The Cost of Boots on the Ground (w/ Mike Nelson)

Eric welcomes retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, and Penn Washington's Chief of Staff and Director of Communications, Mike Nelson to the show. They discuss the President's White House speech to sell the Iran war to the American people, and its failure to address a number of important questions. They discuss Mike's recent Dispatch article on the risks and benefits of different proposed courses of action for U.S. military forces on the ground in Iran, including the difficulties surrounding any mission to extricate the regime's remaining Highly Enriched Uranium, the potential risks to forces of seizing Kharg Island, the prospect for seizing the smaller islands like Abu Musa, the Tunbs, or Larak, and whether or not the juice would be worth the squeeze in providing an off-ramp to end the war. Finally, they address both the legality and advisability of attacks on Iranian infrastructure and how the Iranians might react to such a campaign.What a Ground Operation Might Look Like in Iran (Gift Link):https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-iran-ground-invasion-kharg-uranium-hormuz/?gift_key=38f86079ed7f33cb&gift_ref=3886671&utm_source=giftlink&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=membergiftShield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.