Petreaus Speaks in Toccoa

Retired General David Petreaus told a crowd in Toccoa Saturday that terrorism is the struggle of a generation.

Petreaus spoke at Saturday’s Currahee Military Weekend banquet at the National Guard Armory in Toccoa.

He hit on a number of topics during a moderated question and answer session.

According to Petreaus, fighting terrorism will require an approach that can be sustained for decades if necessary.

“It takes more than drone strikes, more than Delta Force or Ranger raids,” said Petreaus. “It does not mean we have to do it all and we should not. We want Iraqis fighting on the front line, fighting for their country. We want them to do the political component, reconstruction, restoration of basic services. But at the end of the day, we have to lead and it has to be comprehensive.”

He said that approach includes solid intelligence gathering both at home and abroad on those who may wish to do America harm, but it also includes making people of other faiths and nationalities who come to America feel welcome.

That also includes fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Petreaus said there is no question in his mind that we, with that being Iraqi forces with American support, will defeat the Islamic State.

However, he said the key becomes what happens after the initial victory.

“The sooner we can show the Islamic State is a loser, the sooner they are less effective in social media where they have done their recruiting, which is so important. They are now seen as losers. They are not recruiting like they used to. We are gradually taking the cities away from them. We will take Mosul, where I spent the first year in Iraq, but when we re-take it, as some of those who have done this in Iraq and Afghanistan know, do not clear until you know how you are going to hold and govern and that is much more difficult, frankly, than kicking the butt of the Islamic State when it is an army.”

Petreaus said that establishing things like government and basic services in Middle Eastern cities is vital to controlling terrorism.

“One of the things we should have learned from the last 10 or 15 years is Islamic extremists will exploit ungoverned spaces,” said Petreaus. “The effects will not be contained to those spaces. Las Vegas rules do not apply when it comes to extremists in the Middle East. What happens there does not stay there. It spews over.”

He pointed to the Syrian refugee crisis as an example of that.

Also during his talk, Petreaus talked about technology changes in the Army and the future of paratroopers, with the retired general saying there will always be a need for those special individuals though their role may change.

While in Toccoa, Petreaus also toured the Currahee Military Museum dedicated to the paratrooper units that trained at Camp Toccoa before serving in World War II and he ran Currahee Mountain, just as those World War II paratroopers did, adding that he was running in the footsteps of extraordinary individuals.

Speaking as a former Airborne unit commander, he said we owe an enormous debt to those who trained at Camp Toccoa.

“We stood very, very tall indeed because of those paratroopers who came before us,” said Petreaus.

Petreaus thanked Toccoa for its efforts to remember the heritage of the men of Camp Toccoa and for its support of the military over generations.

This year marked the 16th annual Currahee Military Weekend, which is held at the beginning of October each year to honor the World War II paratroopers who trained at Camp Toccoa.

Other activities have included a run-walk of Currahee Mountain, a parade, a book signing, and a dance.