Retired US general calls for 'thunder runs' in Strait of Hormuz

Retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg called for maximum-effort US naval and air escorts to clear Iranian missiles, drones and mines from the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, comparing the operation to past “thunder runs” in Baghdad and Operation Earnest Will to test and defeat resistance.

“Put aircraft above this shipping lane. You have escort ships go there as well. Get a couple ships through there, and you’re good to go," he told NewsMax on Wednesday.

“The first couple of times you’re going to get some type of hostile action… there’s risk… but we have the capacity and the capability to punch through there," he added. “It’s sort of like what we did in Baghdad… after about the third or fourth thunder run, it was pretty easy.”

"I hate to say it, but it's, you know, kind of, my son told me, kind of telling your chief, it's sort of like Whack a Mole. Everyone is there. You just kill them. And I was asked that today on another program, just have to kill them all, and sooner or later, they get a break. You know, you start at a very senior level. You keep working your way down, and finally you're gonna have people say, I want to do the job," former 82nd Airborne commander said.