Totally agree. Any military that regards itself as being professional has to remain apolitical as an entity, free from the whims & caprices of political toads.
Unfortunately, a military also broadly represents the society from which it recruits & if a sizable proportion of that society supports politicising the military & using it illegally then, in some instances, that will happen.
Simon, my biggest fear is that he succeeds in turning the military into his private army. But swearing an oath and disregarding the Constitution by swearing loyalty to a man is treason, in my humble opinion.
Im not a US Constitutional lawyer but I'd agree with you.
But, given Trumps past history of disregarding The Constitution & laws in general he wouldn't care & unfortunately there will be serving members who might perceive personal loyalty to Trump as being more "valuable" than otherwise.
The thing your analysis overlooks is General Dan Caine. Trump would fire Hegseth before he’d lose Caine in this political environment. Caine would threaten to resign if the fear of being fired threatened the rule of law. If Caine resigned and told the truth about his reasons, Trump could face a successful impeachment conviction. The Republican Party couldn’t take that heat before the election. Grant threatened to resign over Johnson’s refusal to follow the law. Johnson was impeached and missed being convicted by one vote. Caine is the only person the vast majority of the country trusts. His resignation would crater the Republican Party….and Trump.
But officers of the USA military has already executed war crimes by blowing up several boats that maybe had drugs aboard and killed the people on board.
These officers executing these orders killing persons sitting in boats that maybe have drugs are not professional they are already followers of the MAGA movement.
I would hope that every politician outside the White House would declare loudly and clearly that any military officer associated with a war crime order will be investigated and, if appropriate, prosecuted. This autocratic administration will end long before many military officers will conclude their careers. The knowledge that there will be consequences for ordering / leading war crimes should be made clear and public.
Wes, you are clearly furious about the actual or attempted suborning of the military, as we all are. It would be catastrophic if he and his cronies are able to get away with it. History shows that it is a cancer. The Wehrmacht had to swear a personal loyalty oath to Hitler in WW2 and it was their undoing - they committed crimes on the eastern front from the first day. The allied militaries in Bosnia refused to salute or shake hands with their Serbian counterparts in 1995; they knew the Serb army had disgraced itself with war crimes (srebrenica; Sarajevo). I think the IDF deserves the same condemnation and cold shoulder for its crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. What is also pertinent is how well (or badly) the US military has prepared for this war. Take the Strait of Hormuz: did you read the recent article in the VietVet Substack by Brig. Gen. Anderson (ret.) where he dissects the situation? I’d never heard of the Millennium challenge war game held by the Pentagon in 2002. It’s nowhere in the media and it’s devastating. How is it that the US was so ill-prepared (minesweepers sent away; no hardened plane hangers; no drone-proof crew quarters - I could go on)? Did the military “speak truth to power”? on whether Iran could or would close the Strait and if it did, could they force it open? Or were they in fact worried about being cashiered and so held their tongues? Given what General Anderson tells us, they should have been adamant to Trump and Hegseth that this was a HUGE risk and he should not take it regardless of what Bibi was urging him. There’s a lot still to explore here and historians will ponder on this, the clearest and single worst strategic military defeat by the United States in its entire history. And in only six weeks.
Very important column.
That’s for sure! 👍🏼
The deeper issue isn’t whether the military is “with” Trump.
It’s whether a legitimacy-bearing institution can remain impersonal once politics becomes sufficiently personalized.
A professional military is supposed to serve as a constitutional filter, not a factional extension of a leader’s will.
The real test is whether that filter still has enough autonomy to stop illegal or personalized commands from entering the execution stack.
Totally agree. Any military that regards itself as being professional has to remain apolitical as an entity, free from the whims & caprices of political toads.
Unfortunately, a military also broadly represents the society from which it recruits & if a sizable proportion of that society supports politicising the military & using it illegally then, in some instances, that will happen.
Simon, my biggest fear is that he succeeds in turning the military into his private army. But swearing an oath and disregarding the Constitution by swearing loyalty to a man is treason, in my humble opinion.
Im not a US Constitutional lawyer but I'd agree with you.
But, given Trumps past history of disregarding The Constitution & laws in general he wouldn't care & unfortunately there will be serving members who might perceive personal loyalty to Trump as being more "valuable" than otherwise.
The thing your analysis overlooks is General Dan Caine. Trump would fire Hegseth before he’d lose Caine in this political environment. Caine would threaten to resign if the fear of being fired threatened the rule of law. If Caine resigned and told the truth about his reasons, Trump could face a successful impeachment conviction. The Republican Party couldn’t take that heat before the election. Grant threatened to resign over Johnson’s refusal to follow the law. Johnson was impeached and missed being convicted by one vote. Caine is the only person the vast majority of the country trusts. His resignation would crater the Republican Party….and Trump.
As a non US person, who is Genersl Dan Caine?
But officers of the USA military has already executed war crimes by blowing up several boats that maybe had drugs aboard and killed the people on board.
These officers executing these orders killing persons sitting in boats that maybe have drugs are not professional they are already followers of the MAGA movement.
I would hope that every politician outside the White House would declare loudly and clearly that any military officer associated with a war crime order will be investigated and, if appropriate, prosecuted. This autocratic administration will end long before many military officers will conclude their careers. The knowledge that there will be consequences for ordering / leading war crimes should be made clear and public.
Wes, you are clearly furious about the actual or attempted suborning of the military, as we all are. It would be catastrophic if he and his cronies are able to get away with it. History shows that it is a cancer. The Wehrmacht had to swear a personal loyalty oath to Hitler in WW2 and it was their undoing - they committed crimes on the eastern front from the first day. The allied militaries in Bosnia refused to salute or shake hands with their Serbian counterparts in 1995; they knew the Serb army had disgraced itself with war crimes (srebrenica; Sarajevo). I think the IDF deserves the same condemnation and cold shoulder for its crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. What is also pertinent is how well (or badly) the US military has prepared for this war. Take the Strait of Hormuz: did you read the recent article in the VietVet Substack by Brig. Gen. Anderson (ret.) where he dissects the situation? I’d never heard of the Millennium challenge war game held by the Pentagon in 2002. It’s nowhere in the media and it’s devastating. How is it that the US was so ill-prepared (minesweepers sent away; no hardened plane hangers; no drone-proof crew quarters - I could go on)? Did the military “speak truth to power”? on whether Iran could or would close the Strait and if it did, could they force it open? Or were they in fact worried about being cashiered and so held their tongues? Given what General Anderson tells us, they should have been adamant to Trump and Hegseth that this was a HUGE risk and he should not take it regardless of what Bibi was urging him. There’s a lot still to explore here and historians will ponder on this, the clearest and single worst strategic military defeat by the United States in its entire history. And in only six weeks.
Very important conversation, as reflected in the comments.
I must add the fact, that Hegseth is evidently every bit the zealot we claim the Iranian leaders are.
What are you talking about?
I hope this is the case