What else — besides Constitutional concern — motivates military leadership's opposition to President Trump's wish to use active duty troops on American soil?

06 June 2020

If History is being made behind the scenes, why so?

President Trump's need to portray himself as a powerful force arguably saw him stray over the Constitutional line.

This happened when he proposed using American active duty troops to clamp down on protests and looting occasioned by George Floyd's police-instigated murder.

Since then, a number of very prominent 4 star military retirees have spoken out against the President's very arguably illegal idea.

Procedurally more important, given his currently serving active duty status, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did also. In a veiled but significant way.

If we grant these men's genuine concern about America's founding document — why else might they be speaking out?

This is where it gets institutionally ugly.

There are two reasons for concealed deviousness:

The first aims to preserve the All Volunteer Military.

The second has to do with limiting the damage that America's True Face (so well embodied in Donald Trump) does to our image at home and around the world.

If people actually see how we really are, they might try to correct it. Can't have that. The US Imperium might fall.

Reason 1 — Preserving the All Volunteer Military's ability to prevent unwelcome civilian interference in military affairs

The draft of the Vietnam War era made it impossible to do Military Industrial Complex things behind American citizens' backs.

After all, with a significant swath of American society forced to serve in the strategically nonsensical (and morally repugnant) war in Vietnam, families did not like so many body bags coming home for no transparently good reason.

Therefore, after the Vietnam debacle, the US military shifted to All Volunteer status. Elimination of the draft removed common person obstreperousness from the mix.

Those who serve today, supposedly want to be there.

Legal requirements embodied in their "volunteering" mean that they cannot resist doing what they are were told to do.

American active duty troops have become an entirely captive force.

Times after this change (to the equivalent of an indentured military service) have been institutionally happy:

The Military Industrial Complex got to start a whole bunch of profitable wars, for no good strategic reasons.

Military budgets consistently go through the metaphorical roof.

Even more elating, especially after the terror attack of 9/11 in New York City, anybody could be (a) conveniently designated as an Enemy of the United States and thereby (b) increased volumes of easy (and often untraceable) cash would flow.

The United States' culture-wide armaments and national security industry, and their hugely expanded web of suppliers, have been pleased.

So too have been the paranoid (usually cowardly, military service-avoiding) neocons , who benefit — by virtue of employment, prestige and accumulated wealth — from fomenting discord across the planet.

With Perpetual War solidly underway, the American military has a vast stage to provide promotion and influence opportunities to those gifted with the necessary acumen and ass-kissing capacity to take advantage of them.

As for its comfortably vicariously participating part, American domestic society contentedly has transformed itself into a rabidly expansive militaristic one:

Rah-rah-rah-ism made itself evident at NFL games. And wherever else the American Corporate State can think to insert it.

American sheep people (meaning most of us) lap this up. Support the troops, USA-USA-USA, and all that.

It is easy to cheer and chest pound, when you have no blood in the bag.

America's propagandizing Government and Mainstream know and prey upon this psychological trait.

Then, somewhat inconveniently, George Floyd's police-committed murder came along

People poured into the streets. The customary crew of opportunistic looters accompanied them.

President Trump became upset. His self-perceived historically significant manhood was at stake.

Not only had 2020's COVID-19 put a noticeable dent in the President's firmly held idea about his genius for economy-boosting — but now Il Duce Trump's seminally magnificent power was being challenged by a bunch of low-lifes.

Active duty troops to the rescue, he commanded.

Military leadership protested:

If American troops make themselves unwelcome in the Homeland itself

(the 4 stars thought to themselves)

— by, say, knocking heads together and worse —

what is going to happen to the Volunteer Military

upon whose captive status

we have feasted for decades?

Can't have that, Mr. Prez, they signaled.

Reason 2 — As a matter of the national interest, returning to skillfully elegant (presidentially displayed) hypocrisy is necessary

President Trump is, uncomfortably, the United States' accurately seen Nasty Face.

Trump's narcissistic lack of embarrassment permits him to do and say all the morally repulsive things that the American Establishment does every day. He does not indulge his predecessors' less than honest:

skillfully eloquent hiding of actions and purpose

characteristic of the King of Hypocrites, Barack Obama

the I'm-your-beer-sharing-friend camouflage

that

the world's Premier Terrorist, George W. Bush, competently drew around himself.

Those two more manipulatively competent predecessor presidents capably masked the humanity-damaging sides of the American Plutocracy's perennially pillaging purpose.

In contrast, President Trump's unapologetic, continually lying boorishness paradoxically weakens the Web of Lies that American leaders are expected to spin around the US Oligarchy's imperialistic motivations and actions.

Caitlin Johnstone and I see this 'American Face' phenomenon the same way

In her words:

People who have dedicated their lives to advancing the interests of the oligarchic empire see Trump as an incompetent manager whose oafish, ham-fisted approach to his role risks drawing attention to the evil things the empire does.

The US police force, for example, hasn’t gotten any more brutal or racist since Trump has been in office, he just hasn’t been able to manage events and narratives competently to keep the peasants from waking up and revolting.

Establishment narrative managers understand how to skilfully manipulate public perception without being obvious about it, and they understand how easily an incompetent steward of empire can snap people out of their propaganda trance.

They therefore dislike Trump for the same reason a new mother dislikes a noisy neighbor: they’ll wake the baby.

They don’t dislike Trump because he does good things, and they certainly don’t dislike Trump because he does bad things.

They dislike Trump because he does bad things in a way that startles the people out of their sleep.

That’s the real reason the political/media class has been behaving so weird the last four years. It isn’t because Trump’s not a loyal empire lackey (he is), it isn’t because he’s a Russian secret agent (he’s not), and it isn’t because he’s a uniquely depraved president (he’s not).

It’s because he allows people to see the perverse mechanics of a globe-sprawling murderous empire for the sick, evil thing that it actually is. That and nothing more.

The moral? — In all things hierarchically human, follow the money — as well as the sources of power and prestige

If President Trump's reign ends before he completes a second term as president, it will not be out of any humanitarian or Constitutionally bestowed benevolence on the American Establishment's part.

For the US military, and virtually everyone else institutionally influential, references to the Constitution are ploys to hide behind, while in pursuit of some other purpose.

This is sad.

Even after acknowledging the Founding Fathers' slave-holding cruelty, racism, misogyny, moral blindness and wealth entrenching biases — the deemphasis of Constitutional principles — and, especially, the Bill of Rights — in recent decades has been upsetting.

Tyranny's hand has won. In one form or another.

This is what I meant (in a previous writing) about a combination of irony and sadness in the events now being played out on American soil.

Virtually no one in American power does the right moral thing, just to be doing the right moral thing.

Importantly, the development of a national absence of moral fiber (in leadership form) is not, even minutely, Toddling Donny's fault. He is merely the face of what has happened to American culture at its core. This observation includes the currently Constitution-waving military command.

Be skeptical. And hold onto your Second Amendment firearms.

PeteFree.com

What else — besides Constitutional concern — motivates military leadership's opposition to President Trump's wish to use active duty troops on American soil?