Retired Generals Urge Military to Prepare to Avert ‘Civil War’ After 2024 Elections
A year after his electoral defeat in the 2020 general election, he is still being blamed for everything from the economy to the pandemic, and anything in between. Now, some retired generals are stoking the fire of resentment against Trump by opining the former president will forment Civil War after the 2024 election.
Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (USA-Ret.), Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (USA-Ret.) and Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson (USA-Ret.) wrote, in a guest editorial published Friday by the Washington Post, they fear a Trump-led coup.
“As we approach the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, we — all of us former senior military officials — are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk,” the retired generals said. “In short: We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.”
Hearing retired flag officers refer to the January 6 riot as an “insurrection” didn’t sit well with some political observers. A report by the Conservative Brief noted mostly left-wing Americans refer to the incident at the Capitol as an “insurrection” while most refer to it as a “riot.” The report further points out that none of the hundreds arrested for alleged criminal acts that day have been charged with “insurrection” or attempting a coup.
The logical inference being that even the Justice Department doesn’t believe crimes committed that day were in furtherance of a revolt designed to restore Trump to office by coup..
“The signs of potential turmoil in our armed forces are there,” insist the three retirees. “On Jan. 6, a disturbing number of veterans and active-duty members of the military took part in the attack on the Capitol. More than 1 in 10 of those charged in the attacks had a service record. A group of 124 retired military officials, under the name ‘Flag Officers 4 America,’ released a letter echoing Donald Trump’s false attacks on the legitimacy of our elections.”
To further bolster their argument, they brought up Oklahoma’s governor defying President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for National Guard troops. Gov. Mark Gordon (R-Okla.) reminded the administration that Guard troops remain under state control until they are activated for federal duty.
“The potential for a total breakdown of the chain of command along partisan lines — from the top of the chain to squad level — is significant should another insurrection occur,” wrote the former generals. “The idea of rogue units organizing among themselves to support the ‘rightful’ commander in chief cannot be dismissed.”
Then, they played their Trump card, asking readers to imagine the former president issuing orders on behalf of a shadow government, or being declared President by rouge Republicans even if he lost to Biden again.
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