The US government has been investing billions into AI, drones, and other autonomous and remote weapons systems.
Sending a bunch of young men to the opposite side of the world would be not just unpopular, it incredibly expensive. Food, clothing, equipment, healthcare costs. I highly doubt the end goal is to actually annex Iran, so they’re much better off trying to find a local group to support in taking over the country and establishing a US-friendly puppet state. There’s no need to have Americans in guerilla warfare for that.
The only way I see them doing that is if they WANT to kill off a chunk of the male population in that age group. Which… Maybe? I could certainly see Trump and Hegseth trying to send “undesirables” overseas to die, but they’ve also made moves like banning trans people from military service. Unless they reverse policies, it looks like Trump will prefer to cozy up to the military rather than use it as a tool for getting rid of people.
Maybe Trump will just do what Netenyahu tells him to. But I think this is more about trying to manufacture a reason to cancel mid-term elections like they outlined in 2025 than anything else. With the added benefit of funneling more government money into the military-industrial complex.
lordnikon@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
The DoD thinks its a dumb idea to have a draft as the quality of the fighting force is degraded and other Incentives work better. The problem is facts and good reasoning are not something that the current administration is known for. Half want a Holy war to bring about Armageddon. The other half will do it based on something they see on social media.