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Not a single authoritarian leader or aspiring dictator has ever assembled the complete high-ranking officer corps of their military in one room to demean them as incompetent and humiliate them for their slovenly grooming standards, while insulting whole classes serving in the military branches as lesser and undeserving.

Donald Trump is accustomed to entering events with enthusiastic audiences applauding to music. "I've never entered a room so silent before," he remarked when speaking to the country's highest-ranking military commanders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico. "Don't laugh. Don't know if you're permitted to do that." He was attempting to force some laughter, an old entertainment technique to energize a unresponsive audience. "You know what? Just enjoy yourselves."

His syllogism clearly demonstrated his psychology of victimhood and politics of revenge. If you do not show deference to him, he is deeply wounded. The failure to admire him must be penalized. Any disrespect of his authority dooms you to ruin.

Military Discipline vs. Partisan Demands

The speaker fails to understand that the silence of the military leaders during his extraordinary speech to them showcased their ultimate duty. Their composure showed loyalty to maintain their pledge to the constitution. By their stillness they presented themselves as models for the remainder of the military leadership and the service members.

They are not loyal to any individual or any cult of personality, but to his constitutional role.

They served as a background for a political event, but they were unwilling to serving as political players.

Basic Misunderstanding

His inability to comprehend their stolidity in the presence of his provocations revealed his incomprehension not only of the armed forces but the presidency under the law. When he became offended at their unresponsive silence his criticism made clear that he viewed them simply as his pawns.

The president had come on an urgent task for them to execute. He was there to inform the military chiefs they were to be his obedient instruments for the most significant change of defense policy since the "anti-terrorism campaign" – an unprecedented conflict to be fought against his viewed domestic rivals at home in violation of the federal law of 1878, which prohibits the internal deployment of the American armed forces as a police force.

Context and Executive Actions

All the senior military leaders had been assembled for the unprecedented event at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on the directive of the defense chief. They possessed no inkling for what momentous occasion they were being called. They wouldn't speculate that they were being brought to be a captive crowd for a self-referential ego-driven presentation seeking to restore his reputation and assert his authority.

However the military leaders could have obtained more than a clue that they were being assembled for the latest episode of political drama by reading the executive order Labeling an activist movement as a terror group, an "organization" that does not exist. Subsequent actions included a security directive citing multiple incidents as pretexts: "This political violence is not a collection of unconnected incidents and doesn't originate naturally.

Ideological Framework

According to the memorandum, a new "government approach" would be enacted against an belief system of "opposition to America, opposition to capitalism, and opposition to Christianity; support for the removal of the federal government; radical views on migration, ethnicity, and sex; and opposition towards those who hold conservative values on family, religion, and morality."

These concepts were not a description of an ideology so much as a mixture of political shibboleths. Should any belief system expressed it was an undeveloped fascism based on a repressive drive that conjured up an all-purpose opponent called "Antifa".

Military Chief's Performance

The theatrical presentation at Quantico started with the defense secretary moving back and forth on the stage. He was a inspirational presenter as a drill sergeant with a book to promote – and a warm-up act for the headliner.

The ex national guard major said he had been "deemed an radical"; he was flagged as a possible "security risk" by colleagues. Despite numerous accounts of his drinking issues, he informed media in an conversation: "I never had a alcohol issue," but then reportedly assured a legislator that he would "avoid alcohol while I have this position."

Procedural Changes and Controversial Remarks

While serving as television personality, the speaker had been a prominent advocate for forgiving or granting clemency to service members charged or found guilty of war crimes. He described them as "fighters" rather than "war criminals".

Now, in his speech, he announced he was clearing away "unnecessary elements". He promoted relaxing regulations aimed at stopping prohibited violence within the armed forces. He announced the "restructuring" of the inspector general and whistleblower complaint process, which would weaken legal protections and protect aggressive or reckless offenders from responsibility.

He planned to, he said, implement discriminatory measures of "unisex" or "masculine standard" fitness requirements for combat roles, saying: "If that means no women meet standards for some military positions, so be it."

Confrontational Language and Military Reaction

The speaker strutted in front of the military leaders, shouting vulgar language – "Acronym for explicit phrase", or vulgar expression. "No more identity months, diversity initiatives, dudes in dresses. No more environmental focus. Stop division, diversion or identity issues. Remove unnecessary elements. As I stated before and will say again, we are finished with that nonsense."

The military leaders sat without reaction at his crude language that could be considered under the Uniform Military Code of Justice as a infraction against indecent language that "neglects to the prejudice of proper conduct and military standards".

Appearance Standards and Personal Comments

According to the defense chief, it was the flabby generals who required to exercise following his example. "It's totally unacceptable to see overweight generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and overseeing operations around the country and the world. It appears unprofessional," he said. "No more beardos."

Final Remarks and Political Background

At no point did the speaker mention "Russia" or "Ukraine". He made not the slightest reference to Russia's huge missile attacks bombarding Ukraine, Russia's unmanned aircraft over neighboring countries, the tensions over US uncertainty within the western alliance, or utter anything that might be interpreted as a strategic thought.

Following his threatening speech, the defense secretary stepped aside for Donald Trump. Trump displayed his customary contempt for the armed forces by baiting them with an series of partisan insults to which they remained completely motionless.

During the course of his rambling remarks, he introduced his new mission for the military against the "enemy from within", with major American urban areas as the "training grounds … the ones that are governed by the progressive politicians … And this is going to be a significant role for some of the individuals in this room. That's a war, too. It's a war from within." No response.