“The Marines Will be Sitting Ducks"

A conversation with Lt. Gen. (Retired) Mark Hertling.

Charlie Sykes

Mar 31, 2026

“What’s the objective for seizing Kharg Island?

“Is it to control the flow of oil? I thought we were trying to open up the flow of oil. If you’re just trying to control it, what I would suggest is because Iran is facing an existential threat to their country, they’re going to blow that island up. They don’t care if Marines are on it. Marines are going to be sitting ducks, in my view, on that island.” — Lt. General Mark Hertling on today’s podcast.

Let’s start by catching up a bit:

Bored with peace, bored with war, Trump is super-jazzed about his new ballroom. “Trump Interrupts Iran Update for ‘Important’ Ballroom News.”
We’re now more than a month into the Iran war. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops are in the Middle East, and a ground invasion seems very possible. President Trump may order a dangerous operation to seize Iran’s nuclear material. And with the war choking the flow of oil and gas, there are fears that food prices will increase drastically at home and abroad.
So while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump addressed the big question on everyone’s mind: What’s the latest on the White House ballroom?
U.S. gas prices hit $4 per gallon as fuel prices surge due to Iran war
Prices at the pump hit a nationwide average of $4.018, the highest level since August 2022 when Russia’s war against Ukraine shook energy markets, the travel association AAA said. Gas prices have soared more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February, according to AAA data.
Trump’s BFF is giving the Iran information targeting Americans. “Ukraine says Russia is helping Iran.”
Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview in the Gulf nation of Qatar on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he was “100%” confident Russia was sharing such intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces across the Middle East.
“I think that it’s in Russia’s interest to help Iranians. And I don’t believe — I know — that they share information,” he said. “Do they help Iranians? Of course. How many percent? One-hundred percent.”
“Universities become new frontline as the US-Israel war against Iran escalates” | CNN
The attacks have triggered warnings of Iranian retaliation which has already disrupted higher education in Lebanon, Qatar and other Gulf states.
“Universities are normally civilian infrastructure, and directly attacking them can constitute a war crime unless they are being used for military purposes,” said Janina Dill, professor of global security at the University of Oxford and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.
Laser-focused: Trump White House pressures news agency to delete unflattering picture of Karoline Leavitt. “The White House Picture Police” - Status:
The photo, however, clearly struck a nerve with Leavitt—and the White House made that known to the AFP. The extraordinary complaints ultimately yielded the result Leavitt & Co. were surely seeking. Soon after receiving them, the image in question was quietly removed from AFP’s wire and automatically scrubbed from the Getty Images library.
This is the picture that roiled the White House:
How’s all of this working out? “President Trump’s Approval Sinks to 33% in New UMass Poll”
“In the midst of skyrocketing prices, significant declines in the stock market, an unpopular war in the Middle East, a government shutdown that has led to lines at airports and nationwide protests against his presidency, it is no shock that President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have taken a hit in our latest polling,” Tatishe Nteta, provost professor of political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll, says.
“What is surprising, and of likely grave concern to the White House, are the dips in support from the very groups that helped Trump take back the presidency in 2024. Among men, working class Americans and African Americans, Trump’s approval ratings have dropped by close to 20 points since April 2025. Similar drops in support are also seen among moderates (down 18 points) and independents (down 13 points), key constituencies in Trump’s victory and in the upcoming midterm election.”
Happy Tuesday.

Today’s Podcast

Retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling served in combat in Iraq and was Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe. On today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, he explains why it’s difficult for the military to draft a campaign plan for Iran when the end-state goal is unclear.

Drawing on his long experience of warfare in the Mideast, he also has a chilling warning about what could go wrong if Trump puts boots on the ground.

General Hertling and I also discusses his new book: “If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal.”