About a dozen former officials at the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) warned on Tuesday of the dangers of deteriorating relations between politicians and the military in the United States, where political divisions are deepening.
This came in a statement signed by 8 former defense ministers and 5 former chiefs of staff entitled "Best Practices in Civil-Military Relations", in which they said that civil-military relations in the current environment are characterized by "great difficulty."
In the statement, which comes after years in which the Pentagon has been embroiled in political intrigue, especially under former President Donald Trump, the signatories added that military professionals face an "unfavorable environment marked by divisions due to bipartisan antagonism that culminated in the first election in more than a century when the transition was disrupted." peaceful political authority and has become questionable.”
But they did not directly mention the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in which a number of current and former military personnel participated.
Among the former defense ministers who signed the statement are Republican Bob Gates and Democrat Leon Panetta, as well as Jim Mattis and Mark Esper, who served as Secretary of Defense and were fired by Trump because they opposed him.
"All of these factors could worsen in the future before they improve," the statement said, but did not mention any examples of civil-military disagreements.
The statement was published by the "War on the Rocks" website, which specializes in defense affairs.
Under Trump, the military has been asked to assist with a number of unconventional activities including building a border wall, guarding the border against illegal immigrants and helping urban police to deal with violent protests.
In one incident, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, who is still chief of staff, walked alongside Trump in front of the White House after the police cleared the street of protesters against the killing of the black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a policeman, and later each apologized for their participation in what was counted. Presidential propaganda.
Under President Joe Biden, the military was forced to make a random withdrawal from Afghanistan that was not approved by the top Pentagon leaders, and Biden faced widespread criticism last week after he delivered a political speech in which he attacked Trump supporters while two US Marines stood behind him.
Officials emphasized that the military leadership must accept orders even when they disagree with their opinion.
But they nonetheless said that those orders should be legal, explaining that “it is the responsibility of senior military and civilian leaders to ensure that any order they receive from the president is lawful.