Another thing I have pondering is, could this have been executed a little differently under a “Presidential Emergency Action Declaration” (PEAD)?
That the Joint Chiefs are tasked with considering and executing war, their considerations might be biased to the ‘kinetic’.
[Speculation] A PEAD could set up a CIV/MIL panel as C-in-C to make such level-headed decisions in times of stress. (think Biden threatening Nuke-use on Citizens).
Then, I think back to the late restructuring of the civilian side of the DoDef with Ezra Cohen and Steven Miller (ref his statement to Pence).
Another thing I have pondering is, could this have been executed a little differently under a “Presidential Emergency Action Declaration” (PEAD)?
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That might have actually happened. I recall that the D’s were trying to get access to PDJT’s PEADs but were thwarted. If there was a PEAD that set up the CIV/MIL panel that you refer to, the November 2020 shuffle at the Pentagon may have ensured that such a panel was loyal to the Constitution. After firing Defense Secretary Esper and replacing him with Chris Miller, President Trump also replaced the Pentagon’s three top positions - Chief of Staff (Kash Patel), Undersecretary for Policy (Ezra Watnick-Cohen) and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (Anthony Tata). Those people were subsequently replaced by Biden, but we have no way of knowing what actions they took during those two months to protect the country. I assume they implemented the Continuity of Government procedures, which many of us here believe continue to this day.