Petraeus: American Leadership Critical in Dealing with Threats to America
David Petraeus, former CIA Director to President Obama, said Thursday that American leadership is critical in dealing with ongoing global turmoil that could potentially impact world markets.
Petraeus was a guest on Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Network. She interviewed Petraeus at this week’s SALT conference in Las Vegas.
“There is a multitude of threats that are out there. Obviously, there are the threats of ISIS and al Qaeda. Some of those have been diminished in Western Pakistan, but then they have multiplied in other areas, Petraeus noted.
“We've seen even the effect in our homeland where apparently the attack in Texas was inspired by ISIS.”
Petraeus said we see the challenges between Russia in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine situation. We see cyber security issues looming very large around the world. And there are tensions even in the East and South China Seas, where there are significant maritime disputes.
Many wonder why the markets and the global economy have not been impacted by what's going on throughout the world. It appears another terror issue pops up daily.
Petraeus pointed out that there is quite a bit lot of turmoil in various places in the Middle East, with numerous civil wars and so forth, but none of those have affected the flow of oil and gas from the major basins in the Middle East.
“So therefore, the oil and gas continues to flow,” Petraeus said. “There has been, obviously, a disruption in Libya because of the fighting there that's taken a million barrels per day off the market. But that was more than offset by the increase in the United States.”
Stability in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan are frequently on the minds of many Americans.
Petraeus believes there's a degree of hope in Afghanistan because of the new leadership. He noted you have a new president and a new chief executive, namely Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. “We've all worked with them closely in the past. They're working together. And it gives you, I think, again, a degree of hope that is new in that country.”
He agrees that taking the troops out of Iraq was certainly a factor in terms of things spiraling and getting worse. “There was a good situation handed off to the Iraqi government. And then actions were taken which literally unraveled what it was we had all fought so hard together and sacrificed so much to achieve for Iraq and the Iraqi people.”
ISIS is continually in the headlines, although they may have lost some steam.
“Getting them on the run is the first step toward the ultimate defeat of ISIS, with the main focus right now in Iraq,” notes Petraeus.
Cyber issues are also constantly in the news these days, and Americans are wondering if we are prepared for potential attacks in the future.
Petraeus thinks there is more work that needs to be done, this is another area that has called out for legislation. “I'm heartened to see a bill that is now progressing in Congress,” he said.
Clearly, things are getting more interesting as the election cycle heats up and people are wondering who might be the next President of the United States.
Petraeus will not endorse anyone currently, but he believes American leadership is going to be critical in dealing with threats we face from terrorists, ISIS, al Qaeda, Iran and the like. “It has to be prudent leadership, though. It has to be thoughtful. It has to be with coalitions.”