That is not how most people interpret it, if any military person in a foreign country is “boots on the ground” then it means nothing, but that isn’t how the phrase is used.
When we FLEW cash to Iran, the media would be pretty goofy to alarm America by posting headlines that THE PENTAGON HAS PUT BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN IRAN!
No that psyop is to make people think that if we not the ones actually pulling the trigger then we are not in a war. It is political BS brainwashing propaganda fraud and deception.
And anyone who falls for it is absolutely inept.