In a rapidly escalating Middle East conflict now entering its second week, President Donald Trump finds himself increasingly isolated and politically vulnerable, with critics accusing the administration of committing major war crimes in the U.S.-backed strikes on Iran. As Iranian missiles continue to penetrate Israeli defences — including a reported direct hit by the advanced Fattah-2 ballistic missile on a secret underground bunker used by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — former U.S. officials are drawing stark parallels to past interventions, warning that the American empire is in full retreat and that Trump has badly misread the conflict’s long-term consequences.
Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S.
Army colonel and former chief of
staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, delivered a blunt assessment on March 10, 2026, describing the situation as “the American empire’s retreat from the Levant and the Middle East in general.” Speaking on Democracy Now!, Wilkerson stated that the United States is “at risk of losing its war on Iran, where it’s already committed major war crimes.” He added: “This is a war with long legs. Trump has completely misinterpreted it. The only one who’s interpreted it correctly is Bibi Netanyahu, and I think he’s ready to use a nuclear weapon.”
Iran targeted Israeli Ministry
of Security in TelAviv
The latest battlefield developments underscore Wilkerson’s warning. According to detailed analysis of the ongoing exchanges, Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones in the past 10 days, with roughly 40% targeting Israeli territory. The Fattah-2 hypersonic missile reportedly struck the most classified underground facility beneath Israeli military headquarters in central Tel Aviv (the Kirya district), a heavily fortified bunker complex financed in part by the United States and equipped with electromagnetic shielding. Israeli authorities responded by sealing streets, blocking cameras, and blurring satellite imagery — a pattern first seen during the June 2025 12-day war when Iranian strikes came within meters of Netanyahu’s office.
Israel’s multi-layered air-defense system — including Arrow and David’s Sling — has shown vulnerabilities. Confirmed impacts include a Kheybar Shekan cluster warhead scattering submunitions across a 500-meter radius in central Tel Aviv, a 500 kg warhead that collapsed an underground shelter in Beit Shemesh (killing nine civilians), and other strikes that have left more than 1,300 Israelis hospitalized and at least 10 civilians dead on the Israeli side. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has declared Iran’s surface fleet “combat ineffective” after sinking over 30 vessels, but American forces have suffered seven soldier confirmed deaths and 150 soldiers injured. Iran reports more than 1,300 civilian casualties, including 194 children. Crude oil surged past $115 per barrel amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel is real threat to the
Middle East and the World
Legal experts and international observers have begun openly discussing potential war-crimes accountability for the Trump administration. The conflict, which erupted around February 28, 2026, has already produced high-profile incidents such as the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran (initial reports cite over 175 deaths, with evidence pointing to U.S. munitions). Human-rights prosecutor Reed Brody and others have labeled the broader campaign a potential “crime of aggression” under international law, noting the Pentagon’s reported dismantling of certain civilian-protection protocols. With mounting civilian tolls and no clear exit strategy, Trump’s shifting public statements — alternating between promises of quick victory and hints at broader regime-change goals — have left the president “badly trapped,” according to analysts who see echoes of previous quagmires.
U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon
Compounding the pressure is a fresh revelation about a past U.S. intervention that critics say reveals a consistent motive: resource control rather than peace. On March 10, 2026, a video clip circulated widely featuring former U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon, who served on the House Armed Services Committee. Weldon recounted a direct encounter with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shortly before the 2011 NATO intervention: “Muammar Gaddafi handed me his resignation letter, but the United States did not want his resignation… they wanted to kill him to control his oil and his wealth.”
The disclosure has fuelled accusations that Washington’s pattern of rejecting negotiated exits — whether in Libya in 2011 or now in Iran — prioritizes strategic assets over de-escalation. Commentators note that Gaddafi’s vast oil reserves and sovereign wealth funds were central to the 2011 campaign, much as Iran’s energy infrastructure and regional influence are today.
As the war stretches into what Wilkerson called “a war with long legs,” the combination of battlefield setbacks, defense-system penetrations, and historical parallels has left the Trump administration facing its most severe foreign-policy crisis. With Netanyahu reportedly prepared for extreme measures and international calls for accountability growing, the president’s room for maneuver is narrowing dramatically. Whether diplomatic off-ramps emerge before further escalation — or before formal war-crimes investigations gain traction — remains the defining question of the moment.
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