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A former Army member stated on a right-leaning website on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s “foolish” method of handling the U.S. military is currently leading to its downfall.

You know, when someone like Secretary Hegseth is in charge of the Department of Defense, this is what you end up with,Margaret Donovan, a legal professional and former Army JAG officer, spoke with William Kristol of The Bulwark on ThursdayDonovan was explaining how the military in Iran killed 120 schoolgirls in a failed bombing. “You end up with this foolish operation, and the very first strike, which, almost every former military lawyer, and likely current ones too, if they could speak openly, would view as a war crime, or otherwise not authorized under the laws of armed conflict. You have that, and if you thought it was just an accident, there’s the rush into an operation that’s poorly prepared and not fully considered in terms of its legal justification. We saw this again on February 28th, marking the start of the Iran War.”

Later, Donovan expanded on how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has openly politicized the military at Trump’s request. She mentioned that this is undermining the military’s respected system of merit by rewarding soldiers according to their political views.

It’s highly unusual for the Secretary of Defense to go through a list of potential promotions by name and then choose a few individuals he might have come across on his X feed or something else, and then pull them out,” Donovan said to Kristol. “This undermines the entire system that the military is based on, which is that promotions are based on merit, experience, and capabilities. It’s not about whatever influences the Secretary Hegseth’s team and most of the rest of the cabinet, which could be whatever they see on their ex-feed that day.

She stated, “So it’s highly disruptive, all the way through, because especially when you observe these officers who people depend on for their lives, literally, who have served in combat with these individuals, and watching them being removed because the underlying suggestion is that the secretary finds them politically undesirable. There’s almost no proof of that in their military records. It’s very disruptive.”

When Kristol inquired of Donovan regarding the wider effects on the armed forces, Donovan expressed that she is “extremely” concerned.

I’m just as concerned as any other military veteran who sees this and is genuinely shocked by what’s happening, hoping that everyone still in uniform is keeping things under control,” Donovan said. “And standing firm for the values they believe in, recalling the promise they made, whether they were an officer or a regular soldier.

She said, “I mean, another concerning aspect of this, and I know we don’t need to delve into specifics right now, but I’m concerned about the promotions. I’m also worried about the military justice system. When I wasn’t overseas handling strike cell duties, I worked as a military prosecutor in the United States while I was stationed domestically. What I’ve witnessed, especially regarding aviation misconduct in recent months, is that if you’re doing something considered MAGA or flying over Kid Rock’s house, you’re fine. You won’t face any consequences, and there’s no military discipline applied to you. But there’s a different standard for everyone else.”

In a different report published in July, The Daily Mail stated that the military has become so politically influenced that senior officials, including Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, are alleged to havenot transmitting the soldiers’ reports to the president.

“Two Republican lawmakers affiliated with MAGA, who were allowed to remain unnamed for open discussion, have expressed their worries regarding Trump’s military commanders,” the Mail stated.

Also in July, macroeconomist Dean Bakerconcluded that the military’s request for $1.5 trillion to wage war against Iran would result in an average cost of $4,600 per household. In February, Joseph Bosco, who previously worked as Secretary of Defense for President George W. Bush’s Donald Rumsfeld, cautioned that the military islosing its greatnessunder Trump. For him, it was about how Trump’s approach to foreign policy, focused on transactions, resulted in betrayals of long-standing allies such as Ukraine and Taiwan.

“History will label the U.S. failure to secure Ukraine’s victory and stop Taiwan’s collapse as the moment when America lost its greatness, with her ‘clever’ but mistaken adversaries dragging the world into a new global conflict,” Bosco wrote in The Hill.

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