Widely reviled former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley worries that he will be court-martialed under a Trump administration. His fears are probably larger than life, but hardly without merit. He does have a serious vulnerability.
I understand that he feels there is some justification for what he did — I have read it. He puts it in the context of soothing the excitable Chinese — he feels that he was doing real ‘Missiles of October’ stuff, mil-to-mil contacts avoiding war by mistake. That’s noble. But there is still a right way to do things. I would have one question for him: “Did you tell your boss what you said about him to the enemy?” The rest follows from there, and may be left as an exercise for the reader.
I understand feeling torn between, on the one hand, your ultimate loyalty to the Constitution and on the other hand, your duty to render fidelity to your chain of command. These things are not always perfectly aligned.
Hey you cadets and midshipmen, FOOT STOMP THIS IS ON THE TEST — this is where ethics comes in. If the President was not informed of what the American General was reporting about the President in conversations with the Red Chinese general, it doesn’t look good for Milley.
I haven’t heard this excuse/justification/defense cited once in the four years since, so I am (for layman’s purposes on the internet) satisfied that Milley never told Trump that he was backdooring the President to China. And that is why General Mark Milley rightfully fears prosecution by court-martial for treason, or at least for severe misconduct. The lawyers will figure it out — they usually do.
Did you tell your boss what you said about him to the enemy? Share on X
I agree that Thoroughly Modern Milley (H/T Mark Steyn) ought to be worried. As should John Kelly and a few others. This doesn’t do my heart any good when it comes to folks I started out admiring and respecting.
I continue to admire and respect Stuart Scheller, who’s the only person I know of who’s actually paid a price for stating his contravening opinion–in real time–on the Afghanistan withdrawal: https://www.facebook.com/stuart.scheller/.
In the intervening years, I’ve seen and read about how all Biden’s “Generals” gave him advice which contravened his eventual decision on the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Let’s talk about who threw whom under the bus.
And, by the way,
Howdy!
… you were saying?