The past few days have been extraordinary in American politics. The US Military under Joe Biden has launched a comprehensive propaganda campaign against Tucker Carlson after the Fox News talk show host voiced his disagreement over matters of policy.
Tucker Carlson slammed Joe Biden for introducing identity politics into military policies and promoting ‘maternity flight suits’ at a press conference. The talk show host argued that the objective of the Military is not social justice but to win wars.
He expressed his skepticism with the notion that pregnant women increase the efficiency of the military. He said during a segment on the 10th of March, “So we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits… Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the US military.”
“While China’s military becomes more masculine … our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine,” Carlson continued. “It’s out of control and the Pentagon’s going along with this. Again, this is a mockery of the US military and its core mission, which is winning wars.”
Not too long after, the United States Department of Defense issued a stunning criticism against the journalist. In a press release, the DoD said, “Press Secretary Smites Fox Host That Dissed Diversity in U.S. Military”.
“I want to be very clear right up front, that the diversity of our military is one of our greatest strengths,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. “I’ve seen it for myself in long months at sea and in the combat waged by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve seen it up on Capitol Hill just this past month. And I see it every day here right at the Pentagon.”
It is not clear how diversity in the US military has been its great strength given that the US military has struggled to win any of its numerous wars in recent times. Nevertheless, the Biden administration appears to have decided it was not enough.
Soon, senior officials of the US military began dissing Tucker Carlson from their official accounts on social media. The US Marine Corps decided it was a good idea to openly troll the journalist from its official Twitter handle.
Not merely Tucker Carlson, the US Marine Corps went after civilians as well who urged them to focus on China instead of the Fox News anchor. The comments implied that people should not opine on policies unless they have served in the military and have been pregnant.
U.S. Master Gunnery Sergeant Scott Stalker, the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of U.S. Space Command, also had a few words to say to Carlson. “I’ll remind everyone that his opinion, which he has a right to, is based off of actually zero days of service in the armed forces,” he said, calling the show “Drama TV”.
Stalker also ‘liked’ a tweet where a user said he “will fight for him against Tucker for whatever reasons and at whatever costs.” Another senior military official said, “The DoD didn’t “attack” your show, we absolutely disagree with you! Trust me, you’d know if the DoD attacked you—it’s a doctrinal term.”
It was not just one or two erring military officials but almost entire top brass of the military that sanctioned the attack on Carlson. It is entirely unheard of that the military singles out a journalist for a targeted political propaganda campaign.
The conduct earned severe criticism from Americans across the board. They said that it was dangerous that the US Military had become so overtly political, a sentiment that was echoed by Carlson in his response to the campaign against him.
“The Department of Defense has never been more aggressively or openly political,” he said. He stated in a tweet, “This afternoon, the Department of Defense issued a press release attacking this show: ‘Press secretary smites Fox Host. Like we’re a hostile foreign power. Remarkable.”
Senator Ted Cruz from Texas issued a statement demanding a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put an end to “political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions.” Ted Cruz said that the ethos of the military was being undermined “for the sake of leftwing ideology and political expediency”.
“Instead of allowing the debate to take its course in public among American citizens and their elected leaders, military officials over the last week have repeatedly launched attacks on Carlson, including through official DOD platforms and accounts and while in uniform. The campaign has alternated between being ostentatiously childish and simply outrageous,” the statement said.
Following Cruz’s statement, the II Marine Expeditionary Force’s official account tweeted an apology over their recent conduct. It said, “We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets.”
The episode highlights the declining state of Democracy in the United States where even the Military has become politicized enough to feel empowered to attack journalists and civilians because they do not endorse the policy propositions of the Democrat establishment.
Over the past few months, it has become abundantly evident that Big Tech, Big Business, the Entertainment industry and, almost every powerful social institution was working in tandem to marginalise conservative political opinions. They felt empowered enough to admit openly that they engaged in a conspiracy to ensure Biden’s victory in 2020.
Under such circumstances, it is quite astonishing that American think tanks are lecturing countries such as India and labeling them ‘partly free’ while Democracy is dying a slow death in their own country.
