President Joe Biden is not being forthcoming with Americans about the United States' strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria, and there have been "zero" words on what the administration is trying to achieve, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said on Newsmax Sunday.
"If you're going to have a major action that's tempting potential warfare, a regional and maybe worse war, you've got to get at the Resolute Desk and you've got to tell the American people what's happening and what our strategy is," Holt told Newsmax's "Sunday Report."
But it's difficult to discern what the strategy is, even while U.S. forces have performed perfectly in their actions, which started Friday, he said.
"That is something the president could take a victory lap," on said Holt.
The situation is shifting in the Middle East, including with Iraq cutting off oil to Jordan, and "Iraq is potentially going to expel the United States, changing the strategic board," said Holt. "We have to understand how those things are going to play out," but there have been "no words from Washington D.C. on us on what they're trying to achieve," he added.
Norman Roule, the former senior adviser to United Against Nuclear Iran, also on Sunday's program, added that it is too early to say if the U.S. attacks have had an impact, if the goal is to degrade the capacity of Iranian proxies in the region.
As far as deterring further proxy attacks, the U.S. strikes may have come too late to hit the leadership who have been involved in attempted attacks on U.S. and allies' targets, said Roule.
His comments come after national security adviser Jake Sullivan Sunday did not rule out a longer campaign.
"I did not hear the word deterrence," said Roule. "I heard the word degradation and I think that's the bottom line. Have we done something to stop further attacks on our troops and the international trade through Yemen? I don't think we can say yes yet."
Meanwhile, Iran is saying it does not want to go to war with the United States, and Holt told Newsmax that is because Iran would lose quickly in a head-to-head match-up.
"However, it has multiple incentives to continue proxy activities and terrorist activities outside of Iraq, as well as in Iraq," said Holt, who is also concerned about attacks on the U.S. homeland "because there is no real punishment to the leadership in Tehran for undertaking or supporting or enabling these actions."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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