September 28, 2021, 1:54 pm
Republican members of Congress have continued to go after General Mark Milley for his role in the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in spite of the fact that it was Donald Trump who put the plan in motion, including far-right Senator Tom Cotton, who went after the general during a committee hearing.
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Cotton had the nerve to ask Milley why he didn’t resign following the withdrawal, bringing up that his advice on potentially staying in Afghanistan past the August 31 withdrawal deadline wasn’t sought until August 25, and coming to the conclusion that the general’s counsel was ignored.
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After a moment of thought, Milley proceeded to explain how serious a political resignation of a military officer is considered to be in the U.S. and why it didn’t seem an appropriate thing to do just because his advice wasn’t sought on the timeline Cotton would have preferred and wasn’t followed.
“Senator, as a senior military officer, resigning is a really serious thing — it’s a political act, if I’m resigning in protest,” Milley explained. “My job is to provide advice.”
“The president doesn’t have to agree with that advice. He doesn’t have to make those decisions just because we’re generals. “It would be an incredible act of political defiance for a commissioned officer to just resign because my advice wasn’t taken. This country doesn’t want generals figuring what orders we’re going to accept and do or not. That’s not our job.”
While some might disagree, it seems reasonable to assume that a strong majority of U.S. residents are indeed against military officers going rogue against their own government. Military coups are generally seen as a bad thing — a lot of people really didn’t like it even when there was a non-military coup attempt early this year.
He’s also correct about the resignation of generals being a huge freaking deal in this country. Senator Cotton might note that no generals resigned even during the Trump presidency, though that may have been in part because they were planning to do so only if the former president ordered them to cross some very serious lines such as overturning legitimate presidential election results.
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Milley ended his answer to Cotton by noting that his ability to resign his post as general is also a privilege not afforded to everyday soldiers, no matter what conditions they’re put through.
“My dad didn’t get a choice to resign at Iwo Jima,” he pointed out. “And those kids there at Abbey Gate, they don’t get a choice to resign, and I’m not gonna turn my back on them. They can’t resign, so I’m not gonna resign, there’s no way.”
Cotton did not look particularly happy at this answer, perhaps knowing that the clip that would inevitably spread would make him look like a clown, as many Twitter users seem to think is the case.
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What Milley should have replied:
I didnt resign when you & President Trump tried to stage a coup & armed insurrection. https://t.co/xZQZKi6Yw0
— Rachel Bitecofer
(@RachelBitecofer) September 28, 2021
*First Published: September 28, 2021, 1:54 pm
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