Gen. David Petraeus tells ABC's martharaddatz that it is 'pretty clear' that Pres. Trump 'doesn't want to go to war with Iran.' 'He's not after regime change, he's after what Secretary Pompeo has announced is the objective... regime behavior change.'
Gen. David Petraeus, the retired four-star general who led troops into battle during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, said he doesn't see parallels between the lead-up to that war and the current escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
"He's after what Secretary Pompeo has announced as the objective, which is regime behavior change," he said. Earlier this month, the United States deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to"clear indications" Iran or its proxies were planning on attack on U.S. forces in the region, U.S. officials told ABC News. The Pentagon announced on May 10 it was sending a Patriot anti-missile battery to the area as well as further deterrence.
The president has dismissed a New York Times story that reported the administration was reviewing a plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the region if Iran attacked U.S. forces. "And I think any thoughts about invading Iran -- again, rightly, the president has shelled those, I think -- that would be an enormous undertaking," he added."And he's right in his assessment, we would need heck of a lot more troops than that, were we ever do something like that."
"President Trump has been quite clear about this. He would welcome communication, and apparently would be willing to sit down, himself," he said.
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