Keane: U.S. On The Cusp Of Returning To Full-Throttle Combat Operations In Iran
FOX News contributor Ret. Gen. Jack Keane on Wednesday said President Trump cannot take half measures and needs to return to combat operations in Iran.
BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS: You wonder about the squeeze, and it is real. I would remind our viewers that Fidel Castro held out for 50 years on an island, so I don’t know what comes of this. What I do understand from the president’s perspective coming out of China is that he wants the Strait reopened for all countries who do business there, but I’m reading this, General, 30 of the 33 missile sites in the Strait still remain, and access has been restored to 30 of 33. Is the U.S. military operating from square one now after this quote-unquote ceasefire, General, starting now? RET. GEN. JACK KEANE: Well, let’s just start with that interview you just had. Certainly, our empathy goes out to the suffering of the Iranian people, but believe me, the regime doesn’t care about that interview you just played. I mean, where they’re coming from is they believe they can stick with this and run the clock out, and that’s what they’re trying to do right now, even with modifying their negotiating position. They want to run this clock out, increase the political and economic pressure on the president, and they just don’t care about the suffering of people. What do they care about? They care about, one, the survival of the regime and themselves. That’s what this is all about, and if they get a negotiated deal, they think that they’ll get financing to help recover the regime. That is what their objective is here. Where are we? The president has exhibited a huge amount of patience here since the ceasefire on April the 8th, and we’ve tried to work a deal with these guys, and it just doesn’t seem possible, and where we are, we’re on the cusp of going back into military operations. When we stopped Bill and Dana, we had two weeks to go, a less than 30% of the targets. Those targets remain, but we have better intelligence now after these five, six weeks, so that target list is expanded. It’s considerably more comprehensive. It’ll be a combined operation with the United States and Israel going full-throttle, all out, no half measures here whatsoever, and when those target lists are complete and they will consist of the rest of the weapons that are remaining to some indicate some of what you just mentioned, to include what remains of nuclear, and also all the organizations that sustain the regime. We have better intelligence on locations and other things associated with that. Certainly, they’re going to be a comprehensive target list in of itself. And then a grouping of targets that really deal with all of Iran’s revenue sources to force an economic collapse of the regime. Obviously, Kharg Island and blockade is having a significant impact, but this attack will even further aggravate their ability to gain revenue source. Without revenue, it’s hard to see how this regime can survive, so we put it on a path. And I think at some point at the end of this thing, after we open the Straits of Hormuz and begin to get it secure, offer the IRGC leaders, you know, a free trip out to a place of their choice and see if we can work that kind of a deal with them and make some positive changes in the regime. So yes, we are on the cusp of returning to full-throttle combat operations.
