Attacking Iran by Land: Forward or Backward, Hit by the US

A ground invasion might only serve to pressure Iran back to the negotiating table. Jakarta (ANTARA) - Pressure on US President Donald Trump to launch a ground attack on Iran is mounting, following the failure of airstrikes and missile assaults to cripple Iran’s military and regime. The US had considered this ground operation well before striking Iran on 28 February. The ground assault was initially planned by building a coalition with minorities in Iran (particularly the Kurds), similar to the US attacks on Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. In Afghanistan, they allied with Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek minorities, while in Iraq, they partnered with the Kurds. The Kurds are a minority group in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. They played a vital role in eliminating ISIS in Iraq and Syria. However, the Kurds now reject the alliance offer, fearing a repeat of being discarded after helping the US eliminate ISIS and Bashar al-Assad in Syria, only to be sidelined to avoid straining relations with Turkey. Turkey, sensitive to Kurdish solidarity, is believed to oppose the US approach to Iranian Kurds, as it could fuel Kurdish separatism in southeastern Turkey. Another option is allying with the Baluch minority in Iran’s southern Sistan and Baluchistan Province, but Pakistan, which borders this province, opposes this. The Kurds and Baluch are among Iran’s Sunni minorities, differing from the majority Shia Persian population. The tactic of embracing minorities is a standard US playbook for facilitating invasions in a country. However, this divide and rule policy has not been employed in Iran. Trump now favours a ground combat operation involving the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), a task force typically used for rapid assaults on land from sea or coast. The US has already dispatched 5,000 MEU marines to the Middle East.