Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro faced a wave of online ridicule Thursday as X users accused him of shifting his rhetoric on the escalating conflict with Iran and urged him to enlist if he was so eager for war.
Days before open hostilities began, Shapiro had urged the United States to strike Iran while assuring his audience that such action would not spiral into a major ground conflict. As reported by the Daily Caller, he wrote in a March 19 op-ed that concerns over the vital Strait of Hormuz were overstated, even though that chokepoint has remained effectively closed throughout the war.
By Thursday, however, Shapiro was warning Americans to prepare for a prolonged confrontation and calling for a U.S. invasion of Kharg Island, Irans main oil export terminal that handles more than 90% of the regimes crude shipments. He also brushed aside concerns about large-scale American casualties, characterizing fears of mass troop losses as exaggerated.
The backlash on X was immediate and intense, with critics highlighting what they saw as Shapiros casual attitude toward sending others into harms way. One X user even dragged Grok, the AI chatbot, into the fray to lampoon Shapiros hawkish stance.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is reportedly considering sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East, on top of 5,000 Marines and sailors and 2,000 soldiers from the Armys 82nd Airborne Division already deployed. In a move that underscores the strain on U.S. forces, the Army has also raised the maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42 and relaxed rules for Americans with prior marijuana-related convictions, with the new policy taking effect April 20.
On Capitol Hill, Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham drew bipartisan criticism after he likened a potential assault on Kharg Island to the bloody World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. As Washingtons foreign policy establishment again flirts with large-scale intervention, many conservatives are questioning why Beltway hawks so often talk tough about war while expecting ordinary Americansnot the loudest advocatesto bear the cost.
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