Revolution in Military Affairs Special Iran Update: Joe Funderburke & 'We Bombed the Wrong Target'
Mar 2, 2026
Joe Funderburke, retired Army colonel and national security consultant, challenges current U.S. approaches to Iran. He argues the true target is Iran's proxy network, not just leaders. He discusses limits of precision strikes, the need for human intelligence and special operations, coalition hurdles, and the risks of strategic patience and open-ended commitments.
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Proxy Network Is Iran's Center Of Gravity
- The U.S. is striking visible targets but missing Iran's real center of gravity: its proxy network.
- Joe Funderburke argues the proxy system predates Iran's nuclear work and must be dismantled to achieve strategic effect.
Form Coalitions And Grow Human Intelligence
- Build a broad intelligence-sharing coalition and develop robust human networks to infiltrate and map proxy cells.
- Then identify and take out proxy leadership one-by-one, an approach Joe says Israel and the U.S. have historically executed well.
Precision Strikes Are Politically Visible Not Strategically Decisive
- Kinetic precision strikes are politically useful but mainly hit symptomatic, visible targets rather than the hidden nodes sustaining the proxy network.
- Funderburke warns current strikes serve optics but don't address the ideological and human infrastructure behind proxies.