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Old 06-05-2020, 01:39 PM
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Post The Strength of America’s Apolitical Military

The Strength of America’s Apolitical Military
By: Douglas A. Siliman & Ambassador Deborah A McCarthy & Tomas Countryman 6-5-20
Re: https://www.justsecurity.org/70608/t...ical-military/

Statement by Former U.S. Ambassadors, Military Officers, Senior Officials

Retired members of the US diplomatic corps, many of whom had seen first hand in non-democratic countries the use of the military as a tool to suppress public protest, were alarmed this week at what seemed steps in that direction on the streets of Washington. The following letter expresses their concern at such measures and their support for the US military’s proud tradition of staying outside of politics. It is addressed to national, state and local leaders, and has been endorsed by more than 250 former officials from the diplomatic, military and other services, as listed below.

For others who want to add their names to the list, you can send an email.

The Strength of America’s Apolitical Military

The United States is passing through a period unlike any our country has experienced before. Our population, our society, and our economy have been devastated by the pandemic and the resulting depression-level unemployment. We deplore the brutal killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis which has provoked more widespread protests than the United States has seen in decades.

As former American ambassadors, generals and admirals, and senior federal officials, we are alarmed by calls from the President and some political leaders for the use of U.S. military personnel to end legitimate protests in cities and towns across America.

Many of us served across the globe, including in war zones, diplomats and military officers working side by side to advance American interests and values. We called out violations of human rights and the authoritarian regimes that deployed their military against their own citizens. Our values define us as a nation and as a global leader.

The professionalism and political neutrality of the U.S. military have been examples for people around the world who aspire to greater freedom and democracy in their own societies. They are among our nation’s greatest assets in protecting Americans and asserting American interests across the globe.

Cities and neighborhoods in which Americans are assembling peacefully, speaking freely, and seeking redress of their grievances are not “battlespaces.” Federal, state, and local officials must never seek to “dominate” those exercising their First Amendment rights. Rather they have a responsibility to ensure that peaceful protest can take place safely as well as to protect those taking part. We condemn all criminal acts against persons and property, but cannot agree that responding to these acts is beyond the capabilities of local and state authorities.

Our military is composed of and represents all of America. Misuse of the military for political purposes would weaken the fabric of our democracy, denigrate those who serve in uniform to protect and defend the Constitution, and undermine our nation’s strength abroad. There is no role for the U.S. military in dealing with American citizens exercising their constitutional right to free speech, however uncomfortable that speech may be for some.

We are concerned about the use of U.S. military assets to intimidate and break up peaceful protestors in Washington, D.C. Using the rotor wash of helicopters flying at low altitude to disperse protestors is reckless and unnecessary. The stationing of D.C. Air National Guard troops in full battle armor on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial is inflammatory and risks sullying the reputation of our men and women in uniform in the eyes of their fellow Americans and of the world.

Declaring peaceful protestors “thugs” and “terrorists” and falsely seeking to divide Americans into those who support “law and order” and those who do not will not end the demonstrations. The deployment of military forces against American citizens exercising their constitutional rights will not heal the divides in our society.

We urge the President and state and local governments to focus their efforts on uniting the country and supporting reforms to ensure equal police treatment of all citizens, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Ultimately, the issues that have driven the protests cannot be addressed by our military. They must be resolved through political processes.

Anne H. Aarnes
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley
Ambassador (ret)

Cynthia H. Akueth
Ambassador (ret)

Leslie Alexander
Ambassador (ret)

Ricardo Aponte
Brigadier General, USAF (ret)

Hilda Arellano
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Raymond Arnaudo
Senior State Department Official (ret)

Liliana Ayalde
Ambassador (ret)

Daniel Baer
Ambassador (ret)

Jess L. Baily
Ambassador (ret)

Robert C. Barber
Former Ambassador

Donna Barbisch
Major General, USA (ret)

Denise Campbell Bauer
Ambassador (ret)

James A. Beaver
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Robert Mason Beecroft
Ambassador (ret)

Colleen Bell
Ambassador (ret)

William Bellamy
Ambassador (ret)

Virginia L. Bennett
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Rob Berschinski
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

James Bever
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

John Beyrle
Ambassador (ret)

J.D. Bindenagel
Ambassador (ret)

