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analysis
The US President wants to politicize the traditionally impartial military.
July 6, 2026, 2:22 p.mJuly 6, 2026, 2:23 p.m
Keith Kellogg is a veteran American general and was a long-time adviser to Donald Trump. The president not only praised him as a true patriot, he also made him special envoy to Ukraine at the beginning of his second term in office. Kellogg was an avowed supporter of Volodymyr Zelenskyj & Co. Trump, however, listened more to Steve Witkoff, his special envoy all-purpose weapon. He gets along very well with Vladimir Putin. Last fall, Kellogg finally threw in the towel in disappointment.
However, he doesn’t want to be told to keep his mouth shut. In an interview with the TV channel TVP World, he sharply criticized Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and recreational diplomat. The two real estate tycoons have no idea about diplomacy in general and the conditions in Europe in particular.
Former General Keith Kellogg (right) and Volodymyr Zelenskyj.Image: keystone
Kellogg therefore advises the US President not to listen to his two hobby diplomats when it comes to Ukraine, but rather to seek advice from heads of state from allies, such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron or British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “They see the world a little differently,” says Kellogg. “They live in the neighborhood and it’s a rough neighborhood. And they believe they are threatened (by Putin).”
CQ Brown was the Supreme Commander of the American Armed Forces, the first black man to hold the post after Colin Powell. As a former fighter jet pilot, he enjoyed great respect in the Pentagon. Nevertheless, he was bullied out of office by Defense Minister Pete Hegseth – who had barely made it to the rank of major in the National Guard – on questionable grounds. Hegseth said he allegedly supported Joe Biden’s woke politics.
Bullied from office: General QC Brown.Image: keystone
Brown has now also turned to the public. Without mentioning his name, he attacks Trump head-on in an essay in “Foreign Affairs”. Except in natural disasters, trying to use the military for political purposes is abusive and un-American, Brown said. “If the president uses the armed forces for politically motivated missions, such as fighting crime in cities, then this becomes questionable,” said Brown.
He refers to none other than George Washington and states:
“If you try to remedy the misconduct of institutions with military solutions instead of civilian ones, then you distract the military from its core function, from military operations. As Washington already knew, it is not the military’s job to free the republic from political deadlocks. Yes, if you ask too much of the military, you risk the whole thing.”
Brown is also irritated by personnel policy in the Pentagon, especially the resignation of General Chris Donahue. He was commander in chief of the American armed forces in Europe and was also very highly respected. He became known because he was the last soldier to leave Afghanistan.
Under normal circumstances, Donahue would have had an illustrious career ahead of him. Not so under Trump and Hegseth. “What we are experiencing here no longer has anything to do with performance and merit,” the Wall Street Journal quoted Brown as saying. “All of these people who are now being forced out of their positions are very experienced.”
Calling Trump a would-be dictator today: Mark Milley.Image: keystone
Unlike Mark Milley, one of his predecessors, Brown expresses himself very diplomatically. Milley was also once appointed by Trump. However, it was also he who spoke out against the president’s attempts to use the military against his political enemies and even described Trump as a would-be dictator.
This was caused by two events. When the Black Lives Matter riots broke out in the summer of 2020 after the brutal murder of George Floyd by a white police officer, Trump wanted to use the Marines against peaceful demonstrators in front of the White House and demanded that the soldiers shoot the protesters in the legs. However, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Milley refused to carry out this order.
When rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Milley called his Chinese counterpart and assured him that the situation was under control. When Trump later found out about this, he became so angry that he called Milley a traitor and called for his execution.
The U.S. military prides itself on its centuries-old tradition of staying above politics. This contradicts Trump’s ideas of an all-powerful president. He is firmly convinced that as Commander in Chief he can demand dog-like submission from his generals. As defense minister, he has therefore appointed a man who is not in the least qualified for this office, but who will carry out every wish of the president without objection.