Is Trump really planning to send the U.S. Marines to the Persian Gulf for an amphibious landing?

On the 20th, a U.S. netizen posted a photo of a military mess hall lunch on social media, accompanied by a note saying it was taken by his son who is a sailor. Seeing that his child can eat so well in the military, he said he "felt very relieved."

The photo posted by the American blogger and the concerns of netizens

However, many American netizens in the comment section of this tweet believe it is not a good thing and say that the blogger has not realized what this big meal means for his son.

In the U.S. military, there has long been an unspoken tradition: whenever a unit is about to go to war, carry out high-risk missions, or be deployed in large numbers, the logistics department often gives the soldiers a special lavish meal, usually steak with eggs, or a "sea and land feast," which is steak with lobster or crab legs.

The lunch photo shared by the blogger exactly fits this pattern. In the ranks of U.S. military personnel, this meal is also known as "march meal" or "last meal," meaning that after eating this, they will be heading into battle.

More importantly, sharp-eyed netizens identified the insignia on the tray as coming from the San Diego Naval Base. Just recently, another U.S. amphibious ready group, the "Boxer," had just set sail from this base with 2,500 Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit — this almost confirms that the destination of the "Boxer" is the Middle East.

This basically confirms that the "Boxer" is heading to the Middle East, and there is likely to be a major battle

Plus, the "Leyte" amphibious ready group, which had already left Japan carrying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, two forces are now converging, meaning over 5,000 U.S. Marines are being deployed to the Middle East, preparing for possible amphibious landings.

Recently, U.S. media have frequently reported that the Trump administration has been considering sending ground troops to Iran, and the only remaining uncertainty is what the specific operational objectives are. These days, speculation has been flying: some say Trump's goal is to seize Iran's highly enriched uranium, while others say he plans to take over Khark Island, force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiate an end to the war with the United States.

Of course, that's not all. The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are narrow in terrain. If Trump really plans to throw these more than 5,000 Marines into the water for an amphibious landing, it would be like throwing them into a fire pit.

Amphibious landing and airborne insertion, Trump has to choose one plan

Therefore, some views suggest that this marine unit may just be a diversion, serving a deterring role. The real "killer move" of the U.S. military might be the 82nd Airborne Division — just on the 20th, the U.S. CBS reported that the Pentagon is drafting a combat plan, including the 82nd Airborne Division among the ground forces sent to Iran. The combat aviation brigade of this division has already rotated into the Central Command area and is ready to be deployed at any time.

The 82nd Airborne Division is one of the rapid response units of the U.S. military, known for its ability to deploy globally within 18 hours to carry out forced airborne operations. If Trump decides to take ground action in Iran, this unit is likely to be the vanguard.

Additionally, although Trump has recently emphasized again that "he has no plan to send troops," this is just something to listen to — he previously also said he wanted to negotiate with Iran to resolve the issue, but what happened? Under the guise of negotiations, he lured people out and directly bombed the Iranian leadership, including Khamenei.

Additionally, there have been rumors recently that Israel is planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the U.S., forcing Trump to fully commit

Therefore, this time, Trump is likely playing his old trick again, making public statements that he has no intention of sending troops, while secretly asking the Pentagon to quickly mobilize troops and develop a combat plan.

Earlier, many U.S. media believed that Trump was starting the second Iraq War — but this statement is actually inaccurate. Trump's current actions don't resemble a replica of the second Iraq War, but rather a version of the Vietnam War in the Middle East, without a complete plan to end the war, always taking things step by step.

But the problem is, if the 82nd Airborne Division plus these 5,000 Marines fail to achieve a quick victory and instead get bogged down in the Middle East, what does Trump plan to do? Is he really going to carry out a fake flag operation similar to 9/11 on U.S. soil, then incite public opinion and launch a full-scale invasion of Iran? If it comes to that, Iran might become the second Afghanistan for the United States.



Original: toutiao.com/article/7619632307514655238/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.