Jack R. Binns
Ambassador (ret)

James Keogh Bishop
Ambassador (ret)

Stephen J. Blake
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Barbara Bodine
Ambassador (ret)

Michele Thoren Bond
Ambassador (ret)

Eric J. Boswell
Ambassador (ret)

Spencer P. Boyer
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Aurelia E. Brazeal
Ambassador (ret)

Ken Brill
Ambassador (ret)

Carol Moseley Braun
Ambassador (ret)

Steven A. Browning
Ambassador (ret)

David P. Burford
Major General, USA (ret)

Peter Burleigh
Ambassador (ret)

Nicholas Burns
Ambassador (ret)

William J. Burns
Ambassador
Former Deputy Secretary of State

Prudence Bushnell
Ambassador (ret)

Michael A. Butler
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Anne Callaghan
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Robert J. Callahan
Ambassador (ret)

Piper A. W. Campbell
Ambassador (ret)

Judith B. Cefkin
Ambassador (ret)

Robert F. Cekuta
Ambassador (ret)

Wendy J. Chamberlin
Ambassador (ret)

Karen L. Christensen
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Herman J. Cohen
Ambassador (ret)

Maura Connelly
Ambassador (ret)

Elinor Constable
Ambassador (ret)

Frances D. Cook
Ambassador (ret)

Suzan Johnson Cook
Ambassador (ret)

Thomas Countryman
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Ertharin Cousin
Ambassador (ret)

Philip E. Coyle III
Former Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House

Christopher D. Crowley
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

John Danilovich
Ambassador (ret)

Luis C. deBaca
Ambassador (ret)

Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Ambassador (ret)

Greg Delawie
Ambassador (ret)

Christopher W. Dell
Ambassador (ret)

Richard T. Devereaux
Major General, USAF (ret)

James Dickmeyer
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

John Dickson
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Elizabeth L. Dibble
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Kathleen A. Doherty
Ambassador (ret)

John Douglass
Brigadier General, USAF (ret)
Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy

Mary Draper
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Paul D. Eaton
Major General, USA (ret)

William A. Eaton
Ambassador (ret)

Luigi Einaudi
Ambassador (ret)

Harriet L. Elam-Thomas
Ambassador (ret)

Susan M. Elliott
Ambassador (ret)

Nancy H. Ely-Raphel
Ambassador (ret)

John Feeley
Ambassador (ret)

Gerald M. Feierstein
Ambassador (ret)

Robert J. Felderman
Brigadier General, USA (ret)

Jeffrey Feltman
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Judith R. Fergin
Ambassador (ret)

Susan F. Fine
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Jon Finer
Former Chief of Staff, Department of State

Thomas Fingar
Former Assistant Secretary of State

Lauri Fitz-Pegado
Former Director of the Foreign Commercial Service

Laurie S. Fulton
Ambassador (ret)

Julie Furuta-Toy
Ambassador (ret)

James I. Gadsden
Ambassador (ret)

Larry Garber
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

P. Garza
Ambassador (ret)

Walter E. Gaskin
Lieutenant General, USMC (ret)

Robert Goldberg
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Christopher E. Goldthwait
Ambassador (ret)

Edward W. Gnehm
Ambassador (ret)

Gordon Gray
Ambassador (ret)

Douglas C. Greene
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Kevin P. Green
Vice Admiral, USN (ret)

Theresa Grencik
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Ken Gross
Ambassador (ret)

Michael Guest
Ambassador (ret)

Nina Hachigian
Ambassador (ret)

Anne Hall
Ambassador (ret)

Suneta L. Halliburton
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Pamela Hamamoto
Ambassador (ret)

William P. Hammink
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

David Harden
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Robert A. Harding
Major General, USA (ret)

Douglas A. Hartwick
Ambassador, (ret)

Patricia M. Haslach
Ambassador (ret)

William J. Haugh
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Patricia M. Hawkins
Ambassador (ret)

John Heffern
Ambassador (ret)

Christopher R. Hill
Ambassador (ret)

William H. Hill
Ambassador (ret)

Richard E. Hoagland
Ambassador (ret)

Heather Hodges
Ambassador (ret)

Karl Hoffmann
Ambassador (ret)

Christopher J. Hoh
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Thomas C. Hubbard
Ambassador (ret)

