I was on the distribution list for the conversation with Senator Tom Cotton hosted by the United States Institute for Peace last night (video below — Senator Cotton’s remarks begin at about 8:00). The event offered “Perspectives on the Israel-Hamas War.” The conversation essentially updates the conversation Senator Cotton had in mid-October with Mark Halperin back in October that I posted here.

Senator Cotton enlisted in the Army following 9/11. He subsequently served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team. Between combat tours he served with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment (“the Old Guard”), an experience that inspired him to write Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington National Cemetery. I first met him face to face during his service in the Old Guard.

Senator Cotton is also a student of American foreign policy and the author, most recently, of Only the Strong: Reversing the Left’s Plot to Sabotage American Power. There is no one in our public life whom I respect more greatly than Senator Cotton. As I did his conversation with Halperin, I found this interview to be highly informative.