88 military leaders endorsed Donald Trump. Discuss.
 
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/sep/06/88-military-leaders-endorse-trump/

There are at least 88 former military leaders who are openly endorsing Donald Trump for president.

With their names, their titles and their words, 88 generals, lieutenants, admirals and other men and women of all branches of the armed forces signed a very specific letter calling for a "course correction in our national security posture and policy."

Here are some excerpts from the brief but passionate letter:

"As retired senior leaders of America’s military, we believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world. For this reason, we support Donald Trump’s candidacy to be our next commander-in-chief."

The letter makes a point of calling out the administration of President Barack Obama for his leadership during his two terms in office:

"For the past eight years, America’s armed forces have been subjected to a series of illconsidered and debilitating budget cuts, policy choices and combat operations that have left the superb men and women in uniform less capable of performing their vital missions in the future than we require them to be.

Simultaneously, enemies of this country have been emboldened, sensing weakness and irresolution in Washington and opportunities for aggression at our expense and that of other freedom-loving nations. In our professional judgment, the combined effect is potentially extremely perilous. That is especially the case if our government persists in the practices that have brought us to this present pass."

And finally, here's the big endorsement with emphasis on fighting the Islamic State:

"We support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same."

Trump called the endorsement a "great honor" and thanked them for their confidence in him.

But how does this letter compare to military support for his opponent Hillary Clinton or former GOP nominees?

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) received the endorsements of 300 retired generals and admirals during his campaign in 2008. Gov. Mitt Romney saw 500 former military leaders endorse him in 2012.

It could also be argued that the letter is balanced out by a list of dozens of GOP national security officials who signed a similar letter last month denouncing Trump, saying he was unqualified to be commander-in-chief.

How are Americans reacting to this endorsement of Trump? We want to know what you think, so take our poll at the top of this page.

Here's a look at some of the talk on social media about the 88 military leaders.
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88 former military leaders write letter backing Donald Trump for president
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/06/politics/donald-trump-military-leaders-endorsement-letter/index.html/