My conversation with General Michael T. Flynn

“There is something about the American soldier—despite our best efforts to shit on them, they rise to the occasion and perform miraculously.” —Gen. Michael T. Flynn, The Field of Fight

“Do you want to be ruled by men who eagerly drink the blood of their dying enemies?” —Gen. Michael T. Flynn, The Field of Fight

The Field of Fight

In General Michael T. Flynn’s new book, The Field of Fight, How we can Win the War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, he states that we are no longer shocked or horrified by the jihadi terrorist’s slaughter of innocents. There have been too many videos, photos, and descriptions of suicide bombings, beheadings, mass executions, public hangings, burnings, stoning’s and crucifixions. As the General states, we have heard them say, “we love death more than you love life,” over and over again, and we have heard them chant, “Death to America.” It is now no longer as shocking as it once was.

Have we lost the shock factor? If so, we are in more danger than I suspected. Military men like General Flynn have fought to stop the jihads worldwide so that it doesn’t end up on America’s doorstep. We are now at that precipice, and this General, and others like him, know what it will take to win. Flynn states in his book, “We are in a World War with Islamic terrorists, but very few Americans recognize it, and fewer still have any idea how to win it.”

Gen. Flynn (Ret.) spent more than 33 years as an intelligence officer. He served as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and was the Senior Military Intelligence Officer in the Department of Defense. He has since founded the Flynn Intel Group, a commercial, government, and international intelligence security and cyber firm specializing in defense, diplomacy, and development initiatives. 

I urge everyone to purchase Gen. Flynn’s new book. It is concise, well-referenced, easy to read, written in terms easily understood by laymen, and it is loaded with information we need to understand what our military and our country is facing. It truly is an amazing overview of where we are in this global war on terror. In Chapter 4 of the general’s book, he tells how we can and must win. It is a necessity for any freedom loving American to read this book in order to understand the jihadists, and why we absolutely must win. There are many direct quotes from, “The Field of Fight” in this article.

I was so pleased to have had the privilege of speaking with Gen. Flynn, and want to thank my friend, Allen B. Clark, who served as a U.S. Army Military intelligence officer in Vietnam, for the introduction.

Rebuilding Our Military

(Hat tip to a great group of Trump supporters in northern Indiana for additional questions.)

My first question posed to Gen. Flynn was off the record, and I asked if he already had a post within the Trump administration. His answer was explicit. He said, “It doesn’t have to be off the record. We have not even discussed this. Right now, Mr. Trump is in the final stretch of this race. He has had different people to help him in each area, the primaries, the convention and nomination, and now the home stretch. Steve Bannon will be wonderful for him. I am concentrating only on getting him elected on November 8th.”

I asked about the loss of many great generals under the present administration. Gen. Flynn stated, “We have a professional military, a military who swears to uphold the Constitution, and protect us from both foreign and domestic enemies. Our military is strengthened by the President who wears two hats, one of being the President, and one of being the Commander in Chief. When the leader himself strengthens and upholds the military, the morale is high. We need to rebuild that morale, and Donald Trump is the man to do just that. So even with those we’ve lost in the past, or those who were forced to resign, our military will rebuild with the right Commander in Chief at the helm.”

The General added that, “Rebuilding our military could happen rapidly with the right leader. It will happen quickly with a change in thinking and in the culture of how to win again. The readiness level will take some time. Our present leader has cut the military, there is no warrior class, and no sacrifice on behalf of our country which is backed by a good president. Hillary would be more of the same, and we cannot allow that to happen.”

In answer to my question regarding Mr. Trump’s plan to rebuild our military and infrastructure, the general said, “Donald J. Trump has stated where we need to go as we move forward, and he will give some strategic, but not exacting information.”

I wondered if the many military officers would return to service should Mr. Trump be their new Commander in Chief. Gen. Flynn said he didn’t know, I’d have to ask them. “We do have good people serving, and they certainly need an uplift in morale, so as not to lose recruiting ability. Both Obama and Hillary are disconnected from the military.”

Released Terrorists

Obama has released dozens of terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, and many of them are jihadists ready to kill, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

He was released by President Obama from the Iraqi prison in 2009, and since then he’s had time to form a plan and collect and train an army of terrorists estimated at 7,000 men. Late last year Baghdadi announced that he was creating a new group to be merged with a rival al Qaeda affiliate, active in Syria. 

I asked Gen. Flynn how we can recapture these terrorists, attain needed information, and ferret out the Islamists in America who mean us harm. He said that without Trump in our White House, it will not happen. 

He stated, “We must capture the enemy, interrogate with professionals, learn from these terrorists, and obviously keep Gitmo open.” He also said that about one-third of those released return to the battlefield and lead attacks against us and other allies.

See Something, Say Nothing, he makes it clear that this administration actually purged serious terrorist threats from the DHS. Obama declared one day after the Paris mass terror attacks, that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, had nothing to do with Islam. The General has said, “You cannot defeat an enemy you do not admit exists.’

Arab Nations Would Help Us

Flynn mentioned the 21st Century Arab-NATO structure. We have not clearly defined the enemy, and it is taking too long because of the perils of Obama. We are focused on Iraq and Syria and now Turkey is in peril. No one trusts us. We have alienated our allies, especially the best friend we have in the Middle East, Israel. We need to support them.

