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Milley defends calls to Chinese as effort to avoid conflict

69 Comments
By JONATHAN LEMIRE and ROBERT BURNS

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69 Comments

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The blovator-in-chief was having a psychotic break with reality and it wasn’t just Milley who was worried.

The author of Anonymous said that very high ranking officials were saying that they hoped Trump would chain himself to his desk and have to be carried out if the White House “so that the general public could finally see what we see everyday.”

Presumably a sociopath of limited intellect zooming between the reality that he might finally be held to account for his behavior and the moronic notion implanted by his sycophants that he could somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat and declare himself King.

6 ( +15 / -9 )

“I have great confidence in Gen Milley,” Biden said when asked by a reporter whether Milley had done the right thing.

So the president has great confidence from a general who if ordered to attack would call the enemy first to give them a heads up so his own troops can be defeated. I thought it couldn’t get worse after the Afghanistan debacle but now we are in Alice in Wonderland territory.

-1 ( +16 / -17 )

Milley is a candidate for the worst general ever, taking into account also the 13 troops he helped get killed in Kabul.

-11 ( +9 / -20 )

General Milley saved the country from a leader who who clearly having a mental breakdown.

We should be awarding him for this act!!!

9 ( +20 / -11 )

Milley and his comms team trying to divert to the “why”. Which is irrelevant even if true, he is in trouble for the “what”- just like his drone killing of a family of 10 in Afghan.

There are no special rules that make what he did ok just because he didn’t like trump.

-7 ( +12 / -19 )

If General Mark Milley believed that President Trump's mental condition is putting us in peril, I think it was prudent of him to warn his Chinese counterpart.

8 ( +18 / -10 )

The right-wing cancel culture is out in full-force against Miley today!

4 ( +16 / -12 )

So the president has great confidence from a general who if ordered to attack would call the enemy first to give them a heads up so his own troops can be defeated.

There is a very good legal argument that absent a Congressional Declaration of War on China, an order by a President to launch a nuclear attack on China absent any kind of attack on the US, its possessions or its military forces, would be illegal and subject General Milley to possible war crimes prosecution. One of the things you are taught in Code of Conduct training is to never obey an illegal order, doing so places you at risk of prosecution. General Milley was apparently worried that the Chinese might feel a US attack was imminent and decide to launch their own attack before the US could, as China does not have the satellites necessary to detect the launch of US ICBMs and calculate their trajectories and impact points as the US has. For all we know he might have prevented a great tragedy. That to me doesn't mean he would warn an enemy of a US attack. He was telling the Chinese the US wasn't going to attack regardless of the noise coming from the press.

5 ( +12 / -7 )

 Which is irrelevant even if true, he is in trouble for the “what”

lmao How is it "irrelevant"?

just like his drone killing of a family of 10 in Afghan.

Fun fact: Drone strikes were up significantly under Trump.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2019/5/8/18619206/under-donald-trump-drone-strikes-far-exceed-obama-s-numbers

Additional fun fact: Trump actually signed an executive order eliminating the requirement to report drone strike fatalities.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47480207

If you're going assail General Milley, at least be consistent.

There are no special rules that make what he did ok just because he didn’t like trump.

Trump fans are always so eager to suspend reality and do literally anything to defend a man so nakedly unfit for public office, let alone the nuclear codes.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

This was a president who thought nuking hurricanes was a great idea. He obviously never had an understanding of the dangers of using such weapons and in his state of breakdown after the election loss, would have done anything.

He shouldn’t be allowed to hold a baseball bat in his hands, forget the nuclear codes.

4 ( +12 / -8 )

Sounds like he was doing his job and reassuring his counterparts that the US would remain stable despite Trump's active attempts to overturn the election.

7 ( +14 / -7 )

There is a 50/50 chance that China will take advantage of weak (or compromised) Milley and Biden to make a move on the Senkakus or even Taiwan. They will figure they have until 2024 to make their move and allow time for clean-up and for Americans to forget and move on to their usual personality driven politics.

-8 ( +7 / -15 )

The book by Woodward and Costa reported that Milley, fearful of Trump's actions in his final weeks as president

Ahh that wonderful MSM. These AP writers must have never got past journalism 101. If Milley called China before the election, it is illogical for Milley to be “fearful of Trumps actions in his final weeks as president”. Oh, and wouldn’t that be “final months”? I guess this junior high school level of writing works for the haters though.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

Three words for Trump: Lock him up.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

So if Milley according to liberals didn’t do anything wrong then Michael Flynn really should have been by all accounts exonerated and owed an apology.

 

“Flynn speaks with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak the same day the Obama administration announces sanctions on Russia over its alleged hacking of Clinton's campaign. The FBI and Obama advisers are aware of the conversation.”

