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Mackinder Forum Virtual Seminar #89 & Video Recording: Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland, “Israel's War in Gaza -- Where we have been, where we are, and where might we be going?”

Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland of Diamond6 Leadership and Strategy gave a very timely presentation to the forum on December 1, 2023 titled "Israel's War in Gaza -- Where we have been, where we are, and where might we be going?"

The recording is embedded below. Continue scrolling for Dr. McCausland's biography and link to important background reading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4vzZUWBrWE

Abstract
On 7 October 2023 Hamas conducted a surprise attack against Israel.  In many ways the failure by the Israeli intelligence services was worse than the onset of the Yom Kippur War or 911.  Hamas fighters quickly penetrated and killed over 1200 Israelis -- many in a horrific fashion.  The dead included men, women, children and the elderly.  Over 240 people were taken hostage and transported to the Gaza Strip.  This included many Americans.  This is the fifth war that Israel has fought with Hamas.  The most recent occurred in 2021 and lasted eleven days.   

This discussion will briefly examine the history of these struggles and the motivation for Hamas to attack at this time.  It will then consider where the war stands and where it might be going in terms of the possibility for escalation and a broader regional war.  The discussion will conclude with how the US, Israel, and the international community might formulate a strategy that will prevent a recurrence in future.

Readings

Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland
Dr. Jeff McCausland is the Founder and CEO of Diamond6 Leadership and Strategy, LLC.  For the past decade Diamond6 has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations across the United States.  Participants have included the leadership teams for national education associations and large urban school districts representing hundreds of thousands of students throughout America.  In 2020 he published a book, Battle Tested!  Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders. 

Dr. McCausland is currently a Visiting Professor of International Security at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and he serves as a Senior Fellow at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the United States Naval Academy, and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York.

Dr. McCausland is a retired Colonel from the US Army and completed his active-duty service in the United States Army in 2002 culminating his career as Dean of Academics, United States Army War College.  He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1972 and was commissioned in field artillery.  He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools as well as the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.  He holds both a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. 

During his military career Dr. McCausland served in a variety of command and staff positions both in the United States and Europe.  This included Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council Staff in the White House during the Kosovo crisis.  He also worked on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) as a member of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, US Army Staff, the Pentagon.  Following this assignment, he assumed command of a field artillery battalion stationed in Europe and deployed his unit to Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Storm in 1990 and 1991. 

Dr. McCausland has both published and lectured broadly on military affairs, European security issues, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, as well as leadership topics throughout the United States and over thirty countries.  He has been a visiting fellow at the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Conflict Studies Research Center, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst; Stiftung Wissenshaft und Politk, Ebenhausen, Germany; George C. Marshall Center for European Security Studies, Garmisch, Germany; and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.

He has been a national security consultant for CBS television and radio since 2003.  In this capacity he has travelled frequently to Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Consequently, he has been a frequent commentator on the ongoing conflicts in both countries as well as other stories focused on national security for CBS since 2003. 
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