"If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time."
—Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's exasperation over the lousy job the poster-child for military incompetence, Gen. George B. McClellan, encapsulated the frustration the commander-in-chief felt as he removed "Little Mac" for failing to cross the Potomac and go on the offensive with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army, during the Civil War.
McClellan’s sins were far worse than his passive aggressive insubordination to the president. "Little Mac" violated his sacred oath to the Constitution which has applied to all military personnel since Sept. 29, 1789.
As was the case then; it's more than worth a reprint now. Perhaps multiple printings distributed to cadet, soldier, officer, seaman, admiral, colonel, general, etc. - and top brass alike:
"I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
(Title 5 U.S. Code 3331, an individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services)
It seems pretty unambiguous.
If you hold a position in the military or are an official carrying the public’s trust, you're compelled to exhibit unrelenting loyalty to the Constitution.
- Not an administration
- Not a political party
- Not a transnational interest
- Not a cultist climate movement
- Not some powerful staffer or lobbyist
- Not some potential board position
So how could it be remotely in the realm of possibility that our national security is nearly in its most vulnerable state since our Founding?
The obvious answer is our wide-open border. Last Friday the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) quietly released the updated numbers:
- 7.6 million illegal immigrants since inauguration day
- 249 known terrorists
- 18,359 Communist Chinese nationals in 2023
These numbers are from from the now highly politicized Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
They reflect what Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas approved.
Any chance they might be far worse?
We have no idea how many have eluded detection and are not counted.
We see the effects everywhere with the most glaring being the purported CCP-Mexican Cartel Alliance killing nearly 100,000 Americans every year with fentanyl smuggling.
The killer narcotic seized at our border was almost doubled from 2022 in the August CBP report. Concurrently, our cities are self-destructing from anarchy and crime.
Defund-the-police, meet fighting age men from other countries whose allegiance to their gangs, outweighs any affection for this land that they illegally entered.
We the People are caught in the crossfire as city and some state bosses offer them driver’s licenses, welfare, and veteran-evicting shelters.
They wouldn’t vote, would they?
So far, the accountability, like every single aspect of the D.C. Swamp, is non-existent.
The GOP shakes a fist and lays on theatrical performances at oversight hearings and indignant cabinet officials snipe at questions, hoping their Marxist faithful with deep pockets will cheer them on and write checks.
The cameras turn off and the cocktails are mixed before a nice first-class flight back to the district to raise more money.
Few are interested in our national security, or their oath to the Constitution.
For some, if not many, it's "Why talk or debate these things?"
They're the stuff of boring academia; pie in the sky platitudes that no one really cares or thinks much about these days. We have other things on our minds like: "How are our 401ks doing?"
Want proof?
Dare to confront those still wearing masks.
The pandemic never ends for some; even those never even once infected.
It assuredly never ends for those whose businesses were lastingly decimated by the resultant hysteria.
Across the Potomac from the casino called Congress, sits the Pentagon, often dubbed in the pejorative as "The Puzzle Palace” or "Fort Fumble."
Are we off the mark here?
Those epithets would have made President Dwight David Eisenhower himself laugh.
But . . . there certainly shouldn’t be any humor at the Defense Department.
They preside over a nearly $1 trillion annual budget and possess intelligence capabilities that should accurately describe the way this country has been invaded, the damage exacted and the unimaginable outcomes yet to occur.
Is the phrase "not our job" a valid one at DoD?
" . . . all enemies, foreign and domestic."
If followed to the letter, it would mean the leadership at defense had better start evaluating the myriad of threats to our Constitution.
The border is one of many and the most emergent.
It's unacceptable for DoD to preside over the resources it has and only concerns itself with foreign wars and while we are imperiled here.
(Hint: it’s not "white domestic extremists," and it's not the rightfully concerned parents about what's happening in their children's schools.)
Americans are horrified by migrants dropping into their cities and towns in waves.
Recall, when CCP spy balloons flew over our skies - unimpeded.
We the People see little reason for failure in multi-decade wars, only to increase global interventions, potentially sparking new wars.
To paraphrase our great President Lincoln:
If the Pentagon does not want to use the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, We the People would like to borrow them for a time.
A very long time.
Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt (retired) is a co-founder of Restore Liberty, a former deputy representative to NATO, a lifetime member on the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Newsmax contributor. The views presented are those of the author and do not represent the views of the U.S. government, U.S.Department of Defense, or its components. Read Gen. Holt's reports — More Here.