Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was “not going rogue” during his now-controversial communications with his Chinese counterpart, the original reporters behind the scoop now explain.
Milley’s two phone calls with Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, right before the 2020 presidential election and after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, have inspired calls for his termination and led to accusations of treason. However, Watergate journalist Bob Woodward and Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, who detailed the correspondences in their new book Peril, said on Monday in an interview on Good Morning America that he was not operating in “isolation.”
“No, not at all,” Woodward said after being asked if he believed the behaviors he described could be characterized as treason, while Costa noted, “He was not going rogue,” adding, “This is not someone working in isolation.”
The book said the chairman made the calls in part because he was fearful of military action from then-President Donald Trump during the final period of his presidency, though the authors explained in the interview that Milley briefed various officials, including the heads of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel, and National Security Agency, Paul Nakasone.
Milley made the phone calls, which he described as “routine” and “perfectly within the duties and responsibilities” of his role, in order “to reassure both allies and adversaries in this case in order to ensure strategic stability,” he told the Associated Press last week.
During the conversation with the Chinese general, Milley reportedly said, “I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be OK. We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you,” adding, “Gen. 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.”
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Pentagon spokesman John Kirby repeatedly declined to answer specific questions about the phone call between Milley and Li, though he said such conversations with foreign counterparts are within the chairman’s role, while Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that both he and the president continue to have confidence in Milley.
Milley is set to testify in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee later this month with Austin and U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Frank McKenzie.
