Col. Larry Wilkerson: US Warplanes Downed, Tel Aviv & U.S. Bases ROCKED by Missiles

Colonel Wilkerson argues that the US and Israel, particularly under Netanyahu's influence, fundamentally misunderstood Iran's nature as an ancient empire with deep historical resilience. They anticipated a short, decisive conflict, but Iran is prepared for a long war, unifying regional factions and employing asymmetric strategies.

Wilkerson states, 'They have totally misjudged the nature of this conflict... This is a long war, not a short war.' He contrasts Iran's '3,000-year empire' with the US's '250 to 300 year old entity,' suggesting a deep historical advantage for Iran. He also notes Netanyahu's 'decapitation strategy... has actually rebounded to their discredit and ultimately to their defeat in this conflict' by unifying Shia and Sunni against Israel.

Iran is employing a sophisticated strategy of using low-cost, high-volume drones and missiles to deplete expensive US/Israeli air defenses. Simultaneously, it is selectively targeting US military assets in Arab countries, knowing that local populations sympathize with Iran and are angered by their US-backed autocratic leaders, potentially leading to regional uprisings.

Wilkerson details, 'They fired their least expensive but deadly... drones and other things at Israel and at other targets and we are expending very expensive missiles... The Iranians are causing the Israelis in particular, but us too, to shoot all these sophisticated missiles that cost five, six times what they're shooting down.' He adds, 'They're attacking them because they know that... there's unity forming and shaping amongst these people because they don't like their leaders at all. And so when you start hitting Bahrain for example and having the Bahrainis cheer that you just struck the US fifth fleet headquarters cheering in the street, you notice that this strategy is beginning to work.'

The conflict is solidifying a trilateral alliance between China (economic power), Russia (hardened military/industrial base), and Iran. This alliance is poised to leverage strategic chokepoints like the Red Sea (Babel Mandeb) and the Strait of Hormuz to disrupt global commerce, leading to instant and significant increases in oil and other commodity prices worldwide, benefiting Russia.

Wilkerson emphasizes, 'We haven't seen the impact of that really yet, but we're going to... especially when we start seeing the straits closed and the Chinese and the Russians backing that because we're looking at the Babel Mandeb, the Red Seas about 60 to 70% of the global commerce of the world.' He predicts this will 'raise prices around the world. It's enough to raise oil prices instantly.'

The US's handling of the conflict and its demands on allies are alienating key partners in Asia (South Korea, Japan) and Europe (Spain). Allies are observing the US's strategic blunders and re-evaluating their security relationships, accelerating a global shift of power to the East and hastening America's decline as a dominant world power.

Wilkerson states, 'Our allies are watching this. Korea is not happy with our presence on the island... Japan... they are looking hard at the security agreement.' He concludes, 'this conflict and the nature of it is that it is going to sour our allies if not the entire world on the number one pariah state in the world after Israel. Us we are becoming an outcast empire... we're hastening our own demise.' He cites Trump's threats to Spain over base usage as an example of alienating allies.