your link said:
- McRaven pointed out what he said were examples of the US neglecting its duty to be the "the protectors of the less fortunate" — including Trump's recent decision to withdraw troops from Syria as Turkish-backed militants wage war against the once US-backed Kurdish militia.
- McRaven added that Trump "is wrong" to think empathy is "unimportant" or shows "weakness."
I like McRaven. I've met him and spoken briefly with him a good bit in the past. I've read his book. Generally speaking, he's a good guy.
His two critiques of the sitting president are that, in McRaven's opinion, the United States has a duty to "protect the less fortunate." I would LOVE for him to tell me where that duty is outlined in the constitution. I mean, it's a laudable opinion for McRaven to have, but it just ain't there in terms of an
actual "duty" the United States
government has. It's a
moral position that the people are certainly able to perform on their own, but it is not the government's job to protect the rest of the world. We are not the world's police, and it is not incumbent upon the American taxpayer to fund, or the American military member to pay with their life, for the rest of the world's peace and security.
He's got an opinion on empathy, too. That's fine. If he wants to start a company that sends mercenaries to support the Kurds when it's clear they are going to be attacked, and he can find like-minded people to fund those mercenaries and BE those mercenaries, he has every right and ability to do so.
I like McRaven. McRaven is wrong to use his previous position to support such ideas, though.
