On Military Involvement In Domestic Politics

Yesterday I wrote about the Op-Ed that a very partisan, and not all that coherent, retired admiral--identified as such--wrote as part of the NYT's heightening campaign to remove President Trump before he can be reelected: How Bad Is Our Constitutional Crisis? I expressed the view that we've come to a very dangerous pass when the Left recruits the military to call for the extra-electoral removal of a president. That, in my view, is an undertaking that should be left strictly to Congress. And, of course, civilian citizens. But definitely not to the military or the intelligence Deep State.

I just came across an open letter to that admiral which is well expressed. Read it here, at US Defense Watch. One part of the letter that caught my attention was this:


What you call unparalleled integrity, I call honest to goodness treason.

Former CIA director Brennan, whom you state has honesty and character authorized the CIA to spy on American citizens, tried to rig a Presidential election and then lied to Congress about that spying. A man you claim has unparalleled integrity was caught fabricating stories about attacks on US personnel in Libya and providing weapons to ISIS backed militias in Syria.

Mr. Brennan also voted once for a communist candidate. How Mr. Brennan was hired as DCI after voting for a communist and why you support a man who once did, is a mystery to everyone but you and God.

Former members of the special operations community do not share your adoration for Mr. Brennan. Kris “Tanto” Paronto, a former Army Ranger and private security contractor who was part of the CIA team that fought back during the 2012 Benghazi terror attack, accused Brennan of putting his “politics” before those in the field.

On Twitter, Paronto stated: “My principles are greater than clearances too John Brennan, especially when you and the @CIA kool-aid drinkers punishes us for not going along with the Benghazi cover-up story in order to protect you, @HillaryClinton’s & @BarackObama’s failures. You put your politics before us.” 

Mr. Brennan was recently referred to by retired Army Brigadier General Anthony Tata as a ‘clear and present danger’ to the nation.

...

You also wrote, sir, in reference to the President, “Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation,”

Actually, Admiral, the only person who has humiliated the US on the world stage in the last decade is Barack Hussein Obama. During the eight years of the Obama administrations, the world watched as the US cow-towed to Iranian thugs, let the Chinese run rings around us in the Pacific, while ISIS murdered tens of thousands of innocent people in the Middle East. Believe me, Admiral, the children of Syria and Iraq are rejoicing in their liberation from ISIS mass murderers. And, the people of the Middle East and across the world are sleeping soundly tonight, knowing that an incompetent, narcissistic maniac like Hillary Clinton isn’t sitting in the Oval Office.

As far as the nation’s current political schism, you need only look at your fellow liberals who are inciting violence and propagating hatred on a daily basis.

You then dared the Commander in Chief to revoke your security clearance.

I’m sure you’re aware of the following regulation in the UCMJ. Retired military officers are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) under Article 2 of the UCMJ, which extends the jurisdiction of military law to “Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.” “Retirees are subject to the UCMJ and may be tried by court-martial for violations … that occurred … while in a retired status.”

Article 88 of the UCMJ criminalizes “contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State.”

Something to ponder, sir.