In assessing progress on the Global War on Terror, General McCaffrey will also share with us his thoughts on Iraq, where he has conducted country-wide analyses of the security situation in 2004 and 2005. He was describing Iraq as a low-grade civil war 18 months before one of his employers, NBC News, thought the label was appropriate. He disagreed with the military tactic offered by the Iraq Study Group of leaving U.S. advisers embedded in Iraqi units, while withdrawing American troops. General McCaffrey also has called President Bush's surge of 21,500 U.S. troops into Iraq "nonsense," calling on the U.S. to instead draw down from 15 to ten to seven combat brigades over the next 24 months, and making a massive effort to train and equip Iraqi security forces.General McCaffrey serves as an adjunct Professor of International Affairs at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he was previously the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies from 2001 to 2005. General McCaffrey is the President of his own consulting firm, McCaffrey Associates, which provides strategic consulting services to businesses, non-profits, governments and international agencies. Since his retirement from the military, General McCaffrey has been active in national security affairs, conducting political-military assessments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Cuba. In January 2004 and again in June 2005 he conducted a country-wide analysis of the security situation in Iraq. He serves as a national security and terrorism analyst for NBC Newsand contributes regularly to the Armed Forces Journal.General McCaffrey has had a long military career and at retirement from active duty, he was the most highly decorated four-star general in the U.S. Army. During his military career, General McCaffrey served overseas for thirteen years, including four combat tours. He commanded the 24th Infantry Division (Mech) during the Desert Storm 400-kilometer left hook attack into Iraq. Serving as the as the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command, General McCaffrey coordinated national security operations in Latin America. In addition, General McCaffrey served as the assistant to General Colin Powell and supported the Chairman as the Joint Chiefs Staff advisor to the Secretary of State and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.In 1996, following his long military service, he was appointed unanimously by Congress as President Bill Clinton?s Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position he held until 2001. He served as a member of the President?s Cabinet and the National Security Council for drug-related issues. He twice received the Distinguished Service Cross the nation?s second highest medal for valor, was awarded two Silver Stars, and received three Purple Hearts. General McCaffrey is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
