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2021-09-18 Home Front: Politix

I respected Mark Milley ⁠‐ but he has damaged our democracy

[NY Post] By Lt. Gen. (ret) Keith Kellogg
Commenting on the recent events by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is not easy for me. For much of his career, Mark Milley served with distinction and honor. I worked hand-in-hand with him during my four years in the White House and I’d like to think we built a rapport based on mutual respect. It is hard to separate that man from the one who has emerged these last months, alongside the alleged actions he has not denied.

Civilian control of the military is enshrined in our Constitution. Article 2, Section 2 is extraordinarily clear — a civilian leader, the elected president, is commander in chief. His senior advisers provide input toward decisions involving use of force and the role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is to provide his best military advice. He is an advisor who executes the commander in chief’s commands, not the other way around.

Any action on the part of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs that gives the impression that he has traveled outside his lane, however slight, should be met with swift and severe recourse. This is not political; this is about the preservation of our democracy.
Resign or be fired. Either way, credibility, honor, and trust is GONE
Unfortunately, recent comments by many in the media, including retired military officials, appear to undermine that hard truth. They are trying to give Gen. Milley a pass, not because they believe this departure from norms is a good thing for our republic, but because they will support anything that portrays former President Donald Trump in a poor light. Such politicization of the responsibilities of the chairman and his critical role does this nation a disservice.

In my lifetime, I have seen military officials removed for overstepping their responsibilities. In fact, I’ve seen officers removed for things that bordered on the silly. The allegations against Milley are anything but.

Unauthorized military discussions with a growing adversary about potential action sends a negative signal to an enemy. It conveys confusion, weakness, and calls into question our ability to control our military forces. It also implies that the military, in fact, calls the shots — not the commander in chief. Any undermining of the civilian control of the military is problematic; this was dangerous.

Moreover, this call was made in the aftermath of a contentious election in the midst of a debilitating pandemic caused and perpetuated by the same country on the other end of the phone. In diplomatic relations, what’s not said often carries as much weight as what is. Milley’s alleged call communicated disarray.

Nothing was further from the truth. I was the longest serving senior national security official in the Trump White House. I was confident then, and confident now, that Trump was a commander in chief that we needed and served us well in multiple crises. You need only look at the fall of Kabul, the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and our failure to coordinate with our allies, the tragic drone strikes that killed seven children rather than an ISIS-K member, and the French withdrawing their ambassador to see how far we’ve fallen. Peace through strength is more than just a catchphrase.

The Biden administration needs to hit the reset button in more ways than one. President Biden may have confidence in his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but the American public no longer does.

Keith Kellogg is a retired Army lieutenant general who was an assistant to the president and national security adviser to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. He is currently co-chairman for American Security at the America First Policy Institute.

Posted by Frank G 2021-09-18 06:47|| || Front Page|| [16 views ] Top
File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats

#1 "He is an advisor who executes the commander in chief’s commands, not the other way around."

As the chairman he's not part of the chain of command though:

"the Joint Chiefs of Staff do not have operational command authority, either individually or collectively, as the chain of command goes from the president to the secretary of defense, and from the secretary to the regional combatant commanders."

In addition to the China call allegations it is claimed that Milley pressured certain military officials to promise not to act on certain orders without informing Milley and getting his approval.

If I'm interpreting this correctly it would have been a direct violation of the Goldwater–Nichols Act if Milley had laid claim to and exercised any such command authority even in concordance with the President's wishes.

Posted by Elmerert Hupens2660 2021-09-18 07:32|| 2021-09-18 07:32|| Front Page Top

#2 My hunch is Milley did not act without backstopping and cover from the SECDEF and powerful members of congress. There is much more to this story. Will it ever be told? Not likely.

Posted by Besoeker 2021-09-18 07:41|| 2021-09-18 07:41|| Front Page Top

#3 The Donald Trump Pile on, according to Bob Woodward:

Then-CIA Director Gina Haspel said Trump's post-election behavior was 'insanity' and he was 'acting out like a 6-year-old with a tantrum,' book says

Then-CIA Director Gina Haspel told the US's top general that former President Donald Trump was "acting out like a six-year-old with a tantrum" in the wake of the 2020 election, according to a new book.

In addition to refusing to concede the 2020 election to President-elect Joe Biden and pushing groundless claims of election fraud, Trump fired (or tried to fire) a number of top officials — most prominently, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on November 9.

"Yesterday was appalling," Haspel said in a November 10 conversation with Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's forthcoming book "Peril."

