STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL

The two retired Army generals have joined Team Democracy to urge the public to recommit to America's core principles.

In "A Scared Oath," former defense secretary Mark Esper details his often uneasy tenure in Trump’s Cabinet, a fraught 15 months when, according to the book, he endeavored to serve as a guardrail on the combative president's most alarming impulses.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday on Fox News Channel that the Trump administration “is doing everything statutorily required” for a transition. Biden's team plans to meet with private pharmaceutical companies on its own in the coming days to learn more about the status of their vaccine production. Currently under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Pentagon are working in conjunction with states on a vaccine distribution plan. But the Biden transition team and Democrats in Congress also have ideas. But right now, no member of the transition team can share classified intelligence with the Biden transition team, especially without being in a secured location.

Participants in the briefing included many familiar figures from the Obama-Biden national security firmament. Among them were former deputy national security advisor Tony Blinken, former CIA deputy director Avril Haines, former U.S. Also present was retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who in 2009 resigned his post as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after he was quoted in a Rolling Stone article insulting then-Vice President Biden. He is also seen as someone who will prioritize alliance-building and maintaining a U.S. troop presence around the world over the isolationism and troop withdrawals that undergird Trump's national security vision. With just weeks to go before Trump leaves office, the Pentagon announced Tuesday that he had ordered a further removal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, a decision that drew immediate criticism from top Republicans and a broad coalition of national security experts.

Declining to criticize Trump, Biden acknowledged Tuesday that he has “not been receiving briefings that would ordinarily come by now" as he opened his virtual meeting with the national security experts. Biden's team plans to meet with private pharmaceutical companies on its own in the coming days to learn more about the status of their vaccine production. Currently under the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Pentagon are working in conjunction with states on a vaccine distribution plan. But the Biden transition team and Democrats in Congress also have ideas. But right now, no member of the transition team can share classified intelligence with the Biden transition team, especially without being in a secured location.

General Stanley McChrystal Kevin Lamarque | ReutersWASHINGTON — Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president on Thursday, saying that the nation needed a commander in chief that was "humble enough to understand that they are a servant." McChrystal made the endorsement even though there had been tension between McChrystal and Biden in the past. Stanley McChrystal sits in the helicopter after a lengthy conference meeting with military officials October 7, 2009. When asked about his policy differences with Obama and Biden, McChrystal said that their relationship was rocky at times but that there was a mutual respect that transcended disputes. In this photo provided by The White House, U.S. President Barack Obama (L) meets with General Stanley McChrystal, (L) Commander of U.S.

In 2007, U.S. commandos watched as a convoy carrying a powerful Iranian military leader made its way to northern Iraq. But ultimately, military leaders passed on a strike, deferring to deep concerns about the potential fallout of such a provocative attack. That approach came to an end this week when President Donald Trump authorized an airstrike that killed Soleimani. Indeed, Mr. Trump's strike against Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, thrusts Washington and Tehran into uncharted territory after months of rising tensions. "The attack on the base which killed an American was carried out by an Iranian-backed militia which is directly controlled, according to U.S. intelligence, by Soleimani," Martin reported.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal talks about leadership strategy in his new book "Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World." He joins CBSN with more on whether the U.S. military strategy is effective against terror.

With modern warfare, Gen. Stanley McChrystal had to redefine counterterrorism strategy while leading the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of a command where everything had to be run by the general, he emphasized sharing information across all levels and empowering those under him to make more decisions and carry them out quickly. McChrystal joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss his new book, "Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World."