Just so we can establish a baseline to discuss with, what are the criteria both of you consider to say the war is/could be a "quagmire"?
Quagmire: a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position
Our involvement in Iran is:
Difficult - Iran is objectively difficult to: Occupy as a military force, negotiate with in diplomacy, and virtually impossible to enact ideological change. Despite all claims of being defeated, obliterated and powerless, Iran still seems to be capable of disrupting the global economy at will. Donald Trump is having a difficult time getting Iran to do what he thought would be done in 4-6 weeks and claimed was "ahead of schedule" several times.
Precarious - Politically and economically, Trump is in a precarious position with sentiment and appetite for continued conflict. Militarily, things are precarious because, as an example, Iran has successfully shot down aircraft even after the US MIC insisted Iran's airspace was ours. Since that operation, it seems like Trump backed off significantly because he realized Iran still has teeth. The clock continues to tick as we fuck around with boats.
Entrapping - Since the ceasefire, Iran has been playing fuck fuck games, stringing Trump along. The Paki's are absolutely in on it. And yet we keep doing the same dumb bullshit over and over again. Trump cannot pull out because he will look like an idiot. Trump cannot move forward with a deal because Iran can't negotiate in good faith. Trump's only options are to resume kinetic operations and create a humanitarian crisis for millions of civilians to play out on the world stage, or continue to sit around week after week while Iran digs out its munitions and resets its defensive capabilities.
Are we at Iraq/Afganistan levels? No. Not by a long shot. But this is clearly not going the way or at the pace we were informed it would happen at by the administration in February and despite all claims to the contrary, Iran is clearly still dictating how some things happen by playing these "Deal" games to stall. Iran knows the longer they can stall, the greater the economic impact is felt across the world of Trump and Bibi's actions.
This is what I meant by "If it smells, looks and tastes like a quagmire".