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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper By James N. Miller
Dear Secretary Esper,
I resign from the Defense Science Board, effective immediately.
When I joined the Board in early 2014, after leaving government service as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, I again swore an oath of office, one familiar to you, that includes the commitment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
You recited that same oath on July 23, 2019, when you were sworn in as Secretary of Defense. On Monday, June 1, 2020, I believe that you violated that oath. Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op. You then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. Johns Episcopal Church for that photo.
President Trumps actions Monday night violated his oath to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, as well as the First Amendment right of the people peaceably to assemble. You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.
Anyone who takes the oath of office must decide where he or she will draw the line: What are the things that they will refuse to do? Secretary Esper, you have served honorably for many years, in active and reserve military duty, as Secretary of the Army, and now as Secretary of Defense. You must have thought long and hard about where that line should be drawn. I must now ask: If last nights blatant violations do not cross the line for you, what will?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/02/secretary-esper-you-violated-your-oath-aiding-trumps-photo-op-thats-why-im-resigning/?arc404=true
Nevilledog
(51,120 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,927 posts)And a wonderful response! There have been so many "military" people who have "jumped ship" because of the inappropriate and illegal actions of BunkerBoy. Yes, I know that there have been other "military" people who have drunk the "KoolAid" (Flynn, Pompeo) but I take comfort in the actions of others whose basic belief and understanding support what is true and correct.
THANK YOU, SIR!