Trump: 'I Don't Have the Yips' About Ground Troops

Nobody knows when the war in Iran will end, but President Trump continues to prepare the nation for a conflict that will be measured in weeks and perhaps months, not days. "Whatever the time is, it's OK, whatever it takes," Trump said at the White House on Monday, reports the New York Times. "Right from the beginning we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that. We'll do it."

• Objectives: The president listed four goals, reports CBS News. "We're destroying Iran's missile capability, and we're doing that hourly," he said. The strikes were also "annihilating their Navy," ensuring that the "sick and sinister regime" can never have a nuclear weapon, and ensuring that Iran can no longer coordinate terrorism abroad.

• Ground troops: In a separate interview with the New York Post, Trump did not rule out the use of US ground troops. "I don't have the yips with respect to boots on the ground," he said. "Like every president says, 'There will be no boots on the ground.' I don't say it. I say 'probably don't need them,' [or] 'if they were necessary.'"
• Intensification: Trump also told Jake Tapper of CNN that the airstrikes will likely intensify. "We haven't even started hitting them hard, the big wave hasn't even happened," he said. "The big one is coming soon."