Signing letters is a favorite sport in D.C. and the media is currently hyping the letter signed by Clinton, Obama and Biden’s secretaries of defense (and Trump’s ex, Mattis) arguing that the Commander in Chief can’t fire top military leaders.

I’m not sure which is stranger here, that someone dragged out 98-year-old (possibly 97-year-old) William Perry, who served in both WWII and the Clinton administration before turning into a full-time arms control crank or that there were five former secretaries of defense willing to go on the record with such a ridiculous claim.

The president absolutely has the power to remove and replace military leaders. He’s the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Two of the men here, Panetta and Hagel, were secretaries of defense under Obama. (Obama ousted Hagel because he wouldn’t help him free as many Al Qaeda terrorists from Gitmo as Hussein wanted.)

Obama was so hostile to the military that he became notorious for purging it. Around 200 officers were purged, including two nuclear commanders in a single week, the head of Africom along with nine senior commanding generals. McChrystal was fired for a derogatory comment about Obama.

Where were Hagel and Panetta then? Panetta was later critical of Obama, but that doesn’t count.

The fact of the matter is presidents have the right to dismiss military leaders. You may have heard of a guy called Lincoln who had to do that a few times.