Whether you support President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or neither, pay close heed to the reaction of America’s highest ranking military officer to the showdown between America’s two most senior politicians on Wednesday.
Because Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley appeared to be in despair. Just look at the photo:
Hands clenched with a strained face, Milley is obviously anguished.
It’s not hard to understand why. If reports of the meeting are at all accurate, the president and speaker behaved like idiots. Trump apparently suggested that he’s a better military strategist than former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. Which is a prima-facie laughable comment. Pelosi apparently decided to start shouting at Trump, a clearly unhelpful move in dealing with this particularly sensitive president.
Embarrassing stuff.
Still, I’m betting that the ultimate source of Milley’s anguish was not the political disagreement per se, but what it says about the nation’s political discourse. For Milley, a man who has spent his 39-year career commanding Americans in combat infantry operations, Trump and Pelosi’s obvious self-regard must leave a foul taste. Because to Milley, Trump and Pelosi’s antics indicate they care more about their own perceptions among partisans than they do about America.
And for Milley, that’s personal.
After all, the stated purpose of this meeting was to discuss a way forward for American interests in Syria. Encompassing concerns such as ISIS, what happens in Syria will speak to whether or not the recent sacrifices of thousands of Americans in Iraq and Syria will be of lasting strategic value. A serious discussion over strategy should have defined this meeting.
Instead, America’s two most senior politicians decided to dishonor the military and America’s national interest by turning the Cabinet Room into a circus. Milley wanted no part of it.
