🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 'Do Not Want To Die For Israel': Doubts About Trump’s Iran Strategy Spread Among Troops

The possibility of an American ground operation in Iran is growing, but one service member familiar with troops in the region told HuffPost the prospect would be "an absolute disaster."

As the U.S.-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week and President Donald Trump orders the deployment of thousands of additional sailors and Marines to the Middle East, the troops he is counting on appear increasingly wary of the conflict.

Interviews with active duty soldiers, reservists, and advocacy groups focused on service members found some U.S. troops who are caught up in the war are reporting vulnerability, overwhelming stress, frustration and disillusionment to the degree they may leave the military. The reservists and active duty soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

A military official who is treating service members evacuated from the Middle East to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany amid Iran’s retaliation said troops are suffering from “inadequate force protection and planning” and already reporting a severe, destabilizing toll from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that have been repeatedly striking American military facilities

A ground operation would be “an absolute disaster… we don’t have a plan for that,” the official said earlier this week. “We can’t even fully defend a single land base in the theater.”

A veteran and reservist who mentors younger officers told HuffPost her contacts are expressing a loss of faith to a new degree.

“I’m hearing out of service members’ mouths the words, ’We do not want to die for Israel — we don’t want to be political pawns,” she said. Another reservist in touch with current troops separately reported hearing similar comments.

“I’ve shared conscientious objector information six times in the past two weeks and I’ve been in the military almost 20 years — I’ve never had people reach out this way,” the first reservist continued.

There is no indication of a mass exodus from the United States’ 1.3 million-person military over Trump’s campaign. Sources described anger, but also a sense of resignation among many troops.

Many service members have long anticipated and prepared for a U.S. war against Iran, with some more senior personnel seeing that as justified given the country’s role in deadly attacks on American troops, particularly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But dissatisfaction and morale problems could make Trump’s campaign less likely to succeed — and hint at a lasting shift among troops that could have implications for America’s national security establishment.

The lack of a clear, consistent narrative justifying the Iran war is a key source of discontent among troops, the reservists said, demoralizing those who believe a poorly planned conflict is placing them in unnecessary danger for no identifiable strategic benefit.

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