Our security depends on those who are ready to fight our foreign enemies and die for their country. We honor them and their families because their bravery and their courage protect our democracy. We respect our soldiers precisely because its role in the defense of the nation means that the army is not involved in politics. If we allow the president to politicize the army, it will undermine the confidence of the American people in our national security. THE Mobilization of the National Guard in California has raised concerns as to whether the reason for its deployment was based on real threats against law and order, or on the political differences between the Governor of California and the President of the United States.
To protect the role of the army, the United States has historically clearly indicated in its laws that federal troops should not be used for civil police. In 1878, President Rutherford Hayes signed the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibited the army from doing the work of law enforcement officers. Even the statutes which authorize the president to activate the National Guard clearly show that the troops must be limited to the response to “invasions” or “rebellions”. The United States is not facing an invasion or a rebellion.
Respect for the role of soldiers is crucial for our democracy. This is why the law is designed to ensure that our armed forces are not politicized or poorly used. This principle of rule of law is the fundamental difference between a free society and an autocracy. Tyrans use soldiers as a pawn to solidify power, lead demonstrations and stop opponents. Russian President Vladimir Putin hired up to a million victims Among the soldiers he sent to Ukraine for his dictatorial objective of restoring the supposed magnitude of the Soviet Union. Putin found an ally in another ruthless autocrat, the chief of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, who sent forces to help the Russian struggle in Ukraine. In China, the main objective of the military is to protect people in power. In each case, the tyrant requires – for his own survival – that the loyalty of the army is only to him, not for the nation, not to mention the people.
Making a dictator’s auctions is not the way soldiers operate in America. Our soldiers swear an oath of loyalty to the Constitution, not to the president. They follow the president’s orders as commander -in -chief, but can only do so if these orders are legal and in accordance with the Constitution. Their work requires training, skills and courage, certainly. Work also requires the ability to make decisions based solely on the objective of achieving a national security mission, without appeasing political leaders. As a defense secretary, I started with the difficult types of decisions that our soldiers have to take. This judgment should not be damaged by those who seek to use it for political purposes.
In Pentagon, I was carrying vital responsibility to decide on the deployment of our men and women in uniform and to endanger them. The concern that some of the deployed people will not come back from a mission have always been the highest in my mind. Whenever we lose a service soldier, I received a report and saw their name. On these occasions, I personally wrote a note of condolences to their family. The list of female warriors was also sent to the White House so that the president can do the same and transmit the gratitude of the nation to the family for the sacrifice that their loved one had made.
Admiral Bill Mcraven, head of the command of special operations at the time, clearly told me that each military judgment was to be based on what is right to accomplish the mission. As director of the CIA, I was in charge of the secret operation to track down the chief of Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden in his secret complex in Abbottabad, Pakistan. McRaven was the Operational Commander based in Afghanistan Raid, in which two Navy Seals teams traveled 150 miles at night. While they were about to land, the residual heat of the day caused a glance at one of their helicopters and to make a hard landing which left its tail stuck on one of the walls of the compound. I called McRaven to ask for what was going on. He was decisive in his response. “I called a safeguard helicopter, and we will carry out the mission that crosses the walls,” he said. “The mission will continue.” I gave my approval. The mission succeeded: The man who had organized the September 11 attacks was finally eliminated. The type of fractional judgment that Mcraven has shown is what our soldiers are formed.
In the recent success of the American forces which were deployed to attack the Iranian nuclear installations, the soldiers did an excellent work of planning and execution. America has the strongest military force on earth, but all weapons, planes, ships and technologically advanced equipment were not worth much without the skills and training of our men and women. In the outposts around the world, they are our first line of defense. They are our national security.
To maintain this security requires that we protect and respect the constitutional objective they serve. If a president deliberately abuses the army for partisan reasons, he weakens the security of America. The management of a soldier dedicated to the defense of our nation is an honored role which dates back to George Washington and the creation of the continental army 250 years ago. During this long history, the Americans learned that the presidential parades do not define their soldiers; What is done is their respect for the military mission to protect national security. Confidence in the army is indivisible for confidence in the Constitution. Both must remain inviolable.