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

Whatever you say, but finally it leads to the question, if there’s a democracy with an elected president or a military junta, where the top generals take power whenever they please or feel a personal necessity.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

The US has radars and satellites capable of detecting ICBMs immediately after launch and can calculate their impact points. Russia used to have a similar capability but it has degraded quite a bit since the fall of the USSR. China has no such capability yet, though Russia has offered to help them develop one. Were the US to actually launch a nuclear strike on China they would have no warning as the US would if the reverse were true, and thus the Chinese could lose everything before they could launch a counter strike. It is a real weakness they have. Their leaders have less information to make decisions with and that opens up the possibility of them making a bad decision our of fear created by over the top media hype. US leaders would know if an attack was underway or not with great reliability.

The Chinese and Russians also have to worry about the B-2 ( and very soon the upcoming B-21 Raider ). They cannot detect them. A few conventionally armed B-2s could wipe out their leadership and their all of their command and control systems in a surprise attack, leaving them unable to launch a nuclear reprisal. Those same bombers using precision guided bombs with hard target warheads could destroy missile silos and degrade their ability to launch a nuclear strike without the US resorting to nuclear weapons. The Chinese have a lot of reasons to worry about what the US might do.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Whatever you say, but finally it leads to the question, if there’s a democracy with an elected president or a military junta, where the top generals take power whenever they please or feel a personal necessity.

No it doesn't. Milley didn't "take over" - he tried to reassure China that a petulant Trump would be checked if he attempted to launch a strike.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

No, you are completely mistaken. These two situations are not the same at all.

Yes, but both basically committed treason by undermining their commander in chief. So Milley at the very “minimum” should resign.

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

he tried to reassure China that a petulant Trump would be checked if he attempted to launch a strike.

which is not within his authority to do. even if its done to that meanie Trump.

"If we are going to attack you, I will call you first to let you know?"

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Yes, but both basically committed treason by undermining their commander in chief. So Milley at the very “minimum” should resign.

Sir, General Milley saved the country by preventing a possible nuclear war.

As a billionaire who has trillions tied up in investments in America, I am definitely happy my investments are safe.

I am sure as a fellow billionaire, you agree!!!

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Even the anti-Trump military hero to the left can see this, quote: "If this is true GEN Milley must resign. He usurped civilian authority, broke Chain of Command, and violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military. It’s an extremely dangerous precedent. You can’t simply walk away from that." Alexander Vindman.

People here who support this stand alone in their unique lack of principle.

-4 ( +6 / -10 )

This is yet another reason why insane lying old fogies with mental and cognitive problems and thin skin should never be allowed to be presidents ever again. It sends shivers down my spine thinking the fat guy had access to the nuclear buttons. He and his crazy followers are like terrorists - they don't mind killing themselves as long as they kill the enemy. And you can see this with regards to the pandemic.

Look him up.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

The moron-in-chief conducted a coup which failed, and now all of these republican senators are coming out of the woodwork screaming treason and demanding justice, when they all completely ignored the failed coup attempt of January 6th saying the protesters were just a bunch of tourists. They reject the rational man while at the same time they embrace the crazy man for leadership. I'll take Gen. Milley over Trump and these republican senators anytime.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

FizzBit

The book by Woodward and Costa reported that Milley, fearful of Trump's actions in his final weeks as president

Ahh that wonderful MSM. These AP writers must have never got past journalism 101. 

Ever heard of Watergate? Probably the biggest piece of investigative journalism in America.

But OK, these guys never got past journalism 101. Right!

0 ( +4 / -4 )

This is not the first time a member of the senior military leadership has taken action to assure an obviously mentally incompetent POTUS couldn’t end the world.

In 1972, as a drunken Nixon wandered the halls and talked to dead presidents, the republican Secretary of Defense told NORAD “ignore any launch orders until you talk to me.”

Funny how none of our “Constitutional experts” ever called for his head....

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Sir, General Milley saved the country by preventing a possible nuclear war. 

Utter nonsense and Milley as with Flynn had no right to go above the head of their commanders in chief in the way that they did. Regardless of what the speaker of the House thinks. If he didn’t like what his boss was doing, resign. Well, now it looks like he might get more than just a firing.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

which is not within his authority to do. even if its done to that meanie Trump.

Says who? You? You're not a military official, are you?

Are you really suggesting, Black, that the military should just do anything Donald tells them to do, regardless of the consequences?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Utter nonsense and Milley as with Flynn had no right to go above the head of their commanders in chief in the way that they did

Funny you write this now, considering you previously supported Flynn, claiming he did nothing wrong.

