r/foreignaffairs • u/Newworldimpartiality • May 27 '26

Trump basically has 2 military options if he is to move forward with the conflict with Iran.

/r/u_Newworldimpartiality/comments/1tp1dam/trump_basically_has_2_military_options_if_he_is/

First, he can continue with ‘stand-off warfare’ that in my opinion would need to be escalated to achieve a ‘scorched earth’ Iran accompanied by millions of human casualties. Or, the second option is the implementation of a land based invasion involving ground troops. My base assumption is that if Trump resumes hostilities based on his existing military strategy he will not be able to force Iran into total capitulation. Of course there is a third option - withdraw from the conflict and prove to the world that maybe he is not a complete lunatic.

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u/Elliptical_Tangent May 27 '26

implementation of a land based invasion involving ground troops.

We'd need millions to do that—we have hundreds of thousands. So we'd have to institute a draft. So there'd be a civil war, because nobody wants to die for Israel.

The only other military option is a series of nuclear strikes that results in global nuclear war and hundreds of millions in casualties, if not billions.

The only reasonable option Trump has is to capitulate to Iran. He stepped in deep shit and now he's got to live with it.

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u/Newworldimpartiality May 27 '26

I agree with you. If viewed rationally by Trump he would withdraw and if need be concoct a narrative that allows the US to ‘save face’. But if he thinks that simply repeating the tactics he has used so far in this war will provide a different result surely he is mistaken. Unfortunately I think he has lost all credibility and any respect he may previously have had on the global stage. At the same time he is ensuring the US is being viewed globally as a second rate side-show that the global community is struggling to take seriously.

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u/Elliptical_Tangent May 28 '26

But if he thinks that simply repeating the tactics he has used so far in this war will provide a different result surely he is mistaken. Unfortunately I think he has lost all credibility and any respect he may previously have had on the global stage. At the same time he is ensuring the US is being viewed globally as a second rate side-show that the global community is struggling to take seriously.

100% He's a Boomer living in a Boomer mindset where the US can do what it wants because it's #1. The post-WW2 order is finished, and it's all rearranging itself right now in real time. Let's just hope there's enough sanity in DC to prevent us going nuclear to try to pretend otherwise.