Seeking an exit path: Trump's top general warns of 'backfire' in Iran

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane, clarified to senior advisors of President Trump in closed-door conversations over the past few weeks that the US must find an "exit path" from the war with Iran. This is because the military options on the table for escalating the conflict could backfire, and air power alone is not expected to achieve the goals defined by President Donald Trump, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

"Kane is looking for an exit," one of the sources said emphatically. General Kane is not the only one in the American leadership who holds the position that the war has reached a crossroads, according to CNN. According to the sources, he discussed his concerns about the military options for escalating the conflict and raised the possibility of finding a way out of the war with other senior cabinet officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President J.D. Vance.

America's top general recently coordinated positions in side conversations with some of Trump's advisors who share his view, with the goal of facilitating inter-agency coordination and ensuring they are on the same page ahead of meetings with the president. The goal was to clarify the limitations and risks of the existing military options, including those that do not involve sending American ground troops, the sources said.

"A way to protect the military"

"I think it's just his way of protecting the military," one of the sources told CNN, referring to Kane's discussions with other senior national security officials in Trump's cabinet regarding the war in Iran.

Trump has repeatedly expressed skepticism about the idea of deploying ground troops in Iran, instead signaling that he believes airstrikes could force them to agree to a deal on his terms. Privately, according to reports, Kane and others in the cabinet see this outcome as unlikely — and instead have tried to develop other options that fit the framework defined by the president himself.

It is of great importance that Trump's most senior general argues in closed-door meetings that there is no easy military solution to end a war that the president chose to enter. And this, almost six months into a conflict that began with the claim that Iran's military capabilities were destroyed, and which was characterized by the president's promise to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

In response to CNN's request for comment on this story, Kane's spokesperson, Joseph Halstead, said: "We do not discuss the Chairman's private conversations with the President, the Secretary, or other senior leaders, nor do we comment on anonymous and agenda-driven descriptions of these conversations by sources who were not privy to the matters." CNN also reached out to the White House for comment, while the State Department and the CIA declined to comment.

"Air power has limitations"

The war has reached a point where many of Trump's senior national security officials believe what Kane himself told lawmakers during a public hearing late last month, that "air power has limitations."

For these reasons, Kane and other officials in the Trump administration were wary of the plan in late July to carry out new and more aggressive strikes, due to fear of the expected consequences of an escalation event — even though the president initially seemed ready to give the green light to what he defined as a "massive" operation, said one of the sources, who declined to elaborate on operational details.

"The only ones who were in favor of the operation were officials at CENTCOM," the source added, noting that Israel also broadly supported the operation to escalate the conflict.

President Trump ultimately decided to pull back after speaking with allies in the Middle East, who told him they were concerned about Iranian retaliation, particularly retaliatory strikes on their energy infrastructure, a senior administration official told CNN, adding that the president is not taking the option of future strikes off the table.

Reports of the depletion of major US ammunition stockpiles are also a factor. Multiple sources noted that this is a concern raised not only by Kane but also by officials in the Gulf, who recently conveyed to senior administration officials how a shortage of advanced American air defense systems could affect their ability to repel possible Iranian retaliation if Trump decides to escalate the conflict.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to target Iran's energy infrastructure — a move that sources noted is not expected to force Iran to surrender, and will almost certainly lead to retaliatory strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Gulf countries. Such a move is also expected to further alienate the Iranian population, instead of pointing the finger at the regime, several sources said.

Proceeding with caution

CNN notes that while Kane has raised concerns, he has also been careful to maintain his relationship with Trump and was cautious in how he presented the potential downsides of military options when presenting them directly to the president, the sources said.

Kane "did his job" when he recently raised the potential downsides of military options for escalating the conflict — including concerns about the already depleted American ammunition stockpile — during a meeting at the White House with Trump and other senior officials late last month, two sources familiar with the discussion said.

However, General Kane also clarified to the American president that if he wishes to proceed with those operations, "we can certainly execute them," said one of the sources familiar with the recent White House meeting regarding the message of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In closed-door conversations, however, Kane was more direct in admitting the limitations of air power and reiterated his position that bombings alone are not expected to achieve Trump's stated goals at this stage of the war, according to a third source familiar with the matter.