SNEAKING ONE PAST THE KKKOMMANDER-IN-HHIEF:

Cooper reports, "That senior military leaders are contorting themselves to such an extent shows the gap that has developed between the White House and the movement for racial justice that has swept across the country since the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in May. As protests ignited, senior Defense Department officials began grappling with the legacy of racism in the military."

Trump has defended having military installations named after generals who fought against the U.S. Army in the Confederate Army during the Civil War of the 1860s. But when Gen. Mark Milley appeared at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing last week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommended that the Pentagon take "a hard look" at renaming military bases that are presently named after Confederate officers.

At the hearing, Milley told members of Congress, "There is no place in our armed forces for manifestations or symbols of racism, bias or discrimination."

According to Cooper, the memo Esper issued on Friday, "goes after the many American soldiers, Marines and airmen who display Confederate flags and other symbols in their barracks and in parking lots on military installations."

Esper said in the memo: "Flags are powerful symbols, particularly in the military community for whom flags embody common mission, common histories and the special, timeless bond of warriors.... The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols."

Tweet   @brothersjudd