Washington: US President Joe Biden expressed “complete confidence” within the United States’ top general after revelations that he spoke to his Chinese counterpart twice amid concerns about then-president Donald Trump’s psychological state Biden pushed back against Republican calls to fireside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Mark Milley for allegedly undermining civilian control of the military within the calls last October and January as Trump refused to simply accept his election loss to the Democrat.
“The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism and his fidelity to our constitution,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Milley insisted his calls to Chinese General Li Zuocheng, revealed Tuesday in excerpts from a replacement book by Washington investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, were a traditional a part of his duties.
“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the planet , including with China and Russia,” Milley’s spokesman Colonel Dave Butler said during a statement His calls with the Chinese et al. in October and January were keep with these duties and responsibilities conveying reassurance so as to take care of strategic stability.”
The Woodward-Costa book, “Peril,” details worries among Milley and other top national security officials between October last year and January 20 that Trump, angered by his defeat, could initiate a conflict with China or Iran It also reports that Pentagon officials understood that China feared a US attack and might misread US actions, sort of a planned military exercise, as preparations for that To assuage the Chinese, the book said, unbeknownst to Trump, Milley called Li to assure him that the us wasn’t planning action, which the political turmoil was just the “sloppy” face of democracy.
Nuclear weapons
Even so, the book said, as tensions in Washington grew over Trump’s attempts in early January to retain power, Milley called his deputies together and told them to form sure he was informed if the president sought to launch a weapon of mass destruction Faced by accusations from Republicans that Milley was usurping the president’s power over the US nuclear arsenal, Butler said the meeting was simply “to remind uniformed leaders within the Pentagon of the long-established and robust procedures” on nuclear weapons.
“General Milley continues to act and advise within his authority within the lawful tradition of civilian control of the military and his oath to the Constitution,” Butler said After excerpts from the book were published, senior Republican Senator Marco Rubio demanded during a letter that Biden fire the overall .
Rubio alleged Milley “worked to actively undermine the sitting Commander in Chief of the us soldiers and contemplated a treasonous leak of classified information to the Chinese Communist Party .”
“These actions by General Milley demonstrate a transparent lack of judgment , and that i urge you to dismiss him immediately,” he said Trump lashed out on Tuesday, calling Milley a crude epithet and blaming him for the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.
