On June 30, 1775, at the urging of Gen. George Washington, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of War that would govern the conduct of those serving in the American military. With that, less than three months after the beginning of the revolutionary war between America and England that would lead to the formation of the United States, the belief in a firm, consistent system of military justice was established as a cornerstone of American life.
Presidents and Congresses subsequently made many changes to military justice, culminating with the 1951 adoption of the Uniform Code of Military Justice applicable to all branches of the Pentagon.
But the core belief that those serving in the military should be kept to a code of conduct has never wavered — until President Donald Trump’s repeated interventions to second-guess the military justice system this year. His actions to absolve service members of any consequences for their conduct is a reckless assault on a revered military tradition.
Now Trump’s conduct has its own consequences.
On Sunday, Trump’s latest effort to protect San Diego-based Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher led to the “termination” of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer. Details are murky, but Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Spencer was forced to resign because he went around Esper’s back to try to negotiate a deal with the White House to minimize the punishment Gallagher should face after a war crimes trial in which he was acquitted of the most serious charges but convicted of posing with the body of a dead enemy combatant. Spencer’s contention he was fired because he fought to keep Gallagher responsible seems consistent with his record.
There is no question about Trump’s authority to tell the Navy how to treat Gallagher — or to pardon Green Beret Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, Army Lt. Clint Lorance and Ranger platoon leader Michael Behenna despite evidence they killed people without legal justification. Trump also is not the first president to intervene in this fashion. For one, President Richard Nixon lessened the punishment facing Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. for his role in the My Lai massacre of more than 500 Vietnamese civilians in 1968, the most infamous war crime in U.S. history.
But Nixon did so because of a bipartisan belief among lawmakers and the public alike that Calley was being treated as the fall guy and the scapegoat for the larger failings of America in the Vietnam War. Trump’s interventions have no such rationale.
Instead, they appear to boil down to the belief that whatever Americans do in fighting wars is acceptable because they’re fighting for America.
Contrary to what Trump thinks, this is not a pro-military belief. It reflects Trump’s inability to grasp basic concepts of right and wrong. It also is a failure of leadership because Trump’s actions will encourage more war crimes and discourage service members from reporting war crimes.
The Navy honor code Gallagher and Spencer both swore to live by required them to “abide by an uncompromising code of integrity, taking full responsibility for my actions.”
Spencer wrote to Trump, “The rule of law is what sets us apart from our adversaries.” But what if the adversaries are in our midst — and unaccountable?
— The San Diego Union-Tribune