Scott interviews Danny Sjursen about where his former commanders from Afghanistan have ended up in the years since the surge. Sjursen goes through a handful of these men: almost without fail, his former generals have ended up with profitable jobs in the arms industry or at hawkish think tanks, and his colonels have been promoted to take the place of those retired generals—and will surely join them in the private sector soon enough. The fact that none of this surprises us should be a reminder of just how corrupt America’s military-industrial complex is. A path to a six- or seven-figure salary in the defense industry is virtually guaranteed for any senior military officer after retirement. On a more positive note, Scott and Sjursen discuss President Trump’s recent appointment of Colonel Macgregor to the Pentagon, a move that may signal his intent to push troop withdrawals during what may be his final months in office.

Discussed on the show:

• “Where Are They Now? Leaders From My Afghan Tour Are on to Bigger and Bankable Things” (Antiwar.com Original)
• Why We Lost: A General’s Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
  
• “War Machine (2017)” (IMDb)
• The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan
• “Afghan Futility and the Not-So-Curious Case Of Lieutenant Jordan Rich” (The American Conservative)

Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. army major and former history instructor at West Point. He is the author of Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge and Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. Follow him on Twitter @SkepticalVet.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Photo IQ; Green Mill Supercritical; and Listen and Think Audio.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

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