What Is the U.S. Navy Telling Trump?

[MineralMan]

Trump isn't sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz. Why is that, do you suppose?

Well, I don't have any actual names or times, but here's probably the reason:

Naval expert have told Trump that there is no viable way that US Navy ships can safeguard shipping vessels through that bottleneck. Worse, it would be very difficult to even defend the Naval vessels themselves. Since we have no control over the land bases at the Strait, Iran could easily attack any warships we send in there, and with almost zero warning.

Bottom line: "Don't try it, Mr. President! It will fail miserably."

So, Trump calls for other nations to do it. But they aren't about to do something so stupid. Not a freaking chance.

Trump is stuck and has no valid way to get unstuck from this situation. "Stupid is as stupid does," once again.

[ms liberty]

1. There's a reason no other POTUS has given in to Netanyahu's wet dream before now

Everyone else could see from miles away just exactly how disastrous this would be. Only a malignant narcissist with dementia and a staff of evil nazis would fall for this.

[MadameButterfly]

39. The resemblance of Trump to Hitler is uncanny

Hitler thought he was a military genius, didn't listen to advice, got upset if anyone criticized him. He made major decisions by intuition and feeling because no one could be superior to him in strategy.
There was no end to his ambition. Conveniently, loss of life didn't bother him.

[EYESORE 9001]

46. He did all his thinking with his gut

but his guts had shit-for-brains.

[returnee]

48. I see what you did there.

Nice turn of a phrase!

[modrepub]

47. Yea But

That other guy actually participated in a shooting war and at least initially scored major successes on the battlefield. Our current administration has been racking up loses almost from day 1. And while Venezia can’t be categorized as an abject failure it certainly didn’t pose a formidable opponent compared to what that mid 20th century despot faced early on.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

66. PRECISELY!

THIS is what happens when morons elect morons (or when the greedy elect the INCOMPETENT who will protect and increase their wealth) to the topmost position.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Not to mention they're starting to get stretched pretty thin...

with our other obligations around the world. I know trump doesn't really care about all that but still, resources are finite.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Not to mention they're starting to get stretched pretty thin...

with our other obligations around the world. I know trump doesn't really care about all that but still, resources are finite.

[efhmc]

5. So are brain cells of which he has perhaps three.

[2naSalit]

36. And...

Maybe two of them are working at any given time.

[MadameButterfly]

40. I understand the scale of these bombings dwarf what Bush did in Iraq

and people in the military are concerned with how fast Trump is going through supplies.

Trump has never understood budgeting of any kind. The concept that resources are finite doesn't compute. He keeps saying that our supplies of munitions is unlimited.

I've never been for stockpiling military weapons but he could in the end, before he learns this lesson, leave us rather exposed. Not to mention Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukraine is providing anti-drone technology to the US to protect US bases in the region. I wish I believed Ukraine would get something in return.

[popsdenver]

61. Now that Trump has lifted

all oil sanctions on Russia...........Ukraine should be instead, using those drones on Russian Pipelines, Refineries, and oil tankers....

[MadameButterfly]

75. They are doing a lot of damage to Russia with their drones

which I find amazing--how they have created an industry like that under their conditions. Ukraine's supply has to be limited and donating to us while we are committing war crimes seems a gamble. i heard that their drones are much cheaper than the weapons we were using to protect the bases. I don't want our bases destroyed--at least the soldiers in them--but the worse it is for Trump the sooner we get rid of him.

A normal president would appreciate tUkraine's help and notice that they are acting like an ally while Russia isn't. But that won't happen with Trump.

[efhmc]

4. "You are a bonafide idiot. Try reading (ha) a book on naval history or talking to someone who is not a toady.

[MineralMan]

9. "What?!? Read a Book?"

Last edited Mon Mar 16, 2026, 05:28 PM - Edit history (1)

Trump made an oath after finishing the military school he was sent to by his father: "If I get out of here, I swear I will never read another book in my lifetime!"

He kept that oath, even though he has failed to keep others.

[efhmc]

30. Thanks. Makes for a very sad, backward country.

[MadameButterfly]

41. Is this a joke? Or did he actually say that?

Hard to tell these days.

[MineralMan]

55. Well, I never actually heard him say that.

So...

[MadameButterfly]

76. OK, so it's fiction

i get your point, but without saying so some might think it's an actual quote.

[MineralMan]

78. See my edit above.

[GopherGal]

22. Not a toady?

All such non-toady humans have long since disappeared from the Maladministration. I suspect some sort of narcissism weapon has been secretly deployed which repels any non-toadies and has to be turned off for certain diplomatic visits so that someone like Zelenskyy can get within 100 feet of him.

