FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists that President Donald Trump's sudden dismissal of the nation's top military officer amid a wave of Pentagon layoffs was not unusual, and he suggested that further firings could occur.
"Nothing about this is unprecedented," Secretary Hegseth told "Fox News Sunday," referring to the removal of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The president deserves to choose his own team of top national security advisers."
Secretary Hegseth said that “there are many presidents who made changes,” citing former commanders-in-chief, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. Former President Obama, Secretary Hegseth said, “fired or relieved hundreds” of military officials.
In his first months in office, former President Obama removed Army General David McKiernan from his post as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. However, President Trump, while running for his second term, vowed to eradicate so-called “woke” ideologies from the military and swiftly dismissed many senior leaders.
Secretary Hegseth and President Trump have made no secret of their focus on removing military officers who have championed diversity, equity, and inclusion in their ranks. The administration says the moves will further strengthen a lethal fighting force.
General Brown was only the second African-American general to serve as chief of staff. His 16 months in the post were dominated by the war in Ukraine and the wider conflict in the Middle East. President Trump nominated Mr. Brown as Air Force chief of staff in his first term in 2020.
President Trump wants to replace Mr. Brown with Air Force Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine, who retired in December. It is unclear how Gen. Caine's reinstatement to active duty would be handled. The position requires Gen. Caine to be confirmed by the Senate.
Secretary Hegseth said Friday's firings affected six three- and four-star generals and were "a reflection of the president's desire to have the right people around him to implement the national security approach that we want to have."
He called General Brown "honorable" but said he was "not the right person for the job right now," without citing specific shortcomings. After the killing of George Floyd in 2020, General Brown spoke in a video about his experience as an African-American pilot, seemingly becoming a target of the new Trump administration's fight against inclusivity initiatives in the military.
Regarding General Caine, Secretary Hegseth said that President Trump "respects leaders who untie the hands of warriors in a very dangerous world."
Retired Gen. George Casey called the firings "extremely destabilizing." Mr. Casey, who was the military leader under Republican President George W. Bush and of multinational forces in Iraq from 2004 to 2007, also noted that the Trump administration could change Pentagon policy without changing personnel, but added that what happened was within the president's authority.
"That's his prerogative," General Casey told ABC's "This Week." "He's the commander-in-chief of the armed forces," he said.
However, Democratic Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told ABC that the firings were "completely unjustified" and that "apparently, what Trump and Hegseth are trying to do is politicize the Department of Defense."
Secretary Hegseth was also asked on Fox News about officials who might be compiling lists of other defense officials they plan to fire. He said there was no list, but suggested that more firings could indeed follow.
"We have a very keen eye on military leadership and their willingness to follow the law," Secretary Hegseth said. "Joe Biden gave lawful orders. Many of them are really bad," he said, adding that things like the COVID vaccine restrictions "eroded" the military ideologically.
"President Trump has issued another set of lawful orders, and they will be followed," Secretary Hegseth said. "If they are not followed, then those officers will be directed to exit."/ VOA
Lini një Përgjigje