Iran

[Vol8188]

I truly am sorry you can't comprehend the basic tenet that successful wars are decided by whether strategic political objectives are achieved not tactical battles.

Again, list Trump's objectives and describe how we've achieved them.

Given you just completely moved the goal posts, I guess we both agree your Vietnam example was complete trash

 

[MontyPython]

President Trump during his campaign made clear 74 times, second only to a secure border, that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon.

• President Trump (March 2): “Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities… and their capacity to produce brand new ones — pretty good ones they make. Second, we’re annihilating their navy… Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon… And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
• Vice President JD Vance (March 2): “Whatever happens with the regime in one form or another, it’s incidental to the President’s primary objective here — which is to make sure the Iranian terrorist regime does not build a nuclear bomb.”
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio (March 2): “The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short-range ballistic missiles and the threat posed by their navy… That is the clear objective of this mission.”
• U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper (March 3): “Our military in the Middle East is undertaking an unprecedented operation to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten Americans, as they’ve been doing for nearly half a century.”
• Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (March 3): “I think I can lay out once again the objectives of the military campaign… which are focused on addressing the ability of the Islamic Republic to project military power… And that’s primarily the missile forces of the Islamic Republic, which had obviously been growing substantially and posed a very serious threat… as well as the ability to produce that, and then the Iranian navy.”
• Secretary Rubio (March 3): “Our objectives remain, as they’ve been identified from the beginning and the President laid out clearly yesterday. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and we will not allow Iran to hide behind the immunity of a massive short-term ballistic missile inventory, or the ability to make them or launch them… As well as the destruction of their navy.”
• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (March 4): “The mission is laser-focused: obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb.”
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine (March 4): “The Operation was again launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran’s ability to project power outside of its borders, both today and in the future. First, we are targeting and eliminating Iran’s ballistic missile systems to prevent them from threatening the U.S. forces, partners, and interests in the region. Second, we are destroying the Iranian navy, degrading its capacity capability and ability to conduct operations… Third, we’re ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability.”
• Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (March 4): “At the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, launched last weekend, President Trump laid out clear objectives to the American people on what the U.S. military seeks to accomplish through these major combat operations. Number one, destroy the regime’s deadly ballistic missiles and completely raze their missile industry to the ground. Number two, annihilate the Iranian regime’s navy… Number three, Operation Epic Fury will ensure the regime’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the free world and attack our armed forces… Number four, this mission will guarantee Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.”
• Admiral Cooper (March 5): “We will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress…”
• Leavitt (March 6): “We are well on our way to achieving those objectives — annihilating Iran’s navy… taking out the ballistic missile threat that Iran posed to the United States and our troops and bases in the region… ensuring Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, as well, and significantly weakening their proxies in the region.”
• Secretary Rubio (March 9): “It is important to continue to remind the American people of why it is that the greatest military in the history of the world is engaged in this operation. It is to destroy the ability of this regime to launch missiles both by destroying their missiles and their launchers, destroy the factories that make these missiles, and destroy their navy.”
• Secretary Hegseth (March 10): “[Our objectives] are straightforward and we are executing them with ruthless precision. One, destroy their missile stockpiles, their missile launchers, and their defense industrial base — missiles and their ability to make them. Two, destroy their navy. And three, permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever.”
• General Caine (March 10): “The joint force remains focused on three military objectives…”
• Leavitt (March 10): “Moving forward, the stated objectives for Operation Epic Fury remain the same: destroy the terrorist regime’s ballistic missiles, raze their Iranian missile industry to the ground, ensure their terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region, and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.”

Several of these folks said the same thing: "Guarantee Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.”

How, precisely, do we achieve this objective without boots on the ground?

 

[Vol8188]

1. Iran is not winning

Obvious

2. The American people are not winning

Removing strategic partners from Chinese and Russian control greatly benefits the American people

3. War contractors, oil companies, and politicians are winning

This is the same whininess I hear when people complain about “billionaires”. Do you lack access to the market? You seem to have the internet.

 

[BeardedVol]

President Trump during his campaign made clear 74 times, second only to a secure border, that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon.

