'The Opinions': General Stanley McChrystal on Iran

The conflict between the United States and Iran is rooted in a long history of mutual grievances, beginning with the 1953 coup and the 1979 hostage crisis, rather than recent geopolitical shifts alone. General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, argues that American military strategy often falls victim to the "seductions" of covert action, surgical special operations, and air power—tactics that fail to account for the deep, often theological, commitment of the Iranian regime and its population. Relying on air power to decapitate leadership or coerce behavior ignores the reality that such actions rarely produce stable, favorable outcomes and often harden local resolve. Furthermore, the growing civilian-military divide risks creating a professional warrior caste, potentially lowering the threshold for using force and insulating the military from the broader societal consequences of prolonged conflict.