@LynehamLad: thanks for that link.
A related link quotes Former Sec Def Gates: (He always seemed to me to have a good head on his shoulders).
Robert Gates, ever a realist as US defence secretary from 2006 to 2011, once said that any Pentagon chief who advised an American president to launch another land invasion in the Middle East would need his head examined. After the prolonged insurgency in Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003, Mr Gates had Iran in mind. Seven years ago, in retirement, he warned that any military strike against Iran, whether by the US or Israel, would have “catastrophic” consequences.
Despite his predecessor’s misgivings, Patrick Shanahan, the acting defence secretary who has now been selected by President Trump for the top job if confirmed by the Senate, has dusted off and revised the Pentagon’s contingency plan for
military confrontation with Iran.