Leon Panetta, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense who oversaw the operation to kill Osama bin Laden, has sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his handling of the war with Iran.
In a phone interview with British daily The Guardian on the 22nd (local time), Panetta said, "The situation President Trump finds himself in is very difficult, but the responsibility lies with no one other than President Trump himself." He added, "This war has put him in a dilemma with no easy way out."
Panetta was particularly critical of the Iran war leading to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and a surge in energy prices. "Anyone could see that if you're going to wage war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the biggest vulnerabilities," he said. "In every National Security Council meeting I participated in, whenever we discussed the Iran issue, that topic always came up."
He continued, "Yet for some reason, the Trump administration either failed to anticipate such consequences or thought the war would end quickly enough that they wouldn't need to worry about it. They are paying the price. If there is a way for President Trump to get out of this predicament, it would be declaring victory on his own terms and claiming military objectives were achieved — but the problem is that even if he declares victory, he gains nothing without an actual ceasefire."
Panetta said, "President Trump tends to be naive about how things will play out. If you keep repeating something over and over, you may develop hope that it will eventually become reality — but that's something children do, not something a president should do."
He also said, "He has treated allies so coldly that he failed to win support for his request to deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz — and that is self-inflicted." He added, "Moreover, by eliminating Iran's aging supreme leader, he has paved the way for a younger, more hardline leader who could hold power for much longer, making a favorable outcome difficult."
Meanwhile, a former top U.S. counterterrorism official who resigned in opposition to the war against Iran warned that deploying ground troops to Iran's Kharg Island would effectively amount to handing over hostages.
Joe Kent, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), said in an interview with The Washington Post on the 22nd, "A U.S. scenario to occupy Kharg Island would be a major catastrophe." He warned, "Deploying ground troops to an island exposed to drone and missile attacks could effectively hand hostages to Iran, which is deeply concerning."
D-Day Minus 1: The Decisive 48 Hours! Trump's "Scorched Earth" vs. Iran's "Divide and Conquer" — Who Wins?
