Trump and his allies attack Milley as Woodward’s book sparks nuclear reaction

The nuclear fallout from Bob Woodward’s latest book and its revelations about General Mark Milley reveal a fundamental contradiction in political warfare.

The Two-Bomb Bob (Woodward’s co-author is Robert Costa of the Washington Post) puts the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the spotlight by revealing that he has given China assurances of no US attack while ‘he was worried about Donald Trump’s stability. This, in all respects, is an extraordinary step for the country’s top military official, arguably undermining the civilian chain of command.

But if those calling for Milley’s resignation rely on the upcoming book “Peril”, it’s impossible to turn around and mark the book in the trash. The story, rooted in their reporting – and with Milley’s obvious cooperation – is either true or not worth worrying about.

Yet here is an enraged Trump, in a press statement, claiming that if “Dumbass” Mark Milley’s account is true, “then I guess he would be tried for TREASON in that he was dealing with his counterpart. Chinese behind the president has returned and told China he will give them notification of “an attack.” I can’t do that! “

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Then comes the pivot:

“The good news is, the story is Fake News concocted by a weak, ineffective general with two writers I refused to interview because they write fiction, not fact.”

So why would Milley be judged on the basis of “fiction”? Trump also said “I never even thought of attacking China,” which may be true, but the authors don’t say he did – only that the general was worried about the possibility such an attack.

Trump, who gave Woodward 18 taped interviews for his previous book “Rage,” didn’t speak to him this time – and, on “Newsmax”, called it “silly.”

But Woodward has a long history of delivering goods. Having worked with him before – and having covered it for decades, including his missteps – I can tell that he not only asks senior officials to tell him things, but often sucks up documents to back them up. .

While he has been criticized for painting those who provide access in a more positive light, he, like other authors, also has more comprehensive accounts of those people than those who refuse to cooperate. Much of his last book was Trump, officially, explaining himself.

Conservative pundits, some Republicans, and Trump himself make Milley the bad guy in history, and these attacks are based on substance. Woodward-Costa’s book describes Milley as, in the Post’s account, “so scared that the president’s actions could spark war with China that he acted urgently to avoid armed conflict.”

Based on reports that China feared a US attack, Milley had two calls with Beijing’s top military official – one four days before the election, the other two days after the Capitol riot – to assure him that Washington had no such plans and that I would give a warning if anything materialized.

Additionally, after agreeing with Nancy Pelosi that Trump was insane (authors have a call transcript), Milley reportedly told his senior officers that he must be consulted if there is a presidential order to launch nuclear weapons. .

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Critics are therefore perfectly justified in questioning whether a military man is illegally usurping the authority of an elected president by sending backhanded warnings to an adversary and in effect demanding a veto over a decision to go to war.

The Liberals and Democrats who defend Milley are essentially taking a position of justification through the end: Trump was insane, so the general had to step in and prevent America from a possible war of annihilation.

Now turn the scenario around: If a book reported that a senior military official had undermined Barack Obama by secretly calling Vladimir Putin and getting involved in nuclear decisions, wouldn’t the left be going haywire – and the right would she not defend such a general?

Pentagon officials now say Milley did not fit into the nuclear chain of command but clarified everyone’s role, Fox’s Jennifer Griffin reports. They also say there were 15 people on a conference call with Milley’s Chinese counterpart, including a State Department official, which makes things less stealthy and mysterious.

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Still, Milley had to know that by sharing his anti-Trump account with the perpetrators, he would detonate the mother of all bombs and likely face hearings and subpoenas.

But that doesn’t mean Woodward and Costa missed the mark in uncovering the most sensitive details so far in the final weeks of the Trump presidency.