Mark Milley, the same U.S. General who had conversations with the Chinese behind former President Donald Trump’s back, is doing it again. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that makes him “the nation’s highest-ranking military officer.” It seems he likes to play both ends against the middle. This time he claims to be trying to avoid a war over Taiwan. Americans nervously wonder if he’s really trying to start one instead. Especially when State Department honcho Antony Blinken appears to be trying just as hard.
General Reaches out to Beijing
On Thursday, July 7, General Mark Milley reached out to “his Chinese counterpart” Li Zuocheng. Officially, it was to discuss the need to “responsibly manage competition” between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Joe keeps allowing his flunkies to tease Taiwan with the hope of freedom someday. Then there’s all the weapons we keep selling China’s political territory.
Now that word leaked out we can’t deliver the howitzers and also that their stingers are missing in action, Xi might just think now is the time to move in the troops and consolidate his holdings. Either that, or maybe invade Hawaii. Then again, he could do both. The Pooh Bear has reportedly been considering both options really seriously.
As Al Jazeera notes, the phone call comes “amid growing tensions between the United States and China over regional and global issues, including posture on Taiwan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” China isn’t doing much about Putin. Meanwhile Vlad is threatening to blast us all to Saturn with nuclear Armageddon if anyone dares press war crimes charges.
“Aw c’mon Li, Joe didn’t mean what he said, all he really cares about is ice cream.” Milley “discussed the need to responsibly manage competition and maintain open lines of communication,” his assistant said in a statement. “General Milley underscored the importance of the People’s Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue on improving crisis communications and reducing strategic risk. The call also included a productive discussion of a number of regional and global security issues.”
Even Al Jazeera is trying to downplay the way General Milley likes to do so much global wheeling and dealing, all on his own authority.
Because he serves as the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, he “regularly communicates” with “chiefs of defense across the world, including with China,” they assure. That’s not normal and could have started a war when he went behind Trump’s back a couple of years ago.
Duct tape Joe’s mouth
Sources familiar with the exchange say that Li was concerned the Pentagon needs to respect Chinese sovereignty in the region.
The way he put it to General Milley was “uphold mutual respect and objectivity, further strengthen dialogue, control risks, and promote cooperation, rather than deliberately creating confrontation and provoking incidents.” It’s clear he’s talking about our attempts to arm his citizens under his nose.
General Li has no interest in “compromise or concessions.” He made that crystal clear. “If anyone provokes arbitrarily, it will inevitably be met with a firm counterstrike by the Chinese people.”
Also, since we’re on the subject, knock off the sneaky “military relations with Taiwan.” That is, if you want to “avoid shocks to Sino-US relations and the stability of the Taiwan Strait.” China will defend their interests, he confirms.
Back in May, Blinky Blinken infuriated Xi by proclaiming China the “most serious long-term challenge to the international order.” That was only days after Joe babbled without approval that “the US would come to Taiwan’s aid militarily if the self-governed island is attacked by Beijing.”
After that big gaffe, China issued a statement noting anyone stupid enough to play with fire by “using the ‘Taiwan card’ to contain China,” will “get burned.” General Milley may turn out to be the kind of loose cannon Stanley Kubrick warned us about.
