JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Retired Army Col. Chris Budihas says he has a lot of questions about what the United States is trying to accomplish as tensions with Iran continue.
During an interview on In Depth with Kristine Bellino, Budihas talked about the U.S. strategy with Iran, President Donald Trump’s recent speech at the United Nations and what could happen next.
One of his biggest concerns is that there does not seem to be a clear answer about how the conflict is supposed to end.
“What’s our strategy? What’s our long-term effect?” Budihas asked. He said Americans are already feeling some of the impact in their everyday lives, including at the grocery store and gas pump.
He also questioned what a successful ending would actually look like.
“Nobody’s really articulated what the end state is,” Budihas said. “What does this look like when it’s all over?”
Budihas also talked about the distrust between the U.S. and Iran, saying that is not something new. He said the bigger issue is making sure Americans and U.S. allies understand where the country is headed and what leaders hope to accomplish.
He also stressed the importance of understanding the differences between countries and groups in the Middle East instead of treating the entire region as one group.
“If you don’t understand these nuances, you probably never visited or studied,” Budihas said. He explained that understanding a country’s culture, history and goals can help explain what motivates its leaders.
The conversation later turned to President Trump’s recent speech before the United Nations General Assembly.
Bellino read Budihas a message she received from someone who described themselves as a longtime Republican and said the speech left them embarrassed. When asked whether others may feel the same way, Budihas said he could not speak for everyone but believes there are people who share that feeling.
Budihas said he felt there was too much focus in the speech on what the president personally had done. In his view, a president speaking to an international audience should focus more on representing the United States as a whole.
He also said comments made in front of world leaders can have an impact long after the speech is over. Those leaders return home and have to explain what happened to people in their own countries, he said.
Budihas said better communication about where the U.S. is going and what it hopes to accomplish could help lower some of the tension.
The retired colonel also used his own military experience to explain why he believes leaders need to think about what happens after a conflict ends.
Budihas served in Desert Storm and later in Iraq and Afghanistan. He pointed to Desert Storm as an example of a military operation that accomplished its goal of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait, but was followed by years of continued tensions with Saddam Hussein’s government.
Budihas said that history is part of why the long-term effects of military action need to be considered.
“You break it, you might have to fix it, or you break it might actually be worse in the long run,” he said.
For Budihas, there are still major questions about whether the U.S. plans to escalate, de-escalate or eventually reach some type of agreement with Iran.
Whatever happens next, he said there needs to be a clearer explanation of the strategy and what the United States wants the situation to look like when the conflict is over.
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