Overstepping His Role: Gen. Milley’s Calls to China

According to Bob Woodward, Gen. Mark Milley was certain that then-President Donald Trump “had gone into a serious mental decline” after the 2020 election (“Wolf in chief’s clothing,” Sept. 16).

If Woodward’s book is accurate, Milley overstepped his role as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The general was allegedly so concerned that Trump might start a war with China that he privately called his Chinese counterpart twice to assure him that the United States would not strike.

If Woodward’s claims are proven to be true, there should be immediate prosecution within the full extent of the law for treason.

Charles Sitero Ormond Beach, Fla.

Milley acted out of conviction and courage, trying to allay international concern during the election and Jan. 6 riots.

His actions were surely well-intentioned, but he should know they came with the price of his resignation. By injecting himself into nuclear-weapon protocols, he usurped the imperative civilian control of the military.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs should know that once he crossed that line, he has to step down. He should have the moral courage to resign.

Tim Greene Norwalk, Conn.

This latest case of Democratic neurosis concerning Trump and the calls that Milley made to his Chinese Communist counterpart proves how uninformed and biased liberals are.

Milley’s call was based on his assumption that President Trump was going to attack China. Simply put — that never happened.

Nevertheless, Milley chose to subvert the authority of the elected president. If there is a policy he does not agree with, he must either obey or resign.

This type of behavior by the top military commander is dangerous and a direct threat to our republic. It can not be glossed over or dismissed. Rick Cabrera

Elmhurst

It would be outlandish and unbelievable to think that Trump, who started no wars during his tenure, would remotely contemplate an attack on China.

Despite issues with the Chinese, we all know that such action would have been hard to justify.

Milley seems to have followed a typical Democratic script of creating situations that never were. Jerry Chiappetta

Monticello

Milley’s calls to the Chinese military end the American principle “Politics stops at the water’s edge.”

It was also a violation of the Constitution, which states: “The president shall be commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy.”

Trump did not take a strong military posture toward China at all.

Milley proves that Trump was dead right about the threat of the deep state but dead wrong that he had “the best people” working for him. He hired the worst and most disloyal people. Andrew Delaney

Jamaica Estates

The same Republican leaders who ignored Trump’s lies about the election results are now calling for the resignation of Milley.

They have not condemned the spreaders of the big lie that led to Jan. 6, nor do they condemn the bogus lawsuits to overturn the election.

Yet Milley performs his job by talking to other military leaders and is called a traitor. Alan Podhaizer

Brooklyn

What is more disturbing than the recent revelation in Woodward’s new book is that Democrats and left-leaning journalists are actually hailing Milley’s conduct as heroic rather than treasonous.

I wonder what they would be saying if the chairman of the Joint Chiefs called Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng and told him that because President Biden is mentally challenged, he would ignore any order given by him to attack China. John Kapica

Carmel