The Fuse

T. Boone Pickens: Gen. Michael Flynn wants the truth about what is going on in Afghanistan and Iraq

by T. Boone Pickens | July 15, 2016

This week’s Pickens Podcast is a conversation with retired 3-Star General Michael Flynn who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Donald Trump, and who has a new and fascinating book coming out this week, The Field of Fight, How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies.

General Flynn, one of our nation’s most senior intelligence officers, was the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, chair of the Military Intelligence Board, and senior intelligence officer for the Joint Special Operations Command.

He told me, if he had the power, the first thing he would want to know is “the unvarnished, ground truth about what is going on in Afghanistan and Iraq.” He said that U.S. troops have never been defeated on the battlefield in the region. But, those in charge of the political dimension of this decade-and-a-half conflict have not demonstrated the same resolve, willingness, or determination.

General Flynn doesn’t mince words. He said, “the brutality of this ideology is sickening. It makes no sense to pretend that ‘radical Islam’ is a ‘peaceful religion. This is a foe that has declared war on the United States of America.”

On energy, he said we are moving toward a new economic theory where the world can depend on the U.S. for its energy security, rather than the Middle East or Russia. America could provide energy security for Europe for the foreseeable future.

He repeated my mantra that we only get about 10 percent of the oil that comes through the Strait of Hormuz every day, but Americans pay 100 percent of the costs of its protection. Flynn rhetorically asked: “Have you ever seen a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf?”

General Flynn said he was a big fan of nuclear energy for an interesting reason: Because of its use in desalinating water, which is a growing problem throughout the world.

Tune in for an interesting discussion with a man who has truly been “in the arena” for most of his adult life. Join me in my conversation with Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn by downloading the podcast on AudioBoom or iTunes, and let me know what you think via Twitter @BoonePickens.

topics: Afghanistan, Pickens Plan, T. Boone Pickens