The United States must not get dragged into a war with Iran on Israel’s behalf, Erik Prince told Steve Bannon on Saturday’s WarRoom. "It’s not our party,” he said, stressing that Israel should carry out its own strike without relying on American firepower, lives, or political capital.
Prince, founder of Blackwater and a seasoned security expert with deep experience in Middle East conflict zones, compared the current moment to intelligence failures in past U.S. military actions. He warned that political manipulation and blind trust in "clean” surgical strikes often lead to messy, drawn-out wars. "Shit happens,” he said bluntly, referencing the unintended consequences of operations like the 1990s NATO bombing of Serbia, where a stealth aircraft was shot down and sensitive technology was lost to adversaries.
Prince was clear: the Israelis have had decades to develop their own bunker-buster capability if striking Iran’s nuclear infrastructure was essential to them. They shouldn’t rely on U.S. B2 bombers, special operations forces, or American assets to do the job. "If they really wanted to do this, they would have figured it out by now,” he said, noting Israel’s advanced defense technology and regional capabilities.
Responding to reports that Israel was pushing for regime change in Iran, Prince was adamant that the U.S. should not participate in any such operation. "We really sucked at rebuilding Iraq,” he said, referencing the disastrous nation-building efforts that followed regime change in Iraq and Libya. He reminded listeners of Colin Powell’s "you break it, you buy it” doctrine—and argued that Americans can’t afford to buy another broken Middle Eastern state.
When Bannon pushed him on the idea that this was just a "limited strike,” Prince countered with strategic realism: any attack on Iran, no matter how surgical, would provoke retaliation. Iran has demonstrated it can strike deep into Israel. "Iron Dome only stops 70–80% of missiles,” he said, predicting that Israel would be hit hard in response and forced to escalate.
He also echoed deep frustrations within the veteran and special forces communities. According to Prince, 80% of the combat veterans he speaks with—Seals, Green Berets, Delta, and Marine Raiders—oppose getting involved in another war. Why? "Because we’re not allowed to win them.” Prince blamed the State Department and NGOs for undermining military objectives in Iraq and Afghanistan by pushing premature, misguided nation-building efforts.
If President Trump wants to strike, Prince said, he must avoid regime change and refuse to send in troops. "If the Iranian people want to be free, they need to do it themselves,” he added. The U.S. should not be the Middle East’s enforcer—especially when the results are always the same: endless conflict, wasted lives, and shattered nations.
Prince’s message to Trump is clear: don’t do it. The war may not be officially on, but the bunting is up, and the guests are arriving. Only bold presidential restraint can prevent America from hosting yet another war it never should’ve been invited to.
Watch the Full WarRoom segment:
Fuck you Iran has got to go.