Boston Bureau

Petraeus: A General for All Wars

General Petraeus Woos and Wins the Heart of Harvard
But they won't let him forget he's a Princeton Grad

By Libby Hughes, Boston Bureau for Cape Cod Today

Even though his chest was covered by medals and military ribbons, there was no sign of arrogance in Petraeus-only self-deprecatory humor.

While Spring is trying very hard to push some buds out of the barren branches of trees in New England, General David Petraeus (Commander, U.S. Central Command) sat down with David Gergen (Director, Center for Public Leadership and CNN political analyst) in the hallowed sanctorum of the John F. Kennedy Jr. School of Government for a rare conversation about 21^st Century Leadership: Lessons from the U.S. Military.

Packed for Petraeus

Understandably, the Forum was packed by the largest media coverage thus far. The security was tighter than for the former president of Iran, Katami, a couple of years ago. The press had to arrive an hour earlier than the 4:00 pm deadline on April 21. There was a security sweep of our equipment and bags. Then the hordes of students, military, and guests filled the seats and bleachers. A few minutes before the start, some celebrities slipped into front row streets. They were Doris Kearns Goodwin, her husband Richard Goodwin, and Tom Ridge, the former head of Homeland Security. The Governor of Minnesota was also there.

"I admit to that one blemish on my resume, but I also admit, I'm a Yankee fan."

Bagpipe and Color Ceremony

As Petraeus and Gergen entered through a red velvet curtain, everyone stood and clapped. It was a standing ovation of welcome and one of obvious respect. A sole Scottish player of Bagpipes strutted in his dark green kilt. He was followed by the March of Color of five flags placed on the small stage behind two chairs. Allison Shapira sang the National Anthem acappella.

Harvard vrs. Princeton

Seth Moulton, a 2001 graduate of Harvard (and now a joint degree candidate), served four tours in Iraq-two as Petraeus' assistant. Moulton showed honor and respect to his General, but then razzed him for his Masters and PhD in International Relations from a small college in New Jersey, called Princeton.

On Afghanistan: "It will get worse before it gets better."

Yankee fan

"I admit to that one blemish on my resume, but I also admit, I'm a Yankee fan," he said. Everyone laughed and forgave him for a second blemish. Even though his chest was covered by medals and military ribbons, there was no sign of arrogance in Petraeus-only self-deprecatory humor.

David Gergen fed the General a series of questions. "What are the leadership lessons learned?"

With the help of Power Point, Petraeus outlined his working plan. "Here are the tasks for the U.S. Military:

• 1. Big ideas.
• 2. Educate our leaders.
• 3. Execute those big ideas.
• 4. Identify lessons learned and make the best practices.

How to Secure and Save:

• 1. Live with the people
• 2. A comprehensive approach.
• 3. Unity of Effort.
• 4. Pursue the enemy relentlessly
• 5. Hold the area and work with local commerce and promote reconciliation.
• 6. Separate the irreconcilables from the reconcilables.
• 7. Be truthful first and admit our mistakes.
• 8. Live our values.
• 9. Initiative is everything.
• 10. Learn and adapt.

"How do you change strategy?" asked Gergen.

Changing strategy

"Treat it as if it's your last job!" Petraeus replied. The audience and Gergen laughed. "Sit with leaders and start nation building with ideas and energy."

"Is there any risk in running a flat organization?" asked Gergen.

Contact by email

"I can contact my juniors by email and they can email me back," said Petraeus. "We find out if our concepts are working. Feedback is important. But we do need a hierarchy for recommendations. Teams of teams and unity of effort."

At this point, Petraeus complimented Doris Kearns Goodwin for her historical perspective and for her brilliant book about Lincoln, "Team of Rivals."

Dealing with locals

"The Anaconda Strategy versus Al Qaeda in Iraq means we have to deal with political and tribal groups and separate the terrorists from the rest. The root cause of insurgency in Pakistan is the threat of extremists. It is the key in Pakistan."

"In Afghanistan, we do what is culturally appropriate. We don't move into the villages-only to the edge of them. They don't have the money or the muscle in the central government," he said.

Time only allowed for six questions:

Q: Is Afghanistan doable?

A.Only in the context of assessment and putting in resources. It will get worse before it gets better. Afghanis need a legitimate government without corruption. There is no debate as to the reason we are in Afghanistan. 9/11.

Q. Is Afghanistan like Vietnam and will we have to negotiate with the Taliban?

A.One has to negotiate at the local levels. We have experiments in operation now.

Q. How do politics in D.C. affect your plans?

A.It will only be effective with a bi-partisan approach.

General Petraeus said that as a soldier, he was used to going through mine fields, but the questions at Harvard were a more difficult minefield!