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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)
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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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