“We have five reasons to say no to him, in fact,” said Yakovleff. “The first reason is that he didn’t understand that if he wants to carry out a NATO operation, NATO has to take control. So there will be an American general leading it, but it’s just one operation.”
“You can’t have an American operation where they bomb whatever they want, and then the Europeans doing something else underneath,” Yakovleff said. “
No, no, no. It has to be one single operation, under the NATO flag. I don’t think he understood that.”
Yakovleff was a three-star general in the French Army, commanded the French Foreign Legion, and held top roles in NATO.
He is a highly respected military expert in France and often speaks on important international issues.
Trump has been asking his allies to join him in his issues with Iran.
Iranian missiles and drones have made it so oil tankers can’t get insurance to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil usually goes. Oil prices have gone up a lot. So far, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have said no to Trump’s request.
Yakovleff also pointed out that Trump’s strategic goals, besides opening the strait, are not clear.
If NATO countries were even to consider helping, the U.S. would need to explain exactly what the goals are in writing.
“And it’s not just random tweets or things that change every few minutes.
So right from the start, Trump himself needs to know exactly what he wants,” said the general.
He also mentioned the problem of not having enough confidence in Trump.
It’s well known that he often betrays his allies, and he could do that right after other countries got involved.
“He would let us down whenever it suited him,” said Yakovleff.
He ended by comparing Trump to the captain of the Titanic, trying to “sell cheap tickets” for his journey “after having hit the iceberg.”
“And the last reason is American: you don’t support failure.
I learned that at the U.S. Army War College. You don’t support failure, you move on, you find something else,” he added. “So there are a lot of reasons to say no.”
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