Sixteen activists got up early this morning and took the subway to the Pentagon where we held a 90 minute vigil as military and civilian employees walked, drove, biked and rode buses by our Good Friday peace vigil.
Yesterday Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, removing the Army’s top officer in the latest shake-up of military leadership amid the war in Iran. This was most likely done because Gen. George dared to question the US Iran war strategy on some level. George is the 24th general or admiral Hegseth has removed indicating that all is not well inside the 'war department'.
I made a point this morning of asking any Army personnel who passed me by why their 'boss had been fired'. One officer stopped and said to me, "I don't why why he was fired. I only met him once and he was a good man".
During our time on the street, now kept at a distance from the Pentagon in comparison to where we were arrested last Friday when 27 of us got deep into the bowels of the war-making institution, we got lots of 'good mornings', kind nods, and some words of encouragement as folks passed us by. Even a four-star general gave me a nice nod.
My sense is that there is much quiet unsettlement inside the Trump war machine these days. It felt good to be outside offering support to those on the inside who might have a good heart and good sense of which there must be many amongst the 30,000 who work at the Pentagon.
In related news Stars & Stripes military publication is reporting this morning that "A search and rescue effort was underway on Friday afternoon to locate two crew members of a U.S. fighter jet [F-15] that was shot down in Iran".
NBC News: Two U.S. military helicopters participating in search and rescue operations were hit by Iranian fire but appear to have made it back to base. We also learned that a Pentagon A-10 Warthog plane “crashed” today in the Persian Gulf region — according to The New York Times. The plane was likely hit by Iranian air defenses, but US is concealing it to save face with saying it “crashed” — crashed how?
Trump has just requested $1.5 trillion from Congress for 'defense' in the 2027 fiscal year - the largest sum in the country's recent history. Trump explains the sharp increase in spending by the ongoing war with Iran and the need to replenish depleted weapons stocks.
Trump and Hegseth are burning taxpayer dollars like they are nothing.
Bruce
~ Photos by MB Sullivan
2 comments:
Thanks for the speedy report back. Great action & interactions with people working at the Pentagon.
Your vigils at the Pentagon give our main street vigils a certain humility and, also, a kind of luster. We are echoes of each other.
Thank you for being there and for letting us know the good nods and comments that came from Pentagon workers at all levels.
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