QOTD II -- Breaking Faith With Democracy

 

"Against this backdrop, Milley’s efforts to ensure stability until the new and legitimately elected president could take office — and avoid an illegal or unethical military action — hardly constitute a refusal to accept civilian control. On the contrary: In an impossible and unprecedented situation, Milley did his best to remain scrupulously out of the realm of politics, and he repeatedly reiterated his loyalty to the nation, its law and its Constitution — all duties higher than that of mindless obedience to a president who had clearly indicated a willingness to ignore the law.

"In a democratic society, the notion of civilian control of the military is predicated on the assumption that civilian leadership will be exercised in a lawful manner. If Milley and other military leaders sought to prevent potentially unlawful presidential actions, they weren’t breaking faith with democracy: Our democracy had already been badly broken by the highest civilian official in the land. And that’s a far different — and far bleaker — problem than a general walking the difficult line between obedience and conscience. Trump demonstrated how easily American norms and institutions could be subverted by a lawless president — and unlike Milley, millions of Americans, and scores of GOP elected officials, never even bothered to speak out." -- Rosa Brooks, law professor at Georgetown and former senior Defense Department official under President Obama, in today's Washington Post, discussing the crisis faced by Gen. Milley and other senior military officers following the Trump- led insurrection of January 6.  Contrary to the bad faith pearl- clutching about weakening of "civilian control," we should all thank Milley for serving his country in the noblest sense, unlike those who broke faith with our country's democracy in service to a lawless, malicious President willing to do almost anything to stay in power.

Meanwhile, in another part of the WaPo, the story is being treated as a point/ counterpoint exercise in normalizing the extraordinary events surrounding the election and transfer of power.  Here's the headline on the Missy Ryan piece:

"New disclosures show how Gen. Mark A. Milley tried to check Trump. They could also further politicize the military."

 

Oh, FFS, "Democracy Dies in Darkness" Post.