Ex-US Generals warns of possible military coup after 2024 Presidential elections

The United States may face a military coup after the next presidential election in 2024 if the country does not act now as there are clear signs of insurrection within the ranks, at least three retired US generals warned in a Washington Post op-ed. Retired brigadier-general Steven Anderson and retired major-generals Paul Eaton and Antonio Taguba warned that if the ex-US president or a similar candidate loses again in 2024, the United States military units might organize a coup to overthrow the elected President and put former leader Trump in the White House, they purported. 

“We are increasingly concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military,” the generals have said in the WaPo op-ed, adding that they are concerned and “chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.”

Dozens of US military members among insurrectionists on Jan. 6 Capitol riot

The three retired generals made remarks on the occasion of the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection at the US Capitol on Jan. 6 when the far-right mob comprising of MAGA supporters stormed the US  Congress to halt the presidential certification of the then-Democratic presidential contender of Trump, Joe Biden. As the congressional committee is now investigating the insurrection, that was marred with violence and chants of hanging to death the then vice president Mike pence the former military service member is raising concerns about the politicization of the United States armed forces. 

Several of the current or former members of the armed forces were among the insurrectionists in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, as well as the head of Oklahoma’s National Guard recently also disobeyed the presidential orders on troops getting the COVID-19 vaccination, the WaPo reports the generals as pointing out. The US Army will be divided into the pro-and anti-Trump camps while the enemy nations may take the advantage of the national security situation. 

“In a contested election, with loyalties split, some might follow orders from the rightful commander-in-chief, while others might follow the Trumpian loser. Arms might not be secured depending on who was overseeing them. Under such a scenario, it is not outlandish to say a military breakdown could lead to civil war,” the retired US military generals explain.

“In this context, with our military hobbled and divided, US security would be crippled. Any one of our enemies could take advantage by launching an all-out assault on our assets or our allies,” furthermore, they stressed. 

The retired military generals of the US Army call for strict review of the chain of command with service members and ferret out mutineers and guards against insurrectionists and curb the political propaganda among the military. “The military and lawmakers have been gifted hindsight to prevent another insurrection from happening in 2024 – but they will succeed only if they take decisive action now,” write the generals. Eaton who spent at least 34 years in the military, deployed to train the Iraqi armed forces for the US operations is also an advisor for VoteVets, a liberal political action committee, Anderson was US army’s head of logistics at the Pentagon. Ex-US major general Antonio Taguba, meanwhile, had exposed the torture of Iraqi prisoners by US troops at the Abu Ghraib prison.