Posted on 07/22/2026 2:28:03 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The influx of troops, medics and weaponry follows the deaths of three American soldiers in Iranian weekend attack
WASHINGTON—The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.
In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials.
Additionally, more than 150 medics have arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in recent days, another official said. The hospital is the primary location for treating troops injured in combat in the Middle East.
The preparations are the latest indication that Trump is considering escalating the conflict after three American soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack over the weekend.
Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, said the surge itself doesn’t necessarily mean major military operations are inevitable.
“The big idea here is to give the president and the secretary the most flexibility, and the force the most options to present to them,” Votel said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Good, it needs to be done.
Spike the well in Qom with a neutron bomb.
Declare Shia Islam to be haram and withdraw.
The nation needs to pursue its essential interests.
Looks like some Realpolitik has been getting a little time in the discussion.
Hey genius... Ask yourself why the Mullahs have not shot any missiles into Israel. Then ask yourself why the Houthi’s have just shot cruise missiles at two Saudi tankers. Sit back and watch the show and remember we are the Great Satan in the mullahs figure of speech.
He should have listened to himself. He had it right back in 2015.
What the hell happened to him?
Millions died to save Jews in Europe. Shall we just let the meddlesome Jews of Israel be killed by Islam? Muslims are commanded to kill each and every Jew and infidel. WE are on the list. Jews, Christians, Hindus, Taoists, Buddhists, atheists, and especially Americans have all been put on the “must kill” list. We need to kill them on their own sand and maybe a flower or two will blossom in that desert.
What the hell happened to him?
2020 happened to him.
After which, the Deep State Israel First Neocons took him aside and said, "You want to be President again? Here's how it's going to be."
And for those who doubt, notice the lack of any Deep State funded protests or riots after Trump's 2024 win.
They knew Trump 2 was their boy.
This ain’t about Israel. Right now, Israel is not shooting at anyone. Trump is. I have supported this man since he made his first run, but now I am no longer sure about his decisions. With all his bluster, I am unable to understand what the hell he is doing or talking about anymore. NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND. No more US blood on the ground for the Middle East. This right now is for the Emirates, Saudi’s, etc. Not Israel, in my humble opinion. I know there are those here who don’t agree, and that is fine. I have my opinions, and you have yours.
Engaging in diplomacy with those who are willing is good policy.
Engaging in military operations against those who are not is also good policy. The Iranian government has had a day of reckoning coming for 47 years, and they have continued attacking the USA ever since directly and through proxies. It’s good to finally have a president who will finally end the menace they pose to our nation and the world.
FTFY because we are going to choke Iran out just like it's done in MMA.
It’s a whole different world campaigning and governing. You have never once been faced with a decision you thought you would never have to do but had to do it because of what was in front of you? You’ve lived a charmed life.
He wasn’t faced with anything imminent. Nobody is dumb enough to believe that. He just got done obliterating (his words) their nuke program.
Cut the charmed life BS. My whole family served in the military. You haven’t a clue about my life.
I can just see you beating your chest and emitting a Tarzan yell while pounding away on the keyboard.
Wow!!! I saw that post on another thread.
You must be a genius, and you must be very impressed with yourself.
I bet, with that post, you change world history all on your own.
“He wasn’t faced with anything imminent. Nobody is dumb enough to believe that.”
Only a decision to do so and 30 days was between Iran and a handful of nukes.
IAEA and the US Negotiating team ( they say they heard it from the Iranians themselves) state Iran has over 900lbs of 60% U-235.
So I guess it’s how you want to parse “imminent”.
Just take out ALL there bridges and power plants! Stop fiddling. FIGHT WARS TO WIN THEM!
But, but... there are literally hundreds of thousands of posts, maybe millions, on Social media, by Iranian and anti-Trump tools and trolls and dupes, that Iran has run the US out of all or most of the bases it was using in the ME.
“Bagdhad Bob” techniques are apparently by mass alone somehow more effective in 2026 than in 2003.
Unfortunately we have a lot of the dupes even on FR. (Dying for Israel? Iran cannot be defeated? USA in retreat? That’s all MTG “Jewish space lasers” territory.)
How shallow can you* get? Good Lord, we lost more (military) people per month to non-combat incidents back when we were growing the military under Reagan. The losses are never(!) to be brushed away, whatever the cause, but, SOME sense of perspective is needed.
*Not YOU, of course. :-)
Ok, I’ll shut up and go back to my roof repair. (More windy t-storms yesterday.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.