Tag: U.S. military

Trump Uses Flags, Military Troops to Make a Political Point

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website June 5, 2018:

Sens. Booker, Kaine among critics worried about president’s recent actions

Pres. Trump speaks at a “Celebration of America” event at the White House that replaced an event with the NFL Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call

President Donald Trump on Tuesday brought his feud with the NFL and some of its players over national anthem protests to his backdoor — literally. And that’s when something rare happened that shows just how polarizing his presidency and the racially tinged anthem debate has been.

A sitting president of the United States, flanked by Army and Marine Corps personnel, was heckled while standing just steps from the Oval Office.

As Trump retrieved his prepared remarks from inside his suit jacket, a man appeared to ask about the rights to free speech of professional football players. The president straightened his printed remarks on the familiar blue podium and glanced toward the source of the jeer. Some of the invited guests booed the heckler, who tried again. Continue reading “Trump Uses Flags, Military Troops to Make a Political Point”

Trump hasn’t visited troops in war zones once in his 500 days in office

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the ShareBlue.com website June 4, 2018:

If Trump truly wanted to support the troops, he might consider visiting them at least once.

President Trump Credit: Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Trump reached his 500th day in office Monday. And that also marked 500 days of snubbing U.S. troops in war zones, whom he has never visited.

Trump has overseen an increase in troop levels in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria from 18,000 in December 2016 to 26,0000 in December 2017. After that, his Defense Department stopped reporting troop levels in those countries.

Thirty-three of those service members gave their lives 2017, and 13so far in 2018. Continue reading “Trump hasn’t visited troops in war zones once in his 500 days in office”

New documents suggest Trump administration rigged military panel on transgender ban

The following article by Zack Ford was posted on the ThinkProgress website May 2, 2018:

It just doesn’t add up.

Robert Wilkie testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing to be defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The process that led to the implementation of President Trump’s transgender military ban in March is becoming clearer, thanks to a trove of new documents that shed some light on the otherwise murky closed-door dealings.

Four different lawsuits are currently challenging the ban, which was first announced in a tweet last summer and then re-issued on March 23. A ThinkProgress review of several documents included in discovery finds a massive disconnect between what was discussed in the meetings and what was ultimately recommended, reinforcing concerns that the process was rigged from the beginning — in favor of a ban. Continue reading “New documents suggest Trump administration rigged military panel on transgender ban”

Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea

The following article by Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Thomas Gibbons-Neff and John Ismay was posted on the New York Times website Janaury 14, 2018:

WASHINGTON — Across the military, officers and troops are quietly preparing for a war they hope will not come.

At Fort Bragg in North Carolina last month, a mix of 48 Apache gunships and Chinook cargo helicopters took off in an exercise that practiced moving troops and equipment under live artillery fire to assault targets. Two days later, in the skies above Nevada, 119 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division parachuted out of C-17 military cargo planes under cover of darkness in an exercise that simulated a foreign invasion. Continue reading “Military Quietly Prepares for a Last Resort: War With North Korea”

The military doesn’t love Trump back. This is why.

The following article by Carrie A. Lee was posted on the Washington Post website November 10, 2017:

President Trump has surrounded himself with generals and pledged to revamp veterans’ care, while also belittling the service of his opponents. Here’s a look at his track record with the military. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Veterans’ Day is a good time to examine how U.S. political leaders relate to the military. This year, observers have suggested that President Trump uses Americans’ high levels of respect for the military as a kind of protective political shield. By placing retired and active-duty generals in prominent positions within the administration, they argue, the president has tried to deflect criticism over grand military strategy and particular military operations, such as that in Niger.

He has tried to shift political discussion about NFL players’ protests over police shootings by saying that by kneeling during the national anthem, they were disrespecting veterans. And when a reporter noted that Trump’s chief of staff, John F. Kelly, had made factual misstatements, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was “highly inappropriate” to get into a debate with “a four-star Marine general.” That last statement unleashed outrage from observers who follow civil-military relations. Continue reading “The military doesn’t love Trump back. This is why.”