nypost.com
Basic rules for generals who just have to play politics
By Victor Davis Hanson
The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits active generals from disparaging their commander in chief. Article 88 of the UCMJ makes it a crime to voice “contemptuous words against the president†and other senior civilian officials. But no one quite knows whether such codified prohibitions on free expression apply to retired generals receiving military pensions.
And lately, there has been a spate of “contemptuous words†against President Trump, leveled by retired generals, including some who under other presidents condemned just such conduct among their brethren.
Given the lack of legal clarity, a confused public could at least expect four rules of general decorum and courtesy when our top retired military leaders go on the attack against a sitting president. Unfortunately, a number of our most esteemed retired generals and admirals haven’t met these modest ethical expectations in their fury at Trump.
1) A retired general need not under any circumstances stoop to invoking Nazi Germany, Hitler or Fascism to criticize the president.
For example, the esteemed Gen. James Mattis, a former defense secretary in the Trump administration and a deservedly iconic figure, Â recently suggested that Trump fostered disunity in much the same way that Nazis did.
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https://nypost.com/2020/06/08/basic-rules-for-generals-who-just-have-to-play-politics/
