World news – United States – Trump dismisses Mark Esper from the post of Defense Secretary

tick T Esper broke with President Trump in June over sending troops on active duty to control demonstrations against police brutality

WASHINGTON – President Trump on Monday sacked Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, the last victim in the president’s revolving door of top national security officials who had fallen on the wrong side of their boss

Mr. Trump announced the decision on Twitter, and wrote in a surprising post that Mr. « Esper » has been « terminated »

The President wrote that he was appointing Christopher C. Miller, whom he described as the « highly respected » director of the National Counterterrorism Center, to be the Acting Secretary of Defense Mr. Miller would be the fourth official to lead the Pentagon under Mr. Trump.

The President noted that Mr. Miller has already been approved by the Senate for his current position, perhaps as a way of saying that the dismissal of the Secretary of Defense should not be seen as a sign of turmoil at the top of the ranks of the country’s national security structure.

Mr. Esper’s departure means that Mr. Miller was – if he persisted – seeing the end of the Trump administration in the Pentagon while Mr. Trump remained in office for more than two months, and this could be an important time, as Defense Department officials in particular have expressed their concerns that the President may He begins operations, whether overt or covert, once again in Iran or other opponents in his last days in office

Friends and colleagues praised Mr. Miller’s background in the Army Special Forces and his credentials in combating terrorism, but expressed surprise that he had been promoted to such a high position, even if it was on a temporary basis and although he was not considered an ideology, the master did not have Miller stands sufficiently to respond to any extreme positions such as Mr. His colleagues said Trump might defend in his final weeks in office.

“Such a move would likely cause chills in the upper ranks of the military,” Nicholas J. Rasmussen, a former senior counterterrorism official in the Bush and Obama administrations, said in an e-mail “Not because of anything about Chris Miller Personally, although it is a very unconventional choice, certainly but simply because a move like this contributes to a feeling of instability and instability in making the decision at the exact time you want to avoid sending this type of message around the world ”

Mr. Miller is a former Green Army soldier who participated in the liberation of Kandahar early in the war in Afghanistan and also previously held the position of top counterterrorism policy official at the National Security Council under the Trump administration in the White House after that position, he served briefly in the position Prominent in counterterrorism policy at the Pentagon this year

He was part of the Trump administration’s musical chairs at national security sites Mr. Miller was not appointed to replace Ross Travers, who was the acting head of the Counter-Terrorism Center

Mr. Miller began his military career as a conscript infantry soldier in the Army Reserve in 1983. He also served as a military police officer in the National Guard in Colombia. He was assigned the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1987 and became a First Lieutenant in 1993

In addition to its deployment in Afghanistan, it also served in Iraq in 2003, both with the Fifth Special Forces Group

Upon announcing the dismissal of his defense minister, Mr Trump sought to restore even a fraction of the post-election narrative that President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory

But Mr. Esper’s fall had been expected for months, after he took a rare step in June by publicly disagreeing with Mr. Trump and said that military forces should not be sent on active duty to control the wave of protests in American cities. Officials said the president, who threatened Using the law of rebellion to do exactly that, he was furious

Mr. Esper’s spokesperson at the time tried to undo the damage, telling the New York Times that Mr. Trump also did not want to use the insurgency act, or was actually going to use it Jonathan R said, « We failed to see the disengagement. » Hoffman, spokesperson Mr. Esper

Mr. Esper, 56, a former Secretary of the Army and a former Executive Director of Raytheon Corporation, became Minister of Defense in July 2019, following Mr. Trump withdrew the nomination of Patrick M. Shanahan, Acting Secretary of Defense, amidst an investigation into allegations by Mr Shanahan’s ex-wife that he had punched her in the stomach, Mr Shanahan denied the accusations.

Mr Shanahan was standing behind Jim Mattis, who resigned as Secretary of Defense in 2018, citing his own disagreements with the President

Mr. Esper had made an effort to abide by Trump’s line during his tenure but concern about resorting to insurgency law to send troops on active duty to fight protesters across the country ran deep in the Pentagon under heavy public criticism, Mr. Esper eventually split from President

Mr. Trump referred to Mr. Esper, « Mr. Yisper, » Ironically, the Secretary of Defense was a public cutoff from the President during a press conference in June in which he spoke against the use of active duty forces to quell the civil unrest that angered Mr. Trump. These comments came after Mr. Esper accompanied Mr. Trump On his march through Lafayette Square outside the White House, as tear gas canisters were fired at protesters, sparking condemnation by former military and civilian defense officials

By Midsummer Mr. Esper was walking a fine line to respond to other contentious positions involving the military that Mr. Trump had taken

The Pentagon announced, without ever mentioning the word « confederation », in July that it would essentially ban displaying the Confederate flag on military installations around the world

In a carefully crafted memo that Defense Department officials said was written to avoid sparking another defense of the flag from Mr.Trump, Mr. Esper issued directives restricting the types of flags that could be flown on military installations – in barracks, on cars, and on signs.

The directive did not specifically prohibit flags of the Confederation, but did say that they do not fit any of the approved categories – and none of these flags has been banned

After the June events, Mr. Esper sought to fly under the radar, sidestep the news media and keep out of the limelight to prevent being drawn into electoral politics.

I traveled often starting in early summer, including overseas trips to North Africa, the Middle East and India

When he spoke publicly, whether abroad or in Washington, it was often in pre-recorded notes on safe topics (criticizing China and Russia on the Africa Journey) or in amicable places (a question-and-answer session on military readiness at the Heritage Foundation, where Mr. Esper as Chief of Staff)

However, regarding the bigger issue of 2020 – the coronavirus pandemic – history may show that Mr. Esper is, to a large extent, outperforming his boss, who has largely refused to wear a mask and contract coronavirus during the outbreak at the White House, Mr. By contrast, Esper strictly adhered to the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on wearing a mask when unable to maintain a recommended social distance.

In a hypothetical town hall-style meeting at the Pentagon, Mister Esper responded to a sailor on board the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford who complained that the required social distancing on board the ship was hurting morale.

“It’s boring – I get it,” Mr. Esper said, “But I think it shows, in terms of the Navy’s results in terms of infection rates, that they are doing a very good job”

Mark Esper, Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense of the United States, Joe Biden