The former top Navy SEAL who oversaw the Osama bin Laden raid has said he voted for Joe Biden ‘because black lives matter and climate change is real’.
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal published Monday William McRaven says he backs the Democrat, arguing ‘the the world no longer looks up to America’.
Describing himself as ‘pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense and a national-anthem-standing conservative’ McRaven did not mention Donald Trump by name but has been an outspoken critic in the past.
He wrote: ‘I also believe that black lives matter, that the Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship, that diversity and inclusion are essential to our national success, that education is the great equalizer, that climate change is real and that the First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy.
‘Most important, I believe that America must lead in the world with courage, conviction and a sense of honor and humility.’
McRaven was head of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command in 2011 when a team of Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader, in Pakistan.
He also led the 2009 rescue of Richard Phillips, a ship captain who was captured by Somali pirates and later portrayed by Tom Hanks in a movie.
The former top Navy SEAL who oversaw the Osama bin Laden raid has said he voted for Joe Biden ‘because black lives matter and climate change is real’. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal William McRaven, left, says he backs the Democrat, right, arguing ‘the the world no longer looks up to America’
A former Navy SEAL himself, McRaven retired from the Navy in 2014 and led the University of Texas system until 2018.
In his op ed, published Monday evening, McRaven says the world has ‘seen us tear up our treaties, leave our allies on the battlefield and cozy up to despots and dictators’.
He adds: ‘They have seen our incompetence in handling the pandemic and the wildfires. They have seen us struggle with social injustice.
‘They no longer think we can lead, because they have seen an ineptness and a disdain for civility that is beyond anything in their memory.’
U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) and Vice President Joe Biden (L), along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011.
McRaven was head of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command in 2011 when a team of Navy SEALs killed bin Laden, pictured, the al-Qaida leader, in Pakistan
The compound, within which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed, is seen in flames after it was attacked in 2011
McRaven argues the US needs a leader who will ‘understands the importance of American leadership, at home and abroad’.
He added: ‘If we remain indifferent to our role in the world, if we retreat from our obligation to our citizens and our allies and if we fail to choose the right leader, then we will pay the highest price for our neglect and shortsightedness.
‘I voted for Joe Biden.’
It is not the first time he has penned an opinion piece to express his disapproval of the president.
In October last year McRaven delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump, saying that military leadership and service members are worried over the nation’s governance and decisions on the world stage.
Months before, in May 2019, McRaven said he had no regrets about criticizing Trump.
Describing himself as ‘pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, small-government, strong-defense and a national-anthem-standing conservative’ McRaven did not mention Donald Trump, pictured, by name but has been an outspoken critic in the past
He laid into the president in 2017 for calling the press the ‘enemy of the people.’
After Trump revoked the security clearance former CIA Director John Brennan, a critic of the president, McRaven wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that he would ‘consider it an honor’ if the president were to pull his clearance as well.
Speaking then, Trump dismissed McRaven in a Fox News interview as a ‘Hillary Clinton fan’ and an ‘Obama backer’ who should have captured bin Laden sooner.