REPUBLICAN COWARDS IN CONGRESS ARE TO BLAME.
CIA despairs, Diplomats Dispairs, Secretary of Defense Resigns.
Trump turns America into a foreign Country.
BECAUSE THEY KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT TRUMP IS DOING
AND STILL SAY NOTHING – ON THE RECORD WITH THEIR NAME
Donald Trump Orders Up His Own Praetorian Guard, Including Black Hawk
Helicopters and the 82nd Airborne with Bayonets. WHILE HIDING IN A BUNKER–National Guard Troops Arrive on White House Grounds on Monday, June 1, 2020 By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: June 3, 2020 ~
Maryland, Virginia governors refuse Pentagon request to send National Guard to DC
The governors of Maryland and Virginia both refused direct requests from Defense Secretary Mark Esper to send National Guard troops to help counter mostly peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C.
In separate calls made on Monday, Esper asked Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to deploy troops into the District, sources with knowledge of the calls said.
Esper made the request without consulting Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), who had already declared a curfew in the nation's capital.
EXCELLENT!! HAT’S OFF TO THESE 2 PEOPLE
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“When this request came in, we quickly learned it had not been made at Mayor Bower’s request or coordinated with her, and we have heightened concern based on the President’s remarks that the administration is looking to use the Guard to escalate — not deescalate — the situation,” Mercer said.
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RESIGNATION LETTER
James N. Miller served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014. He provided The Post with a copy of his resignation letter, which he submitted to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Tuesday evening.
June 2, 2020
Hon. Mark T. Esper
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C., 20301
Dear Secretary Esper,
I resign from the Defense Science Board, effective immediately.
When I joined the Board in early 2014, after leaving government service as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, I again swore an oath of office, one familiar to you, that includes the commitment to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”
You recited that same oath on July 23, 2019, when you were sworn in as Secretary of Defense. On Monday, June 1, 2020, I believe that you violated that oath. Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets — not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op. You then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church for that photo.
President Trump’s actions Monday night violated his oath to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” as well as the First Amendment “right of the people peaceably to assemble.” You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.
Anyone who takes the oath of office must decide where he or she will draw the line: What are the things that they will refuse to do? Secretary Esper, you have served honorably for many years, in active and reserve military duty, as Secretary of the Army, and now as Secretary of Defense. You must have thought long and hard about where that line should be drawn. I must now ask: If last night’s blatant violations do not cross the line for you, what will?
Unfortunately, it appears there may be few if any lines that President Trump is not willing to cross, so you will probably be faced with this terrible question again in the coming days. You may be asked to take, or to direct the men and women serving in the U.S. military to take, actions that further undermine the Constitution and harm Americans.
As a concerned citizen, and as a former senior defense official who cares deeply about the military, I urge you to consider closely both your future actions and your future words. For example, some could interpret literally your suggestion to the nation’s governors Monday that they need to “dominate the battlespace.” I cannot believe that you see the United States as a “battlespace,” or that you believe our citizens must be “dominated.” Such language sends an extremely dangerous signal.
You have made life-and-death decisions in combat overseas; soon you may be asked to make life-and-death decisions about using the military on American streets and against Americans. Where will you draw the line, and when will you draw it?
I hope this letter of resignation will encourage you to again contemplate the obligations you undertook in your oath of office, as well as your obligations to the men and women in our military and other Americans whose lives may be at stake. In the event that at least some other senior officials may be inclined to ask these questions after reading this letter, I am making it public.
I wish you the best, in very difficult times. The sanctity of the U.S. Constitution, and the lives of Americans, may depend on your choices.
Sincerely,
James N. Miller
James N. Miller served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014. He provided The Post with a copy of his resignation letter, which he submitted to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Tuesday evening.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/02/secretary-esper-you-violated-your-oath-aiding-trumps-photo-op-thats-why-im-resigning/
CIA DESPAIRS
CIA veterans who monitored crackdowns abroad see troubling parallels in Trump’s handling of protests By Greg Miller
June 2, 2020 at 6:48 p.m. EDT
The scenes have been disturbingly familiar to CIA analysts accustomed to monitoring scenes of societal unraveling abroad — the massing of protesters, the ensuing crackdowns and the awkwardly staged displays of strength by a leader determined to project authority.
In interviews and posts on social media in recent days, current and former U.S. intelligence officials have expressed dismay at the similarity between events at home and the signs of decline or democratic regression they were trained to detect in other nations.
“I’ve seen this kind of violence,” said Gail Helt, a former CIA analyst responsible for tracking developments in China and Southeast Asia. “This is what autocrats do. This is what happens in countries before a collapse. It really does unnerve me.”
Helt, now a professor at King University in Tennessee, said the images of unrest in U.S. cities, combined with President Trump’s incendiary statements, echo clashes she covered over a dozen years at the CIA tracking developments in China, Malaysia and elsewhere.
Other former CIA and national security officials rendered similarly troubled verdicts….
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DIPLOMATS DESPAIR
Adversaries delight in America’s convulsions, while U.S. diplomats despair
By NAHAL TOOSI 06/02/2020 05:16 PM EDT
The unrest on American streets is complicating life for those representing the country abroad, current and former officials say. If the United States were a foreign country, American diplomats would follow a familiar playbook. In public, they’d express “concern” about the unrest in the country– maybe even “deep” concern. They’d call on “all parties” to engage in “dialogue” to resolve disputes. They’d insist the government allow for “peaceful” protests and urge “restraint” by security forces. They’d denounce police attacks on journalists. They might even offer to mediate between the feuding parties.
In classified cables sent back home, they’d question the stability of the government. They’d look for signs of fractures among the ruling elites, and ponder whether the head of state would be willing to accept defeat in the upcoming election. Some would gather information about potential human rights violators. They’d elevate security at their embassy, mull issuing a travel warning and dust off contingency plans for evacuating themselves and other U.S. citizens.
But America is not a foreign country. It is home….
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