Below is the undelivered resignation letter of General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is the most remarkable letter in American history ever drafted by an American army officer to his commander-in-chief. Its revelation – through the reporting of Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in the New Yorker – represents the very finest traditions of American journalism. The gaps are all starting to fill in. The truth is being revealed in its own due course, with its own stubborn schedule that seems satisfactory only in retrospect.
I, too, feel tremendous gratitude to General Milley for following his conscience, rather doing what he longed to do: i.e., leave the insanity in the White House. He stayed for US, the American people. He told the Chiefs of Staff that they were to report to him for any requests which they received, rather than to the so-called "Commander in Chief". As far as I'm concerned, he saved our nation. In my mind, he will always be one of the greatest Americans in U.S. history. I remember hearing that prior to Biden's Inauguration, he was seated next to Mrs. Obama. She said, "I feel so relieved." He said, "You have NO idea." Now I understand. May the remainder of his life be filled with happiness and ease. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, General Milley. You are without question "a Profile in Courage". Many blessings and much gratitude to you, Sir.
Firstly, I CANNOT WAIT to read your perspectives about yesterday's search warrant execution at MaL. The subsequent MAGAcult meltdown has been awesome to behold.
Secondly - incredible letter, but I am so grateful that Milley didn't resign. It has been my belief that he helped hold things together on 1/6. If he'd resigned, Trump would've appointed an equally traitorous bootlick loyalist - I'm sure Michael Flynn's brother was available - and goodness knows how things might have gone down.
If I was concerned before about what is happening to my country, I am definitely terrified now!
45 years ago I married a Canadian gentleman, and moved to Canada, where I have lived since 1977. It would never have occurred to me that this would be the greatest gift my husband would give me, but it was. I am a permanent resident in Canada and I thank God and me late husband for that every day of my life! However, I am still an American, and my heart breaks for my country. Like many if not most of you, I have asked myself the question, “how did this happen”?
With elections coming up is a few short months now is the time to stress the monumental importance of voting! As an example I submit the following:
In June of this year, a provincial election was held here in my province of Ontario to elect the Premier and the Members of the Provincial Parliament. The current premier ran as the incumbent, was not especially well liked, though he had handled the COVID crisis relatively well, and he had a majority in the parliament. The expectation according to polls and “those in the know”, was the he would be re-elected but with a minority government. The results were quite different. Not only was the premier re-elected but he was returned to power with a super majority! The question most heard around the province when the results of the election were made public was, “how did this happen”?
This is what happened. Only 43% of eligible voters, less than half, actually voted. Of those that voted, only 41%, again less than half, voted for the premier’s party. Because Canada has a parliamentary system, and multiple political parties, the premier was re-elected and given a super majority, with 18% of the vote! If you are even thinking about not voting, I beg you, think again and vote, because if we don’t vote we will get the government we deserve, and that should frighten us!
I was angry when I saw Trump and his Bible prop in front of the Cathedral but what really irked me was seeing General Milley in WWII style uniform standing with the President. That image infuriated me. However, I accepted his apology and did not doubt his faithfulness to the Constitution and our great country.
Thank you for publishing his resignation letter. I am very proud of his dedication to duty and country and happy he did not resign. Thankfully I could only imagine the consequences if the General did resign his position. You are probably correct Steve, General Milley will be remembered but not for a resignation letter never submitted but for not submitting under the pressure from the Oval Office. He is a true hero and deserves to be honored as do all who serve honorably defending our Constitution.
Reading the Gen. Miley's letter, I am reminded of the joint letter signed by ten former DoD Secretaries, reminding everyone of their oath to defend the Constitution.
The first two paragraphs from the Jan 4 2021 Washington Post :
Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld are the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.
The Trump presidency caused extreme damage to the American people, morally with his separation policies at the border, deadly with his triumphant disdain for the health of Americans in a continuous lunatic (I believe it was actually intended) approach to SARS-CoV-2 and the deaths he caused, and the in-between violence of an insurrection with a Kremlin rhetoric giving shape and form to his alliance with extreme right fascism and nazism styled in a grifting and fraudulent Trump State driven by power in wealth. General Mark Milley represents the Americans who voted him out with an overwhelming majority. General Mark Milley represents the sacrifice of Americans who have given us the country the majority of us honor. General Milley represents the institutional strength of the Constitutional Republic, the very institutions that Trump's Plan F would do away with cheered on by Fascist Orban's influence from afar and the wealth of countries such as Saudi Arabia. Should he attempt to snatch the presidency fraudulently, cloaked under the fake legitimacy of stolen votes, can only by stopped by a solid execution of Justice driven by the oath to uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law, by birth and choice as every American citizen, and as exemplified here by General Mark Milley.
Should Trump become president again, his chairman will be someone like Michael Flynn, who should never again have his rank read before his name. His dishonor, hatred and ignorance have forfeited him that respect.
General Milley is honorable, if flawed, just like the rest of us. The man certainly knows his history, but even though he was repeatedly warned about the job and to stay away from the White House because it was so toxic, he thought he could reach Trump in a way that no one else was able to.
General Milley learned very quickly that there is no reaching Trump because there is no depth in Trump to reach. Trump is a shallow, vain, exceedingly stupid man, who is also an egomaniacal “narcissistic sociopath.”
I am glad General Milley did not resign. As one person of the several he reached out to for advise told him, “don’t quit, make them fire you.” It was good advise for a myriad of reasons, not least of which was that Trump would have immediately filled the chairman position with a real flunky, and also, General Milley et al were keeping Trump’s worst instincts, which are truly horrendous to hear, from becoming real events.
