The president’s shoot-from-the-hip style could be harming the military’s reputation.
President Donald Trump’s Twitter broadsides and military threats are creating more than just headaches for U.S. commanders: They are stoking fears the Pentagon is losing its prized credibility.
In the past three months, Trump has ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria without notice, outraging their Kurdish partners. He’s bucked the military brass by granting clemency to troops accused or convicted of war crimes. He’s threatened to seize oil from Syria, and most recently warned he might illegally bomb cultural sites in Iran before being forced to backtrack.
In all those instances, top military leaders have had to cover for the president, in some cases dodging direct responses to Trump’s comments and in others pretending Trump didn’t say what he said.
Questions about the Pentagon’s credibility carry a host of real-world implications, from allies not trusting America’s word, to worries that more troops will commit war crimes, to growing skepticism over intelligence the Pentagon uses to justify military action.
“It’s terrible,” Eric Edelman, who served as undersecretary of Defense for President George W. Bush, said of the impact Trump is having on the Pentagon’s ability to make its case. “Trump is basically essentially doing things that make the Russians and Chinese happy. They can say, ‘They are just like us. They do what’s in their interest. The notion that America is different is all bullshit.’”
As the military conflict with Iran deepens, the president’s behavior is hamstringing the U.S. military, warned nearly a dozen current and former officials. In particular, Trump’s threats to commit violations of international law are fueling perceptions in the Muslim world that the U.S. military is little more than an imperial occupying force.
And the Pentagon’s credibility faces its next big test Wednesday, when senior military leaders brief skeptical lawmakers in the House and Senate on the decision to conduct a drone strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, a move that sparked the missile attack that struck Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops.
Lawmakers, mostly Democrats, have made it clear they’re in no mood to accept the administration’s claims that Soleimani was prepared to attack U.S. forces, especially since there’s no guarantee that the military tit-for-tat in the Middle East will die down anytime soon.
Trump’s defenders dismiss claims the president’s shoot-from-the-hip style is harming the military’s reputation. And the Pentagon says it’s still credible because it doesn’t get political.
“There’s a reason the U.S. Department of Defense remains the most trusted institution in American government — we stay out of politics,” the Pentagon said in a written response to POLITICO. “DoD also maintains a strong relationship with our allies through our [military-to-military] relationships with countries around the globe, where we do joint training, exercises, and serve together on the battlefield.”
But current and former administration officials worry the president’s growing pattern of breaking faith with some of those allies, ignoring the chain of command, and forcing Pentagon leaders to publicly defend his actions mean that the military’s word does not carry the same weight it once did — just as it tries to head off a major war in the Middle East.
……..
- Discussion
-
Trump's shoot-from-the-hip style could be harming the military's reputation https://t.co/i4uMBNN0Kp
— POLITICO (@politico) January 8, 2020
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.