NORFOLK, Va. — The United States is preparing to deploy troops to the Middle East as a response to what officials have decided was an Iran-based attack on Saudi Arabian oil fields, according to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The number, destination and mission of those troops haven't been spelled out, except that their presence, it is said, will be "defensive in nature," focused on air and missile defense capabilities.
Old Dominion University Political Science Department Senior Lecturer Aaron Karp said things could get ugly.
"It's not given the United States would win," he said. "Everything depends on how much force the United States is willing to commit."
Karp said if the U.S. is going to war, it needs to go in whole-heartedly.
"It's quite likely that Iran, which is not a small country, can have a lot of superiority," he said."Especially, when you're working right in its own territory, on its own borders, in the sea right on its own shore. Anytime you're talking about the threat of war, and in this case, you're talking about major war, you need to think major war requires major forces. If you're facing off a country with a population of 75 million, then, you better send major forces."
Just how dedicated is the White House to a military response?
Karp is unsure.
"My feeling, more than anything else, you have an administration that is debating with itself," he said. "They don't know."