We discussed more than two months ago the possible declaration of martial law to fight the epidemic of Covid-19 [1]. The European Union then denounced our article as pro-Russian propaganda [2]. But the main officers have just abandoned their silence.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has distanced himself from President Trump. He has publicly taken a stand against the mobilization of soldiers to restore order, which is currently seriously disturbed by violent protests on the death of George Flyod.

Former Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis gave an interview to The Atlantic last week with the Chairman of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff, General Mike Milley. If the highest ranking officer in office did not say a word during the meeting, he gave a free column to the monthly against the mobilization of the Armed Forces for the purpose of maintaining public order. His former boss has explicitly denounced the divisive policy of President Donald Trump.

Former CIA director General David Petraeus also presented The Atlantic with a platform to request the renaming of a dozen military bases currently known as Confederate Generals.

Former Vice President of the United States and Democratic Party presidential candidate Jo Biden said in the Comedy Central Daily Show on June 10, 2020 that he had heard that US officers were ready to dismiss Donald Trump manu militari if he lost the election.

On June 11, President Trump thanked Monsignor Viganò in a tweet for having sent him a letter in which he equated the organizers of the coup on the occasion of the Covid-19 with those of the violent demonstrations on the occasion of the death of George Floyd [3].

The Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Mark Milley, solemnly declared in a recorded message for a graduation ceremony at the military faculty of Notre Dame University on June 11 that he should not have accompanied President Trump at the foot of Saint John Church when the crowd was dispersed. He regretted having given a partisan image of the Armed Forces (photo).

Pentagon officers were all trained by Admiral Arthur Cebrowski. Many deplore the ongoing withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the announced withdrawal of troops from Germany. On the contrary, the soldiers are overwhelmingly in favor of President Trump and hope that all the troops will return home.

Read more:

https://www.voltairenet.org/article210196.html

Unfortunately it appears the troops will be shifted mostly to Poland...

Can Germany have and pursue its own interests? The answer from Washington seems clear: only with the blessing of the US government. The US is threatening to impose sanctions on European companies involved in completing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.  This pipeline, which is now 96% finished, is designed to transport natural gas along the bottom of the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, bypassing all other countries, and from there on to other EU states.

Germany depends on exports and its industry needs energy security. That is why German businesses and the government are backing the construction of the pipeline. But Berlin is also trying to take into consideration the reservations certain countries — in particular, Poland and Ukraine  — have expressed about the project.

Read more: Observers sceptical over reports on planned US troop withdrawal from Germany

Firebrand US ambassador

The White House couldn't care less about all this, however. President Trump is determined to stop this pipeline no matter what it takes.

One of the people egging him on is Richard Grenell, the former US ambassador to Berlin. This rather undiplomatic diplomat has now at last made a significant contribution to bilateral relations: He resigned on June 1 and left Germany.

Read more:

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-punishment-for-disobedient-germany/a-53733448

President Trump’s threat to deploy the country’s armed forces to domestic protests created a justified furor—though those troops have already been withdrawn from areas in and around the nation’s capital. Given this, his less-noticed announcement that he will be bringing up to 9,500 U.S. forces home from Germany should have brought another sigh of relief. 

Instead, the move has created near hysteria within the U.S. foreign policy establishment.

Read more:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/one-cheer-for-trumps-tr...

See also:

Washington: Joe Biden says his chief worry is that US President Donald Trump will attempt to "steal" the November election, and the Democratic challenger says he's even considered the possibility that the Republican incumbent would refuse to leave the White House should he lose.

Trump's press secretary accused Biden of trafficking in "conspiracy theories".

"My single greatest concern: This president's going to try and steal this election," Biden said on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, which aired on Wednesday night.

He did not specify how he thought Trump might cheat.

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/joe-biden-fears-trump-to-stea...

Read from top.

In the run-up to the Democratic National Convention, the most closely guarded secret was how much time each speaker would get. Many privately jockeyed for extra time. Here’s how it played out.

Read more:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/21/us/politics/dnc-speakers-run-time.html

Colin Powell, the war-salesman, got 2.5 minutes to say something... Read from top. See also: a long minute for biden...