Trump faces opposition from the military. His threats to resort to the "Insurrection Act" and to call on the active army to " quickly solve the problem " of the demonstrations if the governors do not do so, have placed the American president in a cantilever with a new institution, usually much quieter.
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This time, it is not the " false news " media , nor the " far-left Democrats ", nor the " deep state " who are getting in the way of the presidential will, but the American army.
Very unusually, the military hierarchy has expressed its reluctance to see regular troops engaged in policing operations in American cities in the face of crowds once again becoming generally peaceful, and especially the army used for political purposes. .
The most extraordinary sign of disagreement came from the man of trust that Trump had himself placed at the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper. " As Secretary of Defense, but also as a former soldier and former member of the National Guard, I believe that the option of using the active military in a policing role should only be used as a last resort and only in the most urgent and serious situations , he said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. We are not in one of these situations at the moment. I am not in favor of using the Insurrection Act ”.
Esper, a former West Point student and paratrooper, had fought in the First Gulf War before pursuing a career in public relations for the defense industry. Considered a Trump follower, he was by the president's side Monday when he was briefly out of the White House to be photographed in front of St. John's Church. Esper himself recommended " dominating the battlefield " in front of the protesters, an expression he has since expressed regret. The Secretary of State simultaneously announced the return to their neighborhoods of some 200 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, on alert near Washington and ready to intervene if necessary. Sign of the muted tensions between the Pentagon and the White House, this order was canceled a few hours later.
Mattis and Mullen speak
On the same day, Esper's predecessor at the Pentagon, General James Mattis, delivered in a column published by The Atlantic magazine, one of the President's most scathing reviews by a former prominent member of his administration. “ Donald Trump is the first president in my life who does not try to unite the American people; he doesn't even pretend to try. Instead, he's trying to divide us , ”wrote Mattis. “ We are witnessing the consequences of three years of these deliberate efforts. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without a responsible government , ”he continued. When I joined the military, about 50 years ago, I swore to defend the Constitution. I never imagined that soldiers who took the same oath would one day be ordered to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens - let alone allow a bizarre photo op to the Commander-in-Chief with military officials to his sides ”.
Former commander of the Marine Corps, one of the most decorated officers of his generation, James Mattis was considered during the first two years of Trump's term as one of the few members of the administration not to behave in sycophant while loyally serving the president. It was in the name of this same loyalty that Mattis ended up resigning in December 2018, citing his deep disagreement with Trump's decision to withdraw American forces from Rojava, the autonomous Kurdish region in north-eastern Syria, and abandon the YPG allies. Trump had advanced Mattis' departure date, trumpeting since he " fired " him. Mattis had since remained silent. His memoirs, Indicatif Chaos , carefully avoided any reference to the president, and Mattis invoked his " duty of silence ". The general had barely responded publicly to Trump's insults, recalling that while he " won his spurs on the battlefield ", the president had " obtained his own with a doctor's reform certificate "
" We should only use our armed forces on our territory on very rare occasions, and at the request of the governors ," said Mattis. The militarization of our response, as we saw in Washington, DC, results in a conflict - a false conflict - between civil and military society. It erodes the moral bond which guarantees trust between the men and women who serve in uniform and the civil society whom they have sworn to protect and of which they themselves are a part. The maintenance of public order is the responsibility of the civil authorities, governors and local elected representatives who best understand and are accountable to their communities ”.
The third high-ranking military figure to come out of his reserve, Admiral Mike Mullen, former chief of staff, has also published a column in which he warns against the use of the active army for law enforcement missions. " I cannot remain silent, " writes the former admiral, who says he has confidence in the armed forces. " But I am less confident in the legality of the orders that this commander-in-chief will give them, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have reached a level which justifies the use of military troops ... Furthermore, I am deeply concerned that when they carry out his orders, the military will be used for political ends . "
Trump did not comment on Esper's statement, but posted a few vengeful messages on Twitter against Mattis, the " most oversold general ."
Even if it is expressed through retired generals, the military sling is an unexpected development for Donald Trump. That of Esper indicates that even the most loyal members of his government are not ready to follow him blindly.
