The Defense Secretary’s Comeback after the 9/11 Analogy to the 2016-2019 George Floyd Protest: Incensed by Milley’s apology at National Defense University
Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, in explaining the inspector general probe said in a statement on Monday: “Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership.”
Even though Milley is retired, he still had a security detail through the army because of Iranian threats after the U.S. strike that killed Qusem Soleimani. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then National Security Advisor John Bolton recently lost their security details on orders from President Trump, who clashed with them as well.
The decision to strip Milley of his security detail was met with quick criticism from Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Civil military experts say the comments could get Milley in trouble. It is illegal under military law for any commissioned officer to make “contemptuous words” against the president or other senior officials.
Trump was persuaded to change course on a number of occasions by Milley and others. Trump wanted to remove all U.S. troops from Syria in 2018, though Milley persuaded him to have hundreds of troops remain to work with Kurdish forces and deal with a continuing threat from the Islamic State.
When he was elected in 2016, Trump chose Milley — then the Army’s top officer — to be his principal military advisor over Air Force General David Goldfein, who then Defense Secretary James Mattis favored. Trump liked Milley’s outspoken ways and boisterous demeanor. The relationship deteriorated the same way as it did with Trump and two other retired generals.
Right after the George Floyd protests in June 2020, Milley walked with Trump from the White House through Lafayette Square, where law enforcement, aided by National Guard troops, forcibly removed demonstrators. At the time, Milley was wearing camouflage fatigues. As Trump headed through the square to St. John’s Episcopal Church, carrying a bible, Milley peeled off and chatted with National Guard forces, seemingly not wanting to appear in what was clearly a political event. Officials say that Trump was incensed by Milley’s apology at National Defense University.
Milley said that the photograph of him at Lafayette Square provoked a national debate about the military’s role in civil society. “I should not have been there. My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it. We who wear the cloth of our nation come from our own people, and we must hold on to the idea of an apolitical military that is deeply embedded in the very essence of our Republic.
Milley reassured Chinese officials that Trump didn’t want to attack Beijing during his final weeks in office. Milley has said that call was coordinated with then Defense Secretary Mark Esper and other administration officials, but Trump later said such calls “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” Officials tell NPR the call already has been investigated and nothing came of it.
When Milley retired, he emphasized the words “All” and “and” to remind those in uniform that they were required to take an oath to the Constitution against any foreign or domestic enemies.
“We do not take an oath to a ruler or a tyrant and we do not take an oath to a dictator, that’s how we are,” Milley said, in reference to Trump. We do not give an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and that we’re willing to die for it.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to the country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward. I now realize he’s a fascist. He is the most dangerous person in this country.”
A Pentagon Look at the Legacy of a Pentagon Sergeant in Hegseth’s Oath after the 2017 Airborne Superfight
The pre-emptive pardon given by President Biden to Milley and other people applies to both federal and military law. But Hegseth appears to be pursuing Milley through administration efforts.
Civil military experts say it’s unusual, maybe even unprecedented, to investigate a former senior officer for conduct that alleges “undermining the chain of command.”
The president punished his own pick in a public manner, at a time when the administration is worried about being politicized, said Peter Feaver who teaches political science at Duke University.
The author of a book on the U.S. political dynamics of Iraq said that such a move by the Pentagon was an effort by the Trump administration to silence any dissent.
Rarely are senior officers recalled to active duty for criminal probes. Back in 2017, Air Force General Arthur Lichte was demoted from four stars to two stars and forfeited $5,000 a month in retirement pay after investigators found he engaged in inappropriate sexual acts while in uniform.
Even before Hegseth’s orders, efforts to distance the Defense Department from Milley’s legacy were being felt at the Pentagon. Within hours of President Trump taking the oath of office last week, a recently installed portrait of General Milley was removed from the walls of one of the building’s corridors.