More than four weeks into Operation Epic Fury, the US military has successfully degraded Iran’s military capabilities but the limits of relying on air strikes to diminish the regime’s asymmetric capabilities have become increasingly clear. Confronted with strategic setbacks due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s resilience in launching missile and drone strikes across the region, the Trump administration has ordered the deployment of two Marine Expeditionary Units and units from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East. Reports also suggest the Pentagon is considering sending an additional 10,000 ground forces.
What options do the US forces en route to the Middle East present President Trump? Could these forces achieve strategic or operational success within the roughly 2–3-week timeline for the war recently cited by President Trump? What would be the scope and scale of a US ground operation that could materially alter the strategic environment in America’s favor?
To discuss the current situation and potential pathways moving forward, the Middle East Institute (MEI) invites you to an on-the-record webinar on Tuesday, April 7, from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT. The event will feature commentary from Dr. Ben Connable and Colonel Ray Gerber (Ret.). The discussion will be moderated by MEI Senior Fellow Dr. Jason Campbell.
Speakers
Dr. Ben Connable is the executive director of the nonprofit Battle Research Group, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and part-time principal research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses. Ben is a retired Marine Corps intelligence and Middle East foreign area officer. He worked as a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation for over a decade where he researched war and international policy. Ben earned his PhD in war studies from King’s College London.
COL Ray Gerber, USMC (Ret.) is a retired US Marine Corps Colonel with 27 years of service across intelligence, operations, and information warfare, including combat and contingency experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. He commanded the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group Region 2 (Near East/South Asia), is a Middle East Regional Affairs Officer, and writes and speaks on tactical, operational, and strategic military issues. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor at Smack Technologies.
Dr. Jason Campbell (Moderator) is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), where he focuses on international security, geopolitics, and foreign policy. Prior to joining MEI, he was a senior policy researcher at RAND, where his work concentrated on strategic competition, the resourcing of US combatant commands, the evaluation of security cooperation programs, and the future of irregular warfare. From June 2016 through September 2018, he served as country director for Afghanistan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy.
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