Commander of US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversees military operations in the Middle East, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that he “was not consulted” prior to President Donald Trump’s December announcement that the US would withdraw troops from Syria. Is the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces required to seek permission from his generals before moving troops in the theaters of combat?
Mises Institute Founder Lew Rockwell finds the idea preposterous. As he tells RT:
The US has a military junta. Guys like this general at the very top of the military have vast powers. The civilian control of the military is threatened in our country. In some ways we don’t live in a free country anymore and it’s because of things like this. …
I would love to see Trump keep his campaign promises. … The US needs to pull all its troops out of everywhere. We’ve got troops in more than 100 countries and that’s the US empire.
Rockwell goes on to say that the US empire is supported by nearly everyone in Congress, by the deep state, the CIA, the FBI, all the secret police agencies, and the military-industrial complex.
Watch the whole interview here: