Mar 10, 2026 | As President Trump gives conflicting statements about the length and objectives of the war he launched with Israel against Iran, fears are growing that the conflict could continue to expand throughout the region and beyond. Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S. Army colonel and former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, says the U.S. and Israel are committing wanton "war crimes" in Iran. "We have bombed civilians relentlessly. We have bombed a school. We have bombed a hospital," says Wilkerson, who also suggests Western media outlets are downplaying the extent of the damage in Israel and how successful Iran has been in defending itself.
"This is a war with long legs. Trump has completely misinterpreted it," says Wilkerson. "The only one who's interpreted it correctly is Bibi Netanyahu, and I think he's ready to use a nuclear weapon, should it become as bad as it looks like it might right now, because Iran has not even began to shoot its most sophisticated missiles."
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell’s chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, says the escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran today is a continuation of two decades of U.S. policy disasters in the Middle East, starting with the 2003 run-up to war with Iraq under the Bush administration. “America exists today to make war. How else do we interpret 19 straight years of war and no end in sight? It’s part of who we are. It’s part of what the American Empire is,” says Wilkerson. “We are going to cheat and steal to do whatever it is we have to do to continue this war complex. That’s the truth of it. And that’s the agony of it.”
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and Paul Jay discuss the US Senate resolution condemning Mohamed Bin Salman for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi; there is concern amongst the neocons of both major parties that MBS is undermining the strategy to weaken Iran
The US has suspended war games as part of Trump's commitment in Singapore, but his administration can't be trusted to deliver a comprehensive denuclearization deal with North Korea, says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
As President Trump claims he won't rule out military force in Venezuela, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, says "we need to keep our dirty hands off Latin America"
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and Paul Jay discuss the significance of the Comey affair, the prospect of the rise of VP Mike Pence as the real power in the White House, and the danger of war as a way out for a dysfunctional administration
As the US pushes through new sanctions on North Korea, direct negotiations are the only way to defuse the nuclear standoff, says Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson
America stands in first place among the world’s great powers. But the decisions taken in Washington are seen by many as questionable - even unwise - bringing even more conflict and violence. What governs decision-making in the White House? Who is listened to there? What goal does Washington pursue? Does it even have any particular goal? We ask these questions to a former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, on Sophie&Co.
