Former Joint Chiefs Chairman dismisses Tory criticism of Milleys China call

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A retired Navy admiral who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the United States, under former President Barack Obama, said a wave of anger conservative surrounding General Mark Milley, the current president, is unwarranted.

Michael Mullen told ABCs This Week in an interview on Sunday that phone calls with a senior Chinese general in the final days of former President Donald Trump’s stay in the White House to reassure him about the stability of the US government and relations American-Chinese was a routine and an encouraging sign of dialogue between the two superpowers.

Having communications with counterparts around the world is routine, and even having them now with China, he told ABC’s Martha Raddatz.

He added that Mr Milley’s call was listened to by others in the interagency process, meaning it was not made without the knowledge of the intelligence community and the US Army.

Asked about the specific part of a reported appeal in which General Milley allegedly said he would warn his Chinese counterpart if Mr. Trump orders a military strike against China in his last erratic days in power, Mr. Mullen said said he hoped that in reality that part was not true, and added how alarming it was that the Chinese government was apparently so concerned about the stability of the United States that Mr. Trump was stepping down.

China’s misreading is also worrisome and speaks to the need to have these open communications, he said.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have called for Mr. Milley’s ouster in recent days, seeing the vulnerability of the Biden administration’s defense team as criticism lasts over the United States’ handling of its withdrawal from it. Afghanistan and the build-up of controversy that occurred when it was reported in Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s new book Peril that General Milley had contacted General Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army and had reassured about any effort by the president to lead a military strike against China.

General Milley has defended his conduct, and criticism of his actions has been flatly rejected by most of the former senior defense and national security officials who have commented on the matter, including John Bolton, who has been appointed. at the White House national security station. advisor by Mr. Trump.

Republicans have become more vocal and wacky in their criticism of the Biden administration’s defense team in recent weeks on the issues in Afghanistan and now China, with various lawmakers on Capitol Hill targeting allegations of behavior by treason not only against General Milley but Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Joe Biden and others.

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