What Pete Blaber has said about Iraq War

Blaber says his three brainstormed recommendations for Iraq—an Arab-American volunteer database, cultural advisors in every unit, and pre-positioned infrastructure specialists—were rejected in the final CENTCOM plan.

“We're not going to use Iraqi. We're not going to bring Iraqi Americans because it'll be too logistically difficult to house and feed them in the initial stages”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 4:21:40

Blaber argues expeditionary warfare has never succeeded because outsiders cannot make good decisions for people they do not live among.

“expeditionary warfare has never worked you can't go to a country and force decisions on that country if you're not going to live there with the decisions”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 4:11:38

Blaber cites a paper by intelligence officer Spider Marks arguing the Iraqi insurgency was created by U.S. decisions rather than arising organically.

“it's not an organic insurgency we created that insurgency the u.s through bremer's bad decisions created the insurgency”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:23:41

Blaber says he refused a general's order to drive thin-skinned vehicles into Tikrit and pulled his men back into the desert instead.

“I will never send my men in unarmored, thin-skinned vehicles to attack a brigade that's in fighting positions in a city”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:01:06