WASHINGTON — Gen. Mark A. Milley on Tuesday defended controversial calls with his Chinese counterparts near the end of Donald Trump's presidency, saying the conversations were part of his responsibility to prevent a potentially deadly misunderstanding between two superpowers.
During the calls, which occurred before and after the November election, Milley assured Gen. Li Zuocheng, the top Chinese commander, that Trump was not planning any surprise attack. The discussions were revealed in "Peril," a new book from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
Trump has suggested that Milley committed treason, and Republicans have said he might have subverted the chain of command.
But Milley testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that his calls with Li were far from secret. He said that he coordinated the discussions with Pentagon leadership and afterward he briefed Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
In addition, Milley testified that he wasn't undermining Trump because the president had no intention of attacking China. However, he was concerned that Chinese intelligence was mistakenly concerned that a strike was in the works.
"My task at that time was to de-escalate," Milley said. "My message again was consistent — 'Stay calm, stead and de-escalate. We are not going to attack you.'"
Milley also described a call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that occurred after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Pelosi expressed concerns that Trump was unstable, and she worried about his control of the country's nuclear weapons, according to "Peril."
The general told lawmakers he informed Pelosi that "the president is the sole nuclear launch authority, and he doesn't launch them alone, and I am not qualified to determine the mental health of the president of the United States."
Milley testified alongside Lloyd J. Austin III, the Defense secretary, and Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., who oversaw operations in Afghanistan.
Although Milley's testimony about his interactions with the Chinese military commander was a highly anticipated aspect of the hearing, most of lawmakers' early questions focused on the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"While there is a temptation to close the book on Afghanistan and simply move on to long-term strategic competition with China and Russia, we must capture the lessons of the last two decades to ensure that our future counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere continue to hold violent extremists at bay," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the committee's chairman.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., the committee's ranking member, blamed President Joe Biden for the messy pullout.
"He failed to anticipate what all of us knew would happen," he said. "So in August, we all witnessed the horror of the president's own making."
Austin defended the military's evacuation, saying U.S. officials had planned to fly out as many as 80,000 people. They ultimately evacuated 124,000.
"Was it perfect?" he said. "Of course not."
Austin also conceded a series of mistakes leading up to the war's tragic denouement, which saw 13 U.S. service members die in a suicide bombing as the Taliban took back control of the country.
U.S. forces were surprised by how quickly the Afghan army collapsed, Austin testified, adding that "we did not fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership in their senior ranks."
"As a veteran of that war, I am personally reckoning with all of that," he said.