[efhmc]

28. Thank you for the "toady" breakdown. I need to examine the concept better.

[MadameButterfly]

42. Malignant narcissism is actually contagious

So anyone not already in that state is in danger. I mean, people who choose to work there. I think Zelensky would manage to escape.

[leftstreet]

6. If they're defying Trump, someone should leak it

That would be newsworthy

[MineralMan]

14. They're doing it very, very diplomatically.

They know how to evade Trump's orders. They are that much smarter than he is that he doesn't even notice.

[leftstreet]

19. He's getting mocked by world leaders

German defense minister Pistorius this morning:

"What does Trump expect a handful of European frigates to do that the powerful US navy cannot?"

[MineralMan]

20. Exactly!

[Rebl2]

7. He and Bibi

broke it and only they can fix it. So I am guessing this is going to drag on a while.

[underpants]

8. To his face? Yes SIR!

When he’s not in the room? Jesus M—————ing Christ WE ——ing TOLD him and that stupid frat boy about this but NOOOOOO what do we know? They’ll just give up they said.

[Swede]

10. Well, right now, they are transforming their security briefing into a brightly colored comic book.

With lots of mentions of TRUMP.

[MineralMan]

15. LOL!

[Nittersing]

21. Well I laughed too but

I suspect it is very close to the truth.

funny/not funny

[calimary]

43. Sounds like they fully understand what they're dealing with.

A chimp with a small dick who wants to compensate with a lot of big scary-looking guns.

With apologies to real chimpanzees wherever they may be.

[spanone]

11. He had a 'feeling'. So he went to war. IMPEACH NOW.

[maxsolomon]

33. How?

Which Repuke congressperson would vote to Impeach?

[Roc2020]

12. He trapped the US armed forces...all

Last edited Mon Mar 16, 2026, 01:09 PM - Edit history (1)

scenarios to escape are horrific. Walk away-Israel is left alone to fight. Put soldiers on Iran's soil, Iran waiting for that for decades to kill american troops, Nuke Iran, Israel gets nuked. Trapped.

[MineralMan]

17. Trapped himself, as well.

Other nations aren't so stupid, though.

[Roc2020]

18. Yes he did.

[calimary]

44. Yep. Pretty much.

[Happy Hoosier]

13. Naval drones. That's why.

Detecting and countering small naval drones is in its infancy. Most of our defences are oriented towards airborne threats.
As Ukraine has proven, it's virtually certain that a determined naval drone user will sneak one through now and again.

[MiHale]

16. Ehh...screw this ...let's go get us some Cuba...

Then they’ll forget about Iran, high prices, terrorist attacks, oh yeah almost forgot EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN, EPSTEIN.

A sarcastic bent…

[GusBob]

23. I'm trying to figure out why he is asking other countries?

Is the Navy requesting that?
Are they trying to flood the zone with decoys and targets?
Is he trying to draw other countries into the conflict by getting one of their ships destroyed and sailors killed?
Does he think he can build a coalition?

Coming soon: he will claim anti-semitism because they won’t help Israel

[MineralMan]

25. All of that.

Cleverly, all of the European countries are saying "NO WAY!"

And he can't order anyone to join him in his stupidity.

[republianmushroom]

56. Most have learned after Bush.

[Raven123]

77. I suspect reality has set in - a little

We didn’t scale up, so we have drawn down our resources.
Trump would love for someone else to try to clean up this mess so he can withdraw our military and blame that someone else for failure as this disintegrates.
It’s Covid all over again (remember the speech in which he said it would be all over by Easter). Completely miscalculated.

[BattleRow]

81. Has he asked Russia to join the coalition,yet?

[lostnfound]

24. Cornered animals most dangerous. Two ways out

1) nukes
2) complete and sudden withdrawal of US from Mideast

Sane presidents would do neither. But he remains stuck in his terrible two, with the world’s most fearsome arsenal at his disposal.

[MineralMan]

26. 3. The War with Iran is Over! WE WON, BIGLY!

You forgot that one.

[gab13by13]

27. There are 3 US mine sweepers

2 of them are in Asia right now.

[Red Mountain]

51. They were just in the gulf area, too...

dang it.

AND we retired another 4 minesweepers based in the gulf in January......what terrible luck.

Probably just as well. There seem to be some questions about how effective the new minesweepers are at their jobs.

[Scubamatt]

29. He'll do what he always does . . .

when confronted with failure . . . Declare Victory, and command his media to replicate that message far and wide, announcing that in all the history of victories, there had never been a more victorious victory. The people will lap it up, and he will move on to the next distraction/disaster.

