Think DOGE is bad, WOGE will be way worse, By Hal M. Brown
Trump is ready to launch his Weaponized Office of Government Extremism. Can he do this?
I think Trump has been testing what he can get away with as he orders his gun totting and missile firing troops to engage in more and more aggressive actions. The most recent two were having the Venezuelan gang members deported by invoking the Alien Enemies Act, the action blocked by a federal court, and ordering military strikes against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
On the latter, consider Trump’s words:
"Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones."
"It has been over a year since a U.S. flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times. Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at U.S. aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies. These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk," he added. "The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends."
Trump also said, "Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World."
He then continued, "To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!"
In typical Trumpian all caps bellicose bluster he threatens hell raining down like nothing these terrorists have seen before.
“Why now?” one should ask. The Houthi terrorists have been doing this for a year.
I think this is Trump making sure he can order the U.S. military to conduct an armed attack. This would appear to be a legal action, but aside from the visceral thrill he gets from being the Commander in Chief ordaining that bombs rain from the sky against his enemies, I believe he wants to make certain he can order the military to follow any other order no matter how far it pushes the bounds of legality. He’s already threatened military action against Greenland and has toyed with the idea of sending the military to go after drug gangs in Mexico.
Incredible as it should not seem to be, considering this is Trump being Trump, he has ordered contingency plans should he decide to invade Panama.
President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare plans for carrying out his threat to "take back" the Panama Canal, including by military force if needed, two U.S. officials familiar with the situation toldNBC News Thursday.
According to the outlet, the officials said that U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is drawing up potential plans that run the gamut from working more closely with Panama's military to a less likely scenario in which U.S. troops invade the country and take the canal by force. They also said that SOUTHCOM commander Adm. Alvin Holsey has presented draft strategies to be reviewed by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is scheduled to visit Panama next month.
The officials explained that the likelihood of a U.S invasion depended on the level of cooperation shown by the Panamanian military.
Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out use of military force to seize control of the vital U.S.-built waterway, as well as Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
The military may put together a plan, but the overriding question is whether or nor they would initiate it.
The megalomaniacal Trump is testing the waters to see how much he can get away with. I don’t think he particularly cares about the courts or public opinion. I do think he very much cares about the people with the actual guns and the people who fly the fighter jets and bombers. He’s already installed the leaders shown in my illustration, the blond devil in a dress Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel, and Tom Homan to head up the departments with the actual weapons. What he does not know is whether enough of the people under them will follow unconstitutional, illegal, and just plain un-American orders.
Trump can fire fireable leaders of the departments and agencies who do not follow his orders, and he can order those down the chain of command fired or, in the military, court-martialed, if they disobey his orders. For any leader to have a viable armed force, whether civil like ICE or the FBI, or the military, they must have the majority obey all orders.
What Trump can’t do is what Stalin did to soldiers who tried to retreat:
On July 28, 1942, Joseph Stalin, premier and dictator of the Soviet Union, issues Order No. 227, what came to be known as the “Not one step backward” order, in light of German advances into Russian territory. The order declared, “Panic makers and cowards must be liquidated on the spot. Not one step backward without orders from higher headquarters! Commanders…who abandon a position without an order from higher headquarters are traitors to the Motherland.” (Read more here)
Our agents and soldiers who refuse illegal orders won’t be cowards. They will be patriots. I want to assume Trump can’t order them shot and have an order like this followed. At least I hope he can’t.
If you subscribe to my Substack you will receive an email every time I post. Respectful comments are always welcome. I generally reply to comments.
I post on BlueSky though the day, You can read my posts here
Just saying: I began writing online a long time ago in what seems to be from a galaxy far, far, away. Here are the links:
I hope he can’t have people who refuse to carry out his orders shot. He certainly will try to do that. He has a tutor (Putin) who will no doubt guide his plans for Canada, Greenland, Panama and perhaps Mexico. How he manages all of that I think we will see. The key will be, the junior officers, both commissioned and non-commissioned, like Sargents, Captains and Majors. Will they obey commands that involve plans to invade Canada etc? That will be the key. If they hold back and refuse, it’s hard to see how any plans will work. But I agree with your thoughts on how megalomaniacal Trump is beginning to behave. I agree his rants about the destruction of the Houthi’s definitely give one pause as to what is likely to come next. This administration is increasingly becoming unhinged, which is frighteningly dangerous to us all given the realities of the firepower at his disposal were it to back his craziness without question. I truly hope that there are enough junior staff in the army who have their wits about them and are not ready to commit to the kind of violence that people like Hegseth, Patel and Homan might wish to unleash at their fuhrer’s request. How tragically sad that we even have to worry about this? Unimaginable, I would have thought, just a few weeks ago.