General Mark Milley says Trump never intended to attack China

The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of USA, general Mark Milley, assured on Tuesday that calls to his Chinese counterparts at the end of the mandate of Donald Trump They sought to “reduce” the tension with Beijing and that the former US president never wanted to attack China.

“I know, I’m sure, the president Trump I had no intention of attacking the Chinese ”, said Milley at a hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

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“My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message was consistent: keep calm and stability and de-escalate. We are not going to attack them ”, he pointed.

Calls between Milley and his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, were first revealed in the book “Peril” (Danger), by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

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The first call was on October 30, four days before the US presidential election. And the second was on January 8, two days after Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol to avoid the certification of the election victory of Democrat Joe Biden.

Some Republican lawmakers have accused Milley of exceeding his authority and have asked him to resign.

In his testimony Tuesday before senators, Milley He defended his actions and said the calls were coordinated with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and then his acting successor Christopher Miller.

“The specific purpose of the October and January calls was generated by intelligence information that made us think that the Chinese were concerned about an attack by the United States.”, said Milley.

“These military-to-military communications at the highest levels are critical to the security of the United States in order to deconfigure military actions, manage crises and prevent wars between great powers armed with nuclear weapons,” he explained.

“At no time did I try to change or influence the process, usurp authority or insert myself in the chain of command,” he said. Milley.

He added: “I firmly believe in civilian control of the armed forces as an essential fundamental principle for this republic and I am committed to ensuring that the armed forces stay away from internal politics.”

After the publication of excerpts from the book on September 15, President Biden renewed his trust in the general Milley.

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Deshawn