Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford has revealed that it was he who was driving recent US military deployments into the Middle East, saying he recommended them based on intelligence with respect to Iran.
Dunford claimed that “malign activity and threats to our forces by the
Iranians were not new,” but that what he saw was a synchronized series
of efforts that looked more like a formal campaign against the US.
Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan confirmed that Dunford told him of an
“anomaly” in Iranian behavior. At the same time, Shanahan says that President Trump has made clear he does not seek a war over the matter.
Shanahan has expressed regret that he wasn’t able to share more
information with the public on the intelligence involved. Shanahan has
been put in a difficult position by this, pressured by Congress for
specifics while other officials, notably John Bolton and Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo talk up a potential military conflict while treating
evidence as virtually beside the point.
Top US General Claims Intel Showed Iran Mounting a Campaign Against US
General says he pushed for military buildup in Middle East
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
