????????

US needs to be "unpredictable" about boots on the ground in Iran, Hegseth says

By Catherine Nicholls

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the US military aims “to be unpredictable” when it comes to having American boots on the ground in Iran.

“You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do - to include boots on the ground,” he said.

“Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are,” Hegseth continued.

If needed, the US could “execute those options,” he said. “Or maybe we don’t have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work. Or maybe there’s a different approach. The point is to be unpredictable in that - certainly not let anybody know what you’re willing to do or not do.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine also told reporters that “the range of military options” that US forces can implement is “extensive,” and that adding troops to the region doesn’t just provide options for land operations.

“I wouldn’t want to take away the president’s decision space, but there are a multitude of things, not the least of which is, Iran should note, that they’re out there and that they are a pressure point, and so they should carefully consider, I think, at the diplomatic level … to consider what’s in front of them” he said.