• President Trump (March 2): “Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities… and their capacity to produce brand new ones — pretty good ones they make. Second, we’re annihilating their navy… Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon… And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
• Vice President JD Vance (March 2): “Whatever happens with the regime in one form or another, it’s incidental to the President’s primary objective here — which is to make sure the Iranian terrorist regime does not build a nuclear bomb.”
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio (March 2): “The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short-range ballistic missiles and the threat posed by their navy… That is the clear objective of this mission.”
• U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper (March 3): “Our military in the Middle East is undertaking an unprecedented operation to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten Americans, as they’ve been doing for nearly half a century.”
• Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby (March 3): “I think I can lay out once again the objectives of the military campaign… which are focused on addressing the ability of the Islamic Republic to project military power… And that’s primarily the missile forces of the Islamic Republic, which had obviously been growing substantially and posed a very serious threat… as well as the ability to produce that, and then the Iranian navy.”
• Secretary Rubio (March 3): “Our objectives remain, as they’ve been identified from the beginning and the President laid out clearly yesterday. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and we will not allow Iran to hide behind the immunity of a massive short-term ballistic missile inventory, or the ability to make them or launch them… As well as the destruction of their navy.”
• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (March 4): “The mission is laser-focused: obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb.”
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine (March 4): “The Operation was again launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran’s ability to project power outside of its borders, both today and in the future. First, we are targeting and eliminating Iran’s ballistic missile systems to prevent them from threatening the U.S. forces, partners, and interests in the region. Second, we are destroying the Iranian navy, degrading its capacity capability and ability to conduct operations… Third, we’re ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability.”
• Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (March 4): “At the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, launched last weekend, President Trump laid out clear objectives to the American people on what the U.S. military seeks to accomplish through these major combat operations. Number one, destroy the regime’s deadly ballistic missiles and completely raze their missile industry to the ground. Number two, annihilate the Iranian regime’s navy… Number three, Operation Epic Fury will ensure the regime’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the free world and attack our armed forces… Number four, this mission will guarantee Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon.”
• Admiral Cooper (March 5): “We will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress…”
• Leavitt (March 6): “We are well on our way to achieving those objectives — annihilating Iran’s navy… taking out the ballistic missile threat that Iran posed to the United States and our troops and bases in the region… ensuring Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, as well, and significantly weakening their proxies in the region.”
• Secretary Rubio (March 9): “It is important to continue to remind the American people of why it is that the greatest military in the history of the world is engaged in this operation. It is to destroy the ability of this regime to launch missiles both by destroying their missiles and their launchers, destroy the factories that make these missiles, and destroy their navy.”
• Secretary Hegseth (March 10): “[Our objectives] are straightforward and we are executing them with ruthless precision. One, destroy their missile stockpiles, their missile launchers, and their defense industrial base — missiles and their ability to make them. Two, destroy their navy. And three, permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever.”
• General Caine (March 10): “The joint force remains focused on three military objectives…”
• Leavitt (March 10): “Moving forward, the stated objectives for Operation Epic Fury remain the same: destroy the terrorist regime’s ballistic missiles, raze their Iranian missile industry to the ground, ensure their terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region, and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.”

Trump declared Iran's nuclear capabilities destroyed on 6/25/2025.

Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated — and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News

The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump’s highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime’s key nuclear

www.whitehouse.gov

His statement was reinforced by the Secretary of Defense:


So, since they haven't had nuclear capabilities since the middle of last year, what's the goal of the current operation?

 

[MontyPython]

Given you just completely moved the goal posts, I guess we both agree your Vietnam example was complete trash

Moved the goalposts? I literally restated the main thrust of my post nearly verbatim.

You're just trolling at this point. Unsuccessfully I might add.

 

[Majors]

LOL "US can't live without illegal slave labor" is such a dumb take

He said the liberal quiet part out loud.

 

[Vol8188]

What is the general plan for this operation, what are the goals, and the expected outcomes of the war being waged against Iran?

Those goals have been very openly stated. Destroy ballistic missile capabilities and ensure they’re unable to obtain nuclear weapons. You could really claim it’s one very specific goal given how intertwined those two are.

As far as general plan, still not sure what you’re wanting. “We will send in x number of these model aircraft at this time, and then….”. Destroy their ballistic and nuclear capabilities and ensure they’re not able to regain those.

 

[Weezer]

No war is without economic cost. He not proclaimed we have won, but rather “are winning” which appears obvious.

Who said anything about leaving them to rebuild?

Trump said he wasn't interested in regime change. At some point, we stop bombing and they start rebuilding.

