'Do Not Want To Die For Israel': Doubts About Trump's Iran Strategy Spread Among Troops
Source: Huff Post
Mar 22, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT | Updated 43 minutes ago
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 Irans 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. Thirteen troops have been killed amid the war so far, seven due to strikes, and at least 232 have been wounded.
A ground operation would be an absolute disaster
we dont have a plan for that, the official said earlier this week. We cant 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.
Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-troops-iran-war-israel_n_69bf18a1e4b01c6ce885ce6d?origin=home-latest-news-unit
GreenWave
(12,625 posts)thought crime
(1,530 posts)EarthFirst
(4,134 posts)Walleye
(44,665 posts)twodogsbarking
(18,642 posts)ananda
(35,067 posts)Or maybe we are all three now Russian.
BlueWavePsych
(3,331 posts)


Cha
(318,758 posts)that from his fucking Golf Course too.
thought crime
(1,530 posts)"...And after this, we're going to walk down and I'll be there with you. We're going to walk down-..."
-D.Trump Jan 6, 2021
AllaN01Bear
(29,379 posts)Bread and Circuses
(1,993 posts)No more money for war.
James48
(5,195 posts)Put Trump and the Iranian leader into a ring, give them each a baseball bat, and let them beat each other?
Im ok with that.
niyad
(132,106 posts)littlemissmartypants
(33,201 posts)niyad
(132,106 posts)BidenRocks
(3,223 posts)niyad
(132,106 posts)SergeStorms
(20,516 posts)during "war time," right? The Big Fat Orange Pig thinks so anyway. 🙄
gfarber
(278 posts)There once was a war far away,
In its fourth grinding, turbulent day
Well, week, truth be told,
As more troops were rolled,
With doubts that refused to allay.
A president called out for more,
Sending sailors and Marines into war,
But whispers grew loud,
Not spoken in crowd,
Of fears they could hardly ignore.
Some soldiers, both active and reserve,
Found their courage beginning to swerve,
With stress piled so high,
And no clear reply,
They questioned the path they would serve.
At a hospital far oer the sea,
Wounded troops spoke in quiet decree,
Protection is thin,
Were exposed where weve been,
As drones struck with grim frequency.
There once was a base they defended,
Or tried tobut plans never mended,
We cant hold the ground,
Safety cant be found,
Said a voice both exhausted and candid.
A mentor to officers young,
Heard a change in the words on their tongue,
Where faith used to stay,
Now its slipping away,
And doubt has grown heavy and hung.
Disclaimer: Yes, an AI helped write thisbecause if youre looking for pure, hand-crafted literary suffering, youre welcome to go produce some yourself. If you like my attempts, consider clicking the link.
https://buymeacoffee.com/gfarber
Bayard
(29,545 posts)Poor leadership is always demoralizing, along with worry you'll get bombed. Probably most of them are saying--We didn't sign up for this shit.
BurnDoubt
(1,672 posts)This may be a "peaceful use" for their Bloodlust.
And they finally get to test their "Warrior Ethos" against ARMED and trained victims.
Dog-Fuckers.
Crowman2009
(3,514 posts)BattleRow
(2,393 posts)Crowman2009
(3,514 posts)AllaN01Bear
(29,379 posts)thought crime
(1,530 posts)They're going to die for Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. And to keep oil prices down or something...
Lasher
(29,558 posts)This is an analysis of anecdotes.
I locked by mistake. Sorry.
mdbl
(8,614 posts)Do we expect anything less from these morons running our government especially the military, FBI and DOJ?
Aussie105
(7,889 posts)Always have.
The old military war hawks want to relive the success ofWW2, possibly.
They just don't want to send their own sons and daughters though.
The average older American might remember the costs in the Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan (etc) wars while the reasons have long been forgotten.
The sons, uncles and fathers who never came home, and those that did, crippled physically and mentally for the rest of their lives.
Those are remembered.
And the 'love' for this one, another war based on vague premisses, is palpably missing.
America, do better!
Start with getting Trump off the planet.