Generals Ignored Warnings Before Deadly Iran Strike in Kuwait, Soldiers Claim

Survivors of a March drone strike on Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, which killed six US soldiers, claim that military leadership ignored intelligence warnings about the base being a potential Iranian target. An investigation by The Washington Post, based on interviews with 17 people including soldiers and witnesses, revealed deep-seated feelings of "guilt and betrayal" among those who survived.

Soldiers involved in the incident expressed that they "didn't do enough to help those who died." Wounded soldiers also reportedly felt let down by the US military's medical system. Despite these accounts, the US Army declined to address specific complaints directly, instead broadly defending the unit's leadership and decision-making processes. Brig. Gen. Clint Barnes and Maj. Gen. John Hinson, who were in charge of the base, responded to requests for comment.

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If we don’t learn from these mistakes, if we just all believe the same lie, then it’ll happen to another unit later on, and they’ll end up in the same situation we were in.

Internal investigations following the attack reportedly found no punitive action or assignment of fault for the attack and its response against the base's leadership. "If we don’t learn from these mistakes, if we all just believe the same lie, then it’ll happen to another unit later on, and they’ll end up in the same situation we were in," said Maj. Stephen Ramsbottom, who was in the building when it was hit.

The investigation also highlighted a lack of preparedness at Port Shuaiba. The base reportedly lacked defense systems capable of intercepting Iran's Shahed drones, and safe zones were not adequately prepared, lacking overhead cover for soldiers. "We knew it was an identified target," one soldier was quoted as saying.

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We knew it was an identified target.