New book alleges that US Army chief of Staff, General Milley secretly called Chinese officials to warn them that Trump would attack China in his final days in office
During the final months of former US President Donald Trump’s term, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley made two phone calls to Chinese officials in fear that Trump would attack China, a new book claims
In the book, “Peril,” which is set to be released next week, authored by the very reliable Washington Post editor, Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa, it is alleged that Milley made two secret phone calls to Gen. Li Zuocheng, the Army chief of the People’s Liberation Army.
The book alleges that the phone calls took place prior to the 2020 presidential election on Oct. 30, 2020, and two days after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, on Jan. 8, 2021.
According to the book, Milley contacted Li after he had reviewed intelligence that suggested Chinese officials believed the United States was planning an attack on China amid military exercises in the South China Sea.
“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be OK,” Milley told him during the first call, the book said.
“We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”
The book, excerpted in the Washington Post, also stated that Milley told Li that he would warn him in advance should America decide to “attack.”
“Gen. Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time,” Milley added, as reported by the book. “It’s not going to be a surprise.”
The authors of the book also claim Milley contacted Li a second time to reassure him that the U.S. would not make any type of advances or attack China in any form, as Milley promised.
“We are 100% steady. Everything’s fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes.”
The book claims the phone calls were never mentioned to Trump, as Milley believed his mental state had declined following the election, something he shared his thoughts in a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Jan. 8, the same day he called Li the second time.
According to Pelosi, she spoke with Milley that day about “available precautions” to prevent Trump from engaging in military action.
Pelosi phoned Milley shortly after Jan. 6 to inquire about what “precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities,” according to a transcript of the call in the book.
There were “a lot of checks in the system,” Milley told her.
“He’s crazy. You know he’s crazy,” Pelosi said. “He’s crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness.”
“I agree with you on everything,” Milley replied.
The book also alleges that Milley made a phone call to the admiral in charge of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and suggested postponing any additional military exercises.
The book also noted that Milley requested senior officers swear an “oath” that he should be involved should Trump give an order to launch nuclear weapons during his final days in office.
