"I shouldn't have been there," said General Milley. While the United States has been ablaze since the death of George Floyd, the Chief of the Public Staff has publicly regretted appearing alongside Donald Trump after an anti-racism demonstration near the White House, the June 1st.

The demonstration had been dispersed to allow the president to be photographed, Bible in hand, near a degraded church the day before by the demonstrators. General Milley then displayed himself beside the president and the images showing him in camouflage with Donald Trump were immediately used by the White House in a video with electoral accents.

"My presence at that time and under these circumstances gave the impression that the military was intervening in internal politics," added the highest ranking American officer. "It was a mistake I learned from and I sincerely hope we can all learn from it," he said, looking serious. "We must scrupulously respect the principle of an apolitical army, which is deeply rooted in the quintessence of our republic."

Awareness

Former military officials, including ex-Defense Minister Jim Mattis, were moved by what they considered to be a politicization of the military.

"I never imagined that soldiers who take the same oath could be ordered, whatever the circumstances, to violate the constitutional rights of their fellow citizens - and even less to allow the elected commander-in-chief to pose for a photo, absurdly, with the military leaders at his side, "wrote the former Marine General in the columns of The Atlantic magazine.

The White House strongly defended the photo of Donald Trump outside the church, evoking his desire to "send a strong message" and even comparing him to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War. 

Defense dissociates from Donald Trump

But this episode seems to have caused an awareness in the military hierarchy. The Minister of Defense publicly disassociated himself from the president on June 3.

"I am not in favor of declaring a state of insurrection," said Mark Esper. He too had expressed regrets. "I do everything I can to remain apolitical and to avoid situations that may seem political. Sometimes I get there, other times I don't."

Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy also said this week "open to discussion" about the renaming of 10 military bases named after Confederate Civil War Generals (1961- 1865) who were in favor of slavery. They were immediately cropped by the president, who in a series of tweets categorically opposed the idea.

With AFP

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