US EditionIran Hawk General ‘Gorilla’ Has Become Hegseth’s Go-to Adviser on Middle East Crisis
- General Michael Erik Kurilla leads U.S. military planning for the West Asia crisis under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's delegation as of June 2025.
- Kurilla, a West Point graduate commissioned in 1988 and nicknamed 'Gorilla' for his build, presented President Trump and Pete Hegseth with multiple potential military responses earlier this month should negotiations with Iran fail.
- He often overruled senior Pentagon officials like General Dan Caine and Elbridge Colby, advocating for increased deployment of aircraft carriers and fighter jets to the region.
- Kurilla testified before Congress last week that CENTCOM is 'extremely strategic and persuasive about what it can do given adequate resources,' reflecting his influential role in shaping U.S. strategy.
- His leadership has coincided with the Pentagon sending the USS Nimitz carrier and multiple fighter planes to West Asia amid rising Israel-Iran tensions and possible U.S. intervention in Iran.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Meet Michael Erik Kurilla, US General known as 'Gorilla', who is handling West Asia crisis
General Michael Erik Kurilla is the chief of CENTCOM, the US military’s top body in West Asia. Officials say Kurilla seems to get whatever he wants – from jet fighters to aircraft carriers – as well as deference from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth when it comes to handling the crisis in West Asia. He has even argued against the recommendations of his superiors, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and Pentagon policy chief …
Hawkeye of Iran, very close to Israel also to the standards of American officials, combative and increasingly powerful. (ANSA)
The Daily Caller
Conservative Daily NewsMeet The Hawkish General Reportedly Leaving Fingerprints All Over DOD’s Iran Strategy
A hawkish general nicknamed "the Gorilla" is reportedly wielding outsized influence over America's Iran strategy according to Politico.
abendblatt.de
General Michael Kurilla, Israel's friend in the Pentagon, is advancing a risky attack before retirement. Does Trump listen to him?
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