At Pentagon, Fears Grow That Trump Will Pull Military Into Election Unrest

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text: Day by day, story by story, the sense of surrealism grows.

WASHINGTON — Senior Pentagon leaders have a lot to worry about — Afghanistan, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, China, Somalia, the Korean Peninsula. But chief among those concerns is whether their commander in chief might order American troops into any chaos around the coming elections.

President Trump gave officials no solace on Wednesday and Thursday when he again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power no matter who wins the election, and on Thursday, he doubled down by saying he was not sure the election could be “honest.” His hedging, along with his expressed desire in June to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops onto American streets to quell protests over the killing of George Floyd, has incited deep anxiety among senior military and Defense Department leaders, who insist they will do all they can to keep the armed forces out of the elections.

“I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military,” General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in written answers to questions from House lawmakers released last month. “In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. military. I foresee no role for the U.S. armed forces in this process.”

But that has not stopped an intensifying debate in the military about its role should a disputed election lead to civil unrest.

*snip*

[Girard442]

1. So if Trump orders the military to quell disturbances...

...They should show up unarmed and dispense food, medical care, and provide shelter. They should explain that they are there to help — but refuse to take up arms against their fellow citizens.

You guys brave enough to do that?

[gratuitous]

2. Just so

NOW is the time for each and every military leader to plan his or her response to an illegal order. Get it straight with those above you and communicate to those under you exactly what your authority is, and the limits of that authority. Where on the continuum do you cross the line from legal to illegal? Where does the shady part creep in? Can you, will you, stop when the order comes down that you regard as illegal? If it's too late by that time, what are the hallmarks that should raise your suspicion that you're headed toward an illegal order? Are those under you trustworthy to follow your order to pull back or stand down? If not, what's your plan for that?

Because if you don't think about this ahead of time, you will surely not have time in the moment to process your decision.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. I see no role for any military involvement in our elections, nor whatever this POS in the WH says,

people with their wits and heads still on will go about their constitutional duties as they should, regardless of what the scumbag in the WH says, and undergo an orderly transition of power.