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Some recent polling suggests a majority of Americans are against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, but President Donald Trump is keeping his options open for now.”It’s the Pentagon’s job to provide maximum optionality to the president. It does not mean he has made a decision, nor would he ever notify the media of such a decision, as not to tip off our enemy,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. During that briefing, Leavitt didn’t explicitly commit to seeking approval from Congress for a possible ground operation. She said the administration notified congressional leaders before launching the military operation and has repeatedly briefed lawmakers throughout the conflict. “With respect to abiding by Congress and the rule of law, that’s something the administration will, of course, always do,” Leavitt said. Meanwhile, thousands of additional American service members are arriving in the Middle East. The deployment includes several hundred U.S. Special Operations forces, according to the New York Times. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that the administration can achieve its military objectives, like dismantling Iran’s military capabilities and preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, without putting American boots on the ground.But Frederic Wehrey, a senior fellow for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who previously served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, said air strikes can only accomplish so much. “Time and time again, American policymakers, including this administration, have placed undue faith in air strikes alone,” Wehrey said. “Air power alone cannot achieve these objectives, so that, of course, leaves the option of a ground invasion.”Experts say a ground operation could be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route that Iran has largely blocked. Ground troops could also be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, or to secure enriched uranium that could be used to build nuclear weapons in the future.Iran has accused the Trump administration of talking up a diplomatic solution while secretly planning a ground invasion. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on Sunday that Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.Brandan Buck, a research fellow with the CATO Institute, said a ground operation could increase American casualties and prompt political backlash in the United States.”It would also threaten to draw the United States deeper into the conflict,” Buck said. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found the majority of Americans (55%) would not support the U.S. deploying any troops inside Iran. Roughly a third (34%) would support a targeted operation, while just 7% would support a large-scale invasion. On Capitol Hill, some Republicans have spoken out against putting American boots on the ground.Asked whether the president can take that step without Congressional approval, Tulane University Constitutional Law Professor Stephen Griffin said, “No, I don’t think so, but I also think he couldn’t do most of the things he has done with respect to the Iran war from the beginning without Congress.”Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have largely defended the legality of Trump’s military operation in Iran and rejected efforts to rein in the president’s ability to launch further attacks. But some GOP lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), have argued that the introduction of ground troops would be a different story.”It does require congressional approval, authorization of military action, my reading is, if there are ground troops introduced into hostilities,” Hawley said in an interview earlier this month. Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) distinguished between a long-term conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan, and a more narrow operation “to protect Americans and to be able to make sure that we’re in there for a season.” On ABC’s This Week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the president has “already come to Congress.””They let all of the congressional leadership know in advance of the strikes, but they’ve also had briefings on Capitol Hill,” Scalise said. “There are no boots on the ground today, but we’re having a lot of conversations about what could happen next.”
Some recent polling suggests a majority of Americans are against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, but President Donald Trump is keeping his options open for now.
“It’s the Pentagon’s job to provide maximum optionality to the president. It does not mean he has made a decision, nor would he ever notify the media of such a decision, as not to tip off our enemy,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
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During that briefing, Leavitt didn’t explicitly commit to seeking approval from Congress for a possible ground operation. She said the administration notified congressional leaders before launching the military operation and has repeatedly briefed lawmakers throughout the conflict.
“With respect to abiding by Congress and the rule of law, that’s something the administration will, of course, always do,” Leavitt said.
Meanwhile, thousands of additional American service members are arriving in the Middle East. The deployment includes several hundred U.S. Special Operations forces, according to the New York Times.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that the administration can achieve its military objectives, like dismantling Iran’s military capabilities and preventing the regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon, without putting American boots on the ground.
But Frederic Wehrey, a senior fellow for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who previously served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, said air strikes can only accomplish so much.
“Time and time again, American policymakers, including this administration, have placed undue faith in air strikes alone,” Wehrey said. “Air power alone cannot achieve these objectives, so that, of course, leaves the option of a ground invasion.”
Experts say a ground operation could be used to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route that Iran has largely blocked. Ground troops could also be used to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, or to secure enriched uranium that could be used to build nuclear weapons in the future.
Iran has accused the Trump administration of talking up a diplomatic solution while secretly planning a ground invasion. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on Sunday that Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.
Brandan Buck, a research fellow with the CATO Institute, said a ground operation could increase American casualties and prompt political backlash in the United States.
“It would also threaten to draw the United States deeper into the conflict,” Buck said.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found the majority of Americans (55%) would not support the U.S. deploying any troops inside Iran. Roughly a third (34%) would support a targeted operation, while just 7% would support a large-scale invasion.
On Capitol Hill, some Republicans have spoken out against putting American boots on the ground.
Asked whether the president can take that step without Congressional approval, Tulane University Constitutional Law Professor Stephen Griffin said, “No, I don’t think so, but I also think he couldn’t do most of the things he has done with respect to the Iran war from the beginning without Congress.”
Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have largely defended the legality of Trump’s military operation in Iran and rejected efforts to rein in the president’s ability to launch further attacks.
But some GOP lawmakers, like Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), have argued that the introduction of ground troops would be a different story.
“It does require congressional approval, authorization of military action, my reading is, if there are ground troops introduced into hostilities,” Hawley said in an interview earlier this month.
Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Senator James Lankford (R-Oklahoma) distinguished between a long-term conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan, and a more narrow operation “to protect Americans and to be able to make sure that we’re in there for a season.”
On ABC’s This Week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the president has “already come to Congress.”
“They let all of the congressional leadership know in advance of the strikes, but they’ve also had briefings on Capitol Hill,” Scalise said. “There are no boots on the ground today, but we’re having a lot of conversations about what could happen next.”
