Coffee and a Mike Sam Faddis #1340
Mar 25, 2026
Sam Faddis, a retired CIA operations officer and national security commentator, shares hard-nosed perspectives on Iran and regional strategy. He discusses Iran’s tradecraft and leverage, risks to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, why a ground invasion would be catastrophic, economic ripple effects like rising food prices, and the complicated regional and great-power dynamics shaping any off-ramp.
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Plan A Was Based On Wishful Thinking
- Sam Faddis warns Plan A assumed a quick decapitation of Iran would collapse the regime, which he never believed would happen.
- He argues planners lacked realistic intelligence and failed to prepare a credible Plan B before striking.
Intelligence Gaps Let One Narrative Dominate
- Faddis says U.S. intelligence lacked the on-the-ground sources to independently refute optimistic assessments.
- He suggests Israeli intelligence dominated the narrative and that without U.S. penetrations the American judgment was skewed.
How Iran Methodically Cased Targets
- Faddis recounts running a source inside Iranian intelligence who showed Iran kept prewritten plans to attack U.S. targets and periodically updated surveillance.
- He describes rented apartments, dropped trash tests, photos, and casing reports as routine Iranian tradecraft.