Retired general calls Trump's proposed arch near Arlington a 'sacrilege'

Transcript

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Geoff Bennett: The Trump administration says it plans to break ground within two weeks on a 250-foot triumphal arch just beyond the gates of Arlington National Cemetery. The proposed arch would rise more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial, and critics say it would disrupt historic site lines intended to symbolize the nation’s reconciliation after the Civil War.

Today, three Vietnam veterans who have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the project asked a judge to block the administration from breaking ground while their case proceeds.

Retired Army Major Paul Eaton commanded the effort to train Iraqi forces during the Iraq War. He now advises VoteVets, a progressive veterans organization supporting the lawsuit, and he joins us now.

Thanks for being with us.

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.), U.S. Army: Geoff, thank you very much for having me.

Geoff Bennett: The Trump administration, as you know, they say this arch honors the country and the sacrifice represented by Arlington. We should also mention that President Trump was asked last year who this triumphal arch was for. And he pointed to himself and he said, me.

What harm do you believe would be done if this arch is built?

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.): Geoff, whenever I get to Washington, D.C., I do a bit of a pilgrimage. I start at the Vietnam War Memorial, go past the Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Bridge, Memorial Circle.

And it’s a mid-stop en route to my father’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery. And all I can say is, this arch is a sacrilege. It would be a monstrosity to put that huge edifice right there in Memorial Circle, fracturing what has been sacred ground for so long.

Geoff Bennett: Would you oppose the same arch somewhere else in Washington?

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.): Geoff, that’s not the American tradition. We don’t do that.

The sarcasm that we heard from the president, who managed to avoid the Vietnam War with his medical problems associated with his feet, all I can say is that this administration doesn’t like veterans, it doesn’t like the military. And they do everything they can to create this kind of problem.

This arch anywhere would be a terrible idea. And the only guy in France who wanted the arch in Paris was Emperor Bonaparte. And we don’t do emperor here in the United States, and as soon as we can get the Republican Party to join the Democratic Party and the rest of America and all the veterans to tell Mr. Trump, no, bad idea, not here.

Geoff Bennett: Some government approvals for this project remain outstanding, but after the interior secretary said this project would kick off within two weeks, our team reached out to the White House.

The White House provided a statement that reads this way: “Work will begin that does not require approval, but rather helps in the process. We will, of course, continue on our path of seeking final approval from all applicable entities.”

We should make clear that you’re not a part of this case. But, if the White House says they’re doing work that doesn’t require approval, what’s the basis for asking the courts to step in now?

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.): We have seen this movie before.

The whole ballroom vanity project that Mr. Trump has embarked upon, without telling anybody, he tore down the East Wing. Without asking for permission, he began construction of the magnificent ballroom that he loves so much to talk about.

And, in fact, this administration rushes to judgment to build so much so fast that the law cannot keep up and tell him, no, you can’t do this. So I hear what the president said. I don’t buy it. They’re going to — they’re going to create a construction nightmare, and they’re going to keep doing it until somehow, somehow, the judicial system or the Republican Party in Congress will tell him to stop it.

And what we veterans are after is to stop it in the courts, and do it now.

Geoff Bennett: There are plenty of veterans who support President Trump and who may support this project. What would you say to a fellow veteran who does see this triumphal arch as a celebration of the country?

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.): Geoff, I would tell the veteran to go to the Mall, start with the very modest memorial for World War I, and go to World War II, and go to the Lincoln Memorial. Go to the Vietnam Memorial, which was built with extraordinary controversy.

I would expect that those meaningful stops for any veteran that I have ever met would find it the honorable way to honor our fallen. And then I’d tell them, please go to Arlington National Cemetery and imagine the shade that will be cast by a 250-foot monstrosity over graves of American fallen.

And if it happens to reach my father’s grave, I can only tell you my great disappointment for so many people in government to allow this to happen.

Geoff Bennett: Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton, thank you, sir, for your time this evening. We appreciate it.

Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (Ret.): Geoff, thank you very much.