Hegseth looking to strip a star from General Milley

General Mark Milley served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Trump administration, then held that same position during the Biden administration.

Some rather disturbing revelations came out after Trump left office about Milley, and now Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is considering stripping a star from Milley in retirement.

The Chinese

After Trump left office, the books hit the shelves, and in a book written by Bob Woodward, “Peril,” it was revealed that Milley was using backchannels to talk to the Chinese, directly undermining Trump.

According to the book, Milley had called Chinese Gen. Li Zuocheng because he was “fearful Trump might spark a war.” Milley later confirmed that he had spoken to this general, as well as other Chinese officials.

In an interview with NPR, the Post's national political reporter Isaac Stanley-Becker stated, "Milley had reviewed intelligence suggesting that the Chinese believed the U.S. was preparing to attack at that time, and he feared a hair-trigger situation in which there could be miscalculation, or a preemptive strike by China in an attempt to fend this off or get ahead of it.

"And at the time, there were tensions over military exercises in the South China Sea; these tensions were deepened by Trump's belligerent rhetoric toward China on the campaign trail. So [Milley] tried to assuage these fears by saying the U.S. was stable and was not preparing to lash out at China."

Undermining Trump

More information came out regarding the calls, revealing that Milley went so far as to tell the Chinese he would tell them if an attack was imminent.

Milley reportedly told General Li, "If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time. It's not going to be a surprise.”

Trump went nuclear, responding, "For the record, I never even thought of attacking China — and China knows that. The people who fabricated the story are sick and demented, and the people who print it are just as bad.”

Milley also reportedly had a conversation with Speaker Pelosi (R-CA), telling her, "I can guarantee you, you can take it to the bank, that there'll be, that the nuclear triggers are secure and we're not going to do — we're not going to allow anything crazy, illegal, immoral or unethical to happen.” He continued, "The president alone can order the use of nuclear weapons. But he doesn't make the decision alone. One person can order it, several people have to launch it.”

Take a star

I have to admit, when I read those comments, I was surprised that Republicans did not make more noise, but they were out of control and could do little about it, but that situation has now changed.

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Jim Banks (R-IN) are now going after Milley, penning a letter to the Department of Defense asking for a review or Milley’s conduct. In part, the letter stated, "We are writing to ensure that our concerns about alleged misconduct by the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, are finally addressed.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is now reportedly seeking to find out if "enough evidence exists for General Milley to be stripped of a star in retirement."

Milley is a well-decorated General with a fruit salad on his chest that includes a Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters, so I respect the hell out of his service, but this is something completely different. Milley did not like Trump, so he was purposely undermining him to our enemy, and that cannot be forgiven. Even if he genuinely thought Trump was a threat, there were surely other avenues to pursue. If Hegseth pulls a star from Milley, I would fully support it.