The Use of Force: A Soldier’s Perspective on Military Intervention with Colonel Mike Fenzel

On February 17, 2016, the IOP hosted Colonel Fenzel for a discussion on his experience as a soldier and how it has shaped his views on military intervention and the use of military force. With over 25 years of active duty service, as well as national security policy experience as a Director for Transnational Threats and Director for Combating Terrorism on the National Security Council, Colonel Fenzel brought a unique expertise to matters of military policy, and addressed the virtues of limited military interventions in the context of his personal experience from Desert Storm to Afghanistan.

Colonel Fenzel is currently the Army's Senior Military Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City where he is focused on the military's development path for strategic leaders and examining the efficacy of military intervention as a foreign policy option. He is the author of the forthcoming book "No Miracles: The Failure of Soviet Decision Making in the Afghan War" (Stanford University Press, June 2016).