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Trump Should Go Full Colonel Jessup on His Critics
This president’s enemies hate him so much that, no matter what action he takes, they will find a way to criticize him for it. The classic example is Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy’s tweets over the past few days. On 31 December, Murphy was bemoaning the fact that Trump’s blunders in the Middle East had emboldened Iran to attack our embassy:
Two days later, on 2 January, he’s criticizing the president for taking action:
As part of their justification for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the administration is citing his involvement in the planning of “an imminent” attack against American interests in the region. The president’s enemies have seized on this wording and are demanding to know what the imminent threat was. They are insisting the administration produce the evidence.
Really? Soleimani was a high-value terrorist target with the blood of thousands on his hands including the blood of hundreds of Americans. His past deeds alone make his killing justifiable. Are the Trump detractors really suggesting that the action was not warranted if they can catch the president in a lie regarding the relative imminence of Soleimani’s next atrocity? I don’t know about you, but I don’t really care very much whether the timing of the next act of terror was hours away, days away, or a complete mystery to Trump when he decided to take the shot.
This imminence test seems to have something to do with the niceties of International Law. Maybe the president’s critics should take their case to The Hague and spare the rest of us all this nonsense. The president should respond to his critics with something akin to Col. Jessup’s response to Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men:
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it!
I wonder if the International Court of Justice will have a verdict by the time Trump leaves the Oval Office in January 2025.
Published in General
He’s leaving that soon?
By making these demands they are implicitly saying Trump, and his team are incompetent and need adult supervision.
It’s very interesting to see them constantly make everything about Trump himself, when in reality, the brass at the Pentagon and for that matter our intel agencies are the ones who are behind these actions. Sure Trump has veto power, but they are the ones who inform him, give him options, explain upsides and downsides, and actually carry out whatever action he ultimately approves. Of course, this was the same in Obama’s case also. Ultimately I think they have more influence on what transpires than a President.
These critics aren’t honoring our Constitution and the powers bestowed on the executive branch. That alone disqualifies them. Then there’s the fact they leak to the press so casually they are not to be trusted.
Not a good look to endorse an officer who orders the murder of one of his own men.
Remember when Obama ordered all those drone strikes on Lesser Value Targets (LVTs) in Yemen and elsewhere and Democrats complained that he hadn’t consulted Congress and needed to provide proof of imminent attacks (by Yemeni fighters?) and the hits occurred right after an American embassy was attacked?. . .
Yeah, me neither.
He’ll still be around to tweet.
One of us missed the point of Jessup’s speech. First of all, Jessup didn’t have Santiago murdered. His death was an accident that occurred during harsh (and admittedly illegal) hazing.
But I think Jessup is actually the hero of that film, or at least one of them. Everything Jessup says in that speech is true. We don’t want to talk about it at parties, but we need him on that wall.
I’m reminded of the quote that I was very surprised to learn came from George Orwell:
January 20, 2021.
The TDS force is so strong that some Dems started siding with Soleimani until they realized how stupid they were being.
They already have the verdict. They’re looking for the evidence to back it up . . .
Do you really imagine anyone in the democrat goat rodeo beating Donald Trump? I cant imagine it.
Also, just for reference, things didnt work out very well for Col. Jessup. I think the sister missed her dinner date.
There ya go again…
I know how things worked out for Jessup. I still think he is the real hero of the film, but the heroes don’t always win.
I’d actually rather seen Andrew McCabe or John Brennan in the Jack Nicholson role, with John Durham as Tom Cruise when it comes down to finding out who got the ball rolling in both the FBI and the CIA on the bogus Trump-Russia investigation (my money’s on Brennan for being the one most likely to do the “You’re dammed right I ordered the Code Red” speech, since he’s already pretty unhinged on CNN right now).
Typically, a hero does not put his executive officer into an ethical dilemma where the honorable course of action is suicide.
I dunno, I can imagine quite a bit.
If we end up entangled in another Middle East conflict with American troops on the ground it is the one thing that could cause him to lose.
You realize, of course, that Col Jessup was the bad guy, right? That his behavior was illegal, immoral, and hateful to one of his own men? That such behavior weakens discipline and teaches the men to not trust their leaders because someday they might be the ones to be ordered to be killed?
Yeah, don’t use that fictional character as a role model. I’ve met an officer like him before. He was like poison to the command. A few people enjoyed protection, but the morale within the unit was fragile. So many investigations, so much turmoil, so many investigations, senior officers being quietly shoved aside – one full colonel was a doddering old Medal of Honor awardee whose tour as commanding officer was cut short and he was sent off to be the Inspector General to protect him and the USMC from the scandal.
Jessop may look great for a few lines, but the meaning underlying those lines is antithetical to the entire purpose of having a military subordinate to civil authority. Jessup was a monster and it’s clear he was on his way to prison, and rightfully so. Jessup, in that movie, promoted a command climate that encouraged his men to kill one of their own. That’s sick.
I can’t believe any good person could watch that movie and think he was the good guy.
Jessup wrapped himself in the flag and sneered at the rest of the world as though he had some special status above the law.
I don’t know what kind of parties you go to, but anywhere the subject of the need for the military comes up, even at a party I suppose, most everyone I know is thankful for the military.
I have some serious problems with your view of ethics.
The XO was no hero either because he didn’t take action to save someone in his command from persecution. He was a coward to commit suicide.
Yes their approach to such matters demonstrates just how ignorant they are. Presidents set tones and a few priorities. Do they suppose he laid bricks and installed plumbing in his buildings?
Well said.
I actually agree with President Trump’s decision here, but if you look at Trump’s populist right, i.e. Tucker Carlson, he is receiving the exact same criticism for the decision as he is getting from the progressive left. They are mirror images.
Interesting. It’s hard to know if Carlson is expressing a fear Trump is being captured by the deep state or if he’s reflecting the fear of the Ron Paul right. Regardless, I think Trump is a Jacksonian who isn’t afraid to smack down the evil doers but avoids decisive engagement.
Trump is the guy who finishes wars. He doesnt start them.
Oh and Iran has been at war with the USA for 40 years now.
I wasnt really around for it, but these are the same people were criticizing Reagan for hitting the Libyans in the 80s.
Sen. Murphy may have a point. Time will tell. But his last phrase is just silly: “knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war.”
No one knows what will result from this action. There may be a massive regional war, but probably not. It is simply incoherent to accuse anyone of “knowingly” setting off a low-probability event that has not yet occurred.
Sen. Murphy does appear to be trained as a lawyer, and should know better. The distinctions between degrees of culpability are pretty well established — intentional, knowing, reckless, grossly negligent, negligent.
Updated for the New Year.
Specially for you.