In November and December, Donald Trump purged the civilian leadership of the Pentagon and replaced them with sycophant loyalists. Alex Ward explained at Vox, Why Trump is suddenly replacing Pentagon officials with loyalists (excerpt):
When the resignations and appointments were announced, some worried that a sinister plot was afoot — that Trump loyalists were “burrowing” into the Defense Department so they couldn’t be removed when Biden takes office, or that there was some sort of coverup going on, or even that Trump was setting the stage for a coup.
But experts I spoke to doubt those explanations, and suspect what’s really going on is that Trump finally had an opening to clean house at the Pentagon with the election now over, and that he’s putting in people more amenable to his wishes in order to finally accomplish some of the policies the Esper-led Pentagon had pushed back on — such as withdrawing all remaining US troops from Afghanistan before Christmas.
What Ward saw as possible non-nefarious reasons for the purge at the Pentagon, it appears that the former Secretaries of Defense do not share her assessment.
All ten living secretaries of defense — including Dick Cheney, James Mattis, Mark Esper, and Donald Rumsfield — signed an open letter about the military and the peaceful transfer of power. All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory:
As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.
American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy. With one singular and tragic exception [the Civl War] that cost the lives of more Americans than all of our other wars combined, the United States has had an unbroken record of such transitions since 1789, including in times of partisan strife, war, epidemics and economic depression. This year should be no exception.
Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.
As senior Defense Department leaders have noted, “there’s no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election.” Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.
Transitions, which all of us have experienced, are a crucial part of the successful transfer of power. They often occur at times of international uncertainty about U.S. national security policy and posture. They can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation.
Given these factors, particularly at a time when U.S. forces are engaged in active operations around the world, it is all the more imperative that the transition at the Defense Department be carried out fully, cooperatively and transparently. Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller and his subordinates — political appointees, officers and civil servants — are each bound by oath, law and precedent to facilitate the entry into office of the incoming administration, and to do so wholeheartedly. They must also refrain from any political actions that undermine the results of the election or hinder the success of the new team.
We call upon them, in the strongest terms, to do as so many generations of Americans have done before them. This final action is in keeping with the highest traditions and professionalism of the U.S. armed forces, and the history of democratic transition in our great country.
Signed by: Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld, the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
You may recall that back in mid-December, in response to Trump’s chief co-conspirator in the “GOP Clown Car Coup,” retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s first national security advisor and a noted QAnon conspiracy theorist, called for martial law and having the military rerun the election in swing states that Trump lost, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville issued a joint statement that there “is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.” Army leaders push back on Mike Flynn’s call for the military to ‘re-run’ the 2020 election. The military signaled that it will not participate in Trump’s attempted coup d’etat.
These 10 living Secretaries of Defense are reemphasizing this point not just to those serving in the military, but to Donald Trump and his seditious and treasonous supporters hoping to overturn the election and to install him as America’s first tinpot dictator of a fascist GOP authoritarian banana republic.
The “Battle of Lafayette Square Park” this past summer (image above) was a low point for Trump’s military leaders, for which they later apologized and promised that the military would not participate in Trump’s attempted coup d’etat. Top US general tells Congress the military won’t play a role in the 2020 election: America’s most senior general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, told members of Congress that the military will not play a role in November’s election and won’t help settle any disputes if the results are contested.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.