Another report is filling in details on the possible use of ground troops in the Iran war. The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon is prepping for weeks or perhaps months of ground operations. However, the idea isn't to mount one large invasion: Instead, think raids by special ops forces and Marines on the export hub of Kharg Island or on coastal sites along the Strait of Hormuz. Should President Trump give the green light, one US official tells the Post the ground operation would take "weeks, not months," though another official estimated a "couple of months."
The report syncs with earlier accounts that the Pentagon may send up to 10,000 more troops to the region—with the first batch arriving on Saturday. And Axios reported last week that the Pentagon was readying plans for a "final blow" that would combine bombing attacks by air with ground raids. Iran, meanwhile, is "waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever," parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Sunday, per the AP. The rhetoric comes as regional powers including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt planned to meet in Pakistan to discuss how to end the war.
Public opinion in the US remains sharply against deploying ground forces: One survey by the AP and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that 62% of respondents strongly oppose the idea, with only 12% in favor.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
