I was planning to write this entry on Veterans Day, but it cannot wait.  Yesterday, once again Donald Trump demonstrated his lack of respect for America’s men and women in uniform and his misguided understanding of what it means to be their commander-in-chief.  Consider the following exchange with a reporter about the migrant caravan in Mexico:

Q With the military, do you envision them firing upon any of these people?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope not.

Q Could you see the military (inaudible)?

THE PRESIDENT: I hope not. It’s the military — I hope — I hope there won’t be that. But I will tell you this: Anybody throwing stones, rocks — like they did to Mexico and the Mexican military, Mexican police, where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico — we will consider that a firearm. Because there’s not much difference, where you get hit in the face with a rock — which, as you know, it was very violent a few days ago — very, very violent — that break-in. It was a break-in of a country. They broke into Mexico.

Despite the proud history of American armed forces, there have been episodes when uniformed troops have conducted operations which remain, to this day, a canker on the chronicle of U.S. efforts to keep America and the free world safe and secure.

On March 16, 1968, American soldiers tortured, raped and murdered close to 500 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the Son Tinh District.  Prior to the engagement, the members of C Company were told by Captain Ernest Medina, “They’re all VC, now go and get them.”  The investigation found that not a single shot was fired by the villagers.  It was the assumption they were hostile forces which justified the attack. (Sound familiar?)

On May 4, 1970, National Guard troops killed four unarmed students and injured nine others during a protest of the U.S. bombing of Cambodia.  During the investigation of the incident, the adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard told reporters a sniper had fired on the troops, although the investigators found no evidence of this allegation.

While under control of U.S.-led coalition forces during the second Iraq war, the former British prison at Abu Graib was used to detain captured Iraqi fighters.  In 2003, photographs surfaced that exposed reserve soldiers from the 327th Military Police torturing Iraqi prisoners.  This disclosure proved to be a major embarrassment and public relations disaster for the United States.  The culture of torture at Abu Graib was partially attributed to a desire to avenge American losses during the conflict.

Do I believe American soldiers would actually fire on women and children seeking asylum in the United States?  As Trump said, “I hope not.”  But based on the above incidents, I know all it would take is the sound of a firecracker or a young boy or girl perched in a tree or on a wall holding anything that resembles a firearm to spark a lethal response.

On this morning’s talk shows, commentators opined that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis would never let that happen.  Just as Clark Clifford never would have authorized the My Lai massacre.  Or Melvin Laird ordered the the shooting at Kent State.  Or Donald Rumsfeld sanctioned the torture at Abu Ghraib.  Until our leaders stop putting our armed forces in situations where they are one misstep away from a major affront to humanity, shit will continue to happen. “Mad Dog,” it’s time for you to get REALLY mad!!!!  You, of all people, should speak out against this misappropriation of the military.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP