{"id":18473,"date":"2020-06-05T15:13:43","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T15:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/05\/mcraven-backs-mattis-mullen-clearing-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op-is-not-morally-right\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:36:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:36:38","slug":"mcraven-backs-mattis-mullen-clearing-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op-is-not-morally-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2020\/06\/05\/mcraven-backs-mattis-mullen-clearing-peaceful-protesters-for-a-photo-op-is-not-morally-right\/","title":{"rendered":"McRaven backs Mattis, Mullen: Clearing peaceful protesters for a photo op is not \u2018morally right\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Retired Adm. William McRaven<\/a> said there is \u201cnothing morally right\u201d about clearing peaceful protesters amid national unrest following George Floyd\u2019s death in police custody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrust me, every man and woman in uniform recognizes that we are all Americans and that the last thing they want to do as military men and women is to stand in the way of a peaceful protest,\u201d McRaven, who oversaw the Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, said in an interview with MSNBC\u2019s \u201cMorning Joe\u201d on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to use, whether it\u2019s the military, or the National Guard, or law enforcement, to clear peaceful American citizens for the president of the United States to do a photo op,\u201d McRaven said. \u201cThere is nothing morally right about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McRaven\u2019s comments come as the Trump administration has taken heat after federal troops forcefully cleared protesters in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. so President Donald Trump could visit St. John\u2019s church for a photo with a Bible on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States Park Police denied that they used tear gas and instead, claimed that they used \u201csmoke canisters\u201d and \u201cpepper balls\u201d after protesters \u201cbecame more combative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although pepper balls have different ingredients than tear gas, both are designed to irritate the eyes and respiratory systems and the CDC designates<\/a> both of them as “riot control agents.\u201d Media on the scene also reported<\/a> witnessing only peaceful behavior from protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Secret Service and the National Guard have not weighed in on the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protests are in response to the killing of George Floyd, a black man prosecutors say was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you are in the military, there are three criteria for every decision we make: it has to be moral, legal and ethical,\u201d McRaven said. \u201cEthical, you have to follow the rules, legal you have to follow the law, and then moral you have to follow what you know to be right. And either way, that\u2019s just not right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McRaven also backed other retired military leaders who have voiced criticism of Trump this week. Those military leaders include former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Adm. Mike Mullen, who criticized Trump\u2019s leadership and took issue with his response to peaceful protesters. Hopefully, these statements will provide some \u201csanity\u201d as the U.S. navigates moving forward, McRaven said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was very pleased to see Jim Mattis, and obviously Adm. Mike Mullen, and today John Kelly come out and reinforce what we know to be the principles of the U.S. military,\u201d McRaven said. \u201cWe all raise our right hand and swear an oath to the Constitution of the United States, it is not to the president of the United States, it is to the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, great to see the voices being raised and a little bit of hopefully, sanity coming back to this very, very tragic situation,\u201d McRaven said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Mattis released a statement to The Atlantic<\/a> claiming Trump is the first \u201cpresident in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people\u2014does not even pretend to try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens\u2014much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside,\u201d Mattis wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Mullen said<\/a> the sight of protesters being cleared in Lafayette Square \u201csickened\u201d him, and said it displayed Trump\u2019s \u201cdisdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although McRaven said he isn\u2019t worried about the Trump administration tarnishing the military, he said military leaders will constantly reassess how it is handling inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not concerned, honestly, about the future of the military because again, the military believes in following the Constitution…but we will constantly reassess,\u201d McRaven said. \u201cThis is part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t the first time McRaven has been critical of Trump. In October, McRaven wrote an op-ed published in the New York Times<\/a> and asserted a new president was needed if Trump couldn\u2019t step up and deliver the leadership America needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this president doesn\u2019t demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office \u2014 Republican, Democrat or independent \u2014 the sooner, the better,\u201d McRaven wrote. \u201cThe fate of our Republic depends upon it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McRaven led Joint Special Operations Command before becoming the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command in 2011. He retired in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n