Thomas Speciale, former senior adviser to the director of national intelligence for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Ricoh Danielson, U.S. Army combat veteran and national security expert, and Kate Monroe, retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence analyst, joined a panel discussion with NTD.
The panel discussed closing the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, the protocol for evacuating American citizens from the Middle East, and the coordination behind evacuations.
The panel also discussed the risks to U.S. military personnel and civilians in Kuwait, the U.S. destruction of Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities since day one of the war in Iran, and how meticulous planning by the U.S. and Israeli militaries was met with very little resistance from the Iranian Revolutionary Corps Guard, which resulted in the regime’s days being short.
The panel also discussed the importance of not underestimating the enemy, and how Iran’s proxies continue to attack both Israel and U.S. bases in the region. They also said that while the U.S. military is making very good progress, it has not yet released the “shock and awe.”
The panel also said the enemy should not underestimate the size, the might, and the will of the U.S. military. They discussed their disappointment in past administrations that let the Iranian regime’s terror continue for so long, and in the Obama administration for sending the Iranian regime billions of dollars for a nuclear deal, and funding the Iranian side of the war “fruitlessly.”
President Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in picking Iran’s next leader, and the panel discussed the intelligence community’s close observation of the limited communications in Iran to see who might rise to the top, while anyone the Iranians elect would have to meet the approval of the international community.
The panel also discussed the future of Iran and the Middle East, saying the next 30 years will be the best chance for peace in the Middle East, with the removal of the bloodthirsty regime in Iran.