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Former Defense Secretary James Mattis statement.

Jun 3, 2020, 6:43 PM

IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH

I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.

When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.

James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.

Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.

Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

General James Mattis.

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T3Tiger said:

Is Comey his own people too? I’m not equating the too but I’m also not jumping to conclusions about a sour grapes guy either.

What’s been unconstitutional? Rule of law? Threat (without follow through) of the Insurrection Act? Walking to a church? Protecting the life, property and rights of US citizens caught up in the riots?

Mattis resigned from his post as Sec. of State because Trump insisted on pulling troops out of Syria and the betrayal of the Kurds. Mattis's effective date of his resignation was Feb. 28. Trump accelerated that date to Jan. 1 so he could claim he fired him. Mattis is the best America can give. You want to demean him to diminish the import of his public denunciation fo Trump. Hold your breath, in the coming month, you will see a cascade of public denouncements. You seem to believe you're playing a game. Defend Trump, attack his critics and see if you win. Look at the sorry state of our country.

You should look up Otto Ohlendorf. He was a German Economist and Attorney. A very bright and intelligent man he studied at the University of Leipzig, University of Göttingen and took his law degree from the University of Pavia He gained a Directorship at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy where he taught economics. He was highly regarded as an educator and an economist. He was a well-liked, educated, and brilliant man. Later in his career he bacame the leader of Einsatzgruppen D and murdered tens of thousands of Jews, men women, and children, following behind the Wermacht into Moldovia and Crimea. He was executed after trial at Nuremberg in 1946.

Now I'm not suggesting that you're a nazi or anything of the sort. But I am illustrating that highly educated, very intelligent people can be misled just like anybody else. The country is about to vomit out Donald Trump. You might want to consider which side of history you want to be on.

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis statement.

Not one single Trump supporter here. Not one.

I think they will disagree with you on that.

Of course. Paging Memphis to this.

Re: Of course. Paging Memphis to this.

Re: Not one single Trump supporter here. Not one.

I agree with him 100%. And Trump is in so far over his head,

lol!***

Re: I agree with him 100%. And Trump is in so far over his head,

The near future should be tough on racist white men

Too bad i'd have to go searching for a racist white man?***

52% of Americans think Trump is racist.

So you know him personally?***

Capitulation.***

You're obsessed.

Nope.

Facts about other people perceptions.

It might suck for anyone stubborn

Sucking for white men means not getting the desired tee time

Sucks when white man pays child support every month too

True***

This statement helps define Patriots and creates separation

Absolutely. It's damning against Trump.

How is a guy that he pushed out his own people?

It's done, T3.

No I asked you a bunch questions and

Okay, I'll answer...

Re: Okay, I'll answer...

Re: Okay, I'll answer...

Re: How is a guy that he pushed out his own people?

Everybody agrees with those protesting.

My god you’re incredibly out of touch with reality.***

Re: Everybody agrees with those protesting.

They're being bailed out and released by democrats***

Re: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis statement.

Re: Former Defense Secretary James Mattis statement.

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