These past few days, I’ve been watching the Congressional hearings on the fiasco called the “Afghanistan withdrawal” in which hundreds of Americans were abandoned and 13 servicemen lost their lives. It looked more like a full scale surrender and you have to blame someone! General Mark Milley’s testimony was quite the eye opener into just how much the military has become a dynamic force in American politics way beyond anything our founders ever imagined. This morning we have Lt. Colonel Stu Scheller in military jail facing charges after he criticized military leaders over the Afghan withdrawl. The military is also investigating the marine that pulled the baby to safety over the wall in Afghanistan for going on stage at a Trump rally! I’ll get back to Milley’s testimony but first a little history.
I found this information from the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a think tank located in D.C. A non-partisan, apolitical military has traditionally been one of the keystones of our democracy. They say “The military serves the Constitution through obedience to democratically elected civilian officials without regard for political party or partisan positions. This idea underwrites the peaceful transfer of power between presidential administrations and ensures that the American people can make governance choices free from the threat of coercion.” That neutrality is SUPPOSED to insure that the recommendations the military gives our leaders can be relied upon as accurate and unbiased. In fact Dept. of Defense Directive 1344.10 specifically “prohibits active duty personnel from overt partisanship while acting in an official capacity.” This would include things like partisan participation in fundraising, speeches or endorsements. They’re also prohibited from making critical comments about elected or appointed government officials.
So it’s pretty obvious that things aren’t that clear anymore. The politicization of the military has grown exponentially over the last 5 years. When did it start? Well, between 1976 and 1996 Ole Holsti and James Rosenau surveyed both senior officer and civilian attitudes on a wide range of foreign policy and political issues including voting preferences. They were unable to come to any conclusion. More recent studies have looked at participation on social media and active duty personnel’s private contributions to political campaigns. The problem is that individual partisanship doesn’t necessarily reflect partisanship of the larger group the individual is part of, in this case the military. How about retired military personnel? We’ve certainly seen innumerable retired military officers marching across the screen of virtually EVERY “news” outlet giving us their opinions! Once they are out of the military they have the same rights as any other civilian. That doesn’t mean it’s particularly appropriate because it can imply military loyalty to a party rather than to the country or the Constitution.
Let’s have a look at some events where the military has crossed the line into politics. Military intervention was used to liberate Kuwait in the Gulf War. They were sent to Panama to protect the Canal, U.S. citizens and displace the country’s leader Manuel Noriega. Then on to Somalia to distribute food and shape it’s politics. Serbians were bombed until they agreed to sign a peace agreement. Every year the U.S. Navy sails into the Taiwan Straits in a show of strength and commitment to Taiwan. The war in Iraq to eradicate Sadam Hussein and eliminate the invisible WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction). Most of these interventions were politically driven and not by any physical threat to the U.S.
More recently National Guard units have been dispatched in 23 states to support local law enforcement during the demonstrations and take-over of places like Portland. Most recently 26,000 were activated in Washington, D.C. during Biden’s inauguration. They remained there until May 20, 2021. General Milley made the infamous walk from the White House to the graffiti covered church and was criticized for simply BEING with Trump!
Let’s get back to the other escapades of General Mark Milley. Well, we know now that he KNEW Afghanistan was going to quickly fall back under Taliban control….maybe not as fast as it did. The top brass at the Pentagon also had been asking for 2500 servicemen to remain rather than pull out completely. We know Biden had other plans though and caved to the wishes of the Taliban that we leave on THEIR terms. During his testimony we also learned about the General’s “conversation” with China. Now if this wasn’t GLARING politicization of the military I don’t know what is. He’s not in military jail this morning! He defended his phone calls with a Chinese general during the final weeks of Trump’s presidency, revealing that U.S. intelligence officials believed the Chinese were “worried about an attack.” He went on to say that the calls were part of his duties to “deconflict military actions, manage crisis and prevent war between great powers armed with nuclear weapons.” UMMMMMM…….aren’t POLITICIANS supposed to be handling those kind of calls????? The phone calls, which were first reported in the book “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. They went on to say that the calls “were intended to reassure the Chinese that the U.S. would not suddenly launch an attack.” Because don’t forget, the “lunatic” Trump was supposedly ranting and raving about having lost the election and during his final days in office couldn’t be trusted to act rationally!! Who told us that? MSM and the Democrats who for four years questioned Trump’s mental stability but have DISAPPEARED since electing the demented man they now have in the White House! Milley needs to resign. If ANY other member of the armed forces made that phone call they’d be tried and executed as a traitor!
So there you have it. The politicization of our honorable military by the conniving politicians of BOTH parties in D.C. A stain on the the honorable men and women that REALLY keep us safe while the swamp just gets deeper and deeper. Thanks for reading and please share! Remember……It’s later than you think!
