Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer wrote in his resignation letter to President Trump the following:
The rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries. Good order and discipline is what has enabled our victory against foreign tyranny time and again, from Captain Lawrence’s famous order ‘Don’t Give up the Ship,’ to the discipline and determination that propelled our flag to the highest point on Iwo Jima. The Constitution, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, are the shields that set us apart and the beacons that protect us all. Through my Title Ten Authority, I have strived to ensure our proceedings are fair, transparent and consistent, from the newest recruit to the Flag and General Officer level.
Unfortunately it has become apparent that in this respect. I no longer share the same understanding with the Commander in Chief who appointed me in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline. I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Unfortunately, it has also become apparent that both “True Trumpers” on the Right and the Semi-Trumpers who inhabit the National Review have decided that the “rule of law” is a major pain in the ass and should simply be rejected, along with all the other damn hippie ideas foisted upon the American people by those, well, by those damn hippies on the left.
I “monitor” the National Review with some closeness, because I sometimes actually find articles that I enjoy reading, and also because I want to keep track of what the semi-respectable Right is thinking. Well, if you wanted to learn anything about the recent dust up at the Navy, which got Mr. Spencer forced into early retirement, you needed to be reading something other than the National Review. Apparently, the fact that the president of the United States has effectively authorized the U.S. military to commit war crimes at its discretion was not even considered “newsworthy” at the National Review— if not, you know, horrifying and deeply depressing. Yeah, we’re living in the age of Trump all right, living in the age of Trump.
Afterwords
I wrote about the case of Naval SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, which ultimately led to Mr. Spencer’s departure, in an earlier post, “Yo, “conservatives”! Donald Trump is destroying the rule of law, and you didn’t even notice!”, so I guess I should have entitled this post “Yo, “conservatives”! Donald Trump has destroyed the rule of law, and you applauded!” However, I changed “conservatives” to “Republicans”, because the “paleocons” at the American Conservative still have an affection for the rule of law. Long-time AV fave rave Daniel Larison tells the story in his post “Trump’s Embrace of War Criminals”. I should also note that some neocons like David Ignatius still cling to the notion that the rule of law is a good thing and that barbarism is something to be avoided rather than embraced.
UPDATE
The National Review crosses me up by publishing an excellent article by Mona Charen, whom I have praised before, “Trump’s War-Crimes Pardons Weaken Our Military’s Moral Fiber”, though “weakens” is putting it mildly. What “moral fiber” is left when our soldiers are told that they may kill any “foreigner” with impunity? And how is the military justice system supposed to operate when officers know that any show of respect for human life will be considered, in one of Trump's favorite words, "treason"?
Mona concludes her piece by encouraging our leading retired military leaders to speak out against the egregious corruption that Trump is foisting upon the services to which they devoted their lives. It is notable, perhaps, that she makes no such appeal to Republicans in Congress, who are as corrupt as Trump and even more craven. And if men like H.R. McMaster, James Mattis, Stanley McChrystal, Colin Powell, and Joseph Dunford don’t speak up, they are as contemptible as well.
