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War and conflict
OpinionWorld Opinion
Alex Lo

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

Capricious political leaders like Donald Trump and his defence chief may be more dangerous than responsible and battle-tested generals

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US President Donald Trump speaks alongside his defence secretary Pete Hegseth in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 2. Photo: AFP
Alex Loin Toronto
Tom Barrack, the United States special envoy for Syria, recently made waves at an international forum in Doha, Qatar, by suggesting that “benevolent monarchies” might be the most effective form of government for the Middle East. He also suggested that Israel was not a democracy.

His remarks were probably welcomed in some parts of the region, but probably less well received by the US and other Western media, which all but consider themselves guardians of proper world opinion.

Barrack was just stating the political reality on the ground. Remember the last time the US professed to bring democracy to the region – by invading Iraq and overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi in Libya? Well, how did all that turn out?
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But that also had me thinking about a military government in the US.

Would the world be a safer place if Pentagon generals and admirals were in charge in Washington, rather than someone as capricious as President Donald Trump and as clueless as his defence secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News TV co-host?
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I admit that it would not be good for American “democracy”, such as it is – or would it?

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