May 21, 2019
Host: Noel King
...PETRAEUS: Well, I'm not concerned (click here) about a direct attack of Iranian forces on U.S. forces, I don't think. I'm much more concerned about miscalculation, misperception - say, undisciplined, trigger-happy Iranian-supported militia elements. This kind of activity, I think, is concerning because you don't know how far it could escalate....
...PETRAEUS: Well, there certainly are potential flashpoints. The question is, are they likely? Again, I think that the main forces of the Iranian army and even of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - navy and air forces and army and so forth - these are going to be relatively disciplined. The question is - is there some, again, rogue actor? Is there somebody who is just trigger-happy? It's not clear at all who shot off the rocket the other night from Baghdad, allegedly - purportedly, according to the Iraqi counterterrorist service, it was fired by Khattab Hezbollah, which is an Iranian-supported Shia militia - but just one rocket and so forth. So that would be, I think, the concern.
And by the way, I should just note that the leaders of the Iranian-supported Shia militia in Iraq have actually denounced that and have said that "if war is ignited, everyone will burn." That's a quote from Hadi al-Amiri, an old colleague if you will, who is the head of the Shia militia and a former minister of transportation, as well. I know him well.
It's very clear that the Iraqi leadership - the president, the prime minister, the speaker and even, again, these leaders of the Shia militia - do not want to see a war between the United States and Iran fought on Iraqi soil....
June 13, 2019
Former CIA Director David Petraeus (click here) has accepted an invitation of a three-year Honorary Professorship in the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security (ICCS) at the University of Birmingham. This follows two speaking engagements that General Petraeus has made to the Edgbaston campus in recent years.
General Petraeus will take up the position immediately in the ICCS. As part of the role, he will share insights from his career with students and researchers through a variety of interactions in Birmingham and virtually.
General Petraeus is one of the most prominent and accomplished U.S. military figures of the post-9/11 era. He served over 37 years in uniform and culminated his career with 6 consecutive commands as a general officer, including Command of the Multinational Force-Iraq during the Surge, the United States Central Command, and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. During his time in uniform, he also served in Cold War Europe, Central America, the United States, Haiti, Bosnia, Kuwait, and elsewhere in the greater Middle East and Central Asia....
