BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Dick Taylor, USMC Vietnam-era 1975-79, joined Mike Hart on Good Morning Kern County to talk about the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the history of the region and what happens now. Taylor left the Marine Corps at the start of the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah of Iran and established the Islamic Republic.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Taking a look at everything that's transpired over the last few days, can you just give us your overall perception on how President Trump reacted to that and whether or not it was overdue in coming?
I think the president's reaction was atypical for any president I've ever seen in my lifetime. Uh, the fact that, uh, obviously after Operation Midnight Hammer, the, uh, the B-2 mission and lots of other aircraft that went into, uh, uh, Iran, uh, was fulfilled, uh, we'll see. Time will tell whether or not it was an operational success. It was a brilliant move. And the operational security was some of the best I've ever seen, and people wonder why the economy didn't tell us ahead of time. Well, because you run your mouth and you tell everybody, and now the element of surprise is off. So they certainly were able to be successful that way. I do think, uh, our hats are off to the uh. The men and women, uh, of the branches that were involved went in there and did that. And I think at the other the other hand is the president's response was interesting in that he said, well, you and I were talking about this before we went on air. He said something effective. Well, now that Iran got that out of their system, meaning they launched an attack, uh, right in response to the uh uh Operation Midnight Hammer. Um, I think that was, was interesting. He said, Well, now, let's go on to a ceasefire. -- You -- know,
There are a lot of people who believe they just didn't want there to be a boots-on-the-ground type of situation with the technology we have, and that type of a strike capability where we launch from the middle of America over there and take care of that. It doesn't negate or take away the need at some point, boots on the ground, but do you think that Americans have tired of conflict after 20 years in Afghanistan?
Oh, absolutely, and my perspective has changed because I'm an old guy now, and there was nothing. The worst part of my job as the county veteran service officer was working with families that had lost their son or daughter serving overseas, and you look back, uh, for what? And a lot of these, uh, I've changed my view on the military-industrial complex. I think that's a thing. I think we have to be super cautious about getting sucked into that. Uh, but I think the response, uh, to the, to Iran, uh, because they have been threatening us for years, uh, to tell them that, hey, we're gonna, we're gonna destroy you, and now they're gonna have the capability to have been launching intercontinental ballistic missiles and they're the, the technology is there. So I think that was a wise move.
One thing that you were telling me that's very interesting in this is that during your time of service from the mid 70s, 75 to 79, you're coming out as Iran is having the revolution and the change, involved and just describe for people that may not know what Iran was like before that,
In the mid-1970s, you look at video footage, uh, girls and women going to school, uh, with western clothes. The place looked like Santa Barbara, and then after the Islamic Revolution. Uh, it looked like, uh, some place that, uh, would be more out, they would see, like in the desert. There was no vegetation was gone and people, you know, women were, were not seen as everyone was covered and everything, yeah, the second-class citizens, and there was just a lot of the bad stuff. I think a lot of my friends who went over there and stayed in were, uh, disillusioned with the, uh, with the whole society over there. Now I'm not saying the Shah of Iran was a good guy because he had some major flaws and was very oppressive. Uh, but his son, now, who is the spitting image appearance-wise of his dad, like many of us are, uh, is calling for the overthrow of this, uh, of the nut house people that are over there running the thing and the people of Iran. I think the Persians are ready for peace.
Does the president need to lean on the peace aspect of this from this point forward, do you think?
Sure, I think so, and I think the fact that we need to be very careful of what we take out of the comment that was made. By just the president, by others about regime change. The United States is great at doing military stuff. They're horrible at regime change. Who remembers the purple thumbprint on Iraq? Oh, we're going to vote. It's going to be just like the United States. No, it's not. They have a completely different take on stuff, and they've been fighting each other for thousands of years.
All right, very good. Yes, Dick Taylor, I appreciate your insight as always. Thank you for coming in. OK, appreciate it. Thank you for everything you do. -- All -- right...
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