[ffr]

31. I love it when REALITY catches up with ALTERNATIVE FACTS.

[LymphocyteLover]

32. Agree

[dalton99a]

34. Kick

At a meeting in the Oval Office last week, a frustrated Mr. Trump pressed Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about why the United States could not immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The answer was straightforward: Even one Iranian soldier or militia member zipping across the narrow neck of the strait in a speedboat could fire a mobile missile right into a slow-moving supertanker, or plant a limpet mine on its hull.

With oil already hovering around $100 a barrel, and insurance premiums for transiting the Persian Gulf surging, the image of more burning tankers would make the Iranians look more powerful than they really are. Already, having seen Iran attack shipping around the strait, tanker owners are refusing to take the risk, even after Mr. Trump declared on Fox last Sunday that they should “show some guts.”

The strait was Exhibit A in Iran’s ability to seize an asymmetric advantage. Despite ramped-up strikes in recent days against what little is left of the Iranian Navy, traffic through the strait has come to a near halt. A New York Times analysis concluded that as of Thursday, at least 16 oil tankers, cargo ships and other commercial vessels had been attacked in the Persian Gulf, including three in the narrowest part of the strait.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/trump-stark-choices-iran-war.html

[BidenRocks]

45. Das Limpet?

That's incredible!

[jmowreader]

54. Limpet mines are real

They use magnets to stick to ships' hulls below the waterline. The Iranians are huge fans of them.

[JPK]

60. Limpets

They have probably already been set to the hulls of the ships that are trapped there. Just waiting for the signal to activate them.

[LilElf70]

35. This is what happens

when you go into an unprovoked, illegal, no reason to attack, war. To make matters worse, there was absolutely no plan for after his initial hits.

[gfarber]

37. The Strait Dilemma

There once was a Donald named Trump,
Who faced quite a maritime slump.
Advisers all said,
“Send ships there and you’re dead—
That strait would make warships go thump.”

He asked, “Can our Navy defend
Those tankers from end unto end?”
The experts replied,
“With Iran on each side,
Your ships would be targets, my friend.”

“With land bases not in our grip,
They’d strike any escorting ship.
No warning would sound,
Just missiles inbound—
Best not start that dangerous trip.”

So Trump said, “Perhaps allies could try—
Send fleets through that narrow pass by.”
But nations all thought,
“That plan’s overwrought…
Not us, we’d much rather not die.”

And so in a puzzling morass,
He’s stuck like a mule in the grass.
The lesson, some say,
Still echoes today:
“Stupid does what stupid has.

Disclaimer: Yes, an AI helped write this—because if you’re looking for pure, hand-crafted literary suffering, you’re welcome to go produce some yourself. If you like my attempts, consider clicking the link.

https://buymeacoffee.com/gfarber

[calimary]

50. Once again, NICE work!

It just gets better and better!

[Xolodno]

38. I don't think it matters what they tell him.

I believe he's genuinely pissed from his first term when he was told "you can't do _insert whatever_" He is now doing what he wants and believes in his warped brain we are capable of doing anything. So who cares what they say, optics, strategy, logistics, etc. be damned.

[SusieCreamcheese]

49. Gut Feelings

The Felon's foreign policy is based upon his own irritable bowel movements.

[Justice matters.]

59. And his "bone" spurs.

Pesky gas prices suddenly get on his gut...

[Escurumbele]

52. Too late now, the Navy, and the entire military complex whould have refused to invade Iran

They all knew this was going to be a disaster, why is the military obeying orders they know they should not?

This is so disappointing and scary at the same time, when the military gives in to a buffoon like trump you know things will get very, very bad for the entire country, that is how dictators get in power, the military becomes complicit, and in my opinion, that is what we are seeing today.

[MineralMan]

57. Perhaps so, but most General officers would have a very hard

time refusing a Presidential order. Both literally and traditionally, they cannot do so. They can resign, but they cannot refuse.

It is a conflict that has never been really tested. So far, I believe Trump is listening to their reasons, but how long that will last I do not know.

[Cha]

53. And the Idiot actually threatens NATO

Nations.

Sounds reasonable .. TY

[OC375]

58. Navy wants to get on the board when there is a fight

Navy wants a mission to aggressively bring the fight to the enemy, and deny him initiative. That's what they do. They are excellent at it and have the means to do it. A single carrier fleet unchained can change the dynamics of the area for a generation or more. It's truly horrific.

Doing nothing, no objective, or ROE's that involve wearing blinders and taking crap isn't what Navy excels at. I'd imagine they are pretty steamed at showing up to a gig, only to find no immediate plan other than "Hold my beer while I tell everyone you'll kick their asses."

