American Generals and Admirals Issue Their Own Letter

Since my last post about the letter to Macron from French Generals warning of a possible civil war if the ruling elite in France didn’t get their act together, there’s been a second letter, this one from anonymous soldiers serving in the ranks, which backs the Generals’ letter. It’s not known how significant this second letter might be. Does it indicate widespread support in the army for the first letter? Or is it simply a handful of malcontents voicing their discontent? Given, however, that 58% of the French population supports the positions advanced in the first letter, I don’t think we’d be going out on a limb to suggest that at least 58% of the military shares the views and sentiments expressed in that letter as well. 

On the heels of these letters from the French military warning of the dire condition of their country, a letter was published by retired American Generals and Admirals warning about the rise of the radical left in America and questioning Biden’s fitness for office. The American mainstream press, which consists largely of the Ruling Elite's chronic lickspittles, has claimed (among other dubious assertions) that the letter advances conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being “stolen.” This is not a strictly honest (what else is new?). The authors of the letter of course make no such allegations. You’ll find nothing in the missive about Dominion’s voting machines or the alleged large “dumps'' of pro-Biden ballots in the wee hours of the morning. Instead, the letter merely questions the integrity of the election process itself—which is not a conspiracy theory, but simply a call for preventive measures against corruption in the voting process (e.g., voting ID and promptly investigating irregularities, etc.). While there’s no evidence that the 2020 election was “stolen,” there is evidence (or at least allegations) of possible irregularities which were never properly investigated. While these irregularities, assuming they existed, would not have affected the ultimate outcome of the election, if they actually occurred (which is at least possible) they still constitute something of a scandal, and efforts should be made to prevent them from happening in the future. Election irregularities raise the spectre that our election is not entirely fair, which can seriously undermine the whole raison d’etre of Democracy. We have democratic elections not to determine the will of “the people” (there is no such singular “will of the people,” but multiple wills, many of which are in conflict), but to figure out how to come to collective decisions necessary for the preservation of the social order. Democracy is a game we play because the alternative (rule of the strongest) can lead to dangerous levels of tyranny and violence. But the democratic game must be played fairly, with all parties observing the agreed upon rules (i.e., following the Constitution). Winning is less important than following these rules because there are greater issues at stake than always getting one's way. If one side insists on gaining an advantage through cheating, at some point the other side is going to lose interest in playing; and that’s when a threat of a civil war or a coup or a breakdown in civil society becomes very real.  

Terror Attacks in France and the Far Right

The head of France's intelligence agency, Patrick Calvar, in the wake of the Paris attacks last November, warned that his country might be on the verge of factional violence between various groups:

I think we will win against terrorism; I am, however, more concerned about the radicalisation of society and the basic movement that drives it. That’s what worries me when I talk with my European colleagues: we will have, at one time or another, to provide resources to deal with other extremist groups because confrontation is inevitable.

By "radicalization" Calvar means far-right groups. Further large scale acts of terrorism, Calvar fears, could lead to a "confrontation between the far right and the Muslim world – not the Islamists, but the Muslim world." Presumably, Calvar envisions far-right groups conducting random violence against French muslims in "retaliation" for terrorist attacks.

Calvar admits that, with the rise of Islamic terror, surveillance of far right has diminished. So the question arises: are Calvar's suppositions based on solid data, or is he merely making an educated guess?

I ask this question for two reasons. To begin with, whenever you talk about this or that group engaging in violence, you have to ask: are the members of that group, including its leaders, good at violence? Do they have experience committing violent acts (i.e., in the military or criminal gangs)? Because most people, irregardless of stated ideology, don't have any experience committing violent acts and are probably not any good at it. The other issue has to do with whether the group in question is well or ill led (i.e., whether the groups leaders are shrewd or clueless). For the radical right to engage in random acts of violence against miscellaneous Muslims in France, you would need a radical right group that is good at violence led by leaders exercising poor judgment. If the radical right group is poor at violence, they either will not have the courage to go through with the violence or they'll get themselves slaughtered. If the radical right group is well led, they won't engage in random acts of violence against miscellaneous Muslims, because such acts will only engender sympathy for Muslims, most of whom are not involved in terrorism.

The fact is, the radical right has nothing to gain from committing acts of violence against Muslims, yet everything to gain from acts of violence committed by radical Islamists. This is why the best way for the more moderate factions in society to prevent the growing influence of the far right would be to prevent and ultimately defeat radical Islam. The dilemma for the moderates is whether radical Islam can be defeated without using the rather unsavory methods advocated by the far right (i.e., deportation of Muslims).