Milley defends Trump-era calls to Chinese counterpart in congressional Afghanistan hearing

Anderson Cooper 360

CNN

News

3.7 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2021

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley defended his behavior during the last days of the Trump administration, including a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, which was intended to assure him the U.S. was not about to launch a military attack. Gen. Milley told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee he “personally informed both Secretary of State Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Meadows about the call.” Independent Sen. Angus King is a member of that committee and questioned Milley. He tells AC360 he was “doing his job, and he may well have prevented a war.” Plus, the search for Gabby Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie continues as CNN has learned Laundrie and his parents stayed at a campground about 75 miles away from their home in early September. The camping trip was during the window of time that Laundrie returned to Florida without Petito and she was later reported missing. CNN National Correspondent Randi Kaye gives AC360 the latest on the investigation. Airdate: September 28, 2021 Guests: Sen. Angus King Randi Kaye To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What two of the nation's top military commanders thought about keeping troops in Afghanistan
0:05.8	with the commander in chief did instead and what he told the public about the advice
0:09.9	he got as Taliban forces took over the country.
0:13.3	John Burman here in for Anderson.
0:15.7	That was a big head line maker in Senate testimony today, but it was by no means the only
0:19.6	one as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
0:21.9	Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley and General Kenneth McKenzie head of Central
0:25.9	Command appeared before the Armed Services Committee.
0:29.1	In his opening remarks, General Milley addressed phone calls he made with his Chinese counterpart
0:33.4	to diffuse fears Beijing had at the end of the prior administration about the former president
0:39.0	possibly ordering a strike on China.
0:41.6	Author's Bob Woodward and Robert Costa who described the calls in their new book, peril,
0:45.7	join us shortly.
0:47.0	General Milley testified he spoke with Bob Woodward for the book as well as the authors
0:51.0	of two other bestsellers, which for any author might be temperate somewhat by his subsequent
0:55.4	admission that he's actually read none of the three.
0:58.2	What the main focus today was the final chapter of this country's 20 year involvement in Afghanistan.
1:04.5	Collapse during which allied forces conducted a near miraculous airborne evacuation, but
1:09.3	which also saw 13 American troops and many more Afghans civilians killed in a suicide bombing.
1:15.5	The question has always been, could different choices by this president and the former president
1:20.0	have kept the Taliban at bay?
1:22.3	General Milley and McKenzie, who goes by Frank, were asked about the former administration's
	...

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