US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley twice called his Chinese counterpart to assure him that the two nations would not suddenly go to war around the time the US presidency changed hands late last year and early this year — prompting accusations of treason — a senior US defense official said on Tuesday after the conversations were described in excerpts from a forthcoming book.
Milley told Chinese General Li Zuocheng (李作成) of the People’s Liberation Army that the US would not strike in calls on Oct. 30 last year, four days before the election that ousted then-US president Donald Trump, and on Jan. 8, two days after the riot at the US Capitol.
Trump said that Milley should be tried for treason if the report was true.
Photo: Reuters
Milley promised Li that he would warn his counterpart in the event of a US attack, according to the book Peril, written by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley told him in the first call, according to the book. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”
“If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time,” Milley reportedly said. “It’s not going to be a surprise.”
Photo: AP
The defense official said that Milley’s message to Li on both occasions was one of reassurance.
The official questioned suggestions that Milley told Li he would call him first, and instead said the chairman made the point that the US was not going to suddenly attack China without any warning — whether it be through diplomatic, administrative or military channels.
Milley also spoke with other chiefs of defense around the world in the days after Jan. 6, including military leaders from the UK, Russia and Pakistan.
A readout of those calls in January referred to “several” other counterparts that he spoke to with similar messages of reassurance that the US government was strong and in control.
The second call was meant to placate Chinese fears about the events of Jan. 6.
However, the book says that Li was not as easily assuaged, even after Milley promised him: “We are 100 percent steady. Everything’s fine, but democracy can be sloppy sometimes.”
Trump on Tuesday dismissed Milley as a “dumbass,” and said he never considered attacking China.
Still, he said that if the report was true, “I assume he would be tried for treason, in that he would have been dealing with his Chinese counterpart behind the president’s back and telling China that he would be giving them notification ‘of an attack.’ Can’t do that,” Trump said.
“Actions should be taken immediately against Milley,” he said.
Officials said that Milley and US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who shared a phone call on Jan. 8 — believed the president was in mental decline after the election.
Pelosi had previously said she spoke to Milley that day about “available precautions” to prevent Trump from initiating military action or ordering a nuclear launch, and she told colleagues she was given unspecified assurances that there were long-standing safeguards in place.
Milley called the admiral overseeing the US Indo-Pacific Command, the military unit responsible for the Asia-Pacific region, and recommended postponing upcoming military exercises, the book said.
He also asked senior officers to swear an “oath” that Milley had to be involved if Trump gave an order to launch nuclear weapons, it said.
Officials in January and on Tuesday confirmed that Milley spoke with Pelosi.
One official said that Milley’s intent in speaking with his staff and commanders about the process was not a move to subvert the president or his power, but to reaffirm the procedures and ensure they were understood by everyone.
The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
In response to the book, US Senator Marco Rubio sent US President Joe Biden a letter urging him to fire Milley, saying that the general worked to “actively undermine the sitting commander in chief.”
US Senator Ted Cruz called the report “deeply concerning,” telling reporters at the Capitol in Washington: “I think the first step is for General Milley to answer the question as to what exactly he said.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of