 

[Vol8188]

Moved the goalposts? I literally restated the main thrust of my post nearly verbatim.

You're just trolling at this point. Unsuccessfully I might add.

lol the main part of your post was an insanely poor comparison to Vietnam in an effort to proclaim that Iran could just withstand all this pressure for years while fully ignoring the fact that Vietnam was only able to do so through the aid of China and Russia. Something Iran lacks.

 

[MontyPython]

Those goals have been very openly stated. Destroy ballistic missile capabilities and ensure they’re unable to obtain nuclear weapons. You could really claim it’s one very specific goal given how intertwined those two are.

As far as general plan, still not sure what you’re wanting. “We will send in x number of these model aircraft at this time, and then….”. Destroy their ballistic and nuclear capabilities and ensure they’re not able to regain those.

Kindly tell us how, exactly, we "ensure they're unable to obtain nuclear weapons."

If you respond with anything other than "boots on the ground", you're either just plain ignorant, high or drunk; or just high, drunk *and* ignorant.

 

[BeardedVol]

Those goals have been very openly stated. Destroy ballistic missile capabilities and ensure they’re unable to obtain nuclear weapons. You could really claim it’s one very specific goal given how intertwined those two are.

As far as general plan, still not sure what you’re wanting. “We will send in x number of these model aircraft at this time, and then….”. Destroy their ballistic and nuclear capabilities and ensure they’re not able to regain those.

Trump and Hegseth declared Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons destroyed last year. So that can't be a goal of the current operation.

So you're proposing that this entire operation is solely to destroy their ballistic missile capabilities?

That's not what has been out put by the administration.

'Already won' or 'got to finish the job': The Trump administration's mixed messages on Iran

President Donald Trump and top administration officials have offered statements explaining their thinking behind the war with Iran that often shift or contradict one another.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Vol8188]

Kindly tell us how, exactly, we "ensure they're unable to obtain nuclear weapons."

If you respond with anything other than "boots on the ground", you're either just plain ignorant, high or drunk; or just high, drunk *and* ignorant.

Why do we need boots on the ground to ensure that?

 

[MontyPython]

No war is without economic cost. He not proclaimed we have won, but rather “are winning” which appears obvious.

Who said anything about leaving them to rebuild?

Wrong again, Sparky.

At a rally in Kentucky on March 11, 2026, Trump said:

“Let me say we’ve won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won, in the first hour it was over, but we won.”

 

[Vol8188]

Trump and Hegseth declared Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons destroyed last year. So that can't be a goal of the current operation.

So you're proposing that this entire operation is solely to destroy their ballistic missile capabilities?

That's not what has been out put by the administration.
View attachment 819747
View attachment 819748

'Already won' or 'got to finish the job': The Trump administration's mixed messages on Iran

President Donald Trump and top administration officials have offered statements explaining their thinking behind the war with Iran that often shift or contradict one another.

www.nbcnews.com

They also stated satellite imagery showed the Iranians attempt to rebuild those sites.

 

[Vol8188]

Wrong again, Sparky.

At a rally in Kentucky on March 11, 2026, Trump said:

That was a typo on my part. I meant to state I’ve not proclaimed we have won. Our entire conversation started with a post of me listing numerous examples of us winning

 

[MontyPython]

Why do we need boots on the ground to ensure that?

OMG.

Mkay, this should be entertaining... tell us how we ensure that Iran is unable to obtain nuclear weapons without us putting boots on the ground in Iran.

Go.

 

[Weezer]

lol the main part of your post was an insanely poor comparison to Vietnam in an effort to proclaim that Iran could just withstand all this pressure for years while fully ignoring the fact that Vietnam was only able to do so through the aid of China and Russia. Something Iran lacks.

We couldn't win in Vietnam because we refused to do what needed to be done, which is invade North Vietnam. Sure, we were afraid to provoke Russia and China, but the unwillingness to do what was necessary to win is why we lost. To win Iran, there has to be a regime change, something Trump has openly said he's not interested in. We killed their "supreme leader". When we eventually stop bombing, and we will, the people in charge will start rebuilding, with the help of Russia and China. And they will hate us more than ever. We can't win if we refuse to do what it takes to win. The whole thing was a poor choice by Trump, but if we don't finish it, it will come back to bite us in the ass.

 

[DinkinFlicka]

Well Biden won in 2020 and it’s 2026 so I believe they have had a little time there cornholio

It's incredible that you've lasted as long as you have.

