Firing Line: William McRaven

Four Star Admiral William McRaven, who lead the raid that took out Osama, gives his opinions on Afghanistan, Former President Trump and America’s next generation.

Although American troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, McRaven has hopes that things will go well. There are a lot of risks, but he hopes that Afghanistan is ready to withstand the Taliban. 

“The progress that we have made over the last twenty years could be, and I say could be in jeopardy if the Afghans don’t stand up,” he said.

Ultimately, he believes that if Biden focuses on keeping a small footprint of US soldiers for intelligence, than this can help mitigate risks. Furthermore, he believes that it is vital to prevent risks that could result in deaths of Americans who live in Afghanistan.

As an admiral, he typically understands that there is a duty in politics. This is because he was criticized for publicly speaking against Former President Trump. Typically, senior officials do not publicly criticize the president. However, McRaven felt that was he justified in doing this.

“My concern was that the President, was not showing, not demonstrating, the kind of leadership that I have seen throughout my 40 years of being in leadership positions,” he said. Although, he does not necessarily disagree with Trump’s policies, he did not believe that it was appropriate for Trump to belittle people. He believed that it is important for a leader to understand the other side. 

However, although there is a lot of social unrest happening, McRaven is very optimistic. He says that the social unrest happening now is merely just a cycle in American society throughout the decades. But, it is important to address the social and leadership issues of the current era, something that he has confidence that Millennials and Gen Z are doing.

“I am confident that they are going to lead us to a better place,” he said.