Erik Prince, a Republican mega donor, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and founder of the private security firm Blackwater, said he counseled the administration “as loud as possible” not to get involved in the first place, knowing it would be deadly for troops, financially costly for the military, and politically challenging ahead of the midterms.
But now that the conflict appears set to escalate, Prince—who is described in MAGA circles as the “pre-eminent thinker on the military”—says he is “extremely concerned” about what might happen next. Speaking on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas on Friday, Prince gave a grim forecast.
“I don’t share the optimism of the administration that there’s going to be a peaceful stop to this,” said Prince, who often acts as an unofficial adviser to Trump officials, with ties to the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.
“They will burn it down. And my real concern is that if they try to put boots on the ground and force the Strait of Hormuz, you will see imagery of burning American warships in the next couple of weeks. And I don’t think people are really prepared for that.
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