Recently, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley has faced criticism from voices on the right, including former President Trump himself, over calls that he made towards the conclusion of the Trump era to a top Chinese military leader. On those calls, Milley sought to reassure the Chinese that the U.S. would not be attacking their country, and he was also reported to have said that he’d inform his counterpart with whom he was speaking of any change of plans. Milley has been accused of essentially going rogue, but in reality, he’s explained how he made those calls in direct coordination with staff members for the head of the Defense Department. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) joined Milley’s defense this week.
Besides Milley’s coordination with other defense personnel, he wasn’t even the only individual from the American side on either call in question. Characterizing his actions as some kind of subversion of authority simply does not reflect the facts. Kinzinger spoke in support of Milley in response to remarks backing the top general from Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who lauded him for his service. As Kinzinger put it:
‘A-Friggin-men. Arm chair warriors who never put a uniform on using Gen Milley to go be famous. Sorry, you can’t hold a light to him.’
A-Friggin-men. Arm chair warriors who never put a uniform on using Gen Milley to go be famous. Sorry, you can’t hold a light to him https://t.co/mwalq7v6xv
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) September 30, 2021
During the same House hearing where Cheney spoke in Milley’s defense, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) showed himself as one of those “arm chair warriors,” criticizing the military leader for his actions. Gaetz asserted, for instance, that Milley “spent more time with Bob Woodward on this book” (in reference to Woodward’s new book, Peril) than he did “analyzing the very likely prospect that the Afghanistan government was going to fall immediately to the Taliban” — which is a simply ridiculous notion. As Milley put it to Gaetz at the time, it was “not even close.” Gaetz also self-confidently accused Milley of “undermining the chain of command,” but the top general shot that down too.
Gaetz: We’re questioning in your official capacity going and undermining the chain of command
Milley: Did not undermine the chain of command
Gaetz: You did
Milley: Did not pic.twitter.com/lF7VuDDhXY— Acyn (@Acyn) September 29, 2021
Meanwhile, Kinzinger also went after Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) for characterizing Joe Biden as a predator in a post about the involvement of the Boys & Girls Club in this week’s Congressional Baseball Game. As Kinzinger pointedly put it, including a screenshot of Boebert’s original post:
‘What a child. Side note: this is all about outrage for money and fame. Literally all she does.’
Check the post out below:
What a child. Side note: this is all about outrage for money and fame. Literally all she does pic.twitter.com/6jRCYkfo5l
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) September 30, 2021
