Beltway Confidential

No, Julia Ioffe, Gen. McKenzie doesn’t want a war over Iranian IEDs

By Tom Rogan
Published June 20, 2019 9:15pm ET
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No, Julia Ioffe, Gen. McKenzie doesn’t want a war over Iranian IEDs
Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., director, Joint Staff, speaks during a media availability at the Pentagon, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Washington. | (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

It is unfair and factually false to suggest that the commanding general of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, is hawkish on Iran because he wants revenge for Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq during the 2003-2011 period.

But that’s what Julia Ioffe suggested regarding an Atlantic piece by Kathy Gilsinan on Thursday. Gilsinan claims McKenzie is hawkish because he “saw the Iranian threat firsthand when he led a Marine Expeditionary Unit during the Iraq War, when Iranian proxies and allies were routinely attacking U.S. troops.” Ioffe says:

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Al Qaeda Iran Iraq Iraq War Pentagon