The Department of War? Really? The man who covets the Nobel Peace Prize, who calls himself the “peace” president, who says he “wants to stop all wars,” unilaterally changed the decades-old name of the Department of Defense (DOD) to celebrate victory in war, rather than peace. This move should put an end to the noise about a Nobel prize for Donald Trump.
When President Harry Truman unified the various armed services departments into the Department of Defense, he viewed it as an action to deter wars in the future, not an action to wage more war. Mr. Trump, who never served in the military (neither did 14 of 16 Trump cabinet members), said that the nation needs to do more to celebrate its war victories, and renaming DOD will do that. This from a president who has purged the military of leaders who are persons of color, women, or both. A president who vilifies decorated LBGTQ+ service members and hinders their retirement benefits, who has made draconian cuts to critical medical and rehabilitation services needed by combat veterans. And a president who orders destruction of a speedboat in international waters of the Caribbean because he said it was involved in drug smuggling. Drug smuggling is a crime, but interdiction and prosecution constitute the legal approach, not targeted destruction of the boat, its cargo, and killing all 11 people on board.
Donald Trump always has been the aggressor, in boarding school (his only taste of military discipline), in his real estate and other business deals, with his two older sons, in his politics and his campaign rhetoric. Renaming DOD as the Department of War gives him another opportunity to exercise his native aggression, this time against international allies and enemies, and possibly versus America’s own citizens and visitors. This is antithetical to our national values. Since the end of World War II, America has been a rational, trusted, and generous partner on the international stage. Not every foray has been successful, but other nations knew what they could expect from the leaders of the United States.
Not anymore. Trump has neutered the Republican-led Congress which, constitutionally, must approve declarations of war and departmental name changes, but shows little inclination to buck Trump’s aggressions, domestic or overseas. Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth aren’t playing with toy soldiers in a diorama, or a video game where everything on the screen blows up with lots of flash but no reality. The warrior ethos and “lethality” must be balanced with measures of humanity and empathy, values that don’t appear to be high on either man’s list.
It was 24 years ago this week that al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden orchestrated the attacks on America that used commercial jetliners as weapons and killed nearly 3000 people, mostly American citizens. It shocked the world and changed forever the way Americans viewed the world and each other. No longer was America safe from enemy attacks within its own borders, and “see something, say something” became the watchword, sometimes pitting neighbor against neighbor about things as simple as diverse cultural observances. During the difficult weeks, months, and years that followed, no one suggested that the DOD should revert to the Department of War. DOD leadership and the intelligence community coordinated activities (I still remember hearing the Air Force flying the late night “cap” over the National Capital Area for weeks later) that were designed to defend against future attacks, not to wage war.
During the Vietnam War, an iconic protest poster declared “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” You might change a name but the poster was correct. War is not healthy…for anyone.