One of the sacred principles of American democracy is that the Army is apolitical and loyal only to the Constitution.
But in the face of the political tension generated by Departa by the invasion of the Capitol by the supporters of Donald Trump, military leaders have deemed it necessary to make a reminder.
“The violent protest in Washington DC on January 6 was a direct assault on Congress, the Capitol building and our constitutional process “Says a circular addressed to members of the Army and signed by the seven generals and the admiral that make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff .
” Any act against the constitutional process not only violates our traditions, values and oath; It is also against the law ”, adds the note, published this Tuesday.
Analysts assure that it is an unusual message from the leaders of the branches Army soldiers, although it is framed in this climate of tension that the country is experiencing.
“We are living an exceptional moment and this is a test,” he tells BBC Mundo Retired Major General Dana Pittard .
“Our republic is going through a dangerous time. What the Joint Chiefs of Staff says is not exceptional: it basically repeats its oath to the Constitution, “Peter Feaver , professor of Political Science at the University, tells BBC Mundo Duke and Defense expert.
“But what is exceptional is that they feel the need to say it and that the troops need to be reminded “, adds the author of the book ” Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations “ (Armed public servants: action, supervision, and civil-military relations ”).
Thousands of Trump supporters invaded Congress on January 6 in the moment in which the triumph of Joe Biden in the presidential elections of November 3 was certified.
The assault by citizens who believe – as Trump maintains – that there was fraud in the elections caused the death of five people.
This Wednesday Trump, who will cede power on 20 January, he became the first president in U.S. history to be subjected to a second impeachment .
In this last trial he is accused of “inciting insurrection”.
Broken silence
One week after the events, the The Army broke its silence.
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller had already condemned the assault last week, but the head of state Joint Major, General Mark Milley , had not yet spoken.
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And, according to Reuters, he had not done so because he wanted to stay away from politics. According to local media, many soldiers had privately expressed concern over the lack of leadership after what many see as an attack on democracy.
Silence de Milley contrasted with his presence on a walk with Trump in June of last year after the National Guard and police officers dispersed a group of peaceful protesters who were near the White House protesting the death of the African-American George Floyd .
Now, with the Army in the spotlight again after the assault on the Capitol, Milley and the rest of the high military commanders considered it essential to make a reminder a few days before that Biden take over as its commander-in-chief .
“The right to freedom of expression and assembly does not give anyone the (right) to resort to violence, sedition and insurrection, ”says the circular issued on Tuesday.
The Pentagon is working with the FBI to see if there are active members of the Army among the attackers of the Capitolio, and also to know if any of the more than 17, 000 National Guard troops who will reinforce Biden’s inauguration on the day 20 requires further investigation.
“The Army is a reflection of the society it serves and that is why there are different beliefs. ace. And you have to make sure there are no people out there who want to overthrow our government, ”says retired Major General Dana Pittard.
Who does the Joint Chiefs of Staff speak to?
According to Pittard, the circular has a double addressee: the troops and the general public .
“Inside, there are surely people who can somehow sympathize with the insurrection. It will be a minority, of course, but the circular makes it clear that it is unacceptable, “says the ex-military man, who admits that this may be worrying.
This Thursday it was reported that groups of armed extremists have Biden’s inauguration as a goal next week.
“And externally, we want people to know that our tradition, which has worked so well, is that the Army cannot be used as an internal political weapon, it cannot take sides “, he adds.
” Obviously there is a concern that people have not fully understood the role of the Army. “
Members of the National Guard rest within Congress during the day in which the impeachment of President Donald Trump was voted. “The Army owes no loyalty to an individual, and it should be emphasized again. That is why the General Staff published that letter, ”says Pittard.
Richard K. Betts , director of the Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies at Columbia University , agrees with Pittard, but adds one more recipient: the president.
“It is a signal to Trump not to abuse the Constitution by putting the Army on his side in an attempt illegitimate to annul the presidential election ”, Betts tells BBC Mundo.
A tense relationship
During the Trump administration, there have been times when the traditional political neutrality of the uniformed soldiers, something that Pittard defines as a “sacred value”, has been subjected to great pressure .
“President Trump tried unsuccessfully to make the Army loyal to him instead of the Constitution. Many other populist and authoritarian leaders in the world have tried. But the United States Army has resisted, ”says Feaver.
Perhaps the moment of greatest tension was when Trump made the National Guard participate in the security device against protests against racism that sparked the death of African-American George Floyd .
Floyd died while being violently detained by white police officers.
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The president then called for the end of the protests that he linked with the “radical left.”
In this context, Trump’s walk took place with Milley, dressed in a campaign uniform, to take a photo in front of a church that had been vandalized during protests near the White House.
That happened after weeks of questioning from some military personnel about the way in which Trump had responded to the protests with the deployment of the Guard National.
The presence with Trump of Milley, the highest ranking officer in the Army, was seen as if the high command validated Trump’s handling of the protests.
The military leader later admitted that he was wrong.
“I shouldn’t have been there. My presence at that time and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in internal politics, “he said.
At that time the president was even considering invoking the Insurrection Law of 1807 to deploy active duty troops across the country to quell protests, a line that several U.S. military personnel said they would not cross.
Military and especially ex-military reacted then, as now, to remember the loyalty of the Army only to the Constitution, not to a party or a president.
“The principle that the Army is loyal to the Constitution and that it never engages in politics has been fortified over time by the stability of our political institutions,” the professor tells BBC Mundo Betts.
“That stability has been shaken in the Trump era, but it has not been broken,” he adds.
“At the beginning of his presidency he thought that the Army generals were his employees and he must have been reminded periodically that the US system does not work like that. ”
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