‘Ah, but the strawberries’

To the editor:

Does the United States military take an oath to an unstable leader or to the Constitution?

Donald Trump continues to target retired United States Army General Mark Milley based on Trump’s perceived betrayal by Milley who engaged in authorized communications with his Chinese counterpart to de-escalate a potential conflict ensuring that the U.S. was not planning to attack China after intelligence revealed that China thought an attack was possible.

In October 2019, when Trump appointed Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Trump referred to him as a “great gentleman” and a “great soldier.”

But in September 2023, after The Atlantic magazine published an article called “The Patriot” that discussed how Milley “protected the Constitution from Donald Trump,” Trump posted on Truth Social that Milley’s action was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH,” implying that Milley a former Green Beret and Joint Chiefs chairman with 43 years of military service should be executed.

Bob Woodward’s book “War" recounts that Milley said Trump is “fascist to the core” and during his retirement speech Milley declared, “we don’t take an oath to a king or a queen ... and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator ... we take an oath to the Constitution.”

On Jan 10, then Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin unveiled the portrait of Milley at the Pentagon. Ten days later, the White House ordered it removed.

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also wasted no time terminating Milley’s security detail and is looking to demote Milley in retirement.

Like irrational Captain Queeg in the classic novel, "The Caine Mutiny," the only thing left for Trump to do is accuse Milley of stealing the strawberries.

Marc Bullaro