Korean Media: Although "No Fear of PTSD," the nightmare of the Afghanistan War Still Lingers ... Trump Faces a "Ground Force Dilemma"

¬ Military operations may be prolonged in the medium to long term

On the 2nd, US President Donald Trump said regarding military action against Iran: "Although we expect it to take 4-5 weeks, we have the capability to sustain longer (operations). No matter how long it takes, we will complete the mission. A bigger operation is coming." This implied that this attack might last for a longer period. Regarding the issue of whether to deploy ground forces, which has become a taboo in the conservative camp after the Iraq War, he said, "I don't have a phobia (yips) about deploying ground forces." He took an open attitude. Before his second term, Trump had repeatedly stated, "There will be no war during my term." But after taking office, he was not reluctant to carry out military interventions around the world.

On the same day, Trump told an interview with the New York Post: "Regarding ground forces, I don't have a phobia. All previous presidents have repeatedly said 'we won't deploy ground forces,' but I don't intend to say that." Although the US military initially used overwhelming firepower to disable key facilities, as Trump said, to completely eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons and missile development capabilities and achieve regime change, deploying ground forces is inevitable. In past wars, there has never been a case where regime change was achieved solely through aerial bombing.

However, Iran is vast and has complex mountainous terrain, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is strong, and it has a well-organized militia network. Therefore, if ground forces are deployed, there will inevitably be significant sacrifices. The large-scale ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in 4,400 and 2,400 casualties respectively, leaving "nightmare" memories among the political circles and the public. Trump is a prominent critic of such military interventions. Regarding the four-year-long Ukraine war, he clearly stated, "We will not put boots on the ground (US boots will not be on the ground)."

Therefore, many people believe that when Trump mentioned "possibly deploying ground forces to Iran," it was a strategic ambiguity tactic to create chaos in Iran while continuing to exert pressure. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a briefing that although there are currently no plans to deploy ground forces to Iran, regarding whether to deploy them in the future, he said, "We won't argue about what we will or won't do in the future." Subsequently, after a drone attack on the US embassy in Saudi Arabia, suspected to be carried out by Iranian forces, Trump told NewsNation: "It is likely that we won't need to deploy ground forces."

The problem is that without deploying ground forces, it seems there is no way to overthrow Iran's theocratic regime. Moreover, even if ground forces are not deployed, if the operation is prolonged, increasing US casualties would undoubtedly be a significant burden for Trump, who is about to face midterm elections in November. Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered international oil price increases and supply chain risks. On the same day, the Washington Post (WP) reported: "Among senior leaders, the anxiety that the already limited air defense missile stockpiles will be overwhelmed due to the weeks of fighting is intensifying." Central Command (CENTCOM) revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that two corpses were found, increasing the death toll from 4 to 6. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "Achieving military objectives takes time, and we expect more losses." On the same day, a CNN and SSRS poll showed that 59% of respondents did not support the decision to attack Iran.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: toutiao.com/article/1858850788020236/

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