Published June 19, 2026
McMaster identifies recurring failures in national security strategy: weak historical analogies, untested assumptions, groupthink, contrived consensus, and insufficient attention to the risks of inaction. He applies this framework to US policy toward China, Iran, and Russia, showing how assumptions about integration, accommodation, or reduced hostility shaped strategic choices across administrations. Strategic competence requires clear problem definition, disciplined historical judgment, a realistic understanding of adversaries, and genuine policy options that clarify costs, risks, and consequences.
Recorded on August 14, 2025.
Check out more from H.R. McMaster:
Learn more about H.R. McMaster here.
__________
The opinions expressed in this video are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2026 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
Hoover Institution fellow H.R. McMaster talks about the impact the final withdrawal of US troops from Iraq will have on the Middle East.
September 29, 2026
On the latest episode of GoodFellows, senior fellows John Cochrane, H.R. McMaster, and Niall Ferguson, moderated as always by distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, speak with their colleague Hoover Fellow Eyck Freymann.
September 30, 2026
The U.S. needs a strategy to counter China’s leverage in cyberspace.
September 29, 2026