Nearly thirty years ago, I gave a presentation to a group of Soviet military officers on civil-military relations as the USSR was falling apart. I implored them to see the U.S. as an example of how to do it right. /1
I used to give a lecture to our own military officers saying that we were fortunate, along with the UK, to have one of the most stable civil-military relationships in the world. So much so that I took it for granted. /2
I'd be hesitant to give those same talks today, and not just because of Trump. Years of war and a civilian population that thinks the military are gods who can solve anything have been deeply unhealthy. Trump, however, was - like with everything else - gasoline on the fire. /3
I'm glad Mattis and others have spoken up. But none of us should need retired generals and admirals to be the compasses of our civic virtue. We should already know what's wrong and GOP electeds *especially* should never have allowed Trump to continue unchecked this long. /4
No matter what happens now, Trump's attempts to hijack the military for his own purposes remain a danger. Even if he loses in five months - God willing - we've got a lot of repair work to do on one of the most precious things that Washington and the Founders left us. /5x