"We are on the way to a right-wing coup. The whole thing is insanity. He is acting out like a six-year-old with a tantrum," Haspel, a 35-year veteran of the agency, said, with the authors writing that she, too, was afraid of being canned.

Milley assured Haspel that "we're going to be steady," according to the book. "Steady as a rock," he added. "We're going to keep our eye on the horizon. Keep alert to any risks, dangers. Keep the channels open."

Posted by Besoeker 2021-09-18 07:54|| 2021-09-18 07:54|| Front Page Top

#4 ...A couple of observations:

*Fox is reporting that Milley cleared his conversations with the office of the SECDEF. That seems to be parsing things just a bit - not cleared with SECDEF, but 'with his office'. Curious.
*During the last days of the Nixon Administration, SECDEF James Schlesinger sent out a quiet order that no 'unusual' military orders from the White House were to be executed without his approval. THAT is how this should have been done, if it was necessary at all.
*A lot has been said about 'if' this is true.

I say we absolutely have to believe it, because that nice Mister Woodward fella wrote a book about the Trump Administration a few years ago that had some outrageous things in it...and we were told then that we HAD to believe it.

Milley broke about a dozen or so rules, and if the Chinese had taken that moment to hit something, they would have been crowing to the heavens that America said they wouldn't attack...and that khaki-suited idiot would have had the blood of thousands on his hands. All I have to say is this: in the movies, when someone betrayed his oath, his traditions, and his country like this, they would give him a pistol with one round in it and tell him to do the right thing.

Not like he would.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2021-09-18 08:22|| 2021-09-18 08:22|| Front Page Top

#5 /\ Yes, I suspect the General slipped the bounds if not the intent of legal "Foreign Disclosure" AR 380-10 and possibly more.

Posted by Besoeker 2021-09-18 09:07|| 2021-09-18 09:07|| Front Page Top

#6 "Esper requested his deputies use back channels to ensure the Chinese knew we knew what their intelligence said and that their intelligence was wrong. Esper further ordered a postponement of some American naval activities in the Pacific so the Chinese did not get spooked. Gen. Milley was one of the people who worked back channels to defuse the situation." (from Swan via Erickson)

Posted by Glenmore 2021-09-18 10:44|| 2021-09-18 10:44|| Front Page Top

#7 Resign or be fired. Either way, credibility, honor, and trust is GONE

I agree with the sentiment, but credibility, honor and trust are no longer in play. It is all about the will to power now.

#2 My hunch is Milley did not act without backstopping and cover from the SECDEF and powerful members of congress. There is much more to this story. Will it ever be told? Not likely.

That pretty much sums it up, IMHO. Milley may be the visible face on this mess, but he is not the only rat in the cellar. I hate to be pessimistic, but I can't help wondering if the American Experiment is over.

Posted by SteveS 2021-09-18 11:11|| 2021-09-18 11:11|| Front Page Top

#8 He's got Pigeon all over his Chevy Chase.

Posted by swksvolFF 2021-09-18 11:46|| 2021-09-18 11:46|| Front Page Top

#9 Meanwhile Milley has had breast implants to increase his chest for his new ribbons foor Treason and Valor in AFG

Posted by Gluter Mussolini5141 2021-09-18 14:04|| 2021-09-18 14:04|| Front Page Top

#10 "This is the time in Sprockets when we vest."

Posted by swksvolFF 2021-09-18 14:06|| 2021-09-18 14:06|| Front Page Top

#11 Someone should whip up a photoshop of Milley's new 'chest enhancements'.

Posted by CrazyFool 2021-09-18 15:53|| 2021-09-18 15:53|| Front Page Top

#12 "Milley earned his commission as an Armor officer through Princeton's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in 1980 and spent most of his career in Infantry assignments." Wikipedia

Princeton. Hard to believe the same institution that gave us Ted Cruz also gave us Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Gen. Mark "The Quisling" Milley.

Posted by Anomalous Sources 2021-09-18 21:06|| 2021-09-18 21:06|| Front Page Top

#13 I hate to be pessimistic, but I can't help wondering if the American Experiment is over.

Phase I is over.

Soon to begin is Phase II, in which the patriotic and freedom-loving ("normie") states and counties separate from the post-modern, globo-homo, "1619 Project" Woke-Fascist blue counties.

We just need to accept reality and go our separate ways now.

Posted by Brutus 2021-09-18 22:15|| 2021-09-18 22:15|| Front Page Top

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