What Is a Domestic Enemy?

by

Gadfly

           On June 11, 2020, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, apologized for accompanying his Commander-in-Chief for an important signal in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church.  President Trump appears to have shrugged it off.

           I reflected on a couple of experiences that risked being political and showing disloyalty.  The first was a top three meeting (master sergeants, senior master sergeants, and chief master sergeants) at an Air Force wing.  About 80 were present.  One chief master sergeant stood up and said, “Colonel, it’s not fair that the commander-in-chief can participate in sexual harassment and lie to our Nation without being held accountable.”  My response was, “Accountability for the President is a matter for the ballot box.  We know what our ‘zero tolerance’ standards are.  We all set an example for others by enforcing them.”  The question spoke to a political matter, and I did not step into the trap.

           On another occasion, while teaching as the head of the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a university, one of my students (a cadet) asked for my view on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  I responded that “it was a good question.  As I stand here before you in uniform, I support the Department of Defense policy.”  The student pressed, “But, Sir.  What is your personal view?”  I told him that it would be inappropriate for me to offer my personal view, but encouraged the students to spend a few minutes debating it.  I wanted to emphasize the importance of being apolitical and loyal to the institution, even when you might disagree on some matters.

   

Thus, trying to understand Milley’s rationale for the apology made me realize that he may not know what a domestic enemy is.

Here is how (transcript here; infamous clip here) the General expressed his apology in front of colonels graduating from the National Defense University (bold, italics are mine to address in subsequent commentary):

Equality and opportunity is a matter of readiness. It’s the basis of cohesion. We fight wars as teams, and we cannot tolerate anything that divides us. Let me conclude with two simple pieces of advice, based on 40 years in uniform, that you may find useful as many of you will surely go on to be flag officers. First, always maintain a keen sense of situational awareness. As senior leaders, everything you do will be closely watched, and I am not immune. As many of you saw the result of the photograph of me at Lafayette Square last week, that sparked a national debate about the role of the military 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’ve learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it.

           Equality and opportunity are political euphemisms.  An Army private is not equal to a corporal, let alone a four-star general. Access to opportunity is subject to many variables and factors and is dependent upon the motivation of each individual to be prepared to benefit from opportunities when they present themselves. For members of the profession of arms, professional competence and loyalty are far more critical.  We expect these individuals to meet or exceed these standards; and if they do not, we discharge them.  Our profession is existential.  There is no room for pandering or coddling.  I will address loyalty later in the article.

           [W]e cannot tolerate anything that divides us.  The protests, looting, and rioting are fully intended to divide us.  So, for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to say what he did, speaks volumes about his critical lack of situational awareness.

           Lafayette Square (also known as President’s Park, Washington, D.C) was on the way to St. John’s Episcopal Church, (often called the Church of the Presidents).  President Trump wanted to do two things during this event.  First, as President of the United States of America, he wanted to demonstrate that our Nation is still based on the rule of law, such that he could openly walk across Lafayette Square (President’s Park) to a site (the Church of the Presidents) that had been vandalized by the “so called peaceful protestors.”

Trump’s second objective was to send a signal (far more than a photo op) that First Amendment rights do not justify violating sacred values through physical destruction of churches.  “Fire-bombing,” “torching,” or “setting on fire”— language advanced by the media downplayed the fact that “peaceful protestors” do not deliberately vandalize property, let alone sacred property.

 

Yet, Milley emphasized during his speech:

 

The freedoms guaranteed to us in the Constitution allow people to demand change just as the peaceful protesters are doing all across the country. That is why we serve in the military. On day one, you and I, we all, we all swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution.

           Peaceful protestors?  Is Milley unaware of the millions, perhaps billions now, in damage being incurred across the nation?  Is he unaware that anarchists have seized and now occupy territory in Seattle?  As these “peaceful protestors” take down or destroy historical monuments, is he unaware that a statue of Lenin (responsible for tremendous brutality—see my article “Where to Begin”) still occupies a safe space in Seattle?

           Swore an oath.  Milley did not include that we support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

           Milley also said the following:

We who were the cloth of our nation come from the people of our nation. And we must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military that is so deeply rooted in the very essence of our republic. . . .. And my second piece of advice is very simple. Embrace the Constitution, keep it close to your heart. It is our North Star. It’s our map to a better future. Though we are not a perfect union, believe in the United States, believe in our country, believe in your troops. And believe in our purpose. Few other nations have been able to change for the greater good. And that is because of the rights and values embedded in our Constitution.

         [W]e must hold dear the principle of an apolitical military.  I completely agree.  What does this mean?  It means loyalty (in addition to professional competence) to the commander-in-chief, regardless of political party.  It also means avoiding getting entangled in political issues.  When the military, such as Service Academies, impose on their cadets and midshipmen to engage in “conversations” about social or political matters, it becomes VERY political.  It is very difficult to encourage open minds when the thrust and tone of such “conversations” reflect a monolithic “political” view.  Right now, the monolithic view is progressivism, Milley’s map to a better future, based on the power elite’s North Star.

           President Trump also believes in the Constitution and the essence of our republic.  President Trump subscribes to natural rights grounded in our Judeo-Christian tradition.  This is what made America great and it reflects his political agenda.  A republic is the golden mean between two extreme forms of government:  autocracy and democracy.  The protests, looting, and rioting are a manifestation of democracy.  If unchecked by the tools and institutions of a republic, the democracy will give birth to a tyrannical autocracy.  In his commencement speech, among the lessons being taught, Milley failed to instruct a fundamental principle of our Constitutional Republic:  Trump is the politically elected commander-in-chief to which our military pledges its apolitical loyalty.

[B]ecause of the rights and values embedded in our Constitution.  The rights embedded in our Constitution are natural rights—equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  The Bill of rights expand upon these rights.  Other rights, such as civil rights, are statutory and have emerged overtime, typically recognizing factions that characterize a democracy, which weakens the golden mean of a republic.  In essence, our governments have usurped the sovereign people by creating an administrative state that has become repressive over time.

          Political philosopher, David Easton, defined politics “as the authoritative allocation of values.”  “Authoritative allocation” implies political power.  President Trump was elected to carry out his political agenda, which reflects Constitutional Republic values.  These values are not congruent with the left’s.  Instead of finding ways to advance their agenda in peaceful ways, the left distorts the truth and pursues lawfare ways (costly litigation and activist judges) of punishing those with different values.

           Embrace the Constitution.  Members of the profession of arms (as well as government officials) swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  In his commencement speech, Milley spent less than three minutes on the foreign threat and more than 10 minutes on domestic matters.  By balancing his speech the way he did, Milley delved into politics.  Not once in the speech, nor in any other public statements, did he mention the “domestic enemy” of the Constitution.  The domestic enemy is on full display and his “situational awareness” fails to see it.  Today, the left—progressives, democrats, the Communist Party USA and various communist front organizations (Organizing for Action, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, Sunrise Movement, and so forth —is fully committed to “fundamentally transforming America.”

          

Milley’s walk with the President was an opportunity to acknowledge this awareness and to send a strong signal to our military force that we are fully prepared to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

 

Perhaps Milley has since had an epiphany and now understands the seriousness of this existential moment in our journey through history.  I hope so.  We all make mistakes and err in judgment.  Yet, when called upon to exercise courageous leadership in a critical situation, we must be worthy to make the right decisions.