In his book, The Field of Fight, he explains that numerous Iraqi Imams who rejected the revolutionary doctrines of the insurgents, chief among them was Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He counseled cooperation between Shi’ites and Sunnis. He was the strongest and most revered voice in the community, and we should have echoed it and denounced the Islamists’ embrace of suicide terrorism. It was our failure to attack our enemies’ ideology, yet we still defeated them every time we went after them on the battlefield.

Iran, Leading Supporter of Jihad

Gen. Flynn’s book heavily documents Iranian involvement in jihad along with criminal elements such as organized crime, drug cartels, and common criminals. Also included is Russia’s part in terrorism via the old KGB prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Iran is one of the most repressive regimes on earth. The General states, “Iran is in ruins. It has undergone an all-time record drop in its birth rate, the corruption of its ruling class is legendary, there are alarming rates of suicide, prostitution, depression and drug abuse, unemployment is high, and there’s a mounting shortage of fresh water. The country’s wealth is overwhelmingly being funneled into jihad and into the private accounts of the nation’s rulers.” 

Obama invested $1.7 billion of American tax dollars in the Iran deal, and Iran is permitted to pursue the construction of two newly announced nuclear plants under the parameters of this nuclear agreement. The latest revelations are that Obama did indeed pay a $400 million ransom to Iran for the release of Americans illegally held hostage by Iran. The administration calls the payment “leverage.”

“Iran also has the highest per capita execution rate in the world, and is second only to the People’s Republic of China. They have been at war with the US for 40 years.” They don’t negotiate, and this is why the entire Iranian deal cooked up by Obama, Iranian-born presidential advisor, Valerie Jarrett, and John Kerry, whose son-in-law is Iranian is a very destruction one for America. We know our tax dollars will go for jihad.

Iran calls us the “Great Satan,” and they still chant, “Death to America,” so why would any western leader believe they would enforce their agreement with us?
China’s Involvement in Jihad

I asked Gen. Flynn where China stood in this war on terrorism. He said, “They play a big part, and it is subtle and behind the scenes. They are financing foreign military sales with Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan.” Gen. Flynn has made it clear that we are facing an alliance between Radical Islamists and regimes in Havana, Pyongyang, Moscow, and Beijing. He also makes it clear that we are facing a working coalition that extends from North Korea and China to Russia, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. We are under attack, not only from nation-states directly, but also from al Qaeda, Hezbollah, ISIS, and countless other terrorist groups. (P. 76, Field of Fight)

The General stated that about 40% of China’s energy comes from the Persian Gulf, through the Strait of Hormuz and for half a century, the US has allowed energy to flow to them. 

China is increasing diplomatic engagement with Persian Gulf countries. The move coincides with the increase in tensions between the United States and Iran surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and is part of an effort by Beijing to increase its cooperation with the oil-producing Gulf countries as a way to safeguard Chinese energy security and expand its economic influence in the region.

All our trade deals have given away America’s ability to protect her own people. China is developing its military (against many treaties) especially in the South China Sea, and Japan has had a defiant reaction to China’s latest navigation rules.

New Intel System Wins Wars

In Gen. Flynn’s book, The Field of Fight, he spells out specialized intelligence, developed by General Stan McChrystal and LTG Flynn, was called “Pattern Analysis.” Flynn describes it as, “a very detailed form of intelligence work that requires the complete breakdown of an enemy’s cell structure.” He also states that “a fundamental requirement for good intelligence was and is total commitment to the truth. Unfortunately, many of the intel officers, military and civilian alike, found ways to rationalize the production of seriously misleading information for the policymakers.”

Of course no one wants to be the messenger that delivers bad news to the leaders, and so many have kept quiet. Gen. Flynn says this is what is going on in our intelligence system today regarding our fight against Radical Islamists, and it all starts at the very top of our government.

The General explains that in Iraq, they would use unmanned surveillance to check on things they were learning in the interrogation booth, and then would direct human sources to go and check out what they learned from the detainees. This was a fusion of intelligence in the interrogation process with advanced communications technology and effective operation on the battlefield. He states, “In the end, we operationalized intelligence to increase knowledge for our tactical to strategic decision makers. This type of intelligence warfare was and remains a critical component of how to destroy Radical Islamism today and those enemies we will face in the future.” (P.52-53, Field of Fight)

Winning

“In order to beat this enemy we need to discredit the ideology. Muslims need to take a more public international stand. To do it they will have to be helped, prompted, and pushed by the U.S., something we are not doing now. We need to depend on Middle East allies like Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Our leaders don’t want to identify our enemies, and that puts us on the path to defeat. Today, we’re not nearly good enough. A big reason for that is that we don’t get inside their heads. Alas, our schools, media, and social networks are doing a poor job of helping Americans understand our enemies in order to defeat them. So is our government.”

“What will our lives be like if we lose this war?” Gen. Flynn answers that question, “We’d live the way the unfortunate residents of the “caliphate” or the oppressed citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran live today, in a totalitarian state under the dictates of the most rigid version of Sharia. (P.159, Field of Fight)

The conclusion of the general’s book should be read by every American. We absolutely must win this war, and we cannot expect it to be won without a strong leader and determined Commander in Chief. This is why we so desperately need Donald J. Trump as our 45th President of the United States.