My fear is not a literal Night of Long Knives, I don't think we're at a place where Hegseth and Trump have consolidated enough power for extrajudicial murders of senior military members.
My fear is something like a, "swear a loyalty oath to trump or be fired," type event. I think a lot of military careers end on Tuesday 9/30. That's not great, it's dangerous, but I don't think blood is spilled. We'll see I guess if I am being naive.
Yep. Of course this could be about anything, but the idea of a loyalty oath to Trump seems most likely to me. From that, more can and would likely follow,
Or just as plausible, it will be a Saddam like purge. He brings the entire senior military leadership into one room, then he starts calling out names of disloyal generals and admirals, but instead of sending their bodies in pieces back to their families, they are summarily dismissed in disgrace.
The net effect is a SHOCK DOCTRINE that paralyzes the rest, and brings them to heel and makes them MAGA compliant….:)
Well, calling out "disloyal" FGOs in one room gives rise to the possibility of an "I am Spartacus" moment. More likely is an announcement that a signed document is required before they leave ... either for their commands or for early retirement.
At similar gatherings, Saddam would order someone taken out and shot for disloyalty and then order someone else who was not formally a part of his terror apparatus to carry out the execution. The designated executioner would carry out the order out of justified fear of the consequences for disobeying it. This had the effect of giving the unfortunate executioner a vital interest in the preservation of the regime; its continued power was his only protection from retribution that was sure to follow Saddam’s fall from power.
Trump is certainly such a viper he knows this dynamic. Every functionary who carries out one of Trump's abuses of power becomes even more tightly bound to the administration’s continuation in power.
I think you’re right. I just seems so crazy to bring all these people together in one place. And the Trump regime seems to have almost no limits on what they are willing to say and do. I’m upset that I even have thoughts like this, and more that we have occasion to discuss them.
I hear what you're saying. There are many of us considering scenarios we never have before because we're in a situation we've never been in before. Uncertainty can do that.
And announcing it and the venue where it will be held publically, all at a time when this administration has focused its intelligence efforts on internal rather than external enemies. What could go wrong?
I expect preparation for martial law- with this meeting as a vehicle to ascertain loyalty to the MAGA movement over country as the primary goal. Separation of those deemed, ‘disloyal’ and closer scrutiny of those deemed ‘insufficiently loyal’, is also in play, as the day when the military is on the streets of 400-500 cities in the USA draws near, with a target to complete the deployment of troops by October 1, 2026.
It is crazy. We're simultaneously less able to respond to threats abroad because senior command (all of it) is in transit. Everyone is in one spot, so if Russia/China/North Korea wanted to launch an ICBM, they could do way more damage to military command than any other opportunity.
The amazingly stupid/scary kicker is that the Government may very well shut down the day after this meeting, on 10/1. So... will all the generals be literally stuck in Virginia? Because there's no money to fly back to their bases?
In past shutdowns, I recall not everything stopped the day after the decision. But good point about the one-two punch of the meeting then the shutdown.
My fear is not a literal Night of Long Knives, I don't think we're at a place where Hegseth and Trump have consolidated enough power for extrajudicial murders of senior military members.
My fear is something like a, "swear a loyalty oath to trump or be fired," type event. I think a lot of military careers end on Tuesday 9/30. That's not great, it's dangerous, but I don't think blood is spilled. We'll see I guess if I am being naive.
Yep. Of course this could be about anything, but the idea of a loyalty oath to Trump seems most likely to me. From that, more can and would likely follow,
Or just as plausible, it will be a Saddam like purge. He brings the entire senior military leadership into one room, then he starts calling out names of disloyal generals and admirals, but instead of sending their bodies in pieces back to their families, they are summarily dismissed in disgrace.
The net effect is a SHOCK DOCTRINE that paralyzes the rest, and brings them to heel and makes them MAGA compliant….:)
Well, calling out "disloyal" FGOs in one room gives rise to the possibility of an "I am Spartacus" moment. More likely is an announcement that a signed document is required before they leave ... either for their commands or for early retirement.
At similar gatherings, Saddam would order someone taken out and shot for disloyalty and then order someone else who was not formally a part of his terror apparatus to carry out the execution. The designated executioner would carry out the order out of justified fear of the consequences for disobeying it. This had the effect of giving the unfortunate executioner a vital interest in the preservation of the regime; its continued power was his only protection from retribution that was sure to follow Saddam’s fall from power.
Trump is certainly such a viper he knows this dynamic. Every functionary who carries out one of Trump's abuses of power becomes even more tightly bound to the administration’s continuation in power.
I think you’re right. I just seems so crazy to bring all these people together in one place. And the Trump regime seems to have almost no limits on what they are willing to say and do. I’m upset that I even have thoughts like this, and more that we have occasion to discuss them.
I'm glad we still have the opportunity to discuss them.
I hear what you're saying. There are many of us considering scenarios we never have before because we're in a situation we've never been in before. Uncertainty can do that.
And announcing it and the venue where it will be held publically, all at a time when this administration has focused its intelligence efforts on internal rather than external enemies. What could go wrong?
I expect preparation for martial law- with this meeting as a vehicle to ascertain loyalty to the MAGA movement over country as the primary goal. Separation of those deemed, ‘disloyal’ and closer scrutiny of those deemed ‘insufficiently loyal’, is also in play, as the day when the military is on the streets of 400-500 cities in the USA draws near, with a target to complete the deployment of troops by October 1, 2026.
That is not at all an absurd expectation. It's definitely in the realm of possibility. Likely? I give it 50/50 odds.
I always knew you were an optimist!
That's a possibility Timothy Snyder outlined in his latest post. https://snyder.substack.com/p/hegseth-puts-us-all-at-risk
It is crazy. We're simultaneously less able to respond to threats abroad because senior command (all of it) is in transit. Everyone is in one spot, so if Russia/China/North Korea wanted to launch an ICBM, they could do way more damage to military command than any other opportunity.
The amazingly stupid/scary kicker is that the Government may very well shut down the day after this meeting, on 10/1. So... will all the generals be literally stuck in Virginia? Because there's no money to fly back to their bases?
In past shutdowns, I recall not everything stopped the day after the decision. But good point about the one-two punch of the meeting then the shutdown.
All good questions.
Coincidence? Hmmm