 

[rekinhavoc]

Define "finish the job". Be specific.

AI Overview



Victory in Iran is defined differently by various actors, ranging from total regime change and the installation of a pro-Western government, to the systemic destruction of Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure, to simple regime survival and endurance by Iran
. The U.S.-Israel approach focuses on dismantling force projection capabilities, while Iran seeks to outlast Western tolerance for conflict.
The Washington Post +5
Different Perspectives on Victory:

• Regime Change/Total Victory: The ideal, long-term outcome for the U.S. is the replacement of the current regime with a government aligned with Western interests. Proponents argue this is the only way to ensure regional security and permanently neutralize the threat.
• Destruction of Capabilities: A more limited military victory involves destroying Iran's nuclear, missile, and proxy network capabilities, as described in this Newsweek article. This involves severe degradation of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and air defense systems to neutralize their regional influence.
• Iranian Regime Survival: For Iran, victory is simply surviving the assault. By enduring strikes, causing economic disruption, and forcing the U.S. and Israel into a prolonged, costly conflict, the regime maintains its power and ideological stance, as seen in this Atlantic Council dispatch.
• Freedom for Iranians: Some perspectives argue that true victory would be the liberation of the Iranian people from clerical coercion and repression.
  The Washington Post +8

Factors Shaping the Outcome:

• Military Success vs. Political Outcome: The U.S. may achieve initial military successes, but this does not guarantee a sustainable political outcome, notes this YouTube video.
• Risk of Instability: Regime change could lead to significant instability and a prolonged, uncertain power transition rather than a stable new government, reports this Newsweek article.
• Iranian Resilience: The regime's ability to maintain a war of attrition is a key factor, as analyzed in this Atlantic Council dispatch.

Ultimately, the definition of victory depends on whether the goal is to destroy the regime, just its capabilities, or simply to manage the conflict, according to this Washington Post opinion piece.
The Washington Post

 

[Vol8188]

We couldn't win in Vietnam because we refused to do what needed to be done, which is invade North Vietnam. Sure, we were afraid to provoke Russia and China, but the unwillingness to do what was necessary to win is why we lost. To win Iran, there has to be a regime change, something Trump has openly said he's not interested in.

When did he say that?

We killed their "supreme leader". When we eventually stop bombing, and we will, the people in charge will start rebuilding, with the help of Russia and China.

Obviously we will eventually. And their next leader may not be aligned with China and Russia. We will see

And they will hate us more than ever. We can't win if we refuse to do what it takes to win. The whole thing was a poor choice by Trump, but if we don't finish it, it will come back to bite us in the ass.

Why do you believe it takes to win?

 

[BeardedVol]

We couldn't win in Vietnam because we refused to do what needed to be done, which is invade North Vietnam. Sure, we were afraid to provoke Russia and China, but the unwillingness to do what was necessary to win is why we lost. To win Iran, there has to be a regime change, something Trump has openly said he's not interested in. We killed their "supreme leader". When we eventually stop bombing, and we will, the people in charge will start rebuilding, with the help of Russia and China. And they will hate us more than ever. We can't win if we refuse to do what it takes to win. The whole thing was a poor choice by Trump, but if we don't finish it, it will come back to bite us in the ass.

"Finishing it" is 20+ years of militarily occupying Iran and fighting a low grade insurgency the entire time, and then hoping that when we leave, the government that we were propping up doesn't collapse.

 

[General Jack]

Good for them.

Still standing on regime change from the air?

 

[norrislakevol]

Why do we need boots on the ground to ensure that?

I am guessing that ideally we would want to obtain the 60 percent enriched uranium and fly it out of there. That would mean locating it and flying in spec ops to obtain it and fly it all out. Hopefully that's all we would need to do. time will tell.

 

[General Jack]

I said start with.

That’s also a slightly tolerated racist comment on your end. The illegals to be treated as a service/slave workers in fields. We have 7.6M unemployed right now.

A sad reality is that those tough jobs - that most US citizens wouldn't be willing to work - are good opportunities for immigrants.

There's no easy solution, but tolerance and understanding are worthwhile principles.

 

[Vol8188]

Still standing on regime change from the air?

Very possible. They have no economy. They’re running low on military capabilities in general. And there’s never been a military with our level of ability. Their current regime is being lead by a comatose paraplegic.

In your mind are they in a good spot?