In a July 21, 2026, interview with NPR, Executive Board Member General Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Army (Ret.) weighed in on the Trump administration’s handling of the war with Iran in light of the Pentagon’s funding request to Congress. He noted that U.S. forces’ forward positioning in the region, once a strategic asset, has become a liability in the age of drone warfare. Although the war is still new in comparison with U.S. involvement in Iraq or Afghanistan, General Votel cautions that the Pentagon’s lack of transparency on resulting casualties may prove a liability with both the American people and regional allies.

General Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Army (Ret.), is the former Commander of the U.S. Central Command. He is a Distinguished Military Fellow at the Middle East Institute and a member of the CERL Executive Board. Read his bio here.  

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