Three retired US generals warned Friday that America’s divided military could fuel a new civil war if there’s another coup attempt after the 2024 election because ‘more than 1 in 10 of those charged in January 6 attacks had a service record’.
Former Army Major Gen Paul Eaton, former Brigadier Gen Steven Anderson and former Army Major Gen Antonio Taguba made the worrisome claim in a column for The Washington Post.
‘As we approach the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, we – all of us former senior military officials – are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk,’ the generals penned.
In such a polarized political atmosphere, ‘with loyalties split,’ the generals observed that ‘some might follow orders from the rightful commander in chief, while others might follow the Trumpian loser’.
‘In this context, with our military hobbled and divided, US security would be crippled. Any one of our enemies could take advantage by launching an all-out assault on our assets or our allies,’ the column read.
They emphasized: ‘The military and lawmakers have been gifted hindsight to prevent another insurrection from happening in 2024 – but they will succeed only if they take decisive action now’.
Eaton, 71, was in charge of training Iraqi troop during Operation Iraqi Freedom between 2003 and 2004 during. After he retired, Eaton became a vocal critic of former President George W. Bush, who spearheaded the war in Iraq., and is currently a senior adviser to VoteVets.
Taguba, 71, spent 34 years in the military and made headlines for an internal United States Army report on the abuse of detainees held at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq when it was leaked in 2004.
Anderson, 65, had a 31-year career in the armed forces, including 15 months working under General David Petraeus as a in Iraq.
The three retired generals noted that the events that unfolded on January 6, 2020 – when thousands of fiery patriots and Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building and resulted in the death of five people – showed that ‘the signs of potential turmoil in our armed forces are there’.