After Trump remarks, Army chief defends top brass

WASHINGTON: The head of the US Army defended leaders of the armed forces on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump accused the country’s top military brass of wanting to fight endless wars to satisfy military contractors:

“They want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.”

US Army Chief of Staff James McConville, the Army’s top general, said that military leaders would only recommend sending troops into combat when it was in the interest of national security or as a last resort, adding:

“Many of these leaders have sons and daughters that serve in the military, many of these leaders have sons and daughters who have gone to combat or may be in combat right now.”

McConville, who Trump appointed to his post, declined to comment directly on Trump’s criticism of Pentagon leaders, saying the military should remain out of politics, especially this close to an election.

Trump’s comments come after a report last week that he had called fallen US troops buried in Europe “losers” and declined to visit an American cemetery because he thought it was unimportant.

Trump has denied the reports.

Areas of disagreement have also arisen between Trump and Pentagon leaders, including Trump’s threats to deploy active-duty troops in response to a wave of protests against racial injustice and police brutality - a step that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both opposed.