Alors que l’armée américaine se prépare à célébrer son 250e anniversaire avec un grand défilé de matériel militaire à Washington, DC, qui coïncide avec l’anniversaire du président Donald Trump, d’anciens responsables sont de plus en plus préoccupés par la manière dont l’armée est entraînée dans l’arène politique, ont déclaré à CNN plusieurs anciens et actuels responsables.
Le défilé, qui présentera plusieurs millions de livres de matériel militaire, dont des chars et des véhicules de combat Bradley et Stryker, et se terminera par un discours de Trump, intervient à un moment tendu. Cette semaine, environ 4 000 gardes nationaux ont été mobilisés à Los Angeles , ainsi qu’un bataillon complet de Marines américains, en réponse aux troubles civils. Des milliers de gardes nationaux ont également été mobilisés au Texas. Mardi, des soldats américains en uniforme ont été filmés en train d’acclamer le président lors de son discours politique à Fort Bragg, en Caroline du Nord, rappelant ceux qu’il avait prononcés pendant sa campagne électorale – un événement qui illustre parfaitement les inquiétudes suscitées par une tendance plus large à la politisation de l’armée.
Des responsables militaires actuels et anciens ont déclaré à CNN que l’événement de Fort Bragg est perçu dans certains secteurs de l’armée comme un échec en matière de relations publiques, car l’armée a des réglementations strictes concernant l’activité politique et est généralement hypersensible à toute perception selon laquelle elle prend une position politique.
Plusieurs responsables ont déclaré que l’armée avait peu de contrôle sur l’événement ; une fois le président impliqué, ont-ils affirmé, la Maison-Blanche prend le relais. Un responsable de la défense, directement au courant de l’événement, a souligné que l’armée n’avait aucune intention de donner aux troupes une allure politique. Parfois, ont-ils ajouté, la situation leur échappe.
“I would say I never want to see a political piece of paraphernalia on a military installation, period,” the official said, adding that it’s “not the military that’s trying to be political, it’s people trying to use the military – which tends to poll very positively – for political gain.”
Current and former officials speaking to CNN had varied levels of concern regarding the trajectory the military is on in regard to being seen as political. Some, for example, maintained that Saturday’s parade was about celebrating the Army, while others acknowledged heartburn among leaders that while the Army may see it as celebrating the service, the public could associate the parade, which has been a goal of Trump’s since his first term, with a celebration of his presidency.
One current defense official remarked that it’s not so much a matter of reminding soldiers what their “left and right limits” are with political activity, because “we don’t know what the left and right limits even are, anymore.”
“The actions that were once rightfully criticized or rightfully labeled as partisan activity, or not appropriate, are now celebrated,” the official said.
The official also pointed to multiple instances in the Biden administration and under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that they felt were political, emphasizing that the issue of politicizing the military has been building for years.
Indeed, there have been a number of political events or social media posts over the last several years involving the military and service members that have drawn criticism.
In 2022, President Joe Biden was criticized for having two Marines flank him during a speech in Philadelphia, in which he spoke about the threats to “equality and democracy” posed by former President Donald Trump. Various political hopefuls have released campaign imagery and videos that appear to violate DOD policy. In 2020, the Army Reserve said it would discipline the supervisor of two Army Reserve soldiers who appeared in uniform during a Democratic National Convention video.
Trump’s address at Fort Bragg this week was far from the first time a political leader from any party has delivered a speech to or around US service members, but many officials who spoke to CNN were struck by the outwardly partisan behavior of many of the soldiers on-camera behind Trump.
The Pentagon has strict regulations for political activity in uniform, stating that active-duty service members “will not engage in partisan political activities and all military personnel will avoid the inference that their political activities imply or appear to imply DOD sponsorship, approval or endorsement of a political candidate, campaign or cause.”
On Tuesday, the soldiers at Fort Bragg booed and cheered along with Trump’s remarks, booing the media, former President Joe Biden, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Social media posts from the event on Tuesday viewed by CNN also showed photos of “Make America Great Again” hats and necklaces being sold by vendors, and in some photos, soldiers donned the gear while in uniform.
The same official said the soldiers, many of them young and relatively inexperienced, were caught up in the moment – enjoying the day of celebration and excited to be so close to the commander in chief – and that there were people in the crowd trying to get the soldiers to cheer at certain moments of Trump’s speech.
Col. Mary Ricks, spokeswoman for the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, said in a statement that the event “was planned in cooperation with America 250, a nonpartisan organization created to support the U.S. Semi quincentennial Commission established by Congress in 2016.”
“The Army remains committed to its core values and apolitical service to the nation,” Ricks said.
Still, current and former officials voiced concern that the event could contribute to damaging public trust in the military as an institution, which is crucial to military leaders; it feeds into their ability to recruit new service members, and to get funding for various efforts and projects.
“It’s a slippery slope when you use very aggressive rhetoric against a political opponent and use the backdrop of military personnel …. using them as a validation for your political agenda, that’s where people get upset,” a former senior Defense Department official said.
Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg came just a couple of weeks after he delivered the commencement address at the US Military Academy at West Point, wearing a bright red MAGA hat amid the sea of grey and white West Point uniforms. One recently retired Army general officer told CNN that the West Point and Fort Bragg addresses show “a complete disregard for the centuries old civ-mil non-partisan interaction with the military.”
The former senior DOD official told CNN that while Trump’s language at Fort Bragg was more aggressive against his political opponents than other presidents have done, political leaders have “always pushed their agendas in front of the troops.”
« Cela nous a toujours rendu un peu anxieux », a déclaré le responsable, « mais ils le font tous. »
« L’armée devrait-elle publier un message disant : « Nous maintenons l’ordre et la discipline, et conformément au règlement X, nous nous abstenons de tout blablabla » ? Oui, a déclaré un responsable de la défense. « Nous devrions. Mais nous ne le ferons pas. »
