# ‘Everything After This Will Be Harder’: General Stanley McChrystal on Iran

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-opinions-6989693/everything-after-this-will-be-harder-general-stanley-mcchrystal-on-iran
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-opinions-6989693/everything-after-this-will-be-harder-general-stanley-mcchrystal-on-iran.md
Podcast: [The Opinions](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-opinions-6989693)
Published: 2026-03-23T20:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://nytimes.com/2026/03/24/opinion/trump-iran-general-mcchrystal.html
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/6qj4J/nyt.simplecastaudio.com/b091a4b0-4019-46c8-a1e8-5bc735c009c2/episodes/6e56ae9e-14ac-40d9-8794-e341c90036a7/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=b091a4b0-4019-46c8-a1e8-5bc735c009c2&awEpisodeId=6e56ae9e-14ac-40d9-8794-e341c90036a7&feed=kphrlDnb
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Duration seconds: 2395

## Resource

Did President Trump fall for the myth of surgical warfare? Gen. Stanley McChrystal joins the columnist David French, both veterans of the Iraq War, to discuss what may have been overlooked in the planning of Operation Epic Fury. McChrystal, who retired from the Army in 2010, argues that the United States often overestimates the decisive power of aerial bombing while underestimating the weight of historical grievance. And the general weighs in on the current culture of bravado coming from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 20.

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