The fact is, they are entirely different. Flynn wasn't even in office when he attempted to set up back channels. And those backchannels, of course, were designed to thwart the Obama administration's attempts to sanction the Russian government for interfering in favor of Trump in the 2016 elections. Again- not the same. At all.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Trump- the only President in U.S. history who lost control of the U.S. military.

What a legacy. What a weakling.

Pelosi was right: Trump was a deranged ***** unfit for the nuke codes.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

says who? That you don’t think Trump was acting like an outright psychopath does not mean others, who happen to possess first strike capability, do not.

That is just insane, there were absolutely zero indications whatsoever that Trump wanted to bomb anyone, there is absolutely zero proof of it. Pelosi was out of her mind (nothing new) for her to even contemplate something like that.

I agree that General Milley should resign for breaking protocol.

Thank you.

to suggest General Milley committed treason is farcical and serves to further demonstrate the disturbing “worship” of 45 by his flock

No, it does not, the point is, if the guy didn’t like his boss, step aside and resign, he had no constitutional authority to make that preconceived judgment without a shred of evidence of something that showed zero signs of him instigating a possible aggressive assault on the Chinese. It’s treason when you call an adversary to warn them of any possible attack if that is what indeed happened. He deserves to be heard, but if he’s found guilty, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Well its called "Commander in Chief" and the "chain of command" for a reason.

Obviously the military shouldnt do "anything" that Donald Trump tells them to do. But that scenario has no relation as to whether it is ok for Milley to do what he actually did or not.

Are you really suggesting, Black, that the military should just do anything Donald tells them to do, regardless of the consequences?

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Obviously the military shouldnt do "anything" that Donald Trump tells them to do. But that scenario has no relation as to whether it is ok for Milley to do what he actually did or not.

lol It absolutely does. If Trump ordered Milley to nuke China, would you be okay with that?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

someone needs to look into "lawful" orders and how the military executes those. instead of talking about speculative extremes that didnt happen.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Utter nonsense and Milley as with Flynn had no right to go above the head of their commanders in chief in the way that they did.

Sir, you really need to improve your language, that 's not the way a famous NBC and fox reporter should write,. Ok acceptable for fox I guess but not NBC.

I mean none of us really believe the former president was capable of being commander-in-chief. You know nuking hurricanes, airports in the revolutionary war and all.

 Well, now it looks like he might get more than just a firing.

I think we should be investigating what the former president spoke to putin about, where he asked the interpreter to destroy the notes. That I think is treason!

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Military leaders often contact each other before a strike. Iran notified the US of the strike on American forces under Trump. Israel often notifies Hamas of airstrikes before they happen. Happens all the time.

bass: as with Flynn

Flynn admitted in front of a judge that he lied to the FBI, which was what his case was about. That's not comparable in any way to the JCOS situation so please do not bring it up again.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

If General Mark Milley believed that President Trump's mental condition is putting us in peril, I think it was prudent of him to warn his Chinese counterpart.

With con-artists like Trump it’s difficult to know how much of the deranged nonsense he spouts to the morons he actually believes.

It’s clear that his stolen election conspiracy theory caused a riot, and perhaps Superlib’s earlier point about reassuring counterparts that the US would remain stable is the most important point.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

What is your understanding of what Miley did?

What the Woodward book says he did. As every other Woodward book was presented by the liberal media as 100% true and accurate, without fail. every accusation repeated over and over as truth, for years.

Only now, liberals suddenly claim that Woodward is known to speculate, mischaracterize conversations and take quotes out of context? I never heard the IF TRUE disclaimer for anything Woodward has ever falsely claimed about Trump.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

someone needs to look into "lawful" orders and how the military executes those. instead of talking about speculative extremes that didnt happen.

lmao I know what a lawful order is. What makes you think that any of Trump's orders would have been "lawful"? Seems to me that is exactly why he wrote to China- he was afraid Trump would try and issue an unlawful order.

Again, the lengths through which Trump loyalists will go to defend the indefensible is astounding. Does it not bother you that those closest to Trump, even those appointed by him, were worried about his mental stability? Are they all wrong? Any proof that Trump is actually mentally stable, because I have yet to see any.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Incorrect. Flynn was illegally working j behalf of his commander in chief.

Against the wishes of his boss.

Miley was simply doing his job

Illegally and going over the head of the POTUS. Had it been Obama or Biden you guys would have wanted him under the jail.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Milley thought it would score him some cool "woke points" if he leaked to Woodward what he did. Now trying to walk it back under the cover and support of the liberal media.

Bad choice, seems a General would understand chain of command and the relationship between the military and elected officials. But then again, he is white and "doesnt understand" whatever white rage supposedly is, so he isnt the brightest.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

blacklabel: Milley thought it would score him some cool "woke points" if he leaked to Woodward what he did.

