White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran

The New York Times reports:

At a meeting of President Trump’s top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said. The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led by John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. They do not call for a land invasion of Iran, which would require vastly more troops, officials said.

The development reflects the influence of Mr. Bolton, one of the administration’s most virulent Iran hawks, whose push for confrontation with Tehran was ignored more than a decade ago by President George W. Bush. It is highly uncertain whether Mr. Trump, who has sought to disentangle the United States from Afghanistan and Syria, ultimately would send so many American forces back to the Middle East.

White House reviews military plans against Iran — including sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East — in echoes of Iraq war https://t.co/pDKl0rT1o4

— Eric Schmitt (@EricSchmittNYT) May 13, 2019

Here it comes! Trump’s goin’ to get thousands of our sons and daughters killed just to control a few news cycles. Still think impeachment is just an “option?”https://t.co/4beZeDUcBG

— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) May 14, 2019

It’s John Bolton’s world. Trump is just living in it: The national security advisor is leading the United States in a dangerous direction. #Iran https://t.co/0R94AvryGp

— Negar Mortazavi (@NegarMortazavi) May 14, 2019