8/16/17 Andrew Bacevich on Trump’s eventual Afghanistan decision

8/16/17 Andrew Bacevich on Trump’s eventual Afghanistan decision

Andrew Bacevich, author of “America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History” joins Scott to discuss his article for The American Conservative “Yes Congress, Afghanistan is Your Vietnam.” Bacevich explains that the division between Trump’s advisors on how to proceed in Afghanistan has created a stalemate in the Oval Office. It’s noteworthy, Bacevich says, that there hasn’t been a comprehensive report from the Trump administration outlining the United States’s foreign policy mission. On the one hand it seems like Trump has handed the reigns over to the military in certain conflicts and has been controlling in others, which has created disarray Bacevich says. Bacevich contrasts Donald Trump with his predecessors George W. Bush and Barack Obama who, by comparison, are intellectual stalwarts. Bacevich says the one possible benefit of Trump’s erraticism is that he has, so far, rejected U.S. foreign policy of the past 25 years. But while Trump may have noninterventionist tendencies, his lack of a coherent, principled plan means that he often veers off course into violent conflicts all the same.

Andrew Bacevich is a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University. He is the author of a number of books including “America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History” and is a regular contributor at The American Conservative and TomDispatch.com.

Don’t forget to check out Scott’s new book Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan.

Discussed on the show:

  • “Thousands More Troops Needed To Break Afghanistan ‘Stalemate,’ General Warns” (NPR)
  • Erik Prince
  • “Bannon & Kushner Want to Outsource Afghanistan to Mercenaries,” by Mark Perry (The American Conservative)
  • James Mattis
  • H.R. McMaster
  • “The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster” (Foreign Policy)
  • “I agree with Pres. Obama on Afghanistan. We should have a speedy withdrawal. Why should we keep wasting our money — rebuild the U.S.!” (Donald Trump, via Twitter)
  • John Bolton

Quote of the show: “In comparison to Trump, George W. Bush looks like Bismark.” —Andrew Bacevich

Damon Hatheway

Damon Hatheway

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Support via Amazon Smile

Our Books

15 books

Recent Articles

Recent

12/12/24 Kyle Anzalone on the Fall of Assad in Syria

 Download Episode. Scott brought Kyle Anzalone on Antiwar Radio to discuss what’s happening in Syria. The two explain who just took power in Syria, outline the historical context of these developments and speculate over what this means for US policy in the region....

read more

12/5/24 Dave Decamp on Syria, Gaza and Ukraine

 Download Episode. Dave DeCamp was back on Antiwar Radio this week to talk about the latest news coming out of the Middle East and war in Ukraine. They discuss the Jihadist advance toward Syria’s capital city of Demascus, the ongoing slaughter and ethnic cleansing...

read more

11/26/24 Matthew Hoh on His Journey to Palestine

 Download Episode. Scott brought Matthew Hoh on Antiwar Radio to talk about his experience discovering the truth about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and his recent experience traveling to the border of Gaza. Discussed on the show: “These Last Eight Days in...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This