digital infidel

Mick Jagger on the cover of WSJ. Magazine

Iran is calling our bluff because they know a ground invasion would be catastrophic for US forces. Doing targeted strikes with Delta or DEVGRU is one thing –– doing a full scale democracy-building invasion is the dumbest possible thing we could do. They have an overwhelming strategic advantage. We have an incredible military. Best in the world by far, no one else comes close. Still doesn't matter here. Iran is massive, and built like a fortress. It has 90 million people, tons of hidden bases and outposts, infinite places to ambush US troops, and more than 600,000 fighters who are ideologically motivated to fight to the death and kill as many US troops as possible. Their landmass is 50% larger than both Iraq and Afghanistan combined. They have 5x more troops than we faced in Iraq and Afghanistan combined –– and everyone knows how those went. These aren't a bunch of goat herders with RPGs, either –– they have a sophisticated military, they're better-equipped than anyone else we've faced in decades, and they've also prepared for this conflict for decades. Further, their fighters believe they're on a holy and righteous mission. We martyred their religious leader and humiliated their country on the world stage –– and the Persians are a very proud people. These people would gladly fight to the death for decades on end in a brutal war of attrition, honored at the opportunity to kill as many Americans as possible and eventually be martyred at the hand of the Great Satan. Analysts estimate it would take 500,000-1M troops to secure Iran in a full-scale ground invasion. It would require decades, many trillions of dollars, and be orders of magnitude more challenging than conquering Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It's hard to estimate how many American troops would die. Not gonna happen. Ridiculous to even consider a full-scale ground invasion. This stuff about the admin potentially drafting Americans for an invasion –– it's nonsense. They're bluffing to get Tehran to come to the table, and Tehran knows it. That said –– if we ever were crazy enough to attempt a full-scale invasion, the Iranians would welcome it. Their country would become a graveyard for American soldiers, and the expenditures would bankrupt our country. We can't afford to make that mistake.

NETANYAHU: AIR STRIKES NOT ENOUGH, GROUND ACTION ALSO REQUIRED; OPTIONS BEING CONSIDERED BUT NOT DISCLOSED

NEW: 500 pound man hoisted out of a 15 foot hole on a construction site in Pomona, California. The man was not a construction worker and somehow ended up in the hole, according to ABC 7. LACoFD's Heavy Rescue unit was eventually able to hoist the man out before he was rushed to the hospital. It’s unclear if he suffered any injuries.