Helene Cooper, a black female former refugee from Liberia, remained in the United States unlawfully after her visa expired. She would have been deported if not for the sheer coincidence of being included in Ronald Reagan’s 1986 mass amnesty.
Now, 39 years later, she is a prize-winning journalist and a U.S. citizen. Yet, she has become an unrelenting elitist ingrate, attacking the legitimacy of the same United States government that once rescued her from the threat of imprisonment, servitude, or death.
Retired US officers who have not resigned their commissions can be called back to active duty at any time. Cooper might find that idea worthy of another tear-filled op-ed.
Her latest diatribe in the New York Times not only attempts to undermine the authority of a freely elected president but also highlights her significant misunderstanding of how the military operates.
Although Cooper won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the Ebola virus, she has no military experience. It’s no surprise, then, that she expresses shock — complete shock! — at President Trump’s dismissal of Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan and the removal of General Mark Milley’s portrait from the Pentagon.
In the military, all service members serve at the pleasure of the president, who has the authority to relieve anyone at any time.
So Helene, instead of focusing on your Liberian autobiography or chronicling Liberia’s first female president, consider reading up on how the U.S. military operates. If you can spare some time from your overly sentimental reporting, you might start with Abraham Lincoln’s firing of George McClellan, Harry Truman’s dismissal of Douglas MacArthur, or Jimmy Carter’s spanking of Jack Singlaub. Or maybe just skim Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
As for Milley, whose actions as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were at best disloyal and at worst treasonous — actions now irrelevant due to ex-President Biden’s blanket pardon — Trump’s removal of Milley’s portrait is a minor gesture.
If Trump wanted to, he could take far stronger actions against Milley. Retired U.S. officers who have not resigned their commissions can be called back to active duty at any time. Cooper might find that idea worthy of another tear-filled op-ed.
Imagine it: President Trump could summon Milley to serve as “assistant to the president for Military Affairs.” Once reinstated to active duty, Milley might be required to always appear in civilian attire and work from an office repurposed from a West Wing broom closet.
Reflecting further, the president could permanently revoke Milley’s security clearance, reducing his responsibilities to reading hard copies of military magazines and submitting daily typed reports to the Oval Office. (Without clearance, of course, Milley would be issued an IBM Selectric II typewriter, complete with correction tape and copy paper, as electronic devices would be off-limits.)
As commander in chief, Trump would personally draft Milley’s officer efficiency reports, potentially demoting him for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
Imagine four years in a broom closet — no phone, no computer — working six days a week, 9 to 5, or longer if the president required it. At least Milley could admire his famous portrait, conveniently displayed just outside his office … right above the first urinal.
Alternatively, Milley could resign his commission, leaving the military behind to fully embrace his new role as citizen Milley, the mouth who roared.
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