Lt. General Mike Fenzel (Ret.) on bad data, bad experts, and why we can’t exit wars

Lieutenant General Mike Fenzel recently retired as a three-star Army General. He most recently served as the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, navigating one of the world’s most complex geopolitical landscapes. His career is defined by high-stakes leadership, ranging from the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks, where he was stationed in the bunker alongside Vice President Dick Cheney, to multiple deployments to Afghanistan, to commanding an airborne brigade of 5,500 paratroopers. Beyond the battlefield, Fenzel is a scholar of strategic decision-making. His book, No Miracles, analyzes the internal Soviet failures during their occupation of Afghanistan.

In this episode of Summation, Mike and Auren discuss:

• Why the Soviets took four years to exit Afghanistan
• Lessons from leading security cooperation in Jerusalem
• Israel's dominance in security tech
• Why US foreign policy experts keep failing

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Mike Fenzel on LinkedIn.