EXCLUSIVE: Ret. Col. Douglas Macgregor on the Coming Middle East Inferno

Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a retired U.S. Army officer and former Pentagon adviser, is not mincing words: the United States is already at war with Iran. In two recent interviews, he laid bare what he sees as a catastrophic military and political miscalculation by the Trump administration—one driven not by intelligence, but by entrenched interests in Washington and Tel Aviv. “We’re co-belligerents,” he said plainly, referring to America’s direct involvement in Israel’s military campaign. Far from a limited operation, Macgregor predicts a drawn-out regional war, one that may ultimately destroy Israel and leave the U.S. deeply wounded.

In contrast to the confident rhetoric from Trump and key senators, Macgregor offered a bleak assessment of the U.S. military posture: a reliance on air and naval strikes that, historically, “do not win wars.” He warned that assumptions about Iran's weakness are dangerously false. “Air power alone doesn’t win,” he stated, noting that Iran’s missile and air defense capabilities are robust and underestimated—just as Russian capabilities were before the Ukraine war. Israel's own military is already showing signs of collapse under Iranian retaliation, with Tel Aviv reportedly sustaining significant destruction and aircraft being relocated abroad.

Perhaps most chilling is Macgregor’s forecast for what comes next: not only Iranian retaliation against U.S. assets in the region, but potential attacks on the American mainland. With over 40,000 U.S. troops deployed across bases in the Middle East—most lacking effective air defense—Macgregor anticipates high casualties. But the greater vulnerability lies inside the U.S. itself. “We have 31 million people about whom we know nothing,” he said, referring to undocumented border crossings. In his view, it would be naive to think that terror cells haven’t already positioned themselves to strike soft targets from within.

The Colonel’s strategic lens extends beyond the battlefield. Macgregor sees this as a continuation of a failed regime-change policy dictated not by national interest but by a fusion of ideological zealotry and financial greed. “Truth is in short supply,” he said, pointing directly at the military-industrial complex, Congress, the media, and the pro-Israel lobby. According to him, this war isn’t about nuclear weapons—it’s about regional hegemony and control of oil. And the ultimate objective? “To force Iran to surrender its sovereignty, just as they tried and failed with Russia.”

A golden nugget ignored by mainstream media is Macgregor’s contention that Trump, once an outsider, has now capitulated to the establishment. “He joined the uniparty,” he said flatly, arguing that campaign promises of ending endless wars were just window dressing. In Macgregor’s view, Trump is surrounded by the same neoconservative voices that led America into Iraq and Ukraine—men who profit from chaos and have no exit strategy. He also sharply criticized Trump’s dismissal of Tulsi Gabbard’s intelligence assessments, calling it a triumph of “arrogance and self-delusion over reason.”

Macgregor believes Israel’s gamble is backfiring, and fast. Despite initial airstrike successes, Iran's infrastructure is proving more resilient than expected. He warned that if Israel turns to nuclear weapons out of desperation, regional nuclear proliferation is inevitable. “The Pandora’s box will open,” he warned, predicting that countries like Pakistan may distribute nuclear arms to allies such as Turkey or even Iran. And in what may be the most unreported element of his analysis: Israel, in his view, only has days of viable air defense remaining.

The colonel’s prognosis is apocalyptic: a long war with Iran, destabilization across the Middle East, global economic shocks, and potential attacks on U.S. soil. And still, the American public is largely unaware, lulled into distraction. “They’ll pay attention when gas is $7 a gallon,” he said grimly. Until then, he warns, the U.S. marches toward disaster, guided by delusions of invincibility and deaf to the costs—military, moral, and existential. His final word: “We’re not being led by rational people.”

Sources:

Col. Douglas Macgregor: Israel in ‘VERY SERIOUS TROUBLE’ in War with Iran

COL. Douglas Macgregor : Trump Crazy to Attack Iran!