Trump is a tease, which is almost as bad to many of them as putting them in harms way for personal gain.

[H2O Man]

62. Recommended.

I've seen someone saying the "plan" involved taking control of Kharg island, when the battle ship coming from South Korea arrives. No, it's not ..... exactly for the reasons you outline. More, an amphibious landing would have to start out from Saudi Arabia's eastern coast, which is far enough away that it creates as high a risk as if they actually landed.

More, while the destruction escalates, both sides have been careful not to seriously damage the oil plants. The Saudis don't want that. The president is looking for an off-ramp, and it is not possible to say how all of this horror plays out. I think he will bluff about sending in troops, but hopefully not do so. Yet he did not learn the first lesson from our generation's war in Vietnam: one can win every battle, and still lose the war. Other culture's actions are not limited by our concepts of space and time, though this president surely is.

My fear -- and I'm interested in your and other opinions -- is that as Israel takes more damage as a direct result of Netanyahu's madness, will he resort to a nuke?

[MineralMan]

65. I remain hopeful that the TACO principle comes into effect.

Trump says much, but does little, really. He has, no doubt, been warned about the risks of some of those actions. So, he talks a good battle, but doesn't really want one. Not really. It's one thing to stand off from the coast and attack targets. It's quite another to commit to putting ground troops at risk and with it a risk of high casualty numbers.

I am counting on Trump to cave on this, declare victory, and pull out. He'll leave the rest to Israel.

[BarbD]

63. Demented Donald and Petulant Pete think this is a video game.

Last edited Mon Mar 16, 2026, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Now we are stuck with the incompetent, stupid actions of idiots.

Reminds me of Tennyson's poem --"The Charge of the Light Brigade"...... Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred........."

[gulliver]

64. If I knew I wouldn't say, of course

I'm a firm believer in not helping the enemy, even by brain fart speculation. I want us to win and get out. I'm perfectly willing to have Trump or anyone else running things saying whatever they think works: true, false, outrageous, juvenile, etc. Even if we thought the media were capable of anything resembling true transparency, we should still be against it. That should be obvious.

Most of the government folks and actual retired military expert commentators on CNN seem to be appropriately careful about how much they're willing to "explain" to the audience. But it's still pretty appalling when you see some (usually questionably informed) dummy opining that the IRGC, for example, seems to be "in charge." The lowlife Islamic Regime undoubtedly has access to CNN. Hopefully they get no comfort from it.

[Emile]

67. Iran still has their submarine fleet.

Iran has a submarine fleet consisting of approximately 28 to 30 vessels, including Kilo-class, Fateh-class, and Ghadir-class submarines.

[MineralMan]

68. Yes. I do not know the current state of intelligence regarding

Iran's military assets. I would not underestimate that intelligence, though.

[EX500rider]

69. Persian Gulf not a good location for subs, too shallow

The average depth of the Persian Gulf is approximately 50 meters (164 feet). It is a relatively shallow marginal sea, with depths rarely exceeding 90–100 meters

[Emile]

70. Iran's submarines are primarily based in the Straight of Hormuz.

Iran's submarines are primarily based at the Bandar Abbas naval base, located in the Strait of Hormuz. They operate in various waters, including the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, and the Caspian Sea.

[EX500rider]

71. Any ones not on the bottom. I imagine many got sunk dockside

As of March 2026, following significant degradation from U.S.-led operations, Iran’s operational submarine fleet is heavily reduced from its previous strength of 16–30 vessels. While previously possessing 3 Russian-built Kilo-class submarines, several Ghadir-class midget subs, and indigenous Fateh-class boats, many are now considered trapped, damaged, or destroyed, particularly in the Persian Gulf

[Emile]

72. So now you're admitting they do operate

in the area.

[EX500rider]

73. Never said they didn't, just shallow seas are very bad areas for submarine combat operations

They can hardly get deep enough not to be seen from the air for one.
And what depth to set depth charges for and anti-sub torpedos to search at becomes a lot easier.

[Old Crank]

74. Last Thursday Krugman interviewed a military historian

Who said that Trump has no good way out of this message. The best might be declare a win and just leave tail between his legs. Other options are worse. And worse would be dragging this mess into the summer months before the elections.

I've seen where the heads of the British military and German military have both said essentially the same thing. Not our job or NATOs job to fix what you broke.

[tintinvotes]

79. Toll

Iran has agreed to let countries other than USA and Isreal thru the strait if they pay a toll, it's already happening. Brilliant plan by Iran to get paid.

[red dog 1]

80. K&R

And shared on Bluesky.