Donald Trump, you do not not own the military. It is not yours; you are the temporary custodian of the military; but you do not own it. The American people have entrusted you with the privilege of overseeing the military; but they have not given you the deed to it. If anything, you have a tremendous responsibility, but not an ownership deed; unless, of course, you are talking about Trump Tower or Mar-a-Lago. And those are something different altogether. The American People just paid $3 million for your latest trip to Mar-a-Lago from the White House and Melania's trip from Trump Tower.
Who owns that bill, Donald, you or the American People?
The MOAB bomb
Trump's statement to the effect that the American military is his, came in the aftermath of the Administration's dropping of the MOAB bomb earlier this week, or, as it is called, the "Mother of All Bombs." The bomb was dropped on some caves that are used as hideouts by ISIS terrorists in a remote area of Afghanistan. Trump said that "his military" had done a "very good job" and that the mission was "very successful."
The MOAB bomb is a 22,000 pound conventional weapon, (that's 11 tons), that can be very destructive. The decision to drop the bomb, which was dropped from a cargo plane, was made by top General John Nickerson, not Donald Trump.
When asked who made the decision to drop the MOAB, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would not answer the question and walked out of the press conference. However, it was later learned that Trump had delegated the decision to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and that Nickerson had ordered the dropping of the lethal bomb.
Sending a message?
Some observers believe that in dropping the MOAB, the Administration was sending a message to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that we have several MOABs and could use one or more on North Korea. However, this theory is questionable for two reasons. The first reason is that the MOAB has to be dropped from a cargo plane and that this is not possible over North Korea.
The second reason is that the decision to drop the 11 ton weapon was not made by the military but by the Trump Administration; although the political ramifications of the bomb-dropping do directly reflect on the Administration.
Ducks in a row
This observer's advice to Trump is to get his ducks in a row and to take the time to learn what's up. Shortly after he was sworn in as President, he learned for the first time that there are three branches of government that have "checks and balances" over each other. Now it is the time for him to learn that his role as Commander-in-Chief is just that; it is a temporary position of trust and responsibility that is provided to him by the American People. But he does not own it any more than a school principal owns a public school, or than a forest ranger owns the forest.
What a President does have
What a President does have is problems that he/she needs to solve. The President's problems range from managing (not owning) the military to managing the federal budget, to dealing with accusations of violating the Constitution from Senators, and everything in between. These are the things that the President owns: the headaches, the worries, the accusations, and the uncertainty of the nuclear age in the era of despotic dictators like Kim Jong-un, but not the military. The President, like the soldiers and officers of the Army, is a servant. And the American People are his master. It is time for Trump to learn this now before his self-indulgence and false pride adversely affect foreign relations.
By the way, Donald, just in case you are getting any ideas, it's not your White House either.
Russia's threats
Meanwhile, Trump is facing other problems. Russia has threatened retaliation against the United States for his attack on Syria. That attack, which was directly ordered by Trump, was in response to Bashar-al-Assad's chemical attack on his own people. Assad probably calls it "his military" too; but he is a dictator. This is still a republic, isn't it Donald? Just checking.