US military officials demand Gen. Milley's resignation over 'secret calls' to China

Several Ex and currently serving US military officials and lawmakers are calling for the resignation of US Army’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley over sensational reporting from Woodward’s upcoming book ‘Peril’. In the recently published excerpts, US Army General revealed that he “reached out” to his “Chinese counterpart” from the People’s Liberation Army during the final days of Trump's presidency. Milley said he ‘cautioned’ China about an attack over fears that the former US commander-in-chief Donald Trump “had a mental decline” and might strike the People’s Republic with a nuclear arsenal. 

America’s top military officer stated in the third upcoming Trump book that he made “secret calls” to Gen. Li Zuocheng of China’s People's Liberation Army assuring, that the United States had “no intention” of starting a war with Beijing.  

“If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time," Army Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told Chinese Armed Forces’ Li Zuocheng. 

Accusing the Army’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of “usurping the civilian authority” and “breaking the chain of command,” Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a military whistleblower that testified against former President Trump's impeachment said that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff  Gen. Mark Milley “must resign”. If he made secret calls to his so-called ‘Chinese counterparts,’ giving details about the military action against the Communist superpower, he “violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military,” Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman indicated. 

“It’s an extremely dangerous precedent. You can’t simply walk away from that,” Vindman tweeted, adding a hashtag to his remark “do the right thing in the right way.”

In his televised statement, with host Chris Cuomo, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman said: “There has been reporting indicating that he was “deeply concerned” [about strike on China]. He didn't voice those concerns [to a chain of command] but instead, he worked ‘behind the scenes and that's troubling to me."

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, US Army’s recipient of the Purple Heart medal who served as director of European affairs for the National Security Council, and has been a key player in the Ukraine-focused impeachment proceedings of Donald Trump asked for Milley’s resignation for promising, China of handing “advance details” in case the United States military planned to conduct a strike on orders of the former commander-in-chief, as revealed in  Watergate sleuth Bob Woodward’s book.

“General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise,” Milley was reported to have said in the forthcoming book. 

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., reacted to the report as he said in televised remarks on 'Mornings with Maria': "If true, there is a word for it, and it sure seems like treasonous activity to me. This seems like exactly what Benedict Arnold did in the past." He slammed Biden administration as having "most incompetent foreign affairs and foreign policy, national security decisions made ever" and said both US Secretary of State Blinken and Gen. Milley "must immediately resign." 

Image: Twitter/@BetterknowYou

Slamming Gen. Mark Milley for overstepping his designated duties in the military role by “secretly calling” China’s PLA and attempting to resist the then US President’s orders, lawmakers and geopolitical analysts argued that Gen. Milley held no retention of support of military that he commands. He, divulging “military details” to the Chinese Army about armed confrontation [if any] would “inevitably” cost US military troops’ their lives had an armed conflict broken out. Army Gen. Milley’s “Army Values” were also subjected to scrutiny that puts welfare of own nation, constitution, military unit and soldiers first, and also analysts stressed that he has been America’s highest-ranking military officer who served for over 39 years in the Army. 

Republican lawmakers demanded a “full investigation” into this aspect, condemning Gen. Milley for undermining the civilian control of the military. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a senior member of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence also called for Milley’s resignation. Rubio lashed out, saying that the senior military leader “worked to actively undermine the sitting commander in chief of the US armed forces.” This amounted to “treason” in military terms. Senator Rubio released a press statement on Sept.15, asking “to fire” Gen. Milley. 

“The sitting Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces contemplated a treasonous leak of classified information to the Chinese Communist Party in advance of a potential armed conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” Sen. Rubio said.

“These actions by General Milley demonstrate a clear lack of sound judgement, and I urge you to dismiss him immediately,” he wrote to Joe Biden. “You must immediately dismiss General Milley as our national security and ability to lead in the world are at stake,” Rubio said. 

Gen. Milley denies wrongdoing

In a statement issued by his spokesperson Army Col. David Butler, Gen. Milley denied any wrongdoing as he said that his actions were "legal and in keeping with the duties of his position.” “General Milley continues to act and advise within his authority in the lawful tradition of civilian control of the military and his oath to the Constitution,” the statement read. “The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia,” it added. 

Image: Twitter/credit: Twitter/@Frank_Oppong