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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUnder Secretary of Defense for Policy, James N. Miller just resigned, after Trump tear gas
Link to tweet
agingdem
(7,845 posts)how about condemning Trump for tear gassing peaceful protesters...
Retrograde
(10,133 posts)was that Saddam Hussein gassed his own people.
DanieRains
(4,619 posts)Please....
Lock him up.
(6,925 posts)It gets into the lungs and who really knows what long term damages it can do.
By long term, I mean decades? It's not "natural" gas FFS.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)But totally legal for law enforcement to use against American civilians.
sarisataka
(18,600 posts)Who knew? I'm buying a gas mask tomorrow
agingdem
(7,845 posts)I was tear gassed twice...40 years later I can still feel it on my skin, smell it and taste it...I couldn't breathe...I couldn't see...granted tear gas isn't mustard gas but it's toxic none the less...then again covid 19 isn't lung cancer but the struggle to breathe is pretty much the same thing
tanyev
(42,550 posts)None of this you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects bullshit.
Nevilledog
(51,080 posts)fleur-de-lisa
(14,624 posts)SideStep
(93 posts)He resigned from a defense science board.
Love his style here.
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)THANK YOU, JAMES N. MILLER
RESPECT
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)We need more prominent, experienced, professional and influential people to speak out long and loud and in detail right now. No sitting on the side lines. If anybody is going to do anything about this, this is the time.
Even condemning Apricot Asscent's actions is helpful.
malaise
(268,930 posts)It's all down hill from here
George II
(67,782 posts)Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)My emphasis was on more, many, many more.
hangaleft
(649 posts)Id like to hear words of condemnation from a few R senators. As much as I loathe him, from W, too.
Im disappointed we havent heard from Colin Powell.
Im surprised Susie isnt concerned.
Coloradocoleen
(8 posts)There was a Schumer resolution in the Senate today condemning Trump for tear gassing citizens. McConnell blocked a vote on it.
Grokenstein
(5,722 posts)Asking for a nation.
fierywoman
(7,683 posts)wnylib
(21,432 posts)that condemns the gasser in chief.
hangaleft
(649 posts)wnylib
(21,432 posts)MoonlitKnight
(1,584 posts)Others should follow.
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)FINALLY
malaise
(268,930 posts)People will not tolerate this - that photo op and tear gas will backfire spectacularly. It's all down him from here. Take that to the bank.
hangaleft
(649 posts)Sad, but true.
How many posts and threads have we seen pronouncing the end of Trump?
But, hes still there.
When hes no longer squatting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then, and only then, will I believe that this nightmare is drawing to a close.
Cha
(297,154 posts)berni_mccoy
(23,018 posts)diva77
(7,640 posts)One can hope.
niyad
(113,259 posts)ffr
(22,669 posts)Kitchari
(2,166 posts)That is the correct way to resign
cstanleytech
(26,283 posts)Buckeye_Democrat
(14,853 posts)Trump might need to hire a temp agency for the high turnover eventually.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)He has all he needs with Jared, Iwanka and Billy Low Barr. Oh, oh I almost forgot Faux News.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,012 posts)He left that post in 2014.
Here is his resignation letter:
June 2, 2020
Hon. Mark T. Esper
Secretary of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C., 20301
Dear Secretary Esper,
I resign from the Defense Science Board, effective immediately.
When I joined the Board in early 2014, after leaving government service as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, I again swore an oath of office, one familiar to you, that includes the commitment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
You recited that same oath on July 23, 2019, when you were sworn in as Secretary of Defense. On Monday, June 1, 2020, I believe that you violated that oath. Law-abiding protesters just outside the White House were dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets not for the sake of safety, but to clear a path for a presidential photo op. You then accompanied President Trump in walking from the White House to St. Johns Episcopal Church for that photo.
President Trumps actions Monday night violated his oath to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, as well as the First Amendment right of the people peaceably to assemble. You may not have been able to stop President Trump from directing this appalling use of force, but you could have chosen to oppose it. Instead, you visibly supported it.
Anyone who takes the oath of office must decide where he or she will draw the line: What are the things that they will refuse to do? Secretary Esper, you have served honorably for many years, in active and reserve military duty, as Secretary of the Army, and now as Secretary of Defense. You must have thought long and hard about where that line should be drawn. I must now ask: If last nights blatant violations do not cross the line for you, what will?
Unfortunately, it appears there may be few if any lines that President Trump is not willing to cross, so you will probably be faced with this terrible question again in the coming days. You may be asked to take, or to direct the men and women serving in the U.S. military to take, actions that further undermine the Constitution and harm Americans.
As a concerned citizen, and as a former senior defense official who cares deeply about the military, I urge you to consider closely both your future actions and your future words. For example, some could interpret literally your suggestion to the nations governors Monday that they need to dominate the battlespace. I cannot believe that you see the United States as a battlespace, or that you believe our citizens must be dominated. Such language sends an extremely dangerous signal.
You have made life-and-death decisions in combat overseas; soon you may be asked to make life-and-death decisions about using the military on American streets and against Americans. Where will you draw the line, and when will you draw it?
I hope this letter of resignation will encourage you to again contemplate the obligations you undertook in your oath of office, as well as your obligations to the men and women in our military and other Americans whose lives may be at stake. In the event that at least some other senior officials may be inclined to ask these questions after reading this letter, I am making it public.
I wish you the best, in very difficult times. The sanctity of the U.S. Constitution, and the lives of Americans, may depend on your choices.
Sincerely,
James N. Miller
James N. Miller served as under secretary of defense for policy from 2012 to 2014. He provided The Post with a copy of his resignation letter, which he submitted to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Tuesday evening.