Posted on 03/03/2026 11:49:40 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Erik Prince on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast expresses confusion about President Trump's strategy for intervening in Iran:
STEVE BANNON: It seems like it’s not as intense as the strike that ended the 12-day war, but spectacular results, correct?
I mean, they took out the Ayatollah and his top 40 guys — what, having a picnic lunch in the afternoon or gathering? The intelligence was pretty special, the fact that they took the Ayatollah and 40 of his top guys out, sir.
ERIK PRINCE: Look, Steve, I’m not happy about the whole thing. I don’t think this was in America’s interest. It’s going to uncork a significant can of worms — chaos and destruction — in Iran now.
Who takes over? You still have tens, hundreds, thousands of IRGC people who will be positioning to be number two, to be the next rulers of that country. I don’t see how this is in keeping with the president’s MAGA commitment. I’m disappointed.BANNON: Well, talk to us about that, because I’ve been putting up on social media — he wanted regime change. He made this comment the other night. The Ayatollah is gone. His 40 top guys are gone. Don’t you just toss it to the Persians and say — because he keeps saying “rise up from the streets”?
I haven’t seen massive demonstrations or massive people coming out in Tehran. There have been some running around shouting support, but is the plan to decapitate — do you think the president’s accomplished that and now can just move on?PRINCE: I think — yeah. And again, who comes after that? I don’t know that there’s a plan. These...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Doubleplus ungood.
Erick Prince. Yeh, there’s a guy I want to take cues from. 🙄
Say what you want about Prince (I’m no fan), his viewpoint is worth reading given his extensive experience in the Middle East.
Good post.
President Trump discussed this in public today. Per the NYT:
“President Trump said on Tuesday that officials the United States had eyed as potential new leaders of Iran had been killed in the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign. As the war in the Middle East widened, he said that the worst outcome would be that whoever takes over Iran could be “as bad” as their predecessors.
Long before we lost the war in Afghanistan, Erik Prince had an alternate plan: to privatize that war. Viz., to replace our army of occupation with an army whose profit depended on developing the enormous mineral resources of the country. I talked about this alternative approach in real time.
https://heartland.org/opinion/privatize-the-war-in-afghanistan/
Now we find ourselves in another war. For some the answer is to ignore the problem. What’s it to us that a fundamentalist regime chants “death to America,” and seeks nuclear weapons and the technology to deliver those nuclear weapons against us, in addition to being the world #1 sponsor of terrorism, with a history of hostility against against us and our allies and interests?
Unlike during the Cold War, I don’t think we can rely on the Doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction.
https://heartland.org/opinion/mutual-assured-destruction-then-and-now/
However, I’m not as pessimistic as Prince comes off. Indeed, I think some of the things he says in this specific interview give us hope that we can use the occasion of this war to degrade Iran’s military capability, conventional as well as strategic, and perhaps to make the inevitable not be inevitable.
In particular, Prince talks about several of the large minorities within the country. If we can’t effect regime change (and regime change doesn’t always work), perhaps we can sever about half the country of Iran into semi-autonomous regions (Azeri, 1/4; Kurd, 1/8; and, Balochi, 1/8).
I would allow for the possibility that we could work with a non-fundamentalist military leader for the Persian part of Iran (1/2). Though, that’s far from a guarantee. The IRGC is, after all, a fanatic organization of true believers in ushering the 12th Mahdi via starting the world-ending Battle of Armageddon.
Im not trying to straddle both fences, but I really doubt Trump will put ground troops into Iran, or new ME conflicts. there may be Special Forces boots on the ground, but we will not know about it.
He is attempting to conduct this war strictly by air, naval and cyber means
that also makes the notion of "it doesn't matter who comes next" even more ridiculous, as someone on the ground will need to take over. I suspect USA/Israel have preferred candidates they are trying to push to the top of Iran Government
First he says the IRGC will take over, and then says they are the most powerful force in the country.
They do already control the country, and have been doing so for decades.
I can’t figure out why so many commentators choose to relax with the knowledge that crazed mullahs will have their finger on the nuclear trigger.
“How Does The Regime Get Changed?”
Not our problem.
Just don’t Phuuck with the US of A anymore.
Let the sand rats do what they will.
It’s their country.
I think the hard reality anti neocons cannot grasp is that the new Trump doctrine says:
If your national politics is predicated on defying and destroying the United States,
We will hurt you and even kidnap your feckless leader.
Nations can make their choices with that new reality in mind and enforcing this order does not require “boots on the ground occupation” of the nation.
We can keep hitting nations like this at near infinity. The new U.S. has a lot of tools in the toolbox from soft to hard power.
There is know way they could no!
The Israelis are there to monitor the situation. They will let us know if further breakage is needed.
"You break it you fix it monitor and break it again later if needed."
Iam ignorant and apathetic. I don’t know nor do I care whoi takes over as long as the summabiiatch ain’t sporting a beach and a towel on his head.
One set of people in Iran are rushing headlong into the Seventh Century A.D. The other set appears to be rushing headlong into the Seventh Century B.C.
Agree
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.