Freedom4um

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Ron Paul
See other Ron Paul Articles

Title: Trump and His Standing Army
Source: [None]
URL Source: https://www.fff.org/2020/06/02/trump-and-his-standing-army/
Published: Jun 23, 2020
Author: Jacob G. Hornberger
Post Date: 2020-06-23 07:51:47 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 833
Comments: 19

President Trump’s warning to state governors that he is prepared to send his military forces to quell violent protests in cities across the land serves as another reminder of why our ancestors had such a deep antipathy toward standing armies. They knew that giant, professional, and permanent military establishments constitute the biggest threat to the freedom and well-being of the citizenry.

When it comes to shooting American protesters, make no mistake about it: Soldiers will do their duty. They will follow Trump’s orders. Their loyalty is to the president. In their minds, anything the president orders is constitutional because he has been elected pursuant to the Constitution. If their commander-in-chief orders them to fire on protesters, they will fire on protesters.

Keep in mind, after all, that not one single U.S. soldier refused President Bush’s order to deploy to Iraq and to kill Iraqis, notwithstanding the fact that Congress had not declared war on Iraq, which the Constitution expressly requires before the president can legally wage war through his army.

A few days ago, the New York Times published an article about a Chinese military veteran named Jiang Lin who witnessed the massacre of protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. For three decades, Jiang has kept quiet about what she saw and only now, for the first time, is detailing what she witnessed.

At the time, Jiang was a lieutenant in the People’s Liberation Army. She said that several military commanders were ardently opposed to using military force to stop the protests. Nonetheless, on the day of the massacre, which Jiang witnessed, the Chinese government had more than sufficient troops who were willing to obey orders to fire on the protesters.

It would be no different here in the United States. If some soldiers balked at carrying out Trump’s order to fire on protesters, they would be quickly punished and replaced with ones who would willingly follow orders.

The conversion of the U.S. government to a national-security state, which necessarily entails a giant, permanent military force, after World War II was the biggest mistake that the American people ever made. That conversion was even more instrumental in the destruction of American liberty than the conversion of America’s economic system to a welfare state.

In fact, if the delegates at the Constitutional Convention had told the American people that the Constitution was going to bring into existence a national-security state, which included a vast and permanent military establishment, a CIA with powers of assassination, and a NSA with powers of secret surveillance, there is no possibility that they would have ever accepted the Constitution. That would have meant that America would have continued operating under the Articles of Confederation, a type of governmental system under which the federal government didn’t even have the power to tax.

But the Constitution didn’t bring into existence a national-security state. It brought into existence a form of government called a limited-government republic, one whose powers were limited to those enumerated in the Constitution itself.

As part of this limited government republic, our ancestors called into existence a basic army designed to protect settlers and communities from attacks by Native American tribes. They intentionally kept it relatively small because of the concerns and fears they had about big, permanent standing armies.

To get a sense of the antipathy toward standing armies held by the people who started our country, take a look at this page, which contains a collection of quotes by early Americans on this subject. A good sample is one by James Madison, the father of the Constitution:

A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.

In his Farewell Address as president, Dwight Eisenhower, who had served as the supreme commander of allied military forces in World War II, issued a remarkable warning to the American people. He said that the “military-industrial complex,” which was the new and alien form of governmental structure that America had brought into existence after World War II, posed a grave threat to the liberties of the American people and the democratic processes of the nation.

Under President Trump, the American people might yet experience the hard way what the Framers, our ancestors, and President Eisenhower were so concerned about.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 7.

#2. To: Ada (#0)

If their commander-in-chief orders them to fire on protesters, they will fire on protesters.

Bullshit again Ada !

Right off the bat this author makes this comment without mentioning or differentiating between the burning, looting, and killing mobs and "protesters."

I'd order police, National Guard, and business owners capable of protecting their neighbors and themselves to shoot on sight any arsonists, looters, or those inflicting injury on other folks. It would save lives in the long run if the members of gangs of terror were shot in the early stages of these riots. It might even stop these events from happening.

No one is suggesting that legitimate protesters be shot. No One ! Yet this author continually throws Trump's name into the equation.

Ada, when you read this tripe do you not have any discernment ?

America needs cops, and it also needs a military. When we see third party interlopers using any tragic event to invite their mobs onto our streets to do damage we need to be equal to the task of dispersing them.

The Iraq invasion was wrong for a million reasons but there were 300 million Americans that had been incited by the 9-11 event likely committed by colluding intel agencies.

I want to mention watching a youtube channel called Valuetainment for timely interviews. Two pundits The Unusual Suspects, one liberal and one conservative are asked questions and it becomes very obvious that the liberal guest operates emotionally without any basis in facts.

The fact that liberals, even their talking heads are unable to offer real evidence of their claims against Trump is "THE PROBLEM" ! How can there ever be a resolution to the difficulties we share as Americans if we don't first bring all of the facts to the conversation.

Is it not wrong to "hate" Americans that have been taxed into oblivion in order to fund many black related social programs ? Black people (in general) may not realize it but the US INC. has made slaves of all Americans. Most average White people are not the recipients of PRIVILEGE.

Some of the hate is fueled by race baiting haters that convince others through one sided propaganda that their cause is approved by God. Articles are often written by propaganda pros that know how to write an article that looks to be neutral but in fact has an agenda.

One thing I can say that I feel is necessary in these times is that we address the issues we face with honesty and with respect shared among those offering an opinion.

One other thing that should be understood by all of us. The right to protest is a right that the government is obligated to honor, not the public. I have witnessed so many confrontations where BLM is up in the face of people like those attending Trump's rally in OK. This type of threatening assault on private citizens is not protected under the Constitution (even if we still had one). The arm waving and screaming in the face of a private person is "CRIMINAL ASSAULT" ! I don't think you EVER see Trump supporters acting out like maniacs off of or maybe on their meds !

noone222  posted on  2020-06-23   9:04:28 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: noone222 (#2)

I'd order police, National Guard, and business owners capable of protecting their neighbors and themselves to shoot on sight any arsonists, looters, or those inflicting injury on other folks.

But that wasn't the question. The question was whether to send in the Army. Its happened before: once in Little Rock and again in Mississippi, against the wishes of the people of the state.

Ada  posted on  2020-06-23   10:33:13 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 7.

        There are no replies to Comment # 7.


End Trace Mode for Comment # 7.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest