US expected to send thousands more soldiers to Middle East, sources say

The primaries for midterms are officially over in most states

No. It's the "we're fucked" because nothing is cheaper, starting new wars, economy outside of AI is shit, and a whole host of other shit that voters are annoyed with. Resign and get on a board somewhere.

I don’t trust him either, but you are imputing to him a level of strategic calculation he’s never displayed at any point up until now.

You don't understand the situation at all. Iran's strategy so far has been successful beyond anything they'd hoped. They knew they would have 90% of their conventional forces destroyed and likely have their senior leaders killed. They planned for that and their mosaic defense worked exactly as they'd hoped. The 10% of remaining equipment is hidden and/or mobile and can continue to strike regional targets - exactly what we're seeing. If US ground troops land on the mainland they will have an easy landing on the beach and be allowed to disembark and roll into the interior. There will be no assembled opposition forces to confront them. But there will be tens of thousands of soldiers dotted throughout the streets, houses and countryside with small arms and MANPADS ready to hit supply lines then disappear. Ready to hit APC's and Abrams then disappear. The US troops could probably raise a flag in Tehran without seeing much direct conflict, but that would achieve nothing. The Iranian leadership is fully distributed. US troops will keep taking losses from vague targets for as many months or years they want to stay. Airpower will be somewhat helpful, but they'll be targeting individuals. Iran's doctrine is informed by the Iraq War and the Ukraine War. Immediately assume guerrilla status and asymmetric warfare.