Daniel Davis Deep Dive BACK to ESCALATION in IRAN /Joe Kent & Lt Col Daniel Davis
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May 8, 2026 
Joe Kent, former National Counterterrorism Center official and national security commentator. He and Daniel Davis dissect Gulf strike narratives, risks of sustained US patrols in Hormuz, the politics shaping US options, the impracticality of seizing Iranian islands, Israel’s influence, regional alliance complications, and how walking away could change the calculus.
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U.S. Patrols Make Longterm Attrition Likely
- U.S. presence in the Strait of Hormuz is unsustainable long term and invites Iranian attacks.
- Joe Kent argues Iran only needs to succeed once with mines/drones while the U.S. must be lucky every transit, making attrition likely.
Pull Out And Use Diplomacy To Reset Leverage
- Do pull U.S. forces out and declare victory to reset leverage and enable serious diplomacy.
- Kent recommends using withdrawal plus sanctions relief incentives to empower Iranian moderates and reopen the Straits.
Rescue Operation Highlighted Risks Of Ground Ops In Iran
- Kent recounts the rescue operation where U.S. aircraft were lost but no personnel killed, showing ground ops in Iran are highly risky.
- He says that experience likely convinced Trump of terrain and casualty risks for boots-on-ground options.