What America failed to learn from the Iraq war | The Economist

You did three tours in Iraq with the CIA. What  lessons did you learn about American power and. what it what it is capable of and what it  can't achieve? The most important thing I. think I learned from my time certainly in the  20 years after 911 was you better understand. what you're doing before you take military  action and it better be limited and discreet, because the American public unless we are again  facing truly imminent threats that everyone can.

understand they are not looking for long expensive  wars abroad. We haven't proven ourselves very good. at them and we the American public just doesn't  want to be staying in there for these long periods. of time. So I for me is certainly um a anyone who  I think who served in Iraq or Afghanistan has a is. c certainly chasened a bit on um what we can do.  And then I think certainly we're in a new era in.

terms of technology and the future of warfare. And  while we were bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, uh folks like the Chinese military were  just sitting there thinking through all. the ways that they could win the next era.  And you know, it is very clear to me that. while we were investing in land vehicles and  armor and and protecting ourselves from IEDs,

they were thinking about satellites and  space and how to make us go blind, deaf, and dumb in the first moves of a of a conflict. I  think uh you know there is an opportunity cost to. everything you do. And I think those wars taught  me at least that, you know, while you're looking. over here, your adversaries, your competitors,  are thinking about ways to undercut you over here.