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Klippenstein blames CENTCOM chief for Iran war and Hormuz crisis
In his newsletter, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein argued that Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, is the chief architect of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis that sent fuel prices soaring. Klippenstein cited internal Pentagon documents showing Cooper’s approved plan had four military objectives and did not include keeping Hormuz open or destroying Iran’s nuclear program. CENTCOM recently launched a podcast featuring Cooper, who said Hormuz remains open and is controlled by the United States and its regional partners.
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According to the newsletter, the four objectives in Cooper’s plan were to destroy Iran’s air force, destroy its navy, reduce its ability to attack neighbors and U.S. forces with missiles and drones, and destroy its ability to manufacture those missiles and drones. Klippenstein said neither the Strait of Hormuz nor Iran’s nuclear program appeared in the plan, which Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved.
Klippenstein also disputed Cooper’s public accounting of the naval campaign. He wrote that Cooper cited 161 vessels destroyed and more than 90 percent of Iran’s 8,000 naval mines eliminated, while Gen. Dan Caine said half of the Revolutionary Guard’s small attack boats were destroyed. Klippenstein argued that the focus on large ships and daily statistics left U.S. forces exposed to Iran’s naval guerrilla tactics and failed to protect bases from missile and drone attacks.
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