Trump Is Tearing at the Soul of the Military |
Trump Is Tearing at the Soul of the Military
On Tuesday, President Trump attacked the soul of the American military.
At 7:06 a.m., he posted, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran did not agree to open the Strait of Hormuz. The principal target of that message was the Iranian regime and the innocent men, women and children who would suffer if Trump acted on his unconscionable, reprehensible threat.
But there was another more subtle target for his words: the men and women of the United States military. The president was placing a choice before them. Do you serve Trump, or do you serve the Constitution? Do you serve Trump, or do you serve an even deeper law than the Constitution — the universal moral imperative to protect the innocent and the vulnerable?
The instant I read Trump’s post, my thoughts turned to a very different quote: “The soldier, be he friend or foe, is charged with the protection of the weak and unarmed. It is the very essence and reason for his being.”
Who do you think said those words? A chaplain? A pope? A woke professor who doesn’t appreciate Pete Hegseth’s constant evocation of “lethality?”
No, they come from one of America’s fiercest warriors, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, speaking after the end of World War II, during the military tribunal he organized to hold Japanese leaders accountable for their own horrific war crimes, including the sack of Manila in 1945.
After an anxious day during which much of the world felt as if it were teetering on the precipice of a historic catastrophe, Trump relented, at least for now. He agreed to a two-week cease-fire with Iran. The terms of the cease-fire are unclear. We don’t know if it will result in a permanent peace. And we don’t know if Trump will threaten Iran with destruction again.
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David French is an Opinion columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” You can follow him on Threads (@davidfrenchjag).