Karl Hoffman
Ambassador (ret)

Vicki J. Huddleston
Ambassador (ret)

Cameron R. Hume
Ambassador (ret)

David R. Irvine
Brigadier General, USA (ret)

Susan S. Jacobs
Ambassador (ret)

Jeanine Jackson
Ambassador (ret)

Bonnie Jenkins
Ambassador (ret)

Dennis Jett
Ambassador (ret)

Susan R. Johnson
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Elizabeth (Beth) Jones
Ambassador (ret)

Deborah K. Jones
Ambassador (ret)

James R. Jones
Ambassador (ret)

Mosina H. Jordan
Ambassador (ret)

Theodore Kattouf
Ambassador (ret)

Richard D. Kauzlarich
Ambassador (ret)

Ian Kelly
Ambassador (ret)

Stephen R. Kelly
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Laura Kennedy
Ambassador (ret)

Scott Kilner
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Hans Klemm
Ambassador (ret)

John Koenig
Ambassador (ret)

Eleni Kounalakis
Ambassador (ret)
Lt. Governor of California

Daniel C. Kurtzer
Ambassador (ret)

Harold Hongju Koh
Former Legal Advisor, Department of State

Jimmy Kolker
Ambassador (ret)

Karen Kornbluh
Ambassador (ret)

Thomas C. Krajeski
Ambassador (ret)

Mark P. Lagon
Ambassador (ret)

David J. Lane
Ambassador (ret)

Joyce Leader
Ambassador (ret)

Barbara A. Leaf
Ambassador (ret)

Richard LeBaron
Ambassador (ret)

Michael C. Lemmon
Ambassador (ret)

Steven J. Lepper
Major General, USAF (ret)

Barry Levin
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Suzi G. LeVine
Ambassador (ret)

Melvin Levitsky
Ambassador (ret)

Dawn Liberi
Ambassador (ret)

Hugo Llorens
Ambassador (ret)

Carmen Lomellin
Ambassador (ret)

Douglas Lute
Lieutenant General, USA (ret)
Ambassador (ret)

Edward Marks
Ambassador (ret)

Deborah R. Malac
Ambassador (ret)

Eileen A. Malloy
Ambassador (ret)

Steven R. Mann
Ambassador (ret)

Randy Manner
Major General, USA (ret)

Neils Marquart
Ambassador (ret)

Frederick H. Martin
Major General, USAF (ret)

Carlos E. Martinez
Brigadier General, USAF (ret)

Vilma S. Martinez
Ambassador (ret)

Dennise Mathieu
Ambassador (ret)

Jack F. Matlock, Jr.
Ambassador (ret)

R. McBrian
Senior Executive Service (ret)

Deborah McCarthy
Ambassador (ret)

Nancy McEldowney
Ambassador (ret)

Joseph V. Medina
Brigadier General, USMC (ret)

James D. Melville
Ambassador (ret)

James Michel
Ambassador (ret)

Kevin Milas
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Richard Miles
Ambassador (ret)

David A. Morris
Major General, USA (ret)

Cameron Munter
Ambassador (ret)

Allan Mustard
Ambassador (ret)

James D. Nealon
Ambassador (ret)

Susan B. Niblock
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Thomas M. T. Niles
Ambassador (ret)

Crystal Nix-Hines
Ambassador (ret)

Walter North
Ambassador (ret)

Richard G. Olson
Ambassador (ret)

Adrienne S. O’Neal
Ambassador (ret)

Robert M. Orr
Ambassador (ret)

Ted Osius
Ambassador (ret)

Beth S. Paige
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Maurice Parker
Ambassador (ret)

Mike Parmly
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Lynn Pascoe
Ambassador (ret)

David Passage
Ambassador (ret)

Robert Pearson
Ambassador (ret)

June Carter Perry
Ambassador (ret)

Pete Peterson
Ambassador (ret)

James D. Pettit
Ambassador (ret)

Nancy Bikoff Pettit
Ambassador (ret)

Annie Pforzheimer
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

John R. Phillips
Ambassador (ret)

William M. Phillips III
Senior Intelligence Officer (ret)

Thomas R. Pickering
Ambassador

Stephen Pifer
Ambassador (ret)

Joan Plaisted
Ambassador (ret)

