Posted on 09/03/2026 7:40:52 AM PDT by thegagline
President Donald Trump is privately discussing with senior aides whether to declare the U.S. war with Iran over, even as the Pentagon extends troop deployments into 2027 and the conflict continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The apparent contradiction underscores the uncertainty surrounding the administration's strategy.
Trump has told advisers he favors declaring an end to the war and believes the combination of economic pressure and U.S. military dominance has put Washington in a winning position.
The Journal reported that Trump has argued Iran's economy is collapsing and that U.S. forces have achieved "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.
Yet the Pentagon is preparing for the possibility that the fighting and military standoff will continue well into next year.
***.
About 50,000 U.S. troops remain in the region, while the military deployment includes 19 warships, air defense units, fighter squadrons, and paratroopers. ***
The debate over whether the United States has truly "won" is particularly visible in the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has argued that oil flows are approaching prewar levels. ***
But shipping data paint a more complicated picture. Reuters reported that only six commodity vessels passed through Hormuz on Wednesday, while preliminary data earlier in the week showed just five vessels on Monday. Those figures remain far below normal commercial traffic.
***
Iran has continued threatening and, in some cases, attacking commercial shipping. ***
For Trump, that leaves a difficult political and military calculation: Washington can argue that it controls the waterway and has devastated Iran's economy, while the continuing troop deployment, limited commercial traffic, and elevated oil prices suggest the war is far from behaving like a conflict that has simply ended.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
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Again? He’s declared Victory some 4 dozen times.
Doesn’t winning the war usually mean its over?
trump should ask congress for a declaration of war is over in iran...
that would be FU FUnny.
Maybe when oil and gas prices are at prewar levels....
I say hit em again real hard. Just for good measure.
I thought Unconditional Surrender and a nuke free Iran was the basis for when the war would be over.
Silly me. That’s what I get for believing Trump.
I can see the ship banner now “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. How did that work out, sheesh
Unconditional surrender was never going to happen - and 2/28/26 made getting nuclear weapons existential for Iran.
TR’s famous quote was not “Speak bigly and carry a small stick”.
If your enemy doesn’t think it’s over, it’s not over.
He can declare whatever he likes. However if the mullah regime, however tattered remains standing among the rubble, they win and we lose.
PREMATURE,IMO
There can be different interpretations of what “war” means. There can also be different methods of accomplishing a gaol via coercion that is not accomplished by direct military engagment. Sometime a cold war is just as effective.
We’re getting our Embassy back?
What war?
You do realize there is a huge economic recovery worldwide keeping oil prices up, don’t you? Maybe not?
IMHO, unless we get regime change and the ruling mullahs and the IRGC and the Basiji are atomized, we have only a temporary victory.
Maybe it’s something that can be addressed after the 2026 elections or through internal proxies.
When Iran starting firing onto ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump at first rightly argued that it's not the U.S.'s problem -- we get virtually no oil from there -- let China deal with it. But then he agreed to the narrative by saying that he'll open up the Strait. He basically let the left define the war as having the near impossible goal of keeping the Strait open even during the war.
If the goal was still to beat Iran into submission and let in nuke inspectors, regardless of what's going on in the Strait, that might be more achievable.
I say, finish off the regime once and for all and declare victory. I love Trump but he needs to stop talking and do the deed.
If he's allegedly discussing it privately, then who is leaking it to the Wall Socialist Journal?
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