Editor's note: Chris Hawke is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a journalist who has reported for over two decades from Beijing, New York, the United Nations, Tokyo, Bangkok, Islamabad and Kabul for AP, UPI and CBS. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The U.S. military is pushing back against President Donald Trump's efforts to use troops against demonstrators and looters.

Trump has urged governors to use the military to "dominate" protestors. The only way to legally do this is using the Insurrection Act of 1807.

However, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced at the Pentagon that he does not support invoking the act.

The act has most often been used to put down unrest related to race relations. President Andrew Jackson used it in 1831 to crush Nat Turner's slave rebellion. President Ulysses Grant used it in 1871 to stop the Ku Klux Klan from murdering Republicans and blacks.

It was used a number of times during the civil rights era to enforce federal desegregation orders. Most recently, it was used in 1992 when riots broke out in Los Angeles after four police officers were acquitted after being caught on video tape beating motorist Rodney King to death.

Esper said, "The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now."

Esper also expressed regret for accompanying the president to a photo opportunity in front of a damaged church near the White House.

Attorney General William Barr ordered peaceful protesters to be cleared out using chemical agents and flash grenades so the president could pose with a Bible, a widely condemned act which may turn out to be a defining moment of his presidency.

Arlington County, Virginia, pulled its officers out of the District of Columbia, objecting that they would be used "for a purpose not worthy of our mutual aid obligations."

Similarly, the commander of the DC National Guard is investigating why one of its medical helicopters hovered near protestors in a separate incident as a "show of force."

Trump's former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has made an extraordinary condemnation of his former boss.

Mattis released a statement saying he never dreamed troops "would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens — much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside."

Mattis expressed support for the protesters and referred to rioters as a "small number of lawbreakers."

He said Trump, unlike all other modern presidents, tries to divide the American people, adding, "We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society."

Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Bush and Obama administrations, also condemned Trump's actions.

He said he was "sickened" by Trump's photo op, and that while he remains confident in the professionalism of the military, he is "less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander-in-chief."

He also referred to Trump's actions as "an inflection point," adding it was no longer possible for him "to remain silent."

Members of the intelligence community are also speaking out publicly about Trump's response to the demonstrations and looting.

The Washington Post ran a front page story reporting, "In interviews and posts on social media in recent days, current and former U.S. intelligence officials have expressed dismay at the similarity between events at home and the signs of decline or democratic regression they were trained to detect in other nations."

The New York Times online prominently displayed a video from its opinion section called "The Bill of Rights, Revised," displaying the text of amendments protecting freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, with video showing police violently trampling on these rights.

Trump has not only called for military intervention, he has called on police to use rough tactics.

New York City police seem to be taking the advice to heart, beating and arresting peaceful protesters because they violated a curfew set by the mayor.

Racial and ethnic minority groups make up 40 percent of the active-duty U.S. military.

The White House signaled Esper might be on shaky ground after undercutting the president.

White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany told reporters, "As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper. Should the president lose faith we will all learn about that in the future."

She also emphasized that the authority to invoke the Insurrection Act was Trump's and Trump's alone.

After meeting with White House officials, Esper also went back on a decision to order active-duty troops home from the capital.

Trump has responded to Mattis by tweeting he is "the world's most overrated General."

Directing them to confront crowds that are fighting against discrimination would clearly not be good for military morale.

Trump has succeeded in remaking the Republic Party in his image. Time will tell if he can do the same with the military.

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