Milley Defends Promise To Tip Off China In Case Of US Attack, Excuses Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley on Tuesday defended two phone calls he had with his Chinese counterpart in which he promised to warn them if former President Donald Trump was going to launch an attack against them.

“My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: calm, steady, and deescalate. We are not going to attack you,” Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a prepared statement, claiming that the calls were generated by “concerning intelligence” that China thought Trump would take action against them. 

“My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: calm, steady, deescalate. We are not going to attack you.”

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) September 28, 2021

General Milley denies any wrongdoing in his calls with the Chinese while Trump was in office: “I am specifically directed to communicate with the Chinese. These military to military communications at the highest level are critical to the security of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/f3XwinSBGj

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 28, 2021

Of course, this doesn’t square with the ‘secret meeting’ Milley reportedly called in his Pentagon office on January 8 to make senior officers take an ‘oath’ not to follow orders from Trump.

“You never know what a president’s trigger point is,” Milley allegedly said, according to a book by Bob Woodword and the Washington Post‘s Robert Costa.

Milley took extraordinary action, and called a secret meeting in his Pentagon office on January 8 to review the process for military action, including launching nuclear weapons. Speaking to senior military officials in charge of the National Military Command Center, the Pentagon’s war room, Milley instructed them not to take orders from anyone unless he was involved. –CNN

“No matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I’m part of that procedure,” said Milley, unconstitutionally, before going around the room and ‘looking each officer in the eye, asking them to verbally confirm they understood.’

“Milley considered it an oath,” wrote the authors.

What’s more, Milley promised to tip off China in October – having nothing to do with the January 6 Capitol riot.

I was told Milley was a hero for warning China because of Jan 6.

This call was made in October. https://t.co/KDtUErkeKq

— Larry O’Connor (@LarryOConnor) September 22, 2021

Milley said that following the Jan. 8 call with his Chinese counterpart, he briefed then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. He also claimed that he told Nancy Pelosi that Trump wouldn’t be able to launch a nuclear weapon on his own.

“I sought to assure her that nuclear launch is governed by a very specific and deliberate process. She was concerned and made various personal references characterizing the President,” said Milley. “I explained to her that the President is the sole nuclear launch authority and he doesn’t launch them alone and that I am not qualified to determine the mental health of the president of the United States.”

On the botched Afghanistan withdrawal that left 13 US soldiers and at least one entire family of Afghan civilians dead, Milley claimed that he recommended against President Biden’s withdrawal timeline and warned him that the Afghan government was about to collapse.

Under oath, Generals Milley & McKenzie confirmed they recommended against President Biden’s withdrawal timeline and warned him about the impending collapse of the Afghan government.

That contradicts Biden, who claimed “no one said that to me.” pic.twitter.com/BaPEHEFCHU

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 28, 2021

Democrat Senator Tim Kaine on Biden’s botched withdrawal: “we did not adequately plan.” pic.twitter.com/5mUbzi9efJ

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 28, 2021

And thanks to the collapse of Afghanistan, protecting America from terrorist attacks over the next 12-36 months “will be much harder now.”

Gen. Mark Milley admits that protecting the American people from terrorist attacks from Afghanistan in the next 12-36 months “will be much harder now” given the botched withdrawal. pic.twitter.com/EDswhkGb4a

— CPAC 2022 (@CPAC) September 28, 2021

Army Gen. Mark Milley told lawmakers that intelligence assessments determined the Afghan government would like fall in October or November with a possibility that Kabul could hold out until spring. That’s much different from what the Biden administration was saying publicly.

— Jeff Schogol (@JeffSchogol) September 28, 2021

He only had seven months to plan for this and not screw it up.