Warning against interruptions
Ex-Pentagon Chiefs: Politicians Should Leave the Military
09/06/2022 10:03 pm
As President of the United States, Trump is trying to use members of the military for non-specialized missions. Successor Biden is currently being criticized for appearing with players. Many former defense ministers are now warning of increased political interference in military affairs.
Eight former US defense secretaries and five senior generals have warned of increasing political interference in military affairs amid deep political divisions in the country. According to a published report on “Military-Civil Relations,” members of the armed forces are dealing with a “very unfavorable environment” due to “polarization” in the United States. The environment is “extraordinarily challenging”.
In the future, the situation “may get worse before it gets better,” the report said. In recent years, the U.S. defense industry — especially under President Donald Trump, who is voted out of office in 2020 — has been part of repeated political power games in Washington.
The report, published on the War on the Rocks defense website, did not mention any concrete examples of tensions between civil authorities and the military. However, the authors point to an attempt by Trump and his supporters to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that led to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to the report, developments in the US mean that the peaceful transfer of power has been “disrupted and called into question” for “the first time in over a century” since the US presidential election.
The military must control violent protests
During Trump’s presidency, members of the U.S. military have been asked to perform tasks beyond their normal responsibilities, including building a wall along the Mexican border and helping police quell violent protests in several cities. But Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, has also come under fire from many quarters after appearing last week to attack Trump and his supporters in a speech with two elites standing behind him.
Both former defense secretaries who served under Democratic presidents and Pentagon chiefs of Republican cabinet signed the statement. They include Robert Gates, Leon Panetta and Mark Esper and James Mattis. Esper and Mattis served under Trump, who fired them after a controversy.
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