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Iran's Regional War Strategy is Failing (w/ Norman Roule) | Shield of the Republic

2026-03-09 News & Politics
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The Bulwark
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Description

Eric and Eliot welcome Norman Roule, a non-resident senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a thirty-four-year career veteran of the U.S. intelligence community, where he served in the Directorate of Operations as a division chief and chief of station, and for nearly a decade as the national intelligence manager for Iran in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). They discuss Trump's effort to replicate his Venezuela playbook and the search for an Iranian Delcy Rodríguez, the intricacies of the Iranian succession, and the potential for the regular army (ARTESH) to step in and seize leadership of the country. The conversation also covers the IRGC's hold on the system in Iran, the sources of Iran's misreading of the regional situation and of Donald Trump, the failure of Iran's alliances to come to the rescue, and the nature of Iran as an intelligence target. Eliot's Latest in The Atlantic (Gift Link): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/trump-iran-war-confusion/686259/?gift=KGDC3VdV8jaCufvP3bRsPq02AwLxoJbONMjAocns7uo&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Become a Bulwark Youtube Plus Member here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG4Hp1KbGw4e02N7FpPXDgQ/join

Top Comments (10)

@patrickdonohue530 2026-03-09

A bit of Iranian terrorism on US soil is EXACTLY what Trump wants, as it will give him the ammo for Martial Law which he lusts after.

154 18 replies
@freedomofreligion3248 2026-03-09

Hogsbreath is an adolescent, frozen in toddlerhood. He's not stupid, he's disordered as hell. His alcoholism and drug addiction very much keep him VERY SICK.

78 7 replies
@kerrybyers257 2026-03-09

It’s WAR not “conflict”, not “aggression”….WARRRRR!

77 3 replies
@WALTERBROADDUS 2026-03-09

We have opened a Pandora's box. 😒📦

70 4 replies
@jeffreyheronemus1917 2026-03-09

Funny when the NeoCon pops out on The Bulwark.

64 5 replies
@michelerieff7322 2026-03-09

The regime that needs to be changed is the one in the U.S. This war should never, never been initiated. What they’re trying accomplish is easy distract from the Epstein Files. This conversation takes for granted that this war is reasonable. It’s not it’s Trumps “ fever dream”. A sociopath’s hateful action.

63 2 replies
@bradhombre6912 2026-03-09

The problem is Iran did make concessions and they got attacked any way. Trump broke the nuclear deal that Iran had agreed to. Trump then attacked Iran 2 times in a row while they were actively negotiating with us - negotiations that the US side said were going well. Why in the world would Iran think they can negotiate with Trump now or trust him to honor any agreement he makes? He's stabbed them in the back the last 3 times already. Not to mention he breaks deals all over the place with everyone else.

60 2 replies
@ellynemyers3373 2026-03-09

Is Kash Patel a traitor intentionally weakening our intelligence right before we bombed Iran?

55 8 replies
@number9vintage928 2026-03-09

The US needs a regime change.

38 2 replies
@yuglesstube 2026-03-09

I find this argument fascinating, but i believe it to be entirety wrongheaded.

17

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