“Caine is looking for an off ramp,” one of the sources said bluntly. Caine is not alone in his view that the war has reached a crossroads. The aim has been to make clear the limitations and pitfalls of the available military options, including those that do not involve putting US boots on the ground, the sources said. “I think it is just his way of protecting the military,” one of the sources told CNN, referring to Caine’s discussions with other top national security officials within Trump’s cabinet about the Iran war. Doing so would also likely further alienate the Iranian population, rather than fuel blame toward the regime, several sources said.