Many American commentators were surprised that outgoing President Donald Trump made sweeping changes among the leaders of the Defense Ministry, just 70 days before the inauguration of a new president on the twentieth of next January.

Some attributed these changes - which toppled the defense minister and a number of senior Pentagon officials - to several reasons, including personal accounts related to the nature of President Trump's personality, while others believed that the president wanted a team that supports the completion of his policies during his remaining term in office.

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces

Constitutionally, President Donald Trump will remain president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces until midday on January 20, when the new president is installed.

Trump has pledged to bring back US forces from Afghanistan before Christmas, and it is possible that Trump will implement the rapid withdrawal of forces that he has pledged for several months and has hesitated to implement it due to concerns from Defense Secretary Mark Esper and others.

The dismissal of Defense Secretary Mike Esper and the replacement of Christopher Miller, the former head of the National Counter-Terrorism Center with him, prompted some fears of a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Syria, and possibly Iraq.

During his remaining term in office, President Trump can take any decisions related to the stationing and deployment of US forces abroad "in a way that destabilizes regional stability and limits Biden's future policies," according to an American diplomat who spoke to Al Jazeera Net and asked not to be named.

The diplomat warned of a hasty withdrawal that "would also cause rapid bloodshed, gains for terrorist groups, and, ultimately, a chaotic return of US forces. This would make it impossible for Biden to pursue the overseas troop review process that he promised." Out.

Military sources talked to Axios about the dismissals made by Trump at the Ministry of Defense, and confirmed that they "aim to accelerate the withdrawal of US forces from the Middle East, especially Afghanistan and Syria."

For his part, Republican Senator Rand Paul rejected calls skeptical of what the president could take in decisions following his dismissal of a number of Defense Department officials.

Reminder to those saying withdrawing troops may cause a “clash” with Generals / Pentagon: there is only one Commander in Chief, it is @realDonaldTrump and when he orders the troops out of Afghanistan, the only proper answer is “ Yes sir. ”

https://t.co/RLWVw0T5rM

- Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 12, 2020

The Republican senator from Kentucky tweeted, "I would like to mention those who say that withdrawing troops may cause differences with the generals and the Pentagon: There is only one commander, who is the president and when he orders the commander of the armed forces to withdraw from Afghanistan, the only correct answer is: Yes, sir." .

And the Pentagon leaders considered that the withdrawal of forces would prevent Washington from continuing to pressure the Taliban to abide by the terms of the peace agreement signed with the Kabul government, and it would also limit Washington's ability to continue fighting Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Personal accounts

On the other hand, some commentators attributed Trump's decisions to liquidating personal accounts only and not related to any future policies.

Representative Adam Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, warned of the consequences of what he considered "the dangerous steps that President Trump is taking at the Defense Department during a presidential transition period."

Smith considered that the only thing that prevented Donald Trump from doing things that would be completely crazy in the past was "the possibility of his re-election and political pressure."

Esper and General Mark Kelly had disagreed with President Trump after his request to send army forces to help quell protests in the streets of Washington, DC, and Esper considered that the task should be left to the local National Guard.

Trump was persuaded to delay Esper's dismissal by aides and lawmakers who feared that such a move would not look very good in the election.

David de Roch, a former warrior, assistant professor at the Center for Near East and South Asia at the US National Defense University, believes that it is difficult to politicize the US military.

He continued in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, "It is unfortunate that some politicize the American army and act as if our army has an important political role. We are not in Egypt or Pakistan."

It is noteworthy that the results of the presidential elections - which Trump has not yet acknowledged - indicate the progress of Democratic candidate Joe Biden and his obtaining more than 270 votes from the electoral college votes needed to reach the White House.