Gen. Mark Milley (R) and Defense Secretary Mark Esper (C) in Donald Trump’s photo-opportunity walk from White House to St. John’s Church, Washington, June 1, 2020 (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty)
With protests across the US after the murder of George Floyd, America’s top commanders have broken away from Donald Trump’s threat to use military force against the marches.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, wrote the commanders of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard:
Every member of the US military swears an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the values embedded within it. This document is founded on the essential principle that all men and women are born free and equal, and should be treated with respect and dignity.
It also gives Americans the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. We in all branches, all components, and all ranks remain committed to our national values and principles embedded in the Constitution.
Without naming Trump, he wrote, “Please remind all of our troops and leaders that we will uphold the values of our nation, and operate consistent with national laws and our own high standards of conduct at all times.”
A handwritten note on the memo continued, “We all committed our lives to the idea that is America. We will stay true to that oath to the American people.”
The intervention follows Trump’s threats of shooting of protesters, with attacks by “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons”, and his Monday photo opportunity outside the White House pledging the deployment of the military on American streets.
Attorney General William Barr ordered law enforcement to clear nearby Lafayette Park, tear-gassing peaceful demonstrators, so Trump could cross the street to St. John’s Church and hold up a Bible. Religious leaders, including the Bishop of Washington, condemned the performance and violence.
Milley’s memo was written on Tuesday and released to the media yesterday.
About 40% of US active and reserve military personnel are people of color.
Mattis: Trump “Tries to Divide Us”
The commanders’ concern was magnified by Gen. Jim Mattis, former Defense Secretary and head of Central Command, in a scathing rebuke of Trump.
Donald Trump is the first President in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.
We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.
We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.
Mattis wrote of being “angry and appalled” as he watched developments since George Floyd’s murder, while supporting the marchers seeking justice and equality: “It is a wholesome and unifying demand — one that all of us should be able to get behind,” he wrote. “We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers.”
He echoed the words of Gen. Milley: “The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values — our values as people and our values as a nation.”
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens — much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.
Mattis was Defense Secretary from January 2017 to January 2019. He resigned after challenging Trump’s impulsive decision to remove US troops from Syria.
Trump, who insulted the general at the time, tried again on Twitter last night: “I gave him a new life, things to do, and battles to win, but he seldom ‘brought home the bacon’. I didn’t like his ‘leadership’ style or much else about him, and many others agree. Glad he is gone!”
Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reinforced the messages of the current and former commanders:
We are at the most dangerous time for civil-military relations I’ve seen in my lifetime. It is especially important to reserve the use of federal forces for only the most dire circumstances that actually threaten the survival of the nation. Our senior-most military leaders need to ensure their political chain of command understands these things.
Defense Secretary Esper Challenges Trump, Then Steps Back
Defense Secretary Mark Esper also challenged Trump for the first time on Wednesday, rebuffing Trump’s declaration of a military deployment.
Esper arranged a news conference at the Pentagon, in part to answer criticism that he and Gen. Milley had accompanied Trump on his photo opportunity as demonstrators were being tear-gassed. The offices of both men said they were unaware of Trump’s plan until they were told to join him on the walk to St. John’s Church.
The Defense Secretary said active-duty troops “should only be used” for law enforcement “as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations”.
Trump exploded in anger, according to an “administration official”. Asked if Trump still had confidence in Esper, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany gave the veiled warning: “As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper….Should the president lose faith, we will all learn about that in the future.”
After he was summoned to a meeting at the White House, Esper stepped back. He reversed a Pentagon decision to send about 200 active-duty soldiers, from the 82nd Airborne response force, home from the Washington DC area.
It was not clear if Trump personally saw Esper to deliver the rebuke and force his reversal.
