Ex-NATO Commander Predicts Trump Will Strike Iran: ‘2 in 3 Chance’

Retired U.S. Admiral and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis predicted that President Donald Trump would order a military strike on Iran in the coming days during an appearance on CNN Thursday morning.

After beings asked about the “factors” that might be “going into the president’s thinking” as he mulls his options, Stavridis weighed in.

“I think all presidents begin with pros and cons. The pro is pretty obvious here. U.S. has the ability, using these big, bunker-busting bombs we’re talking about constantly, in all probability to take out definitively the beating heart of the Iranian nuclear program at Fordow. That’s a big pro. The con, the risk is tactical. Could a B-2 bomber get shot down? Could a fighter get taken out while escorting? Could the Iranians lash out at U.S. bases, U.S. partners in the region, go after oil fields? Could they close the Strait of Hormuz? There’s a lot of cons here,” he answered. “I think it’s a close call for the president. At this point, Pamela, I would say there’s a two in three chance he will go ahead and strike. I think there is a one in three chance he’ll give it a bit more time and see how diplomacy plays out. You can make a case on either side of that decision.”

Anchor Pamela Brown followed up by asking him why he believes there’s a a two in three chance Trump “would go for it.”

“One is the way we have aggressively set the table. All the forces are in place and operations like that tend to create a momentum of their own. Secondly, widely reported a lot of advice he’s receiving from people he really trusts in national security like Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tom Cotton, General Erik Kurilla, I think there’s a growing body of advice to him To conduct the strike,” replied Stavridis. “And third and finally, he looks at it through the prism of domestic politics, here again, pro and con. Many of his supporters are against getting involved in the Middle East, but I think he may make the calculation a quick, certain strike will in fact be well received. It’ll be a sign of strength. So I think those are the three reasons it’s a two in three chance that he decides ultimately to take the shot.”

Watch above via CNN.