Tag: Mark Esper

Pentagon chief breaks with Trump, opposes invoking Insurrection Act

The Hill logoDefense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he does not support invoking a law that would allow President Trump to use the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement amid nationwide protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.

Esper’s remarks represent a break with the president, who has threatened to deploy active-duty troops to quash protests if governors do not “dominate” the demonstrators.

“I’ve always believed and continue to believe that the National Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities in these situations in support of local law enforcement,” Esper said at a news conference Wednesday. Continue reading.

Washington Post Editorial Issues Dire Warning To Trump Aides ‘Enabling His Incitement’

“Trump’s aides are helping him to push the country closer not to order but to anarchy,” the newspaper’s editorial board cautioned.

The Washington Post editorial board on Tuesday warned Donald Trump’s top aides that the president’s threat to unleash the military on protesters demonstrating against the death of George Floyd could seriously backfire.

Instead, it may plunge the United States further into chaos and unrest, the newspaper wrote in an editorial headlined: “Trump’s threats to deploy troops move America closer to anarchy.”

The board suggested Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, must “surely know” that the deployment of military forces in American cities would be “counterproductive” and unsustainable. Continue reading.

Pentagon Adviser Resigns, Slams Defense Secretary Mark Esper Over Trump Photo-Op

“Where will you draw the line, and when will you draw it?” James N. Miller, a former defense official, wrote in his resignation letter to Esper.

A member of the Pentagon’s science advisory board resigned Tuesday over Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s failure to speak out against the forcible dispersal of protesters near a church where President Donald Trump staged a photo-op a day earlier.

James N. Miller, who served as the under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014, announced his departure from the Defense Science Board in a fiery letter of resignation addressed to Esper and published in The Washington Post.

Miller accused Esper of violating his oath of office by appearing to support the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to clear a crowd of peaceful anti-racism protesters near the White House so Trump could pose for a photo holding a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church. Continue reading.

Trump’s West Point Mafia

Every West Point class votes on an official motto. Most are then inscribed on their class rings. Hence, the pejorative West Point label “ring knocker.” (As legend has it, at military meetings a West Pointer “need only knock his large ring on the table and all Pointers present are obliged to rally to his point of view.”) Last August, the class of 2023 announced theirs: “Freedom Is Not Free.” Mine from the class of 2005 was “Keeping Freedom Alive.” Each class takes pride in its motto and, at least theoretically, aspires to live according to its sentiments, while championing the accomplishments of fellow graduates.

But some cohorts do stand out. Take the class of 1986 (“Courage Never Quits“). As it happens, both Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are members of that very class, as are a surprisingly wide range of influential leaders in Congress, corporate America, the Pentagon, the defense industry, lobbying firms, Big Pharma, high-end financial services, and even security-consulting firms. Still, given their striking hawkishness on the subject of American war-making, Esper and Pompeo rise above the rest. Even in a pandemic, they are as good as their class motto. When it comes to this country’s wars, neither of them ever quits. Continue reading “Trump’s West Point Mafia”

Defense Secretary Esper warns military commanders: Don’t go off message with coronavirus response

AlterNet logoIt’s all about the message. Defense Secretary Mark Esper held a video conference with U.S. military commanders around the world last week, The New York Times reports, to tell them that informing the Trump administration should come before urgent decisions about protecting service members from coronavirus.

“One Defense Department official said Mr. Esper wanted to be sure that everyone within the government knows what military commanders are doing, and to assure that the government is communicating to the public with one voice on a rapidly developing situation,” according to the Times. Well, isn’t that a nice careful way to say, “We’re trying to downplay this, guys, so don’t go off message even if the facts on the ground don’t line up with the message”?

When Gen. Robert Abrams, the commander of American forces in South Korea, where there’s a major coronavirus outbreak, talked about his situation during Esper’s video conference, Esper “said he wanted advance notice before General Abrams or any other commander made decisions related to protecting their troops,” reported the Times. Abrams, to his credit, reportedly told Esper that if he had to make an urgent decision without permission, he was going to do what he had to do to keep people safe. But you have to wonder how many people on the call are more prone to intimidation or blind obedience. Continue reading.

Defense secretary’s chief of staff to step down

Eric Chewning, chief of staff to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, is stepping down at the end of the month, the latest in a series of high-profile civilians to leave the Pentagon.

He’ll be replaced by Jen Stewart, the top Republican staffer on the House Armed Services Committee and a former top adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, according to a statement from Pentagon spokeswoman Alyssa Farah.

Chewning, a former Army intelligence officer and combat veteran, has managed the day-to-day operations of the Office of the Secretary of Defense through a historic number of leadership changes, working for four Pentagon chiefs. Continue reading.

Live updates: Defense Secretary Esper says U.S. has made no decision to leave Iraq

Washington Post logoDefense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Monday that the United States has not made any decision to leave Iraq, shortly after the U.S. military said in a letter to Iraqi officials that U.S. forces would be relocating “to prepare for onward movement.”

On Sunday, Iraqi lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution calling for foreign troops to withdraw.

In the letter, released Monday, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William H. Seely III said that U.S. forces “respect your sovereign decision to order our departure.” A U.S. military official confirmed the letter’s authenticity. Continue reading.

Navy secretary fired over handling of Eddie Gallagher case

Axios logoDefense Secretary Mark Esper asked for Navy secretary Richard Spencer’s resignation on Sunday after learning about a private proposal Spencer made to the White House involving disgraced Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, a Pentagon spokesperson told the Washington Post.

The big picture: President Trump set off a storm last week when he reversed Gallagher’s demotion, which came after he was convicted for posing with the corpse of a dead Islamic State militant in 2017. Trump then tweeted on Thursday that Gallagher should not be removed from the SEALs. According to the Post, Spencer circumvented Esper and privately told the White House that he would ensure Gallagher would be able to retire as a SEAL as long as White House officials did not intervene in the case.

  • The New York Times reported on Saturday that Spencer and a top admiral had threatened to resign if Trump blocked the Navy’s plans to expel Gallagher from the SEALs. Spencer denied the report.
  • AP reported Sunday that the White House had informed the Navy it did not intend to intervene in the proceedings against Gallagher.

What they’re saying: Trump tweeted on Sunday night after the news broke, “I was not pleased with the way that Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s trial was handled by the Navy. He was treated very badly but, despite this, was completely exonerated on all major charges. I then restored Eddie’s rank.”

View the complete November 24 article by Zachary Basu on the Axios website here.

Esper confirms Trump ordered larger withdrawal of US forces from Syria

The Hill logoDefense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed Sunday that President Trump has ordered a larger withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeastern Syria than was previously indicated.

During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Esper said the U.S. has withdrawn about 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria since an initial smaller withdrawal of troops.

Trump made the decision to increase the withdrawal amid reports that Turkey will expand its offensive “further south than originally planned and to the west,” Esper told CBS’s Margaret Brennan on Sunday.

View the complete October 13 article by Zack Budryk on The Hill website here.