"I deeply believe in the principle that a US military is apolitical“, Wrote the general Mark A Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (equivalent to our Chief of Defense Staff, General Enzo Vecciarelli), in the written answers to the questions posed by the parliamentarians of the Chamber.
Gen. Milley added: “In the event of a dispute over the lawfulness of the election, by law, the disputes are resolved by the US courts and the US Congress, not the US military. I do not foresee any role for the US military in this process. "
The senior Pentagon officials according to the NYT would be very concerned that their commander in chief could order the American troops to take action to quell the social unrest that could arise after the results of the next presidential elections scheduled in 40 days, on the 3rd. next November. One of the clues when Trump came back last Wednesday refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, regardless of who wins the election.
On Thursday he then increased the dose by announcing that he is not sure that the next elections will be "honest".
The fear of the generals and admirals of the Pentagon because Trump already tried, appealing to the Insurrection Act of 1807, to use the army to quell the protests after the barbaric killing by the police of George Floyd. On that occasion, all the highest officials of the Pentagon strongly opposed.
Meanwhile, the internal debate becomes more and more pressing. On the plate the role of the military in the event that a contested election should lead to major civil unrest.
On August 11, writes the NYT, John Nagl and Paul Yingling, both retired army officers and veterans of the Iraq war, published an open letter to the Pentagon's general leaders complaining of strong concern about the danger that the president could invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.
On the Defense One website the message of some veterans addressed to General Milley was published: “In a few months, you may have to choose between challenging a lawless president or betraying your constitutional oath. If Donald Trump refuses to leave office when his constitutional term expires, the US military must forcibly remove him, and you must give that order. "
Pentagon officials commented on the Defense One appeal: "Under no circumstances would the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have sent Navy SEALs or Marines to drag Trump out of the White House ”.
If necessary, such a task, Defense Department officials said, goes to the cops, the "Marshalls" or the "Secret Service."
The army, by law, officials said, makes a vote to the Constitution, not the president, and that vote means the army commander-in-chief is the one who was sworn in at 12:01 pm on inauguration day. .
But senior Pentagon executives told the NYT on condition of anonymity that the matter is under consideration in the secret rooms of the Defense Department. Different scenarios are analyzed but one among them, what to do if Mr. Trump, still president from election day to inauguration day, invokes the Insurrection Act to send troops to the streets.
The Insurrection Act, a two-century-old law, allows a president to send military personnel on active duty to quell unrest.
Several Pentagon officials have also hinted that, should Trump orders troops to take to the streets, there could be mass resignations starting with the most prominent leaders such as General Milley and Air Force Chief of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown.