On Friday, September 22, former president Donald Trump strongly implied that the top military officer in the U.S. at the time, Mark Milley, deserved to be put to death. Trump was responding to the fact that Milley had notified his Chinese counterpart that things were “stable” within the U.S. two days after Trump’s attempted coup on January 6.¹

Trump wrote on his social media platform that this was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” Yet where were the headlines on Saturday or Sunday of last week blaring out “FORMER PRESIDENT AND CURRENT FAVORITE FOR REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IMPLIES CURRENT ARMY HEAD SHOULD BE EXECUTED”?

Nowhere. In fact, it was not until three days later that The Atlantic—which had the week before published a long article gushing over Milley (and we’ll have more to say on Milley’s “long record of service” later in this article)—broke the news on this in a major way and this began to get significant coverage.

There are three points of strategic significance concentrated in this story. One, the splits among the rulers are growing more intense and more “normalized” at the same time. Two, these splits will reach into every institution. And three, it is essential that—for the interests of humanity, we not mistake these splits to mean that the masses should “choose sides” between the two factions of the rulers. 

Before getting into this, it’s important to understand that this situation is still unfolding—the potential for this to develop into a crisis of even greater significance still exists.

ONE: The splits among the rulers of this country are both growing much more acute and becoming more normalized at the same time.

Two things immediately stand out. This was—yet again—unprecedented. Think about it: a former president and leading presidential candidate says that the head of the army would have been executed in the past, with the clear implication that he should be executed now! That’s one thing, and it’s amazing enough. The second thing is the fact that for a few days after Trump said this, there was very little reaction to it, which graphically shows both how much extremely grave threats within the ruling class itself have become normalized—and, perhaps, how little at least a section of the rulers want to highlight these threats. 

When Biden finally did speak on this, it was six days later, at a ceremony honoring former Republican senator and “war hero”²  John McCain. And none of the top four Republicans who are vying with Trump have said anything yet.

Whether this normalization is intentional, or just the result of people—including decision-makers in the ruling class—getting so used to this kind of madness that they had hardly noticed—is hard to say. But the effect is, at least for now, to keep “the decent people” whom these decision-makers view as “their base” quiet and passive.

TWO: These splits will reach into every ruling institution as a revolutionary situation develops.

Here a point made by Bob Avakian (BA) is extremely relevant and points to one of the reasons revolution is actually more possible in these times, even though it may not appear that way on the surface. In an unpublished talk WE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE THIS WAY—AND WE HAVE A REAL CHANCE NOW FOR SOMETHING MUCH BETTER… A Rare Time When Revolution Is (More) Possible: The Scientific Basis, and the Scientifically-Grounded Work to Make This Real, Bob Avakian made the point that:

As is becoming more clear every day, there are deep, and continually deepening, divisions not only in this country overall but among the ruling powers of this system. And, as I will get into more fully in a little while, one part of those ruling powers, represented by the Republican Party, no longer believes in or feels bound by what have been the “cohering norms” of “democratic” capitalist rule in this country. This is leading, and will increasingly lead, to further, deepening divisions and bitter clashes throughout society, as well as “at the top.” All the ruling institutions of this system will be increasingly affected by this. [Let me repeat that: All the ruling institutions of this system will be increasingly affected by this.] The polarization will continue to sharpen, with forces grouped around and led by the Republican Party becoming even more aggressive in insisting on imposing, including by violent means, their vision of what “makes America great,” with all the very real horrors, on top of horrors, that this involves.

Note that BA felt compelled to repeat that “all the ruling institutions of this system will be increasingly affected by… [the] deepening divisions and bitter clashes throughout society, as well as ‘at the top’.” Think about this in light of the situation being described here. And while Milley ended his term this past week, this remark of Trump’s could serve both as a warning to Milley’s replacement, Charles Brown, as well as a message designed to embolden those in the military who do support Trump. 

The splits in the core institutions of the state and the battle within the ruling class over which section can wield “legitimate force” is a key component of a revolutionary situation. Such splits could make it more difficult to crush outpourings of the people.³

THREE: For anything good to come of this, there must be a fierce fight waged against belief in “saviors” from the ruling class—including “saviors” from the military—beginning now.

Such a split within the ruling institutions could very possibly occur as part of a major crisis around a move to war, an attempt to steal an election, the conviction of Trump, or some other event as yet not even on the horizon. But for something positive, let alone emancipating, to come out of it would take monumental efforts by revolutionary forces—working on this then AND now, and urgently.

