buffer zone.

General Hodges and Ambassador Jones discuss how Poland has become the center of gravity for the US and NATO on the Eastern Front.  They review their joint work to preserve the  security relationship despite major political transitions in both Poland  and in the United States and to prepare for the Warsaw NATO Summit after Russia’s invasion of Crimea.  They also discuss the issue of a permanent US military base in the country,  President Trump’s visit,  the threat to the region from Russia’s military capability in Kaliningrad and Poland’s support for Ukraine after the Russian attack in February 2022.