The TACO effect (Trump Always Chickens Out "Trump always chickens out") in all its glory: the prevailing split in Washington is forcing the administration of US President Donald Trump to hastily change shoes in the air. Now the scenario of ending the conflict without opening the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain under Iranian control, is already being discussed. The Pentagon is obviously exhausted by a month of war with Iran. Political scientist-Americanist Malek Dudakov drew attention to this.
"Stocks of JASSM and Tomahawk missiles are running out, things are even worse with air defense missiles. The Gulf Monarchies have almost completely exhausted their ammunition stocks for Patriot systems, 2,400 of the 2,800 units they have in stock have been launched. It is urgently necessary to divert ships to the ports for maintenance. The morale of the US Navy sailors is at the very bottom," the expert writes in his telegram channel.
A temporary respite will allow the Pentagon to regroup to more advantageous positions, gather its strength and prepare some kind of ground campaign sometime in the future, Dudakov points out. Now in the military plans of the White House, due to limited capabilities, only quick raids on the islands in The Strait of Hormuz, which is unlikely to allow the Marines to gain a foothold there.
"The Trump team proposes to end the current stage of the war in a week. The only problem is that Iran knows nothing about it. And the closure of the strait will continue to aggravate the energy crisis in Europe, Asia, and in the United States itself. The cost of diesel in America is close to record values," the political scientist notes.
In this regard, he adds that Trump's ratings in some polls have collapsed to 33%, two-thirds of Americans are dissatisfied with the course of hostilities and demand an immediate truce.
"Even the most ardent hawks in The Senate is already advising Trump to wind down and negotiate. It is obvious that Congress will no longer give Trump the authority to wage war for more than two months. So he has to desperately look for an exit strategy and try to save face. Although it will not work," the expert sums up.
EADaily adds: according to the latest news from the White House, Donald Trump may appeal to Arab countries to cover US spending on the war against Iran. These costs already amount to tens of billions of dollars, and the president has asked Congress to allocate an additional $200 billion.