'The Opinions': General Stanley McChrystal on Iran

What It Covers

NYT Opinion columnist and Iraq veteran David French interviews retired General Stanley McChrystal about the U.S.-Iran conflict, examining American military history with Iran since 1953, the limits of air power and special operations, risks to the Strait of Hormuz, civil-military divides, and the case for mandatory national service.

Key Questions Answered

• •Air Power Limitations: Bombing campaigns historically fail to produce desired political outcomes because enemy resolve is psychological, not logistical. McChrystal cites Vietnam's escalation strategy, Iraq's shock-and-awe, and the current Iran campaign as examples where superior firepower met asymmetric commitment. Policymakers should assess enemy willingness to absorb punishment before assuming precision strikes will force behavioral change.
• •Three Military Seductions: Decision-makers consistently fall for three costly shortcuts — covert action that rarely stays secret and rarely works, surgical special operations raids that demonstrate competence but rarely shift power dynamics, and air power campaigns premised on breaking enemy will. Recognizing these patterns before committing forces can prevent open-ended conflicts with no clear exit.
• •Strait of Hormuz Vulnerability: Keeping the Strait of Hormuz open is harder than forcing it open. Iran need not sink U.S. warships — striking one civilian tanker or cargo vessel weekly is sufficient to deter commercial shipping, collapse insurance coverage, and effectively close the strait at minimal cost, producing global economic disruption disproportionate to Iranian military expenditure.
• •Civil-Military Divide Risk: With military service concentrated in a self-perpetuating warrior class, two compounding dangers emerge: professional soldiers carry unconscious career incentives favoring conflict, and an insulated force becomes susceptible to political alignment. McChrystal notes that during his service, political views among peers were never discussed — a norm he considers now under active pressure from leadership.
• •Mandatory National Service: McChrystal argues voluntary service programs fail because 17- and 18-year-olds lack the maturity to self-select into service, as peer influence dominates decision-making at that age. A mandatory program offering diverse options — military, teaching, civic work — would function as a social leveler, creating shared experience across class and cultural divides that voluntary programs cannot replicate.