Has an American president ever called members of the military killing machines? Trump’s tweet, above, is yet another example of how his mind works. This is a president who fantasized about digging moats along the border with man-eating alligators after all.
We have a president who was physically fit when he got out of the draft with a fake doctor’s note saying he had bone spurs. Yet his fantasy life is filled with violent images. He admires despots who had people murdered like Putin, Kim Jung Un, and Mohammad bin Salman.
Trump’s older sons posed with dead animals they shot. Daddy Trump probably saw nothing wrong with that.
Trump’s firing of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer paints yet another picture of how warped Trump’s personality is. He fired someone because he defied him by attempting to discipline a SEAL for doing something Trump thought was perfectly acceptable behavior.
Trump pardoned Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer Gallagher who convicted by a military court of posing for a trophy photos with a corpse of a fighter in Iraq. Think of it. What kind of person has a trophy photo taken of himself posing with a corpse? He did this. Despite the spin presented by Gallagher and by his lawyer on Fox News, there is incontrovertible evidence in the photos that he is guilty of this.
Gallagher was acquitted of murder for the death of an Islamic State fighter in his custody. It is a law of war requiremen to treat enemy dead with respect.
He also pardoned Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance who was convicted in 2013 of two counts of second-degree murder after ordering his soldiers to fire into a group of unarmed Afghans; and Army Maj. Mathew L. Golstey who was, awaiting trial on charges he murdered an Afghan man.
No other president has pardoned a service member for war crimes,
This is how the editorial board of the Washington Post put it:
“THE NAVY will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin. This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!” With that contemptuous tweet on Thursday, President Trump extended his subversion of the justice and discipline that are so foundational to the nation’s armed forces. His interventions in this case and that of two other service members undercut military leadership and dishonor the men and women who serve their country while upholding — not abandoning — its values.
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Most offensive is what Mr. Trump’s actions say about his view of the military. “We train our boys to be killing machines, then prosecute them when they kill!,” he tweeted in October when he announced he would review these cases. Perhaps Mr. Trump has watched too many bad war movies, but if he were to consult with his military leaders or talk to the many fine men and women in uniform, they would tell him they are trained to engage in combat while following the laws of war and upholding the country’s ideals.
Trump is not only pardoning soldiers who committed war crimes but he is also pardoning soldiers who are men without a conscience or empathy. He is pardoning men he identifies with. It makes perfect sense. He is pardoning men who are like him.
Trump has created a crisis of conscience — or more precisely a lack thereof — in the country. It is evidenced in the kinds of people who are his ardent supporters who don’t have a bit of sympathy for the people he’s put in cages or the children taken from their parents. We have seen it over two weeks of testimony coming from the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee who treated patriotic witnesses like they were beneath contempt.
Trump will probably skate by on this one act. However there has to be a growing awareness among at least some of his supporters in at least small incremental ways that Trump is unfit to be president, and to exercise the incredible power of the presidential pardon in a just and fair way.
Monday, Nov 25, 2019 · 7:11:22 PM +00:00 · HalBrown
(Sec. of Defense Mark Esper) Says Trump Ordered End To Disciplinary Process Against Navy SEAL
On Sunday, Esper fired Spencer over his handling of the Gallagher case, stating he no longer trusted the Navy’s top civilian official.
The Defense Department and White House said Spencer, unbeknownst to Esper, tried to broker a side deal with the White House in which he would make sure Gallagher kept his Trident pin if Trump would allow the disciplinary process to play out.
Esper on Monday said he was “flabbergasted” to learn of Spencer’s secret meeting with the White House.
“This proposal was completely contrary to what we agreed to, and contrary to Secretary Spencer’s public position,” Esper told reporters at the Pentagon. “[Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley] and I were completely caught off-guard, and realized that it had undermined everything we had been discussing with the president.”
Read Spencer’s letter of resignation to Trump here.
Most astounding part:
The rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries. Good order and discipline is what has enabled our victory against foreign tyranny time and again, from Captain Lawrence's famous order "Don't Give up the Ship," to the discipline and determination that propelled our flag to the highest point of Iwo Jima. The Constitution, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, are the shields that set us apart, and the beacons that protect us all. Through my Title Ten Authority, I have strived to ensure our proceedings are fair, transparent and consistent, from the newest recruit to the Flag and General Officer level.
Unfortunately, it has become apparent that in this respect, I no longer share the same understanding with the Commander in Chief who appointed me, in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline. I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
The President deserves and should expect a Secretary of the Navy who is aligned with his vision for the future of our force generation and sustainment. Therefore, with pride in the achievements we've shared, and everlasting faith in the continued service and fidelity of the finest Sailors, Marines and civilian teammates on earth, I hereby acknowledge my termination as United States Secretary of the Navy, to be effective immediately.