October 21, 2017
“If You’ve Never Been in Combat, You Can’t Even Imagine”
Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly gave a remarkable performance at Thursday’s White House press briefing, deploying his record of service and sacrifice to defend President Trump’s clumsy handling of condolences to the families of four U.S. Army soldiers killed in Niger. Any mistakes by Trump, Kelly said, resulted from advice the erstwhile general had given his boss, with their colloquy including once-private stories about how the Kelly family had received news of their son’s combat death in Afghanistan.
Political aides frequently defend their bosses; some even put their reputations on the line to do so. What made Kelly’s remarks so noteworthy—and powerful, too—was that he mortgaged both his reputation and that of the entire U.S. military to defend Trump. “If you’re not in the family, if you’ve never worn the uniform, if you’ve never been in combat, you can’t even imagine how to make that call,” said Kelly, defending Trump’s remarks to the widow of Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson and suggesting it might be unpatriotic to question the actions of the military or its commander in chief. Indeed, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders followed Kelly’s lead on Friday, asserting that any critique of Kelly was inappropriate because of his stature as a retired Marine general.
Read the full op-ed in Slate.
More from CNAS
-
Sharper: National Security's Next Generation
Commentary
The need to amplify new and diverse voices in national security policymaking has never been clearer....
By Chris Estep, Ainikki Riikonen & Cole Stevens
-
The opportunities and challenges facing Lloyd Austin as defense secretary
Commentary
Austin’s forty years in the military represent both the risk of inertia and a real opportunity to address serious issues....
By Dr. Jason Dempsey & Emma Moore
-
Enough Is Enough: It's Time for National Guard Members to Go Home
Commentary
The time has come for Guardsmen to return home and take up their state mission and civilian employment....
By Nathalie Grogan
-
Sharper: Day One
Commentary
The Biden-Harris administration will confront a range of national security challenges from the moment it takes office....
By Chris Estep
