American top general assured his Chinese counterpart twice that America will not attack China

General Milley was fearing that President Trump might order attack on China in last days of his presidency

The new book that will be released next week has revealed that American General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff twice assured his Chinese counterpart that America will not attack China.
The General feared that president Trump might order strikes against China as the escalation was rising. He done that secretly without informing the President Trump. The general's fears were based on the aggressive approach adopted by Trump towards China.

The book titled ‘Peril’, written by well-known journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which based on 200 sources interviews.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People's Liberation Army that the United States would not strike. One call took place on Oct. 30, 2020, four days before the election that defeated Trump. The second call was on Jan. 8, 2021, just two days after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the outgoing chief executive.

Milley went so far as to promise Li that he would warn his counterpart in the event of a U.S. attack. General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay, Milley told him in the first call, according to the book. We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.

If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time. It's not going to be a surprise," Milley reportedly said. Selections from the book, which is set to be released next week, were first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

The second call was meant to placate Chinese fears about the events of Jan. 6. But the book reports that Li wasn't as easily assuaged, even after Milley promised him, we are 100 % steady. Everything's fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes.

Milley believed the president suffered a mental decline after the election, according to the book, a view he relayed in a Jan. 8 phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi has previously said she spoke to Milley that day about available precautions to prevent Trump from initiating military action or ordering a nuclear launch, and she told colleagues she was given unspecified assurances that there were longstanding safeguards in place.

Milley, according to the book, called the admiral overseeing the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the military unit responsible for Asia and the Pacific region, and recommended postponing upcoming military exercises. He also asked senior officers to swear an oath that Milley had to be involved if Trump gave an order to launch nuclear weapons, according to the book.

Milley also reportedly discussed with other top officials, including the then-CIA Director Gina Haspel and National Security Agency head Paul Nakasone, the need to be vigilant amid concerns Trump could act irrationally.

Haspel was quoted as saying that they were in a “highly dangerous situation.”

“Some might contend that Milley had overstepped his authority and taken extraordinary power for himself,” the authors wrote.

Trump, in a statement, cast doubt on the story, calling it “fabricated.” He said if the story were true Milley should be tried for treason. “For the record, I never even thought of attacking China,” Trump said.

Milley was appointed by Trump in 2018 and later drew the president's wrath when he expressed regret for participating in a June 2020 photo op with Trump after federal law enforcement cleared a park near the White House of peaceful protesters so Trump could stand at a nearby damaged church.

The book also offers new insights into Trump's efforts to hold on to power despite losing the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump refused to concede and offered false claims that the election had been stolen. He repeatedly pressed his vice president, Mike Pence, to refuse to certify the election results at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the event that was later interrupted by the mob.

Haspel was quoted as saying that they were in a “highly dangerous situation.”

“Some might contend that Milley had overstepped his authority and taken extraordinary power for himself,” the authors wrote.

Khalid Bhatti