As thousands of U.S. Marines head to the Middle East amid reports of an impending ground invasion of Iran, many conservatives are becoming increasingly critical of his campaign in the region.
Trump had promised to put “America First” in contrast to previous Democratic leaders, whom he accused of engaging the country in long and expensive military operations abroad.
However, as new reports suggest that Trump is assessing a high-risk plan to seize Iran’s enriched uranium, the administration’s strategy is coming under fresh scrutiny.
A report surfaced over the weekend suggesting thatWhite House staffers who “didn’t love the war to start with, and since it began, the constantly contradictory messaging from the president himself”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested on Friday that the U.S. would achieve its objectives without boots on the ground.
Iran has warned that Trump is leading U.S. troops into “the swamp of death”.
Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford said that he would not rule out support for troops on the ground in Iran but said “we’ve got to be able to know what the objectives are and what they’re actually carrying out” in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
While important to finish the job, he said it was crucial to know “what boots we’re putting on the ground.”
“If this is special forces to be able to carry out a specific operation – get in, get out – that’s very different than longstanding occupation,” he said. “The worst thing that can happen is to be able to have this kind of conflict start and to not end it, to leave it undone.”
Asked if Trump requires congressional approval, Lankford said: “If we had a longstanding war that’s happening, go back again to what happened in Iraq or in Afghanistan, yes. If this is to protect Americans and to be able to make sure that we’re in there for a season and we’re stopping and getting out, that’s very, very different. So again, this is all contingent.”
Also on Sunday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise insisted that the Trump administration is on track to meet its military objectives in the conflict.
“The whole world knows that a nuclear-armed Iran would have been a danger to the world,” he told ABC News.
“Just look at what Iran is doing right now. They’ve actually united, not only Israel, but all the other Arab nations around them against Iran, because of the danger that they pose.”
He showed support for the president, saying that Trump “understands what needs to be done”.
Meanwhile, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt said that Trump’s deployment of troops to the Middle East provides him with flexibility and options in the heated conflict and warned against propaganda and misinformation.
“The troops that you’re seeing massing now, right now, this could change today,” he told Newsmax on Sunday.
“But right now they provide the president with the optionality to go in whatever direction the war takes him.”
He explained: “What you don’t want to do is have a new development in this war and then say, gosh, I wish we had 10,000 Marines nearby or 10,0000 82nd Airborne guys nearby. We need to have all the tools ready to go for however this thing breaks.”
Holt added that he had never seen an armed conflict with so much “fake news and propaganda all over the place in all directions”.
The former chief strategist to Trump, Steve Bannon, has been critical of ground troops and instead suggested that Arab nations put their forces on the line to fight Iran instead.
“Maybe we can get a couple or three of those princes in uniform. Got any kids in special forces? Let’s line up those royal families and see how big they’re talking,” Bannon said on his War Room podcast.
“The Israelis are playing games with us, the Arabs are playing games with us, the Europeans are playing games. And what are we doing? Sending troops over there.”
He added, “Call them what they are. Stop saying ‘boots on the ground; and start calling them what they are, combat troops. Young men and women from the U.S., combat troops, inserted into the Persian Gulf or maybe even the mainland of Persia. We’re gonna go redo what Alexander the Great did 2,300 years ago.
“Fine, if we do that, I want Arabs at the front. The first wave at Kharg Island, send the UAE.”
Staunch Trump ally, Alabama Senator Tom Cotton, told Fox News on Sunday that Trump’s military objectives are “clear, despite the lies from the media and the Democratic Party”.
The senator repeatedly criticised the Iranian regime and defended the U.S. operations against Iran, saying that they were essential for America’s security.
He said: “I’ve said from the beginning, I expect this campaign to last weeks, not months. And I think that’s still a good estimate. But we have to see it to the end. We cannot stop early and allow Iran to have the military capability to continue to terrorize the United States and the rest of the civilized world.”
One of Trump’s rare critics in the GOP, Sen. Rand Paul, has been critical of the war and said that the president had not been held in check by Congress and had been “misled” by the “more aggressive people” in the party.
”[President James] Madison said that we would give the legislature certain powers and the president certain powers.
“And as each tried to grasp for the power, they would check and balance each other, I don’t think our founders ever imagined our current Congress that is completely lacking in ambition. They don’t check the president.”
He added, “I think he was misled by some of the more aggressive people, basic instincts have been for less war.”
Paul had previously said that Trump should not launch strikes on Iran after a crackdown on protesters.
Controversial South Caroline Representative Nancy Mace believes that Congress should have a say if a ground invasion of Iran goes ahead.
“If we’re going to do a conventional ground operation with Marines and 82nd Airborne, that is a ground war that I believe Congress should have a say and we should be briefed,” she told CNN. “We don’t want troops on the ground.”
She had previously said Congress “needs to have a greater say”.
