I waited in crisis management mode amid the turmoil of Trump’s re-election campaign

With just under six months to go until opening day, Esper is walking the political tightrope. Defense officials tell CNN that he has had to spend time concentrating on day-to-day crisis management together with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to try to prevent President Donald Trump from making disastrous decisions that could harm the national security or demoralize the military.

A senior defense official says Esper has still accomplished several goals aimed at remodeling the department so that troops can more easily deploy in a crisis, but some within the Pentagon believe Esper could be put in a position similar to that of the first secretary. Defense Minister James Mattis, if the president makes a decision, he feels he cannot accept. Mattis resigned when he felt that the President made an unacceptable decision by deciding to withdraw troops from Syria.

At the end of the month, Congress will be briefed on the Pentagon’s classified plans to move about 10,000 troops out of Germany, something Trump wants because he says Germany is not spending enough on defense. A defense official told CNN that Esper is expected to soften the order to move, rather than rotate troops, so there is still a significant wedge against Russian adventurerism on Europe’s eastern flank.

Similarly, Trump is threatening to withdraw troops from South Korea despite Kim Jong Un of North Korea not giving up on his nuclear program. Like Germany, Trump believes South Korea is not paying enough for defense, making a potential reduction possible but unlikely.

Bipartisan members of Congress have already made it clear that they would firmly oppose any withdrawal from Germany and that any measure to withdraw in South Korea is likely to meet similar opposition because they believe that both measures would weaken American national security.

On Tuesday, Esper opened the door to possible rotating troops in and out of South Korea, saying he “has not given orders” to move forces away from the Korean peninsula, but said he would like “to pursue more rotational forces, deployments of strength in theaters. ” because it gives us more strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the world. “

Esper did not address decades of intelligence evaluations that have always claimed that North Korea could strike with little or no warning, leaving the United States no time to strengthen forces if they withdraw.

What Esper does not say is revealing

There may not be a bigger clue to the tensions at stake than what Esper is not saying. When he recorded a 10-minute video for the troops heavily promoting his accomplishments and thanking the force, he did not mention the commander-in-chief even once.

Esper followed the Mattis model and did not address Trump’s statements that undermined allies, and instead stated that one of his own priorities is “to develop a coordinated plan to strengthen allies and build partners.”

But even though Esper promotes alliances, the damage may already have been done. “Each country should be on high alert that it will eliminate troops,” an administration official said of the president’s policies.

Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan are also still in danger and there is still a growing threat from Russia, not just in Eastern Europe. Russian military movements in Libya could give Moscow a second foothold in the Mediterranean to challenge the United States beyond its bases in Syria.

With just a few months to go until the election, Esper continues to push for a Pentagon overhaul to counter the threats posed by China and Russia, what he calls “our main strategic competitors.” But the White House shows no interest in confronting Russia: It rejects reports of Russian financial support for the Taliban to kill US forces, even when two US military commanders said they were still investigating everything.

The areas of division with Trump are innumerable.

Esper effectively banned the confederate flag from the bases, and the fact that he is still willing to discuss renaming the bases that honor Confederate generals has put him at odds with the White House.

Esper approved the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman even after the White House attempted to have his name removed from the promotion list in retaliation for his testimony before Congress about Ukraine, a defense official with direct knowledge confirmed to CNN.

The last time Esper spoke to reporters on June 3, he noted that he did not support invoking the Insurrection Act that could have put troops on active duty in the streets during the civil unrest caused by the murder of George Floyd by the police. from Minneapolis. Trump had threatened to send active-duty troops, and Esper’s statement angered the White House. Nothing that has happened since has made either side feel better.

So given the many tensions with the White House, both Esper and Milley have avoided answering reporters’ questions knowing that almost all of the answers they give are likely to disagree with the President.