That would required us to believe that you can read his mind, or, you're just making it up because you like the way it sounds.

I'll let people here make their own choice. I've made mine.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Milley thought it would score him some cool "woke points" if he leaked to Woodward what he did.

lol Is that so? To what end? Any evidence of this, or are you just venting, because Trump has been shown yet again to be an intellectually deficient, temperamentally unfit leader? Again, what does it say when so many people around the president criticize him so harshly?

 But then again, he is white and "doesnt understand" whatever white rage supposedly is, so he isnt the brightest.

He isn't the brightest, but somehow he's made it further than just about anyone else, yourself included, have ever made it in the military. How is that?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Trump was Flynn’s boss. I’ll quote Super here, “Flynn admitted in front of a judge that he lied to the FBI,

Good, at least he was a man to admit wrongdoing, now let’s see if Milley has the same integrity.

which was what his case was about. That's not comparable

Yes, it is. Lying is lying and being disobedient is being disobedient and if you take such an action and go over the head of your commander in chief, you should be held accountable.

I’ll quote Super again here, “Military leaders often contact each other before a strike.

Yes. But this was different, Super is wrong (again) when it comes to the context of the phone conversation he had with Pelosi screaming that Milley should take the nuke codes away from Trump, “he agreed” and that right there is where Miley’s problem starts. He had no right

Iran notified the US of the strike on American forces under Trump.

where one of the mullahs trying to override the Supreme Leader? Wouldn’t go well for him if he did. There would be a crane around the e corner waiting for him.

Israel often notifies Hamas of airstrikes

To avoid harming innocent women and children. What child was at the Capitol and in danger?

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Stories like these that discredit President Trump are no more than pre-emptive campaign smears. President Biden has shown unprecedented incompetence and is more of a national embarrassment than Trump was.

The Democratic National Committee is just getting a jump on the 2024 campaign by slinging mud earlier than ever.

Milley should be tried for insubordination, discharged, and barred from lobbying for the rest of his life.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

it seemed to me that Trump was encouraging an insurrection.

except that the first call to the Chinese military by Milley was in October 2020.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I think it was a given that if Trump tried to start something stupid then the ones with a brain would have stopped him in his tracks. Not everyone in the USA is an idiot.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Interestingly hypocritical that the defenders of a sociopath who broke norms and laws for years are now the “but there are rules....” crowd when the idiot in question is obviously having a psychotic break and EVERYONE around him can see it.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Not quite given there was a call in January.

and a call in October 2020, pre-election and pre Jan 6.

odd that you are suddenly an expert in this topic as a few minutes ago you didnt even know what Woodward said that Milley did and asked me to explain it to you.

*an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an *established government

exactly what Milley did.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

so basically everyone knows what Milley did was wrong. He has no authority to do it and no valid justification.

You are just expecting that he will get away with it because it was done to Trump.

You are also likely correct in that expectation. But still doesnt make it right that our military refuses to take actions as directed by the elected President but is more than willing to take orders from Democrats in Congress.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

exactly what Milley did.

lmao No he didn't. Again. Delusional. Donald Trump isn't the government, we've been over this already.

so basically everyone knows what Milley did was wrong. He has no authority to do it and no valid justification.

That's your opinion. I completely disagree. Again, I'll ask; What do you think it says about the president when everyone around, even people he chose, seems to he is mentally unfit? What do you know to that they don't know?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The SECDEF and CJCS, along with many other close associates, had to do this same thing when Nixon went off the deep end during his last days....

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/11/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons-richard-nixon-215478/

Then 50 years later you have another Repub President, even more mentally impaired and dangerous, who his closest associates think is unstable enough to cause a major war....

Too bad someone didn't hide the phone from Bush II before he and Cheney gave the order to invade Iraq in 2003...

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Milley did nothing wrong at all. It's his job to interact with his counterparts. Did Trump order him to not do his job and Milley refused? Nope.

I'm guessing Milley had quite a few calls like that, especially from our allies. Someone had to reassure them that Trump wouldn't be allowed to cancel an election despite his best efforts.

And who knows what intelligence the world had. Did they know Trump was trying to order Pence to not certify the election so he could cancel out democracy? Did they know he was pressuring his lackeys at the (independent) DOJ to open up investigations without evidence? Did they know he was making calls to states and asking them to "find votes"?

We'll never know. But Trump's public actions alone would probably prompt some countries to reach out and ask some difficult questions. Let's not forget that Trump fans would have no problem with Trump cancelling the will of the people to stay in power so he had the support if he could have pulled it off.

I don't think enough people realize how American democracy in that moment really was based on a handful of individuals who refused to help Trump steal an election.

And the problem is Milley? For doing his job?

OK.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

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