Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax Friday that the U.S. operation against Iran should not be compared with the troop-heavy wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
He said the mission is a narrower effort built around logistics, local partners, and air support.
Asked about Democrat criticism that the conflict lacked a clear strategy and risked becoming an "endless war," Holt answered with a comparison of his own.
"If it were an endless war, wouldn't it look a lot like Iraq and Afghanistan looked like?" Holt asked on "American Agenda," adding that the United States was not sending "130,000 Army forces" with tanks toward capitals.
Holt rejected the idea that the current operation fit that pattern, saying, "No, we're not seeing any of that."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that Washington expected its "achievable U.S. objectives" in Iran to be completed in four to six weeks.
Democrats' criticism has centered on both process and strategy.
Democrat lawmakers said President Donald Trump acted without congressional approval or meaningful consultation and questioned whether the administration had articulated a clear endgame or provided enough information to Congress.
"What we're doing is we're enabling the Iranian people to take matters into their own hands," he said.
"We are doing some rearming or some arming and logistics supply of the Kurdish forces that need to help train those revolutionaries up on the Iraqi-Iranian border. And over the next few weeks, you'll see less and less out of this regime as their power projection goes away."
Holt said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posed a significant obstacle.
Regarding concerns about the operation's duration and purpose, Holt said the alternative would involve "free Iranian forces" identifying targets and asking the United States, "Could you put a bomb over here at the besieged headquarters? Could you take out this IRGC?"
He said the United States would remain "on call 24/7/365" to support those strikes until Iranian opposition forces "get to where they need to get to."
"We'll all be a lot safer for it once Iran comes back into the world community," Holt said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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