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16 Sep, 6 tweets, 3 min read
New: Milley is neither a traitor nor the savior of the Republic washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/… by me @PostOpinions
The truth is more complicated than either Milley’s attackers or defenders admit. First of all, Milley was not freelancing — for the simple reason that the calls were not his idea.

“Milley was absolutely not going rogue."

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Esper and Milley had the authority to do what they did. But the White House concern was that they were undermining the White House China team’s messaging and actions vis-a-vis Beijing.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Milley’s defenders point to Trump’s erratic behavior as a legitimate cause for Milley to worry Trump might attack China. But when he made those comments to Li in October, there was no actual evidence Trump was planning anything of the sort.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
When proper context is added, the picture that emerges is not of a brave military officer saving the country from a crazy president hellbent on starting World War III. It’s a Washington story of several powerful men with big egos who can’t get along...

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
"The legitimate criticism of Milley is not that he betrayed the country to China. Milley’s failing was that he believed it was his job to save the Republic from the president. Milley’s offense was not treason, it was hubris."

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…

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More from @joshrogin

Josh Rogin Profile picture
15 Sep
NEW statement from Milley spokesman Col. Dave Butler:

“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with Chiefs of Defense across the world, including with China and Russia..."

1/?
2/? "...These conversations remain vital to improving mutual understanding of U.S. national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict..."
3/? "...His calls with the Chinese and others in October and January were in keeping with these duties and responsibilities conveying reassurance in order to maintain strategic stability..."
Read 7 tweets
Josh Rogin Profile picture
31 Aug
NEW: The U.S. government left its own journalists behind in Afghanistan washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/… by me @washingtonpost
Over 100 Afghans working for @USAGMgov, @voanews & @RFERL were left behind in Afghanistan with their families, even though they are funded by the U.S. Congress and are targeted by the Taliban. Shameful. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
.@SenatorCardin: “It is disheartening that so many professional journalists employed by American-funded news organizations have now been left behind, with their families... These Afghan allies are among the people most endangered...” washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 7 tweets
Josh Rogin Profile picture
25 Aug
BREAKING: @sethmoulton & @RepMeijer flew to Kabul airport today "to conduct oversight on the mission to evacuate Americans and our allies," Moulton's office says in a new statement. They have now left Kabul after several hours on the ground. 1/?
@sethmoulton @RepMeijer "Washington should be ashamed of the position we put our service members in, but they represent the best in America," they said in a joint statement. "These men and women have been run ragged and are still running strong. Their empathy and dedication to duty are truly inspiring."
@sethmoulton @RepMeijer They changed their minds on extending the Aug 31 deadline: "After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won’t get everyone out on time, even by Sept 11."
Read 8 tweets
Josh Rogin Profile picture
18 Aug
New: Biden must extend his Afghanistan withdrawal deadline — whether the Taliban agrees or not washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/… by me @PostOpinions
Biden doesn’t want to abandon his promise to withdraw all U.S. troops by Aug. 31, but nobody believes the mission to save as many of these people as possible will be complete by then. Biden must bite the bullet and extend the mission — washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
.@Malinowski: “Is the U.S. military prepared to stay and hold the airport long enough to complete this mission... There’s just no way humanly possible to do this by August 31. We are talking about tens of thousands of people..."

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 6 tweets
Josh Rogin Profile picture
16 Aug
Thousands of U.S. citizens are trapped in Kabul with no ability to get to the airport. As Taliban soldiers go door to door, searching for Westerners, these U.S. citizens are now reaching out to Washington for help.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
“We’ve been screaming at the State Department over this issue,” one senior GOP Senate staffer told me. “This is a s---show everyone saw coming, and they didn’t do a damn thing about it until about 24 hours ago, after days of pounding on them by the Hill.”

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
State Dept and DOD have two options: negotiate safe passage for American citizens with the Taliban, if possible, or send the military into the city to bring Americans back to the airport before the Taliban gangs find them.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 4 tweets
Josh Rogin Profile picture
2 Aug
New congressional report says covid-19 likely emerged in Wuhan in SEPTEMBER 2019, not December washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/… by me @washingtonpost
.@RepMcCaul: “It is our belief the virus leaked sometime in late August or early Sept 2019... When they realized what happened, CCP officials and scientists at the WIV began frantically covering up the leak. … But their coverup was too late..." washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
.@HouseForeignGOP: “The preponderance of evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 was accidentally released from a Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory sometime prior to September 12, 2019." washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Read 5 tweets

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