On CNN Tuesday, former CIA official Robert Baer warned that the violence at the Baghdad embassy is just the beginning — and the Trump administration needs to change course or risk a large-scale disaster.
"Do you worry this could escalate, or do you see something entirely different, despite these images?" asked host Brianna Keilar.
"I'm very pessimistic," said Baer. "The Iranians know that in Iraq, they have us hostage. We have about 5,500 troops there. They are not enough to defend themselves against these Shia militias, which do answer to Tehran. To me it's like the Trump administration is sending a message, which is, we've got you guys. We're going to shell you if we want to. It's time to lift the sanctions. It's time to deal with us. Right now, we don't have enough troops there to defend our bases, and that's the facts."
"The president is accusing Iran of sending these protests," said Keilar. "What should the administration be doing? What can they do?"
"They have to change their strategic policy in the area," said Baer. "You simply cannot put our troops and our diplomats in harm's way and hope for the best. This is what Jimmy Carter did in '79 when they took the shah out. I don't know if Trump understands this, but this is what he's facing. You can pull everybody out, give up Iraq completely and Syria as well, but you can't continue as you are."
"Iran promised retaliation because of these strikes on this Iran-backed militia," said Keilar. "Is this that retaliation, or are you expecting more?"
"I think it's just the beginning. They'll continue to escalate," said Baer. "They've got the upper hand in Iraq and again in Syria and Lebanon, and they're not going to let this go. By the way, this is great news for the Iranians, this demonstration, because it takes off attention from all the protests against Iran that can change the subject. So this is completely in line with their interests."
Watch below:
