Hundreds of former generals, CIA operatives and defense secretaries endorse Harris

Two reports published today reveal the character of the Democratic Party campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, which is centered on the escalation of imperialist war abroad and the defense of the interests of the capitalist ruling class at home. 

The first is the letter endorsing Harris from over 700 current and former national security leaders, including retired military generals and spymasters. The letter endorsing Harris is a who’s who of war criminals.

Among its signatories is Michael Hayden, the former CIA director under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who was intimately involved in developing the CIA’s notorious torture program during the so-called “War on Terror.” This exposes the lie that this endorsement has anything to do with defending democracy. These are the same individuals who oversaw illegal wars, drone assassinations, torture, and mass surveillance.

The backing of former defense secretaries like Chuck Hagel, William Cohen, and John Brennan—deeply involved in past U.S. wars and military operations—reveals the true character of the Harris campaign: a continuation and intensification of the US war machine.

In praising Harris, the signatories wrote:

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....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.

This reference to the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine underscores that the Democrats’ campaign, led by Harris, is fundamentally committed to escalating a war that has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The US ruling class sees the war against Russia as a key battlefield for maintaining its global dominance, and Harris’s commitment to this war is a guarantee to the military and corporate elite that she will pursue American imperialist interests through military force.

The second report is from the Wall Street Journal, published under the headline, “Harris Makes Undercover Push to Win Over Corporate America.” The Journal writes that “Harris has made taking on wrongdoing by American corporations a central part of her pitch to voters.” But this is just for show. “In private at least, she is making a quiet play for Corporate America’s support, seeking out advice from leaders across sectors. She has offered few policy specifics, but many executives say they view her openness to their feedback as enough for now.”

Among those cited by the Journal as being involved in extensive discussions with Harris is Texas billionaire Mark Cuban. Harris has already walked back Biden’s tepid capital gains tax proposals, signaling to the ruling class that she will defend their wealth against growing opposition in the working class. 

The claim that Harris and the Democrats are an alternative to Trump and the danger of fascism is a fraud. Trump, whose January 6 coup attempt aimed to overturn the 2020 election, continues to build a fascist movement in the US. 

The program of the Republican Party articulates the interests of the corporate and financial oligarchy, which see in Trump’s combination of authoritarianism and pseudo-populism an instrument for escalating a massive social counterrevolution. The Democrats are incapable of presenting a program to address the social crisis in America, because they are a party of Wall Street and the military, which allows Trump to capitalize on broad-based discontent that finds no expression within the political establishment.

The working class cannot fight against Trump’s fascist movement by supporting Harris and the Democrats. Both the Democrats and Republicans represent factions of the corporate and financial oligarchy. To oppose both the drive toward fascism and the escalation of war, workers and youth must build an independent political movement, based on socialist principles, that rejects the war-mongering and capitalist agenda of both parties.

The Socialist Equality Party and our election campaign call on all workers, students, and youth to reject the false choice between Harris’s militarism and corporate alliances, and Trump’s fascism. Only a mass movement of the working class, armed with a socialist program to end imperialism and capitalism, can halt the drive toward dictatorship and war.