Former U.S. General: 'Morale of Our Military is High'

Retired Four-Star General Anthony Zinni, fresh off a trip to Afghanistan, told attendees at a National Security Town Hall on Friday that the morale of U.S. troops serving overseas remains high.

"The morale is very high, the retention rate is not a problem," he said. "They like the military. Their concerns are where is their military going."

Zinni, former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command, was the guest speaker at the event, which also featured a panel discussion by surrogates for six of the GOP presidential candidates. The event was held at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics and co-hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.

Speaking on the day after the official end of the Iraq War, Zinni said he thinks it's important that the U.S. take a broad look at all of its military involvement around the globe, and determine its priorities going forward.

"We've got to set priorities, defined priorities," he said. "Where are our interests in the world? What should those interests be?

"Our security strategy has to begin with a strategic overview... We have commitments around the world that we never seem to end, and I think we need to look at where our military is."

Zinni's talk led into the panel discussion on national security, with Paul Bonicelli representing Rick Perry, former Executive Councilor and state Rep. Bill Cahill representing Rick Santorum, former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman representing Mitt Romney, state Sen. Jim Forsythe representing Ron Paul, former Reagan National Security Advisor Bud McFarlane representing Newt Gingrich, and Randy Schriver representing Jon Huntsman.