What Does a Marine Sniper Think About the War in Iran?

In this interview on the Shawn Ryan Show, Marine Corps veteran and sniper AJ discusses Operation Epic Fury, an ongoing 2026 war with Iran now in its eighth week with 15 US service members already killed. Drawing on his three tours in Iraq including the invasion, Fallujah, and the Ramadi corridor, AJ reflects on having spent his career fighting Iran's proxies — Shia militias armed with Iranian-supplied EFPs that killed hundreds of Americans — without ever officially being at war with Iran itself.

AJ argues that the current war with Iran mirrors the failures of Iraq in 2003, describing it as 'taking the playbook off the shelf and playing the same hits.' He questions the strategic objectives, noting that the US 'raced to Baghdad, toppled the regime, and then didn't have a plan once we caught the car,' leading to 20 years of failed nation-building. He extends this critique to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has returned to power with Sharia law despite enormous American sacrifice. He insists that a revolution for a free Iran must come from within its own people, not be imposed from outside.

On the human cost of war, AJ is deeply personal, describing his ongoing relationship with the mother of a friend killed in Iraq — a man who had survived the Columbine school shooting before dying heroically in combat. This story anchors his grief over not being able to justify why these sacrifices were made. He also discusses a former JTAC colleague who abruptly left national security work to coach high school wrestling, saying he was 'tired of always having someone new to kill.'

AJ critiques the political and class dynamics of war, arguing that drafts and voluntary military service disproportionately pull from lower socioeconomic classes, while the affluent use legal and financial resources to avoid service. He references John McCain's opposition to enhanced interrogation, admitting he was angry at McCain at the time but now understands the senator's perspective after years of reflection post-retirement.

He also raises pointed contradictions in US foreign policy, questioning why Iran is framed as a 47-year enemy justifying open war, while the new Syrian Prime Minister — someone he characterizes as having beheaded Americans — is welcomed at Congress and the White House. He also references ongoing US funding to the Taliban as further evidence of incoherent policy. AJ closes by saying he cannot in good conscience will another generation to suffer the same consequences without clear, justified objectives, and that anyone advocating for war should note that recruiting stations remain open.