Trump push to politicize US military ‘reminiscent of Stalin’, top general warns
The Guardian••nation
Key Points:
- Former US infantry chief Maj Gen Paul Eaton warns that Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are aggressively politicizing the top ranks of the US military, likening the purge of senior officers to Stalinist tactics and predicting long-term damage to military independence and reputation.
- Eaton criticizes the replacement of key military leaders with Trump loyalists and the dismissal of independent watchdogs, arguing this undermines the military’s oath to the Constitution and creates a climate of fear and doubt within the ranks.
- He condemns the Trump administration’s lethal strikes on drug trafficking boats, particularly a controversial attack killing survivors in the water, calling it a potential war crime and highlighting disregard for laws of armed conflict under Hegseth’s leadership.
- Eaton expresses
