Admirers say he helped save American democracy. Critics contend he dragged the military deeper into the toxic political fray.
Gen. Mark A. Milley testifies at a House appropriations hearing on the defense budget last year.
Milley, whose four-year tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ends with his retirement this month, will exit center stage as one of the most consequential and polarizing military chiefs in recent memory, leading America’s armed forces through a fraught period that included the precarious final months of Donald Trump’s presidency, a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Washington’s high-stakes standoff with Moscow.
Like the general, retired Adm. Mike Mullen’s tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama, spanned two presidents with vastly different outlooks and agendas, the second of whom sought to undo much of what his predecessor had done. Under any circumstances, Mullen said, the job is “ridiculously hard.
Overshadowing the moment, though, were news accounts indicating that the president was the subject of a whistleblower complaint stemming from a phone call that he had with Volodymyr Zelensky, then the newly elected leader of Ukraine. The scandal would result in the first of Trump’s two impeachments. Weeks of tension finally boiled over on June 1, 2020, when law enforcement personnel abruptly and aggressively cleared hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Square outside the White House, ahead of Trump and other officials marching to a church across the street in a show of force. Among them were Esper and, for a time, Milley.
For Milley’s part, he began a monthly campaign to underscore publicly that the military would take on no unconstitutional role in the looming presidential election or domestic politics more broadly. Speaking later to the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, assault by Trump’s supporters on the U.S. Capitol, he cited several media interviews he had granted in addition to comments he made at the National Museum of the United States Army in November 2020.
Milley told lawmakers he personally found it “offensive” that the military was being called out for “studying some theories that are out there.” The general said he wanted to “understand White rage” and what compelled thousands of people to assault Congress. “I’ve read Mao Tse Tung. I’ve read Karl Marx. I’ve read Lenin. That doesn’t make me a communist,” he added.
A few months later, as the Kremlin telegraphed its preparations for the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence officials predicted incorrectly that Kyiv would fall quickly. Since then, Milley has cultivated what observers say is an effective partnership with his Ukrainian counterpart, Gen.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Gen. Mark Milley, polarizing Joint Chiefs chairman, exits center stageAdmirers say he helped save American democracy. Critics contend he dragged the military deeper into the toxic political fray.
Read more »
| Disabled vets seem to get respect from everyone but Donald TrumpGen. Mark Milley provides an unsurprising anecdote in which the former president was annoyed by the sight of a disabled veteran.
Read more »
Gen Z Hackers behind MGM , Caesars breaches ‘more sophisticated’ and ‘ruthless’Ransomware attacks are not new, but the group behind the casino breaches was extraordinarily skilled at social engineering and bypassing multi-factor authentication, a security expert says.
Read more »
The Boys Confirms Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy for Gen V (But How?)The Boys social media confirmed the rumblings: Jensen Ackles's Soldier Boy will be in Gen V - but HOW will he appear? Here's what we know...
Read more »
HyperMotion 2 in FIFA 23: How Machine Learning Drives Next-Gen Animation in GamingExperience HyperMotion 2 in FIFA 23 - where machine learning transforms gaming realism. Inclusive, dynamic, and tactical gameplay awaits!
Read more »