This was published in the Washington Post:
Opinion: 3 retired generals: The military must prepare now for a 2024 insurrection
As we approach the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, we — all of us former senior military officials — are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk.
In short: We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.
The signs of potential turmoil in our armed forces are there. On Jan. 6, a disturbing number of veterans and active-duty members of the military took part in the attack on the Capitol. More than 1 in 10 of those charged in the attacks had a service record. A group of 124 retired military officials, under the name “Flag Officers 4 America,” released a letter echoing Donald Trump’s false attacks on the legitimacy of our elections.
Recently, and perhaps more worrying, Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, the commanding general of the Oklahoma National Guard, refused an order from President Biden mandating that all National Guard members be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Mancino claimed that while the Oklahoma Guard is not federally mobilized, his commander in chief is the Republican governor of the state, not the president.
The potential for a total breakdown of the chain of command along partisan lines — from the top of the chain to squad level — is significant should another insurrection occur. The idea of rogue units organizing among themselves to support the “rightful” commander in chief cannot be dismissed.
Imagine competing commanders in chief — a newly reelected Biden giving orders, versus Trump (or another Trumpian figure) issuing orders as the head of a shadow government. Worse, imagine politicians at the state and federal levels illegally installing a losing candidate as president.
The lack of military preparedness for the aftermath of the 2020 election was striking and worrying. Trump’s acting defense secretary, Christopher C. Miller, testified that he deliberately withheld military protection of the Capitol before Jan. 6. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly scrambled to ensure the nation’s nuclear defense chains were secure from illegal orders. It is evident the whole of our military was caught off-guard.
With the country still as divided as ever, we must take steps to prepare for the worst.
First, everything must be done to prevent another insurrection. Not a single leader who inspired it has been held to account. Our elected officials and those who enforce the law — including the Justice Department, the House select committee and the whole of Congress — must show more urgency.
But the military cannot wait for elected officials to act. The Pentagon should immediately order a civics review for all members — uniformed and civilian — on the Constitution and electoral integrity. There must also be a review of the laws of war and how to identify and deal with illegal orders. And it must reinforce “unity of command” to make perfectly clear to every member of the Defense Department whom they answer to. No service member should say they didn’t understand whom to take orders from during a worst-case scenario.
In addition, all military branches must undertake more intensive intelligence work at all installations. The goal should be to identify, isolate and remove potential mutineers; guard against efforts by propagandists who use misinformation to subvert the chain of command; and understand how that and other misinformation spreads across the ranks after it is introduced by propagandists.
Finally, the Defense Department should war-game the next potential post-election insurrection or coup attempt to identify weak spots. It must then conduct a top-down debrief of its findings and begin putting in place safeguards to prevent breakdowns not just in the military, but also in any agency that works hand in hand with the military.
The military and lawmakers have been gifted hindsight to prevent another insurrection from happening in 2024 — but they will succeed only if they take decisive action now.
The only casualty of January 6th was one woman, a protester, who was shot in the neck and killed by federal law enforcement.
Because of this, and troops not wanting to be vaccinated, the military and intelligence community should crack down hard an extremely partisan on military personnel and civilians.
And make no mistake, this is highly partisan.
I can’t imagine that these generals were thinking about Hillary Clinton or Stacey Abrams claiming they were cheated out of their victory, or that the media now admitted that the whole “Russiagate” thing was a fabrication.
No, clearly the intention is “anyone who questions a Democrat victory, no matter how suspicious, will be met with the full force of the Defense and Intelligence sectors.”
It’s not yet 2022 and they want to war-game a counter insurrection in 2024.
I’ll tell you what this is. The military was defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq. They know they lack the capacity to defend Taiwan. The bureaucratic wealth and power that comes with fighting a forever war must be maintained and the perfect target for them are American citizens who oppose them.
The fact that not one or two, but three generals had this thought and put it on paper should scare the shit out of you.
If you thought the partisan press was the enemy of the people, they don’t hold a candle to the partisan military.
Just more of liberals play book talking points. IF republicans win it will be-The sky is falling! Insurection! The patriots are coming!! Yawn… I really think the next few elections We the People are going to win.. the trick will be getting nurtured spineless pussy rebublicans to actually HELP America. (I was bitter once, but Im over it)
The Deimocrats have been playing this game for decades, at a lower level.
The last couple of years, they’ve been seriously escalating their Monkey Dance, working themselves up for a genocidal purge that they’ll convince themselves is totally justified.
When I was in elementary/middle school we read all these stories/memoirs about how Tzar’s police/military/officials crushed/suppressed/jailed revolutionary citizens. While carefully framed for propaganda, I know now these actually were true stories.
Strangely, while I read your blog post I kept seeing in my ming the picture of cavalry with sabers drawn demolishing rig rag crowd peacefully marching through the city streets to petition benevolent Tzar…
The more I endure this so-called pResidential administration, the more convinced I am they are pushing the average person toward violence.
Not kidding about that. They do want a percent of the population to take up arms against elected government officials.
Jan 6th was a failure. I have no doubt they wanted the “rioters” to really destroy the Capital, and would probably have been OK with a few Reps/Sens “taking one for the team” so to speak. But, none of it went down as hoped (my opinion). It was the quietest, most peaceful “riot” I have ever seen.
They want to amp it up. They want people who “just want to be left alone” to go all William Foster against them. That will justify their actions, whether it is re-education camps, destruction of the Constitution, or whatever.
Stay frosty out there. They are playing a long game, do not get sucked into thinking this is a sprint.
Agreed. They wanted J6 to be an antifa-style “Burn, Loot, Murder” free-for-all, so they could justify a full martial-law crack-down on all non-Leftist thoughts, words, and deeds.
They didn’t get it. And so the rhetoric/propaganda continues to blow the whole event out of proportion.
As an aside, I find the Orwellian verbiage amusingly ironic: The powers that be wanted a “mostly-peaceful protest”, but instead got a “riot”. They’re pissed about it, but for the exact opposite reasons a normal person might think.
These generals would be perfectly happy to here Jews into boxcars, as long as the “right” people ordered it.
My thoughts exactly. And it makes me wonder…..what they are not telling us, what they have in the works which they can not tell the American public.
So basically they know the 2024 election is to be stolen as well and are concerned that this time the majority of Americans won’t sit back and tolerate it. Got it.
The modern reincarnation of Nodding Donkey Keitel.
They self-selected for woke generals starting in 2009. This is what comes of that.
These are the same clowns merrily expunging constitution-loving troops out, and seeking to replace them with known criminals.
They need a new Sturmabteilung, and that’s the quickest shortcut to get it.
Add their names to your accountability lists.
Reckoning Day always comes.
Correction: At least half a dozen pro democracy demonstrators were tortured and murdered by the demonrat gestapo during the Jan6 Reichstag Fire.
And hundreds more have been brutally kidnapped and tortured since.
Just your daily reminder that ‘liberal,’ ‘democrat,’ ‘progressive,’ and ‘soulless inhuman monster placed by the devil to spread misery and death across the Earth’ are all synonyms of each other.