Tag: Secretary Esper

Gen. Milley’s apology shows respect for the principles Trump tramples on

Washington Post logoTEN DAYS after walking in combat fatigues through Lafayette Square with President Trump, just after the park was cleared of peaceful protesters, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, has apologized for getting involved in domestic politics. The general is on target. He should never have been there, and it is to his great credit to admit the mistake. It may encourage others always to respect the Constitution, even when a president is beckoning to cross the line.

On June 1, people protesting the killing of George Floyd in police custody were pushed back with the use of chemical irritants, and Mr. Trump walked to a photo opportunity to hold up a Bible at St. John’s Episcopal Church, trailed by Gen. Milley, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Attorney General William P. Barr, among others. Earlier, Mr. Esper had joined the president in a conference call with governors and promised federal support against violence. Mr. Esper told the governors, “I think the sooner that you mass and dominate the battlespace, the quicker this dissipates and we can get back to the right normal. We need to dominate the battlespace.”

Both Mr. Esper and Gen. Milley showed miserable judgment. The military’s purpose is to fight foreign adversaries, the United States is not a “battlespace,” and walking along with Mr. Trump in a park where peaceful demonstrators had been repulsed sent a terrible signal. Last week, both the secretary and the chairman, having come under blistering criticism, issued letters to the troops reaffirming their commitment to the oath all have taken to uphold the Constitution and its values of free speech and assembly. Continue reading.

Esper under fire after breaking with Trump on Insurrection Act

Fissures emerge in GOP on the issue of deploying troops to quell protesters

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s implicit rebuke of President Donald Trump over using active-duty troops to quell domestic unrest may have landed Esper in hot water and is revealing splits within GOP ranks on the question.

Even as upheaval in U.S. cities has started to wane, the political fallout may still spread.

Two days after Trump said he might need to send active-duty troops to help police combat lawlessness in major cities — even if governors did not want the troops — Esper told reporters Wednesday he did not see the urgency in adding regular troops to the thousands of National Guard forces now backing up American police. Continue reading.

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.