General Stanley McChrystal on 'The Jolene Doctrine'
Can the United States bomb Iran into regime change without alienating the very people it claims to want to liberate? As the Trump administration rains «death and destruction from the sky» on Iranian targets, a former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan warns of a troubling shift in American military culture—one that prizes braggadocio over restraint, warrior ethos over soldierly discipline. With Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dismissing «stupid rules of engagement» and President Trump denying U.S. responsibility for civilian casualties, three witnesses to decades of American war ask whether the old rules of engagement, alliances, and truth-telling have been abandoned entirely. What happens when the world's most powerful military operates on the principle «do it because you can»—a doctrine General Stanley McChrystal memorably calls the Jolene Doctrine?
Puntos clave
Air power alone has never toppled a regime; the use of overwhelming force against dual-use infrastructure may be turning Iranians who hated their government into Iranians who resent American aggression.
The «Jolene Doctrine»—doing something simply because we can—replaces strategic discipline with might-makes-right unilateralism, eroding 80 years of rules-based international order and alienating allies who once sent troops to Afghanistan at America's request.
Secretary Hegseth's rhetoric of «death and destruction» and dismissal of rules of engagement places young soldiers in an impossible position: follow orders that may violate their conscience, or run afoul of a chain of command that prizes machismo over restraint.
A professional military is defined by discipline and restraint, not «warrior ethos»; the most effective fighting forces are meritocracies that reflect society's diversity, not performative displays of toughness.
En resumen
The Trump administration's approach to Iran—marked by performative machismo, disregard for civilian casualties, and contempt for allies—risks turning a population yearning for liberation against the United States, while corroding the disciplined, values-based military culture that has defined American armed forces for generations.
The Jolene Doctrine: Power Without Restraint
America may be acting simply because it can, not because it should.
“I'm a big fan of Dolly Parton. Do you remember her song Jolene? And this poor wife says, «Jolene, please don't take my man. Don't take him just because you can.» And that's what worries me. I think we might be in a period where we think what we can do, we should do because we can. And I think the world is starting to view us that way.”
The Hardest Part of War Lies Ahead
U.S. technological dominance is temporary; asymmetric conflict will be grittier and more difficult.
The United States is witnessing the phase of war it does best—overwhelming air superiority, precision strikes, technological dominance. General McChrystal warns that everything after this conventional phase gets harder. «If you like this war, enjoy this part of it because everything after this gets harder,» he cautions, «because the disproportionate technology advantage we have, professionalism, all of those things start to decrease over time, particularly if the war drags out for an extended period.»
The risk of ground troops entering Iran remains real, even if unlikely. McChrystal cannot imagine a scenario where it would be a good idea, yet civil war, loss of internal control, or uncertainty about nuclear materials could create an imperative in the moment. Once forces are committed to that environment, «things get very, very complicated»—a lesson painfully learned in Iraq and Afghanistan. The challenge is that unconventional or asymmetric operations erase the technological gap between forces, turning war into «a much grittier kind of experience» where professionalism matters less than persistence and local knowledge.
Why This War, Why Now?
Answers change by the hour; the best guess is opportunistic timing.
The Problem with «Warrior Ethos»
Armies need discipline and restraint, not ungoverned machismo.
The Problem with «Warrior Ethos»
«We use the term warrior sometimes and I'm really uncomfortable with that,» McChrystal says. A warrior ethos suggests «an ungoverned group of people almost like the Huns.» An army, by contrast, is a disciplined force following civilian orders, bound by rules of warfare, led by leaders who embody restraint. «We got to be lethal, but it has to be in a very mature way.» When leaders use braggadocious rhetoric, they risk confusing 18- and 19-year-old soldiers who must show «the greatest maturity and restraint» on the battlefield.
Why Air Power Alone Won't Topple the Regime
Trust and Decision-Making at the Top
McChrystal does not have confidence in this administration's thoughtfulness about war.
General McChrystal has worked closely with two presidents—George W. Bush and Barack Obama—who were very different but shared one trait: «If I made my case, they were listening and they would make the best decision that they could with the information that they had.» He didn't always agree—he opposed the invasion of Iraq—but he believed Bush made the decision in good faith. «I don't have the same confidence right now,» he says flatly.
The general wants leaders who are «very thoughtful» when putting young men and women in harm's way, who understand that civilians will die and «feel it.» «I don't want anybody to make jokes about it. I don't want anybody to be flippant about it. And I don't want ever our government to have sort of a braggadocious attitude toward that.» The current administration's tone—Secretary Hegseth's chest-puffing briefings, Trump's lies about civilian casualties—represents a dangerous departure from the sober, values-based leadership McChrystal believes war demands.
The Erosion of Alliances
A Meritocracy, Not a Machismo Contest
The most effective forces reflect society and reward performance, not posturing.
The modern American military does not look like it once did. Soldiers span the spectrum of physical capabilities, genders, and backgrounds. A month before this conversation, General McChrystal officiated the retirement of five transgender service members—a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, three NCOs—with «incredible records» who were forced out simply because someone decided they could no longer serve. «All they wanted was the respect of a ceremony,» he says. Their families were there. Their sacrifice was real.
McChrystal spent much of his career in the special operations world, «where there frankly was a lot of sort of biceps and whatnot.» But in the most difficult phase of the Iraq war, his units became «a hierarchy of what you did. We became a meritocracy.» He recalls walking into an operations center and seeing a 6'5" hulking operator getting his chest pounded by a 105-pound female intelligence analyst. «She's right and she had earned the respect she had,» he says. The lesson: «Our army, our military ought to be a mirror of our society. It ought to reflect us.»
Personas
Glosario
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