As US President, Trump tries to use members of the army for non-specialist tasks. Successor Biden is currently being criticized for appearing with soldiers. Several former defense ministers are now warning of increasing political interference in military affairs.
Eight former US defense secretaries and five senior generals have warned of increasing political interference in military affairs amid deep political divisions in the country. According to a published report on "Military-Civilian Relations", members of the armed forces are dealing with an "extremely unfavorable environment" because of the "polarization" in the USA. This environment is "extraordinarily challenging".
In the foreseeable future, the situation could "deteriorate further before it improves," says the report. In recent years, the US Department of Defense - especially under President Donald Trump, who was voted out of office in 2020 - has repeatedly been part of political power games in Washington.
The report, published on the War on the Rocks defense website, does not mention any concrete examples of tensions between civilian authorities and the military. However, the authors allude to the attempt by Trump and his supporters to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election that led to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to the report, developments in the United States have meant that "for the first time in more than a century" after a US presidential election, the peaceful transfer of power was "disrupted and called into question".
During Trump's presidency, members of the US military were repeatedly asked to take action outside of their normal duties, including building a wall along the border with Mexico and helping police quell violent protests in several cities. But Trump's successor Joe Biden was also criticized from several sides after an appearance last week because he sharply attacked Trump and his supporters in a speech while two elite soldiers stood behind him.
The report was signed by both former defense secretaries who had served under Democratic presidents and Pentagon heads of Republican cabinets. Among them are Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, and Mark Esper and James Mattis. Esper and Mattis worked under Trump before he fired them after a dispute.
