{"49052":{"#nid":"49052","#data":{"type":"news","title":"General David H. Petraeus Speaks on Tech Campus","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking on\ntopics from Afghanistan to Yemen, Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the U.S.\nCentral Command, spoke to a full house in the Ferst Center on January 19. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPresented in a\nmostly question-and-answer format, the \u201cconversation\u201d was moderated by Sam Nunn\nSchool of International Affairs Associate Professor Adam N. Stulberg. After\nleading the discussion with questions, Stulberg turned the lecture over to Tech\nstudents, who had lined up to pose their own questions. Attendees also included\nTech faculty and staff, members of the community, former Sen. Sam Nunn, U.S.\nRep. Phil Gingrey and Georgia General Assembly members. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI stand here\nrepresenting 200,000 men and women in uniform, and tens of thousands of\ncivilian employees,\u201d Petraeus said, after also recognizing fellow members of\nthe West Point Class of 1974 in the audience. \u201cIt is an honor to serve with\nthem.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPetraeus gave\na quick but comprehensive overview of current operations in Afghanistan and a\nlook back at Iraq before and after a 20,000-troop surge in 2007. He said\nincidents of violence have increased in intensity yearly since initial defeat\nof Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan. \u201cI remember telling [then-Defense]\nSecretary [Donald] Rumsfeld in 2005 that \u2018Afghanistan would the longest of the\nlong wars,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cOur major objective [in Afghanistan] is to remove the\nTaliban expansion \u2026 to begin a transition in 2011 to Afghan forces.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe spoke on\nhow things have changed in conducting modern military campaigns. \u201cIt\u2019s not just\nabout planting flags,\u201d he said. Al Qaeda, he said, is more than just a group of\nterrorists: It is an advanced network, and must be fought as such.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETo do so, he\noutlined Central Command\u2019s \u201cAnaconda\u201d strategy in dealing with Al Qaeda, adding\nthat counter terrorist forces are working to squeeze all aspects of that\nnetwork. By uniting intelligence efforts, working to improve education and jobs\nprograms in Iraq and Afghanistan, and boosting interagency cooperation,\nconstant pressure will be applied to each part of the organization.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPetraeus\naddressed questions on U.S. relations and involvement with Pakistan and Yemen.\n\u201cWe have a \u2018trust-deficit\u2019 in Pakistan,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have left Pakistan twice\nin the past, and must amend that by building relationships. It will take a\nsustained investment.\u201d He responded to a statement by Connecticut Sen. Joseph\nLieberman that \u201cYemen will be tomorrow\u2019s war,\u201d by saying Central Commend has been\nfocused on Yemen for a couple of years now. \u201cIt\u2019s important we build\nrelationships.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen asked to\ncompare the current situation in Afghanistan with Vietnam, Petraeus answered\nthat he would avoid making comparisons. \u201cThe most important lesson in history\nis that every situation is unique,\u201d he said. \u201cThe key to [achieving success] is\nrecognizing those unique elements.\u201c In comparing Afghanistan with Iraq, he\nnoted several challenges: Iraq has a more urban landscape and education is more\naccessible, while Afghanistan is more rural, with an increased importance on\nthe roles of tribes in society.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe responded\nto a question from audience members about his experience in earning his\nmaster\u2019s and doctoral degrees from Princeton University\u2019s Woodrow Wilson School\nof Public and International Affairs. \u201cI learned in graduate school that there\nwere people\u2014who were extremely intelligent\u2014who held different views from mine,\u201d\nhe said. \u201cI wanted to know why. It really helped me in Iraq. Not everybody sees\nthe world from the same scenery, [a position] that needs to be developed by\nthose of us in the military.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough he chose not to discuss any \u201chypothetical\u201d situation regarding reports of Iran\u2019s increasing\ninvolvement in developing nuclear weapons, he did say there was a level of\ndiscontent and protest within the country not seen in recent years. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile some\nwere peacefully handing out protest flyers and other information, there were no\noutbursts or interruptions of the general\u2019s lecture. Roughly half-way through,\na handful of protestors wearing T-shirts reading \u201cSay No to Endless War\u201d stood\nup and faced the audience. When venue security told them they could either sit\ndown or leave, all quietly left the auditorium. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe lecture\nwas sponsored by the Center for International Strategy, Technology and Policy\n(CISTP), the interdisciplinary policy research arm of the Sam Nunn School of\nInternational Affairs, and The Colonel Leslie Callahan Memorial Endowment,\nestablished by former Industrial and Systems Engineering Professor Col. Leslie\nCallahan.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"General Petraeus addresses a full house in the Ferst Center"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"General Petraeus addresses a full house in the Ferst Center","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"General Petraeus addresses a full house in the Ferst Center"}],"uid":"27191","created_gmt":"2010-01-21 10:08:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:04:04","author":"Robert Nesmith","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-01-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"49642":{"id":"49642","type":"image","title":"General David H. Petraeus Speaks to Campus","body":null,"created":"1449175421","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:43:41","changed":"1475894466","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:06","alt":"General David H. Petraeus Speaks to Campus","file":{"fid":"190146","name":"Petraeus1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Petraeus1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Petraeus1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":68000,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Petraeus1.jpg?itok=6HGwT5_T"}},"49643":{"id":"49643","type":"image","title":"General Petraeus Meets with Tech President","body":null,"created":"1449175421","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:43:41","changed":"1475894466","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:06","alt":"General Petraeus Meets with Tech President","file":{"fid":"190147","name":"Petraeus2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Petraeus2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Petraeus2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50443,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Petraeus2.jpg?itok=zHU1oixT"}}},"media_ids":["49642","49643"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cistp.gatech.edu\/","title":"CISTP"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.inta.gatech.edu\/","title":"Sam Nunn School of International Affairs"},{"url":"http:\/\/media.gatech.edu\/tools\/jwplayer\/?file=public\/comm\/Petraeus.mp4","title":"Video of General Petraeus\u0027 Lecture"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8293","name":"Colonel Leslie Callahan Memorial Endowment"},{"id":"261","name":"Ferst Center for the Arts"},{"id":"8292","name":"General David H. Petraeus"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERebecca Keane\u003C\/strong\u003E, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts Communications, (404) 894-1720\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}