TheTrump administrationis reportedly considering several options for a massive escalation of its unlawful war on Iran, heightening fears that US troops – possibly as early as Friday or the weekend – could be hurled into a deadly quagmire with no clear objective, legal rationale or exit strategy.
Axiosreportedthat among the options thePentagonis considering are “invading or blockading” Kharg Island – Iran’s primaryoilexport hub – and sending American forces “deep inside the interior of Iran” in an effort to seize the country’s enriched uranium. The reporting indicates that the administration views the options as a “final blow” against Iran, despite US President Donald Trump’spublic claimthat the war has already been won decisively.
The new reporting marked just the latest signal that the Trump administration could be readying a ground invasion, which – like the ongoing bombing campaign across Iran – has not been approved by theUS Congressand would be deeply unpopular with the American public.
The US and Iran haveboth put forth demandsfor a diplomatic resolution, butIranian officials have saidthere are no active negotiations with the Trump administration, contrary tothe president’s claimearlier this week.
Brandan Buck, a research fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute who has criticized the war from the start,warnedin a recent blog post that “any serious American invasion of Iran would likely rival or exceed the scale ofVietnamor the 1991 Gulf War, making it the largestUS militaryundertaking since the Second World War.”
“Looking to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a similar invasion of Iran, given its population size, would require as many as 1.6 million troops,” Buck noted. “Trump’s ill-considered decision to launch the war, coupled with his vague-but-ambitious goals, has made this impossible scenario a military possibility. Given the horrific costs such an invasion would entail, however, Trump should choose a different path: declare ‘victory’ and de-escalate.”
সূত্র: Asia Times
ক্যাটাগরি: আন্তর্জাতিক