Former War Secretaries Tell Trump to Leave Military Out Of It

By Staff, Agencies

All 10 former US war secretaries still living, including two who worked for Donald Trump, called for the president and his supporters to accept he lost the election and warned against attempts to involve the military in his increasingly desperate efforts to overturn the result.

In an unprecedented joint letter published in the Washington Post, the war secretaries addressed the worst fears of what could happen in 17 days of Trump’s administration remaining before Joe Biden’s inauguration: an attempt by Trump to foment a crises with the aim of triggering a military intervention in his last-ditch struggle to hold on power.

“Efforts to involve the US armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory,” the letter said.

“Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.”

Among the signatories were James Mattis and Mark Esper, who both served as war secretaries in the Trump administration. Esper openly contradicted Trump in June by insisting there were no grounds for invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows for the deployment of US troops on American streets in extreme circumstances.

Dick Cheney, war secretary under George HW Bush, and vice-president to his son, George W Bush, and Donald Rumsfeld, war secretary in the younger Bush’s administration, also signed. The other signatories were William Perry and William Cohen, war secretaries in the Bill Clinton administration; Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel and Ashton Carter, who served under Barack Obama; and Robert Gates, who served under both the younger Bush and Obama.

“Transitions, which all of us have experienced, are a crucial part of the successful transfer of power. They often occur at times of international uncertainty about US national security policy and posture,” the former war secretaries wrote. “They can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation.”

They called on the current war secretary, Christopher Miller, and his officials to resume cooperation with the Biden transition team, who had complained their briefings had been cut off and the Pentagon had ceased answering their inquiries.

The Washington Post quoted Eric Edelman, a former US ambassador and military official, as saying the genesis of the remarkable letter was a conversation he had with Cheney about how the military might be used in coming days.

There are concerns over unrest on Wednesday when a dozen Republican senators say they will challenge the normally routine congressional ratification of the Electoral College result.

Trump has urged his supporters to rally in Washington, tweeting: “Be there, will be wild!” The far right Proud Boys are expected to be among the pro-Trump crowd in the capital.