Thread by @TimInHonolulu

1. On General Charles Flynn regarding whom there were reports he may have had a role in not deploying the armed forces to engage US citizens at the Capitol. Who thinks that would have been a good idea? The Army does not do crowd control. They kill an opposing force. Where would

2. we be today if that had been what was happening at 9:00 pm on Jan 6 rather than completing the Electoral College count? The failure to prepare and put adequate National Guard forces in place is what allowed the attack to reach the floor of the House and Senate.

3. After General Mille had been used as stage prop by Bill Barr and TFG, the Joint Chiefs announced the military would have no role in future political activities. We survived this attempted coup because the military stayed out of it. We now want Flynn's brother to pay

4. because he may have been involved in advancing that decision after the attack had started. I think the decision at that point was correct though sadly left civilian law enforcement alone in the breach to fight a mob. Many paid a high price & will continue to suffer from it.

5. The military is different. Three-star Charles Flynn had worked his entire adult life toward the goal of being a four-star General. The Senate had already approved his promotion in December. His background that included commanding the 25th Infantry Division on

6. Oahu, made him a logical choice to take over the US Army Pacific Command. In a world without Michael Flynn, nobody would ever say a word about the appointment. But that's not the world that Charles Flynn's promotion or assignment are viewed. It is the

7. world in which many Americans believe Michael Flynn betrayed his oath. That same belief is matched by many people who think he's a hero. Whatever happens to Michael, our law and basic morality do not punish family members for actions of their siblings. So what did @POTUS do?

8. I'm guessing he did what a competent commander in chief would do. He gave the decision whether to change the decision to give Charles Flynn US Army Pacific Command to @SecDef Lloyd Austin to decide. We don't know for sure but that's my analysis.

9. I expect that in the significant time that has passed since inauguration @DeptofDefense IG conducted a full review of the actions surrounding the January 6th insurrection. I would also expect that Charles Flynn's conduct was reviewed and Sec Def Austin made the decision that

10. there would be no reversal of the earlier decision to give Charles Flynn the Pacific command. TFG and his minions' image of America was one where purges would be the norm. A decision to purge Charles Flynn, who'd worked his entire life to be an Army General

11. because of the political activities of his loose-cannon brother, would be inconsistent with the basic principles upon which our nation was founded.

Historians will look at this period and I believe will determine that the tipping-point came when the Joint

12 Chiefs penned their no political involvement letter.
@POTUS could overrule the decision to post Flynn here but that action would be a political act and contrary to the way we command our forces. The joint chiefs proved they had earned the benefit of doubt.

13. We are in a very dangerous place in the Pacific. The threats that #China, #DPRK and #Russia pose are not theoretical. They're real. US civil society is being torn and is approaching sectarianism. An act to purge an Army Four-Star General would only deepen the divisions.

14. Our forces must be permitted to focus on their mission and not be pulled into domestic political strife. We must allow the military to operate free of politics from either side.

15. If our new Army Pacific Commander, had to pick the perfect place to be assigned, Oahu is it. A Democratic party stronghold that supports the mission of the seven separate military commands packed on a tiny island can be a model for the nation under threat.

16. I just looked at the Sunday paper. Not peep about General Flynn who is just another 25th Infantry soldier, coming home.