Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state propaganda is gleefully lauding Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley for claiming that rhetoric around the threat of America’s number one enemy — China — is “overheated.” Wreck-It Ralph (as Milley is known at the Pentagon) strikes again!
While Milley admitted that even the Chinese army likely sees war with the United States as “inevitable,” he denied that it is. But if state propaganda from America’s biggest enemy is praising you, then that’s all we need to know about your trustworthiness. Not that Milley’s CCP-approved blather is shocking, since he previously told the CCP he’d warn them if the U.S. under then-President Trump were about to attack China.
Related: Lawmakers Will Meet With California CEOs to Discuss Their Complicated Relationship With China
Chinese state media Global Times wrote Monday that the “US military is becoming a dove, as career soldiers know real American capabilities:”
As US armchair politicians and analysts are hyping up a possible war, true American warriors are calling for peace. Everyone needs to calm down about war with China, top US general Mark Milley said on Friday in an interview with Defense One. On Monday, Taipei Times published a front-page story featuring Milley’s rhetoric.
Mind you, the same CCP outlet now approving Milley’s anti-war talk previously threatened the U.S. multiple times, including explicitly threatening military action and even warning of potential nuclear war. But you’re supposed to forget all those inconvenient facts.
Milley clearly recognizes the predicament the US faces amid US politicians and media’s excessive hype of tensions with China. To some extent, he was saying that something has gone wrong in the US’ China policy, and the problem is mainly on the US side.
As a career soldier, Milley realizes when the US displays overly hawkish hostility against China, it goes far beyond the actual needs of American national interests. Thus, he made his point – the US military should not be dragged into a war with China for hysterical reasons, in other words, for the constant hype of unreasonable tensions, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times.
I wish the United State were more hawkish about China. Maybe the CCP spy balloon wouldn’t have gathered so much potentially sensitive data while sailing unmolested across America.
Milley is “sober” and “objective,” claimed Global Times. “The US still remains the most powerful country on the globe, but its toxic political environment has been eroding its strength since the end of the Cold War,” it asserted. “The toxic environment is what drives Milley’s concerns on whether the US’ might can be long-lasting.”
Global Times also noted that Milley “knows it is not in the US’ interest to actually fight a war against China.” Yet the CCP outlet seemed to issue a veiled threat, while simultaneously identifying U.S. support for Ukraine as a U.S. military provocation to Russia.
More importantly, it is completely unrealistic for the US to confront both China and Russia militarily simultaneously. Milley is aware of the strength of American military power; thus, he knows that Washington should not provoke Beijing and Moscow at the same time. Otherwise, the US will simply wreck its capability to seek absolute military hegemony worldwide…The US won’t willingly sacrifice itself to help Taiwan secessionist forces, but it is willing to fight a proxy war, using the Taiwan island as a consumable or a pawn…If China becomes strong enough one day, it will be grateful to both its friends and strong competitors.
As state media, Global Times naturally supports the CCP claim that Taiwan — a free and democratic country — belongs to China. Therefore, the Times doesn’t agree with Milley’s endorsement of sending arms to Taiwan, but it still sees a silver lining: “[D]espite the fact that the US still has a clear military advantage, such an advantage is no longer overwhelming.” It’s not surprising, but it is worrying, that the CCP would have that attitude. After all, the U.S. military has focused on “diversity” programs and promoting men in skirts. And it has seen a dangerous drop in recruitment along with a serious increase in severe diseases and medical conditions among service members. Meanwhile, the CCP has been strengthening its People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
One side of this “Cold War,” as Global Times calls it, is serious about a potential conflict — and it isn’t America. Reducing U.S. global influence is a goal frequently stated by CCP state media.
As noted above, Milley already prioritized China over the U.S. once, promising the CCP he’d warn them of an impending attack should the situation arise. Now he’s telling America not to be over-worried about China — and is praised for doing so by the very CCP state media that threatened the U.S. and its troops. We should be wary of anything Milley says about China, particularly when it’s endorsed by CCP propagandists, because the truth is quite possibly the exact opposite of what he’s saying.
