America’s top general

he prepares to depart the office this week, Gen, Milley is considered one of the most politically nimble chairmen in modern history but also one of its most divisive.

His defenders say Milley was simply responding to what has been an unprecedented climate of political discord and that he acted with honor and integrity to protect the Constitution.

His Republican critics say he has inflicted long-term damage to the role of chairman, a position designed to be strictly apolitical.

But what is clear is that Gen, Milley has appeared to thrive at navigating the bureaucratic realpolitik of Washington, DC – even as he rejects any characterization of himself as a political operator. He survived in the role under both Trump and President Joe Biden, helping steer the country through the domestic political upheaval of 2020, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the high-stakes maneuvering around the war in Ukraine.

“He’s the consummate political general in that he, of course, would go out of his way to counter-message that he was not a political general, by God, he was a muddy-boots general,” said one former senior Defense Department official.

Last edited by Spunky (9/25/2023 3:06 pm)