<p>"We are unique among armies," Gen. Milley said. "We are unique among militaries. We do not take an oath to a king or a queen, a tyrant or a dictator. We do not take an oath to an individual."</p><p>"We do not take an oath to a country, a tribe, or a religion," he continued. "We take an oath to the Constitution. And every soldier that is represented in this museum—every sailor, every airman, Marine, Coast Guardsman—each of us will protect and defend that document regardless of personal price."</p><div id="36810" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0870a444cd0d2dfd2758218299fbe633"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1327043123667562497" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "We do not take an oath to a king or a queen, a tyrant… https://t.co/Zl1OoPydbs</div> — MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch.com)<a href="https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/statuses/1327043123667562497">1605226710.0</a></blockquote></div><p>General Milley <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/21/politics/esper-milley-trump/index.html" target="_blank">had recently expressed concern</a> about the politicization of the military in the wake of President Trump complaining about leadership at the Pentagon and amid questions about the possibility of the president invoking the Insurrection Act in possible post-election unrest. </p><p>Milley had also distanced himself from Trump after the president's photo stunt at St. John's church during the country's widespread racial justice protests. Milley had accompanied the president on his walk to the church, which was preceded by the National Guard being deployed to forcibly clear a path for the president, resulting in peaceful protesters and members of the press being hurt—a move that Milley <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/11/mark-milley-mistake-go-trump-st-johns-church/5341489002/" target="_blank">later called</a> "a mistake."</p><div id="ec00d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0a49aba3c85dfa9665116c70707316cc"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1269396974203256832" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Let us never forget that when the President of the United States ordered U.S. forces to gas peaceful American citiz… https://t.co/7UQlU45GEz</div> — Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin)<a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/statuses/1269396974203256832">1591482797.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics," the general said in his National Defense University commencement ceremony <a href="https://livestream.com/accounts/23279375/events/9129550/videos/207283508" target="_blank">remarks</a>. "As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it."<br></p><p>Yes, being complicit in the U.S. government attacking its own citizens so that the president can get a photo of himself holding a bible in front of a church and create a <a data-linked-post="2646151622" href="https://www.upworthy.com/video-shows-trump-vs-reality" target="_blank">North Korea-style propaganda video</a> of the whole thing was definitely a mistake. </p><p><br></p><div id="1e50c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2dae6999d6cc370055d1b85396374889"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1267680898088161281" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@WhiteHouse 🚨
What the White House DOESN'T want you to see:
https://t.co/D2UDZ7nY5b</div> — Biden | Harris VICTORY Room (@Biden | Harris VICTORY Room)<a href="https://twitter.com/BidenWarRoom/statuses/1267680898088161281">1591073653.0</a></blockquote></div><p>So yeah. It is good to hear the top military official in the country make it clear that our troops will not be used to satisfy the narcissistic whims of a wannabe autocrat who doesn't know how to lose with grace and dignity. Especially as that wannabe autocrat is taking sledgehammer to leadership at the Pentagon as we speak, and to what end, no one knows. Somebody has to be willing to be the grown-up who tells the child that they can't always get what they want. If the nation's top Army general couldn't or wouldn't do that, the U.S. would be in a world of trouble.</p>From Your Site Articles
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