WASHINGTON: The military parade for Donald Trump has come early. Two months before Inauguration Day festivities, an extraordinary number of recently retired generals, including some who clashed with President Barack Obama’s administration, are marching to the president-elect’s doorstep for job interviews.
It’s not unusual for an incoming administration to consider a retired general for a top position like CIA director. But Trump has turned to retired officers so publicly and in such large numbers that it raises questions about the proper balance of military and civilian advice in a White House led by a commander in chief with no defense or foreign policy experience.
The tilt toward military officials may reflect a limited pool of civilian options. Many officials from previous Republican administrations politically disowned Trump during the campaign, calling him unqualified. And Trump suggested he wouldn’t want many of them, as he vowed to “drain the swamp.”
Robert Goldich, a retired government defense analyst who has watched administrations for 44 years, says Trump’s focus on retired generals might be unprecedented.
The only one announced for a top job thus far is Michael Flynn, a retired three-star Army general. Trump appointed Flynn as his national security adviser, a post that does not require Senate confirmation but is central to a president’s decision-making process. Flynn was forced out as Defense Intelligence Agency director in 2014. Afterward, he strongly criticized the Obama administration’s approach to fighting the Islamic State group and threw his support to Trump.
Among others under consideration are two retired four-star Marine generals — James Mattis for defense secretary and John Kelly for homeland security secretary. Other names surfacing include retired Army Gen. Jack Keane and David Petraeus, the retired four-star general who was Obama’s CIA director in 2011-12 before resigning amid disclosure that he had an affair with his biographer and shared highly classified information with her.
In remarks to the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump spoke about the Pentagon post in ways that offer insight into why he is attracted to former generals like Mattis.
“I think it’s time maybe, it’s time for a general,” Trump said, suggesting he favors a military mindset.
Bing West, a Vietnam War veteran and former assistant secretary of defense, said the outreach to retired generals is wise.
“Our country is fighting a long war. It’s common sense to seek the experience of those who have proven they know how to fight,” he said in an email exchange.
The concern about undue military influence derives from a long U.S. tradition of civilian control of the military, which is the basis for a ban on active-duty officers running the Pentagon. The Constitution affirms civilian control by making the president the commander in chief and giving Congress the authority to declare war.
The appointment of too many generals to high civilian positions could prompt fears that Trump is on a path to militarizing U.S. foreign policy.
“The biggest fear is too many generals in politics. That’s not a good thing,” said Mark Hertling, a retired three-star Army general who opposed Trump. “But given the lack of knowledge of a president who knows nothing about diplomacy or the military, they might provide some very good advice.”