Note from our Editor-in-Chief: Friday marks 25 years since the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001. This interview is part of Zeteo’s special week-long coverage of 9/11 and its aftermath in America, across the Middle East, and worldwide. - Mehdi
It’s been 25 years since 9/11, which also means 25 years of the so-called global “War on Terror.”
But did you know that in the weeks following the attacks, a retired four-star U.S. general went to the Pentagon and was told that the Bush administration was planning to attack seven Middle Eastern countries in the span of just five years?
Iraq was one of them, as was Iran. Since 9/11, the U.S. has attacked five of those seven countries.
That general, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO, Wesley Clark, tells Mehdi, “It was clear at the time that we were going to have to do something to Osama bin Laden. I also knew that we’d been scheming to find a reason to invade and finish off Saddam Hussein.”
In this insightful and, at times, heated conversation, Mehdi asks General Clark:
How he found out about the U.S.’s plans to attack the Middle East after 9/11
Why he was an outspoken critic of the 2003 Iraq invasion but supported the 2001 Afghanistan invasion
Whether he believes the ‘War on Terror’ was a defeat for the U.S.
Why he supports the war on Iran today and how he defines ‘success’
His affiliation with Iranian cult and controversial opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK)
And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s dangerous purging of the top ranks of the U.S. military.
Paid subscribers can watch the full conversation above, in which Mehdi challenges Clark on the U.S. killing of civilians in Iran, while free subscribers can access a four-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit another Zeteo paywall again!
Check out more of Zeteo’s 9/11 coverage:
