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Like Putin, Like Trump: the U.S. Military Conundrum [1]
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Date: 2025-01-09
The U.S. military faces a conundrum unlike anything since the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861. That is, an incoming commander-in-chief with an Authoritarian Personality, who is unbound by rules and norms and likely to issue unlawful orders or military actions that cannot be undone. Military subservience to civilian authority has been the bedrock of the civil-military relationship; even when it has led to contentious, unanticipated and deleterious consequences. (Think Vietnam and Iraq) As a result, hundreds of thousands of people have died (many of them innocent civilians) and substantial moral discord evolved inside our nation.
Faced with an attempted insurrection on January 6, 2021, under the courageous leadership of then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (C, JCS), General Mark Miley, the Department of Defense (DoD) stood firm, complete disaster was avoided. Soon the lawful transfer of power was achieved. Condemnation of the attempted coup was near universal and led to the second impeachment of Donald Trump. But such principled integrity was short-lived.
Within a month, Kevin McCarthy and many of the amoral Republicans recanted, begged forgiveness, and betraying America, began kissing Trump’s ass. With an unprecedented and nationally/globally disastrous reversal of fortune, Trump reemerged and won reelection. Supported by an obediently partisan SCOTUS removing any semblance of constraints, Trump in Abaddon-like fashion, now moves to denigrate or wreak havoc on allies (foreign and domestic) while elevating and praising other authoritarian leaders.
In 2014 Putin ordered the occupation of Crimea as the first iteration of the Russian war with Ukraine. Since he was successful with controlling Crimea, in February 2022 he undertook a full-scale invasion of Ukraine which resulted in the first international war in Europe since World War II. For his efforts, Putin became a pariah, and Russia became the target of vast international sanctions and condemnation.
Now Trump would like to do the same for the United States. Merely provocative talk, opening rounds of negotiations, or just bluster, Trump’s threats of armed intervention to take over the Panama Canal from Panama, and wrest Greenland from our NATO ally, Denmark, demonstrates a level of arrogance and incompetence never experienced in our nation’s history. Words have both meanings and consequences, especially when uttered by a U.S. President (even if not yet in office).
On Tuesday, January 7th, Trump held a long, often incoherent and grievance-based, news conference at Mar-A-Lago. The endemic lies were so prolific they are almost impossible to categorize. As MEDIA-ite called it, “Here Are the 5 Craziest Moments from Trump’s Off-the-Wall Presser.” The problem is that many of his action and policy proposals are based on his belief in those lies. As a side note, if President Biden had made such a speech, Fox News and the GOP would be calling to invoke the 25th Amendment.
According to Reuters, “Trump refused to rule out using military or economic action to pursue acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland, part of a broader expansionist agenda he has promoted since winning the Nov. 5 election. Trump, also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state.” Ignorant of cartography, imperiously Trump also promised to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. (Now the butt of many jokes.)
That same day his son, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Greenland and with the epitome of arrogance, “told residents of Greenland that ‘we’re going to treat you well.’” This is not the first time Trump has suggested obtaining Greenland. In his first administration he mentioned trading Puerto Rico for the large resource-rich island. The King of Demark has responded stating that “Greenland is not for sale.”
For the DoD the flashing lights and sirens should be igniting panic. Several months ago, I wrote an article titled An Existential Question. It was after I had passed a note to General Petraeus asking about where the military guardrails would be if Trump again issued illegal orders such as those General Milley was concerned about. Not alone, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper wrote about Trump wanting to shoot American protestors during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. There was also talk about firing missiles into Mexico, another nation he has already again provoked with his intemperate rhetoric about tariffs.
Of grave concern are the nominees Trump has named to take key positions in DOD and the Intelligence Community. Completely unqualified for their positions, they have one overriding characteristic, abject fealty to Trump. None of them seem to realize he will turn on them at some point and they will be discarded like hundreds before them. As his niece, Mary L. Trump, has pointed out, the cardinal rule is “You can’t love a narcissist enough.”
Fox News weekend host Pete Hegseth has been nominated for the Secretary of Defense. While he does have a modicum of military experience, it’s nothing approaching even minimal qualifications for SECDEF. As former Congressman, Adam Kinzinger correctly stated, “There are at least 50,000 people in the Washington area who are better qualified.” IMHO that is an underestimate. Appalling is that some TV pundits said that his low-level experience was better than that of more senior officers. They forget that those senior officers previously held junior positions and have a better breadth of experiences. But, under Trump, the sole issue is personal loyalty, not competence.
There are a few DoD positions that come under the direct purview of POTUS, including that of C, JCS. GEN Milley was appointed by Trump during his first administration. Nothing similar will happen again. Whenever the time comes, whomever Trump nominates for that position will be based on personal loyalty. It is known that Trump was already thinking about replacing GEN C.Q. Brown, the current C, JCS. It was reported that after a meeting at the Army-Navy Football game, he may be safe for a while. In reality, no one is safe and is instead subject to Trump’s irrational mood swings.
For all American officers, what happens when orders come to draw up or execute plans to take control of the Panama Canal or Greenland? What about the next time Trump considers attacking Mexico? How about violating the Posse Comitatus Act and orders deployment of active-duty troops on American streets? The notion of obtaining judicial decisions regarding legality of questionable orders is specious. Most military actions require immediate implementation, while court adjudication can take weeks, months, or even years.
There were many senior flag officers with personal experience with Trump who spoke out about the dangers of reelecting him. His former White House Chief of Staff, GEN John Kelly was among the most vocal. There were two former SECDEFs, Jim Mattis and Mark Esper, who issued similar warnings. It should be remembered that almost none of Trump’s former cabinet members or his Vice President, Mike Pence, would endorse him. Too many American voters failed to heed their advice, as did quite a few military members who erroneously believe he cares about them. Unfortunately, there are some senior officers who would willingly trade their integrity for promotions. That is a clear threat to American democracy.
There are several pundits who claim Trump is all bluster. Some of them suggest these outrageous statements are being made to provide cover for other nefarious actions that are taking place as Trump prepares to take office. They note the playbook calls for the football analogy called “flood the zone.” Politically that means putting out so much extreme material that some will get through. That may well be the case with his announced nominees. Distraction is a key part of the GOP agenda as we prepare to inaugurate the first convicted felon.
It is important to note that others have noted the distinct parallels between Trump and Putin. Just Trump’s chimeric claims have supported the imperial aspirations of both Putin and Xi. Trump’s fallacious rationale for annexing Greenland echoes Putin’s statements about invading Ukraine. Frankly, he sounds a lot like Hitler prior to WWII (Lebensraum). Trump also provides Xi with an acceptable rationale for actions against Taiwan. With his words of January 7th, Trump has caused inextricable damage to America’s reputation and our support of the rule of law. He fails to comprehend that his utterances have consequences, potentially fateful ones.
As a retired military officer, I have never worried about the integrity or loyalty of the DOD senior leadership. While I have disagreed with some of their policies and the decisions they have made, I always thought they did so in what they believed were the best interests of the nation. Under Trump, that is no longer true. What will the DoD senior leadership do when (not if) they are confronted with unlawful/ inadvisable orders from an unstable POTUS?
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