Gale S. Pollock
Major General, USA, CRNA, FACHE, FAAN (ret)

Michael C. Polt
Ambassador (ret)

Azita Raji
Ambassador (ret)

David Rank
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Stephen J. Rapp
Ambassador (ret)

Charles Ray
Ambassador (ret)

Frankie A. Reed
Ambassador (ret)

Helen Reed-Rowe
Ambassador (ret)

Susan Reichle
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Arlene Render
Ambassador (ret)

Robert B. Robertson
Ambassador (ret)

Harold L. Robinson
Rear Admiral, CHC USN (ret)

Peter F. Romero
Ambassador (ret)

Frank Rose
Former Assistant Secretary of State

Doria Rosen
Ambassador (ret)

Christopher W.S. Ross
Ambassador (ret)

Leslie V. Rowe
Ambassador (ret)

Stapleton Roy
Ambassador (ret)

William A. Rugh
Ambassador (ret)

Robin Renee Sanders
Ambassador (ret)

Janet A. Sanderson
Ambassador (ret)

Richard J. Schmierer
Ambassador (ret)

John M. Schuster
Brigadier General, USA (ret)

Teresita C. Schaffer
Ambassador (ret)

Thomas Schieffer
Ambassador (ret)

Brenda Brown Schoonover
Ambassador (ret)

Eric P. Schwartz
Former Assistant Secretary of State

Kyle Scott
Ambassador (ret)

Stephen A. Seche
Ambassador (ret)

Theodore Sedgwick
Ambassador (ret)

Daniel Serwer
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.
Ambassador

Mattie R. Sharpless
Ambassador (ret)

Dana Shell Smith
Ambassador (ret)

John Shattuck
Ambassador (ret)

David B. Shear
Ambassador (ret)

Douglas A. Silliman
Ambassador (ret)

Emil Skodon
Ambassador (ret)

Walter Slocombe
Former Undersecretary of Defense

Madelyn E. Spirnak
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Sylvia G. Stanfield
Ambassador (ret)

Monica Stein-Olson
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Andrew Steinfeld
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Barbara Stephenson
Ambassador (ret)

Kathleen Stephens
Ambassador (ret)

Cynthia Stroum
Ambassador (ret)

Joseph G. Sullivan
Ambassador (ret)

Howard J.K. Sumka
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Paul R. Sutphin
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

William L. Swing
Ambassador (ret)

Strobe Talbott
Former Deputy Secretary of State

Francis Taylor
Brigadier General, USAF (ret)
Former DHS Under Secretary

Paul D. Taylor
Ambassador (ret)

Patrick H. Theros
Ambassador (ret)

Harry Thomas
Ambassador (ret)

Kurt W. Tong
Ambassador (ret)

Michael S. Tulley
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Andrew Turley
Major General, USAF (ret)

Alan Van Egmond
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

Alexander Vershbow
Ambassador (ret)

Melanne Verveer
Ambassador (ret)

Shari Villarosa
Ambassador (ret)

Marcelle M. Wahba
Ambassador (ret)

Edward S. Walker
Ambassador (ret)

Jenonne Walker
Ambassador (ret)

Jake Walles
Ambassador (ret)

Mark S. Ward
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Earl Anthony Wayne
Ambassador

Melissa Wells
Ambassador (ret)

Joseph W. Westphal
Ambassador (ret)
Former Under Secretary of the Army (ret)

Bisa Williams
Ambassador (ret)

Ashley Wills
Ambassador (ret)

Frank G. Wisner
Ambassador

Tamara Cofman Wittes
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

John S. Wolf
Ambassador (ret)

Kevin Wolf
Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce

Burke M. Wong
Attorney-Advisor, Department of Justice

Mark F. Wong
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Kenneth Yalowitz
Ambassador (ret)

Susumu Ken Yamashita
Senior Foreign Service Officer, USAID (ret)

John Yates
Ambassador (ret)

Mary Carlin Yates
Ambassador (ret)

Johnny Young
Ambassador

Marie L. Yovanovitch
Ambassador (ret)

Joseph Y. Yun
Ambassador (ret)

Uzra Zeya
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Jane Zimmerman
Senior Foreign Service Officer (ret)

Peter B. Zwack
Brigadier General, USA (ret)
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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