BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:40 A.M.) – The US media has reported that military commanders in the Pentagon and Washington are on high alert, fearing what President Donald Trump might do in his remaining days in office.
Newsweek magazine quoted military sources as saying that the senior officers discussed what they would do if the president declared martial law, and the military leaders responsible for Washington, DC, would participate in secret contingency planning in the event that the armed forces were called in to maintain or restore civilian order during the inauguration and the new president’s transition to White House.
“I’ve been associated with the military for over 40 years and I’ve never seen the discussions that are being had right now, the need for such discussions,” says a retired flag officer, currently a defense contractor who has mentored and advised his service’s senior leaders.
The newspaper quoted American officers concerned about the military’s involvement in a crisis that Trump might provoke to reverse the election results, noting that “Trump may mobilize private militias and paramilitary forces loyal to him to disrupt the transition and spread violence in Washington.”
Earlier, media reports said during the past days, that US President Donald Trump, who lossed in the recent elections in favor of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, inquired about the possibility of deploying US military forces to cancel the results of the presidential elections that took place last month.
According to a report published by Forbes magazine , the idea was initially raised by the president’s former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, but Trump’s advisers rejected the proposal at a meeting.
The New York Times correspondent, Maggie Haberman, reported last Saturday, that the president asked about Flynn’s idea, as it was reported that senior officials had become very concerned because of Trump’s escalating interest in eccentric plans during his last days in power.
Axios reported that even some of Trump’s most loyal officials have been bothered by his behavior, including his interest in Flynn’s views, with a senior official saying that the president “spends his time talking to the conspirators who openly say that declaring martial law is not an important thing.”
However, Trump tweeted later on Saturday, saying that “the reports regarding his research imposing martial law were fake news.”
The electoral college recently approved Biden’s victory in the elections, while Trump threatened that he would not leave the White House on the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
