Retired US General Says Globe Meandering Towards World War

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INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.

Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Jeffrey Schloesser.

Price and Schloesser discuss the incredibly stressful situations around the globe. Rather has there been so many active conflicts around the world like there are now. And in all of them the United States is heavily involved from one extent or another.

A pall of tension hangs heavy over the globe, its shadow lengthening with each tit-for-tat tariff and every fiery geopolitical spat. The world, it seems, is teetering on a precipice of conflict and unease, reminiscent of a bygone era best left behind.The weaponization of trade, a venomous serpent slithering back into the light, plays a significant role in this disquiet. Trade wars, reminiscent of the ill-fated Smoot-Hawley Act that choked the life out of global commerce in the early 1930s, are rearing their ugly heads once more. Tariffs erected like barbed-wire fences, severing the arteries of interconnected economies, spew discord and economic instability. The echoes of protectionism’s harsh lullaby, forgotten through decades of relative prosperity, now reverberate ominously in boardrooms and on factory floors.This burgeoning economic nationalism bleeds into the wider geopolitical theater. Geopolitical fault lines, long simmering, rupture with growing frequency. Disputes over territorial claims, ideological clashes, and resource competition spiral into standoffs, each a spark waiting to ignite the tinderbox of global tension. The drums of war, muted for years, seem to beat an unsettling rhythm for the US in the background. That rhythim is front and center, and obvious, for much of the world.The parallels to the pre-World War II period are chilling. Economic stagnation, fueled by a trade war psychosis, breeding desperation and discontent. Nationalistic fervor, inflamed by a potent cocktail of fear and scapegoating, drowns out the voices of reason. International diplomacy, once a fragile safeguard against the abyss, sputters and stalls, its withered tendrils failing to grasp the precipice we teeter on.There is, however, a sliver of hope, a faint light flickering in the gathering darkness. The lessons of the past, etched in the blood and ashes of past conflicts, serve as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of unchecked nationalism and economic warfare. Global citizens, united by a shared stake in a peaceful and prosperous future, can raise their voices in a chorus of dissent against the siren song of isolationism and confrontation.The path forward is treacherous, requiring a delicate dance of self-reliance and cooperation, prudence and empathy. We must resist the seductive whispers of fear and division, choosing instead to embrace the interconnectedness of our world. Multilateral solutions, forged in the fires of shared challenges, seems to be the only viable escape from this combustible quagmire.

According to a statement, “Major General Jeffrey Schloesser (US Army Ret) author of Marathon War: Leadership in Combat in Afghanistan.

“From Major General Jeffrey Schloesser—former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division and Regional Command-East—comes a revealing memoir of leadership in the chaos and fog of the Afghanistan War.

“Join Major General Schloesser in the daily grind of warfare fought in the most forbidding of terrain, with sometimes uncertain or untested allies, Afghan corruption and Pakistani bet-hedging, and the mounting casualties of war which erode and bring into question Schloesser’s most profoundly held convictions and beliefs. Among several battles, Schloesser takes readers deep into the Battle of Wanat, where nine U.S. soldiers were killed in a fierce, up-close fight to prevent a new operating base from being overrun. This encounter required Schloesser to make tactical decisions that had dramatic strategic impact, and led him to doubts: Can this war even be won? If so, what will it take?”This book is a rare insight and reflection into the thoughts of critical national decision-makers including President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, then-Senator Barack Obama, and numerous foreign leaders including Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Key military leaders—including then Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, then Central Command Commanding General David Petraeus, then Lieutenant General and future Chairman Martin Dempsey, and International Security Force Commander General David McKiernan—all play roles in the book, among many others, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville. Analyzing their leadership in the chaos of war Schloesser ultimately concludes that successful leadership in combat is best based on competence, courage, and character

The book is “Marathon War: Leadership in Combat in Afghanistan.”

“BIO: Jeff Schloesser is a retired Army Major General who commanded the 101st Airborne Division for thirty-three months, including fifteen months in combat in Afghanistan. In his thirty-four-year Army career he served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Albania, Kuwait, Haiti, Jordan, Korea, and twice in Germany.

“He was an assistant division commander in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq 2003-04, the first Global War on Terrorism Planning Director in the Pentagon after 9/11, and the first Deputy Director at the National Counterterrorism Center for Strategic Operational Planning.

“An aviator, Jeff commanded two battalions of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and a brigade task force in Albania and Kosovo.

“He resides with his wife Patty in Park City, Utah, and northern Virginia. He has completed thirty-eight marathons.”

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LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE

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