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Epic Fury: The wheels on the bus keep falling off
By Charles Ray - March 29, 2026
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, they fooled you and got exponentially worse. That’s probably the most accurate statement you’re likely to hear about Operation Epic Fury, which is now firmly considered in my mind, Epic FUBAR.
How bad have things gotten in the month since the US-Israeli non-war against Iran kicked off? Let me count the ways.
First of all, there’s the question of what we call this shindig. When I was in the army, and people and things had been getting blown up for a month, we called it a war—except for Korea, which was a never-ending ‘police action.’ But this administration and its enablers refuse to use the ‘w’ word. At the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) annual fundraising dinner on March 25, 2026, Donald Trump said, “I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do.’ They don’t like the word ‘war’ because you’re supposed to get approval. So, I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is. It’s a military decimation.”
How bad have things gotten in the month since the US-Israeli non-war against Iran kicked off? Let me count the ways.
First of all, there’s the question of what we call this shindig. When I was in the army, and people and things had been getting blown up for a month, we called it a war—except for Korea, which was a never-ending ‘police action.’ But this administration and its enablers refuse to use the ‘w’ word. At the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) annual fundraising dinner on March 25, 2026, Donald Trump said, “I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do.’ They don’t like the word ‘war’ because you’re supposed to get approval. So, I’ll use the word ‘military operation,’ which is really what it is. It’s a military decimation.”
That, then, brings up the issue of the seriousness of the situation. In the past, even for ‘police actions,’ and short-term raids (Panama, Granada, etc., we took them seriously. After all, people were getting hurt and/or killed. Trump,. On the other hand, told NBC News on March 14 that he might have the US military carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub ‘just for fun.’ After alleging that US strikes had ‘totally demolished’ most of the island, the military might hit it ‘a few more times just for fun.’ Seriously? Is that really the attitude we take to war, uh, I mean non-war, these days?
Let’s not forget all the conflicting signals about how long this non-war might last. Trump frequently contradicts himself on this issue in the same speech, social media post, or sentence. On March 20, for example, he sent a flood of conflicting signals about the war, ranging from ‘he was considering winding it down, while at the same time, his administration confirmed that he was sending more troops to the area, to an announcement that oil sanctions on Iran were being lifted to lessen the impact on global energy markets. After threatening to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, he extended the deadline at the last minute, first for five days and then an additional ten days, to allow peace talks to proceed. Despite all this, he said that he wasn’t ‘desperate’ to make a deal.
Let’s not forget all the conflicting signals about how long this non-war might last. Trump frequently contradicts himself on this issue in the same speech, social media post, or sentence. On March 20, for example, he sent a flood of conflicting signals about the war, ranging from ‘he was considering winding it down, while at the same time, his administration confirmed that he was sending more troops to the area, to an announcement that oil sanctions on Iran were being lifted to lessen the impact on global energy markets. After threatening to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure if it didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, he extended the deadline at the last minute, first for five days and then an additional ten days, to allow peace talks to proceed. Despite all this, he said that he wasn’t ‘desperate’ to make a deal.
On the issue of ‘boots on the ground,’ which, by the way, is a sickeningly euphemistic way of avoiding saying American forces in ground combat, since boots tend to always travel with a GI inside them, there has been an astonishing range of mixed messages, or perhaps disinformation. Trump’s biggest fanboy, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, right after the start of hostilities, told the TV show Meet the Press that the US wouldn’t have ‘boots on the ground.’ A day later, Trump and his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said they wouldn’t rule out sending ground troops. Further, while Trump said the conflict could last up to four weeks, Hegseth said it could also move up or back. I think we can safely say now that the schedule is not moving back.
On March 29, multiple news outlets reported that the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of ‘limited’ ground operations in Iran, which are awaiting presidential approval. The US already has approximately 50,000 troops in the Middle East, with an additional 3,000 troops from the 82d Airborne Division being deployed. On March 28, Fox News reported that Trump was considering deploying an additional 10,000 troops.
This is just a taste of the mess so far, and if it has your head spinning, welcome to the club. It could be that Trump is putting on a show of force to force concessions from Iran as he comes up with a face-saving way to declare victory and pull out. On the other hand, he could be using the talk of negotiations with Iran as a smoke screen as he prepares to send American troops into a meat grinder that could make the Vietnam War or Afghanistan look like paintball exercises. With this administration, there’s no scenario you could dream up that’s too wild. In the meantime, the economy continues to hover over the pit of depression, and I’m having flashbacks to my two tours in Vietnam, where, even though I was not in a frontline combat unit, it was still hazardous as hell—it was hell. If I weren’t already completely gray, my hair would be turning white. But I am losing sleep. Our fearless leader doesn’t seem to be having the same problem. He still spends his nights writing long, rambling, almost incoherent social media posts, while he eats fast food and drinks sugary soft drinks, and his days playing golf.
Lately, the music from the children’s song, The Wheels on the Bus, “ keeps running on an endless loop in my mind. Only, the words are, ‘The wheels on the bus keep falling off, falling off…”
On March 29, multiple news outlets reported that the Pentagon was preparing for weeks of ‘limited’ ground operations in Iran, which are awaiting presidential approval. The US already has approximately 50,000 troops in the Middle East, with an additional 3,000 troops from the 82d Airborne Division being deployed. On March 28, Fox News reported that Trump was considering deploying an additional 10,000 troops.
This is just a taste of the mess so far, and if it has your head spinning, welcome to the club. It could be that Trump is putting on a show of force to force concessions from Iran as he comes up with a face-saving way to declare victory and pull out. On the other hand, he could be using the talk of negotiations with Iran as a smoke screen as he prepares to send American troops into a meat grinder that could make the Vietnam War or Afghanistan look like paintball exercises. With this administration, there’s no scenario you could dream up that’s too wild. In the meantime, the economy continues to hover over the pit of depression, and I’m having flashbacks to my two tours in Vietnam, where, even though I was not in a frontline combat unit, it was still hazardous as hell—it was hell. If I weren’t already completely gray, my hair would be turning white. But I am losing sleep. Our fearless leader doesn’t seem to be having the same problem. He still spends his nights writing long, rambling, almost incoherent social media posts, while he eats fast food and drinks sugary soft drinks, and his days playing golf.
Lately, the music from the children’s song, The Wheels on the Bus, “ keeps running on an endless loop in my mind. Only, the words are, ‘The wheels on the bus keep falling off, falling off…”