In the newly published REVOLUTION: BUILDING UP THE BASIS TO GO FOR THE WHOLE THING, WITH A REAL CHANCE TO WIN: STRATEGIC ORIENTATION AND PRACTICAL APPROACH, this important point is made:

In the circumstances of all-out crisis, when the whole direction of society is being called into question, there would be different trends and organized forces seeking to take things in different directions. There would be the fascist Republicans, aiming to seize (or consolidate) power, in order to bring about a more blatant form of oppressive and murderous rule, without the usual disguise of “democracy, with liberty and justice for all.” There would be those, like the leaders of the Democratic Party, trying to maintain (or restore) this monstrous system of oppression in its more “traditional” form. There would be masses of people in favor of some kind of basic change in a positive direction, but with different ideas about what that would mean. And there would likely be some organized forces claiming to be aiming for some kind of “progressive” change—even some calling themselves “revolutionaries” or “socialists”—when in fact their programs would only reinforce, and keep people locked into, the existing system.

This whole passage bears deep reflection. As one aspect of that, it is worth thinking back to the situation in Egypt in 2011, when some elements of a revolutionary situation emerged. Thousands were in the streets, demanding a change in the form of rule. The army stood aside from the hated “strongman” Mubarak and the target of the masses’ anger, and “offered themselves” for leadership. The slogan that “The people and the army are one hand” became extremely popular, and through the course of a complicated series of struggles, a group of army generals did come to power. 

The result has been one of the most repressive societies in the world, with over 60,000 political prisoners—as well as the widespread demoralization of an inspiring uprising of millions that was led right back into the killing confines of this system.

The pull on the millions to believe in the army was very strong in that situation. The fear of having to go up against the armed might of the state was one element. Nationalism was another. In the situation we face today, things like this make it even more important to spread the understanding that there is nothing to uphold in the Mark Milleys of the world.

Milley, and now his successor, Charles Brown, were and are nothing but enforcers of the most violent, oppressive, exploitative empire the world has ever known. They rose to the top of it through their effectiveness in organizing and deploying others to carry out mass slaughter against people in other countries of the world. The “puff piece” on Milley in the Atlantic that preceded Trump’s attack laid out Milley’s “service” in the criminal U.S. invasions and occupations of Haiti, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan—where U.S. military invasion has brought nothing but even greater misery (see the revcom.us series American Crime for what the U.S. has done in these and other countries). 

Milley himself makes a big deal out of the fact that U.S. military personnel swear an oath to defend the Constitution (and not any particular commander in chief). In thinking about this and about a number of possible ways a revolutionary crisis could shape up, the words of Allegiance ring very sharply:

To PEOPLE EVERYWHERE, IN EVERY PART OF SOCIETY: The cause we should be dedicated to, and the allegiance we should hold, is represented NOT by the U.S. CONSTITUTION—a document written by and serving the interests of slave-owning and capitalist exploiters, from the founding of this country down to today... a document that elevates “property” and the “right” to enslave and exploit above and against the life and liberty of billions of people, here and throughout the world... a document that for nearly 100 years institutionalized owning Black people as property... a document that has been repeatedly used, and is used today, to “legalize” inequality, injustice and oppression, with whole groups of people treated as “second class” and less than fully human. WE CAN DO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!

THE CAUSE WE NEED TO BE DEDICATED TO IS REVOLUTION: To abolish and uproot this system we are now forced to live under and bring into being a new system based on THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE NEW SOCIALIST REPUBLIC IN NORTH AMERICA—which provides a sweeping vision, a firm foundation, and concrete blueprint for a radically different and emancipating society and world, with the abolition of all inequality, oppression, and exploitation.

The question at this point is NOT whether we are heading into times of even more extreme crisis and danger, which pose the very definite trajectory of something really terrible. Something like the Milley incident makes that truth even more plain. 

The question is whether those who can’t stand the way things are now, who can see the even worse dangers ahead, and who hunger for something emancipatory will come forcefully and urgently together to shake awake, challenge and organize the thousands, and then the millions, into a force conscious enough of the need for revolution to see through whatever false paths are put forward at that time of crisis and to wrest emancipation out of what will be a complex and dangerous, but also potentially extremely promising, situation.

There really is not a minute to lose.