National Security Leaders Endorse Kamala Harris
"It is an endorsement of democratic ideals, of competence, and of relentless optimism in America’s future."
I am proud to be a member of the National Security Leaders for America, who this Sunday released a letter signed 700 senior national security leaders endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris for president. It is “the latest example of defense and diplomatic officials from both parties pledging her their support,” reported The New York Times.
I am a minor player in this pantheon. The list of signatories includes former Secretaries of Defense Chuck Hagel, William Cohen and William Perry. Hagel and Cohen are both Republicans who served under Democratic presidents. Others include Michael E. Smith, the president of the group, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former Assistant Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Susan Koch and former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy.
“This election is a choice between serious leadership and vengeful impulsiveness,” the group said in our letter. “It is a choice between Democracy and authoritarianism. Vice President Harris defends America’s democratic ideals, while former President Donald Trump endangers them.”
The entire letter is below.
NSL4A Endorses Kamala Harris for President of the United States
To the American People,
We are former public servants who swore an oath to the Constitution. Many of us risked our lives for it. We are retired generals, admirals, senior noncommissioned officers, ambassadors, and senior civilian national security leaders. We are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. We are loyal to the ideals of our nation—like freedom, democracy, and the rule of law—not to any one individual or party.
We do not agree on everything, but we all adhere to two fundamental principles. First, we believe America’s national security requires a serious and capable Commander-in-Chief. Second, we believe American democracy is invaluable. Each generation has a responsibility to defend it. That is why we, the undersigned, proudly endorse Kamala Harris to be the next President of the United States.
This election is a choice between serious leadership and vengeful impulsiveness. It is a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Vice President Harris defends America’s democratic ideals, while former President Donald Trump endangers them.
We do not make such an assessment lightly. We are trained to make sober, rational decisions. That is how we know Vice President Harris would make an excellent Commander-in-Chief, while Mr. Trump has proven he is not up to the job. As leaders, we know effective leadership requires in-depth knowledge, careful deliberation, understanding of your adversaries, and empathy for those you lead. It requires listening to those with expertise and not firing them when they disagree with you.
Vice President Harris has proven she is an effective leader able to advance American national security interests. Her relentless diplomacy with allies around the globe preserved a united front in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression. She grasps the reality of American military deterrence, promising to preserve the American military’s status as the most “lethal” force in the world.
The contrast with Mr. Trump is clear: where Vice President Harris is prepared and strategic, he is impulsive and ill-informed. He has heaped praise on adversarial dictators like China’s Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jung Un, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as well as the terrorist leaders of Hezbollah. Conversely, he has publicly and privately excoriated the leaders of our most steadfast allies, including the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Canada, and Germany. He abandoned our Kurdish allies while ceding influence in the Middle East to Russia, Iran, and China.
Further, Mr. Trump denigrates our great country and does not believe in the American ideal that our leaders should reflect the will of the people. While Vice President Harris follows the democratic norms we expect of any political leader—including promising to abide by the outcome of the pending election and respecting the rule of law—Mr. Trump is the first president in American history to actively undermine the peaceful transfer of power, the bedrock of American democracy.
Mr. Trump threatens our democratic system; he has said so himself. He has called for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution. He said he wants to be a “dictator,” and his clarification that he would only be a dictator for a day is not reassuring. He has undermined faith in our elections by repeating lies, without evidence, of “millions” of fraudulent votes.
He has shown no remorse for trying to overturn the 2020 election on January 6th, promises to pardon the convicted perpetrators, and has made clear he will not respect the results of the 2024 election should he lose again.
That alone proves Mr. Trump is unfit to be Commander-in-Chief.
We believe, as President Ronald Reagan said, that “America is a shining city on a hill.” Yet in this election, one of President Reagan’s more ominous warnings is equally relevant. “Freedom,” he said, “is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Our endorsement of Vice President Harris is an endorsement of freedom and an act of patriotism It is an endorsement of democratic ideals, of competence, and of relentless optimism in America’s future. We hope you will join us in voting for her.
Sincerely,
President of National Security Leaders for America:
Rear Admiral Michael E. Smith, USN (Ret)
Steering Committee of National Security Leaders for America:
Ambassador Charles C. Adams, Jr. (Fmr)
Ambassador Jeff Bleich (Fmr)
Ambassador Judith Beth Cefkin (Ret)
Major General Peter S. Cooke, USA (Ret)
Thomas M. Countryman, Minister Counselor (Ret), former Acting Under Secretary of State
Ambassador Cindy L. Courville, Ph.D. (Fmr), former Special Assistant to the President, National Security Council
Rear Admiral Scott Deitchman, M.D., M.P.H., USPHS (Ret)
Brigadier General John Wade Douglass, USAF (Ret), former Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Linda Jackson, Spouse of retired Senior Military Leader
Rear Admiral Katharine L. Laughton, USN (Ret)
Lieutenant General Charles D. Luckey, USA (Ret)
Major General Randy Manner, USA (Ret)
Brigadier General Mark A. Montjar, USA (Ret)
F. Whitten Peters, former Secretary of the Air Force
Ambassador Robert Annan Riley, III (Ret)
John C. Rogers, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Rear Admiral Todd Jay Squire, USN (Ret)
Jack Thomas Tomarchio, former Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security
Brigadier General Daniel P. Woodward, USAF (Ret)
Senior Military Spouse Advisors:
Theresa T. Buchanan, J.D.
Becky R. France, MEd,
Dale Allen Hamby
Mary Jo Myers
Brook Rich
Rebekah Sanderlin
Ellen Waterfield Smith
Anne M. Squire
There's a pattern on Substack of members applauding this platform for being better than Twitter, an incredibly low standard. A similar thing happens at the level of national politics. Yes, we all need to vote for Harris. Yes, let us all pray that she wins. Yes, Harris is way better than Trump. An incredibly low standard by which to measure our candidate.
The correct way to evaluate any candidate is to measure them against the most important responsibilities of their office. For a President of the United States, that most important responsibility by far is nuclear weapons, the fate of the human species on this planet.
Please educate me as needed, but has Harris said anything new or interesting regarding what will be her most important responsibility as President? Has she said anything at all? Either during this campaign, or at any point in her career? Will she say anything interesting or useful about nuclear weapons during her Presidency?
Which of the 700 national security leaders are really leaders? Which of them will come to the podium again and again to challenge Harris to think and say something useful about what will be her most important responsibility? Even the letter signed by the 700 national security leaders never utters the phrase "nuclear weapons"!!
A key reason that we Democrats are perpetually in danger of losing major elections to dangerous cartoon characters is that we lack the ability for "look in the mirror" critical self analysis.
These leaders know!