The New Albany Community Foundation’s The Jefferson Series Presents an evening with Three Generals – General Michael Hayden, Former Director of the CIA and The National Security Agency, General Stanley A. McChrystal, Former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and General Peter Pace, USMC, Retired and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005-2007), in a panel discussion moderated by CNN’s Dr. Fareed Zakaria,  photographed Thursday, February 1, 2018 at the McCoy Center in New Albany, Ohio.

Jack Kessler speaks with patrons before the start of the Jefferson Series Presents an evening with Three Generals.

Les Wexner introduces the Jefferson Series Presents an evening with Generals Michael Hayden, Stanley A. McChrystal, and Peter Pace.

Les Wexner introduces the Jefferson Series Presents an evening with Generals Michael Hayden, Stanley A. McChrystal, and Peter Pace.

The New Albany Community Foundation convened onstage together for the first time General Michael Hayden, General Stanley McChrystal and General Peter Pace for a national security panel discussion moderated by CNN’s Dr. Fareed Zakaria. With more than 100 years of service and 12 stars among them, the conversation provided rare insight into American foreign policy, national security and global affairs.

The event, which sold out in record time, also hosted over 100 veterans, active-duty service men and women and ROTC, seated onstage, to hear the Generals captivate the audience with a stimulating, provocative conversation based on their collective experience and insights.

The evening’s discussion was timely as well, as central Ohio and the nation look forward to the opening of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum this summer on the Scioto peninsula in downtown Columbus. As one of the evening’s sponsors, NVMM will recognize the sacrifices of those who serve or have served as well as veterans’ families.

Zakaria skillfully guided the Generals through topics such as the United States’ role in the midst of shifting global politics, Russia’s intentions and interference in the 2016 Presidential election, China’s rise, President Trump’s handling of North Korea, the Iran nuclear deal and more. Zakaria encouraged the audience and the speakers to treat the discussion as if it were a National Security Council meeting, providing context to the discussion.

While all three Generals expressed both concern and optimism across the many topics, they also stressed the need for citizen action and engagement. Said McChrystal, “If the United States, and I paraphrase, is to die, we commit national suicide. That was Abraham Lincoln, in 1838, and he was predicting things we ought to look in the mirror about right now.”

Michael Vincent Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Hayden currently co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center‘s Electric Grid Cyber Security Initiative. In 2017, Hayden became a national security analyst for CNN.

He was Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 1999 to 2005. During his tenure as director, he oversaw the controversial NSA surveillance of technological communications between persons in the United States and alleged foreign terroristgroups, which resulted in the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.

On April 21, 2005, then Lt. Gen Hayden, was confirmed by the United States Senate as the first Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence and awarded his fourth star-making him “the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the armed forces”. He served in this position under DNI John Negroponte until May 26, 2006.

On May 8, 2006, Hayden was nominated for the position of Director of the Central Intelligence Agency following the May 5 resignation of Porter J. Goss, and on May 23 the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted 12–3 to send the nomination to the Senate floor. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 26 by a vote of 78–15. On May 30, 2006, and again the following day at the CIA lobby with President George W. Bush in attendance, Hayden was sworn in as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

On July 1, 2008, Hayden retired from the Air Force after over 41 years of service and continued to serve as Director of the CIA until February 12, 2009. He received an honorary doctorate from The Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. in 2009. He is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group, a security consultancy co-founded by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Hayden also serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at George Mason University‘s Schar School of Policy and Government. He was elected to the Board of Directors of Motorola Solutions effective January 4, 2011.

Stanley Allen McChrystal is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the mid-2000s. His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A). He previously served as Director, Joint Staff from August 2008 to June 2009 and as Commander of JSOC from 2003 to 2008, where he was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but also criticized for his alleged role in the cover-up of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident. McChrystal was reportedly known for saying and thinking what other military leaders were afraid to; this was one of the reasons cited for his appointment to lead all forces in Afghanistan. He held the post from June 15, 2009, to June 23, 2010.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates described McChrystal as “perhaps the finest warrior and leader of men in combat I ever met.” But following unflattering remarks about Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials attributed to McChrystal and his aides in a Rolling Stone article, McChrystal was recalled to Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama accepted his resignation as commander in Afghanistan. His command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan was assumed by the deputy commander, British Army General Sir Nicholas Parker, pending the confirmation of a replacement. Obama named General David Petraeus as McChrystal’s replacement; Petraeus was confirmed by the Senate and officially assumed command on June 30. Days after being relieved of his duties in Afghanistan, McChrystal announced his retirement. Since 2010, he has taught courses in international relations at Yale University as a Senior Fellow of the University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.

Peter Pace is a United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman, and the first Marine officer to be appointed to three different four-star assignments; the others as the 6th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2001, to August 12, 2005, and as Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command from September 8, 2000, to September 30, 2001. Appointed chairman by President George W. Bush, Pace succeeded U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers on September 30, 2005.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced on June 8, 2007, that he would advise the President to not renominate Pace for a second term. Pace retired from the Marine Corps and stepped down as chairman on October 1, 2007. He was replaced by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Mullen.

Fareed Rafiq Zakaria is an American journalist and author. He is the host of CNN‘s Fareed Zakaria GPS and writes a weekly column for The Washington Post. He has been a columnist for Newsweek, editor of Newsweek International, and an editor at large of Time.