President Trump’s weekend somewhat comical, hyperbolic, or even absurd proclamation that he was planning an attack on Iran which would have been “the biggest attack since World War II” and could have been “disastrous” for Iran – before being called off – is raising serious questions. 

It is now month six of the war, but the same question could have been aptly posed in just the opening week of Operation Epic Fury: what constitutes a strategic ‘win’ and end goal for the United States in Iran? In a latest sign of growing desperation, now becoming more evident and out in the open, US Central Command (CENTCOM) formally asked military analysts to develop “creative and unconventional” ways to pressure Iran amid a broader administration reassessment of strategy.

CENTCOM file image

CNN says it has obtained an email sent out from US Central Command’s intelligence branch across an array of military analysts urging new ideas. It is very uncommon for top commanders to broadly send such a request to lower-level troops.

“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,“ a CENTCOM intelligence officer wrote in the broad pitch. 

This comes after several times throughout this conflict, Trump vowed major attacks – which were later called off, also as Washington clearly can’t find an exit.

The Pentagon actually rather quickly confirmed that this email calling for ‘ideas’ was indeed sent. “U.S. Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways,” CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins said in a statement. “Admiral Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible.”

CNN described the move as essentially ‘crowdsourcing’ strike plans and strategy:

The crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over email, is one sign of the limited — and potentially unpalatable —options available to Trump to force Iran into a deal on his terms. Hoping to find an alternative, the official at CENTCOM kicked off the brainstorming session via email to see if anyone had a better idea. The second source said CENTCOM is looking at everything, acknowledging it needs to reevaluate the strategy.

Apparently Washington just can’t seem to learn any of the obvious lessons of its own ‘forever wars’ of the last decades, stretching all the way back to Vietnam.

‘Limited’ bombing often leads to more massive bombing, which typically fails to achieve objectives – after which the question of introducing a ground force becomes more pressing. And then forces get entrenched in yet another quagmire, where ‘winning’ gets harder and harder to define, and where exit strategies become elusive. 

The CNN report points to the strategic conundrum in the following: “The request illustrated the challenge facing Trump as he considers three difficult paths: expanding the air campaign, committing US troops to riskier operations on the ground, or reaching an agreement that falls short of some of his original war objectives.”

🇺🇸🇮🇷 The U.S military is officially out of ideas on how to tackle Iran

According to CNN, the Pentagon sent out an email asking troops for ‘creative and unconventional’ ideas to punish Iran

That’s CNN, not the Babylon Bee

The bizarre request came from an officer in U.S Central… pic.twitter.com/kUgNYigh3k

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 3, 2026

Also of note is the following:

The president’s most senior military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, has acknowledged publicly that bombing alone is unlikely to accomplish all Trump’s previously stated objectives for the war.

“Air power has its limits,“ Caine told lawmakers last month.

One mainstream, establishment publication referenced that America keeps running headlong into the trap of “The Curse of Middle-Sized Wars”.