Gen. David H. Petraeus in Conversation with Bret Stephens
Retired General David Petraeus joins NYT columnist Bret Stephens to examine Iran, Israel, and the shifting geometry of global power and military conflict.
Why we picked this
Petraeus commanded forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan and ran the CIA — there are very few people alive with a comparable view of what American power actually does in the world, and this is a rare public forum to hear him think out loud.
Few figures in modern American military and intelligence history have a vantage point like David Petraeus. As CENTCOM commander, he oversaw operations across the Middle East. As CIA Director, he managed intelligence from the inside of the executive branch. His understanding of Iran, Israel, and the architecture of regional conflict comes from decades of firsthand experience, not analysis from a distance.
NYT columnist Bret Stephens brings a sharp editorial perspective and the kind of sustained foreign policy engagement that tends to produce better questions than most interviewers. The pairing — practitioner and journalist — is well-suited to a moment when the Middle East’s fault lines are shifting faster than most commentary can track.
This is the kind of conversation 92NY does well: informed, substantive, and in the room with someone who was actually there.