And lastly, as Trump’s current staff could have told him: Trump has the attention span of a gnat. He would never have made it through the entirety of that letter, instead relying on his aides to spin him a fairy tale synopsis of what General Milley must have ‘really’ meant.
General Milley is an honorable man and a patriot. He knows what it means to serve and to be a civil servant. He would never have bent to Trump’s will. Thank God for that.
Thank you for sharing General Milley’s letter. His letter gives me hope that there are more people in places of power than we realize that will defend our constitution and our democracy against threats from within. Can you imagine the chaos that would have ensued had General Milley submitted that letter? Would our government have survived the attempted coup on January 6,2021? I fear not.
We owe General Milley our thanks and admiration for doing what was best for our country in the face of evil. The pressure on him must have been great but he stood fast for our democracy. Thank you.
I have been actually on crisis alert since his first rallies before he even was ( elected )! I don’t know how many times, growing up in my TEENS, we heard factual accounts from friends, what a derelict he was. In the 70’s!
Nothing he does or says surprises me.
General Milley is a man of Substance and Honor. We need his types to keep the Trump narcissistic lies, with his supporters, at a disadvantage and distance.
We must fight this with intelligence. We need our brightest minds and eyes on this.
Disinformation is rampant. General Milley had taken his Oaths seriously. Trump uses a oath like a set of dice, whatever occasion he has use for.
It is my true belief, without Men and Women in positions of power within The Trump Administration who stayed, saved our Country Daily! They must be exhausted and sickened from the sights and knowledge.
Thank you again Steve. You are a shining light in my EMail everyday. I appreciate your words.
Gen. Miley is a patriot, who did as best he saw fit in an insane situation. I am glad he remained, although we will not know at what cost to his conscience. We all witnessed from the outside looking in, but he was in the opposite scenario. There’s a diversity in the definition of what constitutes bravery, remaining as a fortress against the evil of a traitor President like Trump is a worthy one.
It was a good thing he didn’t leave. I do believe the US Military and Law Enforcement are full of insurrections and wannabes. That is extremely scary. It begs the question- what will those people do when the 2nd American Civil War starts?. What do you think?
Thank you for your comment Dr. Morton. Great to hear from someone who understands, and shares my outrage at what has happened here in Ontario and sadly seems to be spreading across the country.
Steve, this is one of the best I have read. I read things like this out loud as if I am speaking to people and I really sensed the urgency in this . I have been following your countries elections for many decades and I knew right from when Trump came down that elevator that things were not going to be good. He is pure evil and nasty. You can see it in his demeanor. I am so hoping for a swift coming to judgement for this former president. I pray that the American people come to their senses.
I, too, feel tremendous gratitude to General Milley for following his conscience, rather doing what he longed to do: i.e., leave the insanity in the White House. He stayed for US, the American people. He told the Chiefs of Staff that they were to report to him for any requests which they received, rather than to the so-called "Commander in Chief". As far as I'm concerned, he saved our nation. In my mind, he will always be one of the greatest Americans in U.S. history. I remember hearing that prior to Biden's Inauguration, he was seated next to Mrs. Obama. She said, "I feel so relieved." He said, "You have NO idea." Now I understand. May the remainder of his life be filled with happiness and ease. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, General Milley. You are without question "a Profile in Courage". Many blessings and much gratitude to you, Sir.
Firstly, I CANNOT WAIT to read your perspectives about yesterday's search warrant execution at MaL. The subsequent MAGAcult meltdown has been awesome to behold.
Secondly - incredible letter, but I am so grateful that Milley didn't resign. It has been my belief that he helped hold things together on 1/6. If he'd resigned, Trump would've appointed an equally traitorous bootlick loyalist - I'm sure Michael Flynn's brother was available - and goodness knows how things might have gone down.
If I was concerned before about what is happening to my country, I am definitely terrified now!
45 years ago I married a Canadian gentleman, and moved to Canada, where I have lived since 1977. It would never have occurred to me that this would be the greatest gift my husband would give me, but it was. I am a permanent resident in Canada and I thank God and me late husband for that every day of my life! However, I am still an American, and my heart breaks for my country. Like many if not most of you, I have asked myself the question, “how did this happen”?
With elections coming up is a few short months now is the time to stress the monumental importance of voting! As an example I submit the following:
In June of this year, a provincial election was held here in my province of Ontario to elect the Premier and the Members of the Provincial Parliament. The current premier ran as the incumbent, was not especially well liked, though he had handled the COVID crisis relatively well, and he had a majority in the parliament. The expectation according to polls and “those in the know”, was the he would be re-elected but with a minority government. The results were quite different. Not only was the premier re-elected but he was returned to power with a super majority! The question most heard around the province when the results of the election were made public was, “how did this happen”?
This is what happened. Only 43% of eligible voters, less than half, actually voted. Of those that voted, only 41%, again less than half, voted for the premier’s party. Because Canada has a parliamentary system, and multiple political parties, the premier was re-elected and given a super majority, with 18% of the vote! If you are even thinking about not voting, I beg you, think again and vote, because if we don’t vote we will get the government we deserve, and that should frighten us!
I was angry when I saw Trump and his Bible prop in front of the Cathedral but what really irked me was seeing General Milley in WWII style uniform standing with the President. That image infuriated me. However, I accepted his apology and did not doubt his faithfulness to the Constitution and our great country.
Thank you for publishing his resignation letter. I am very proud of his dedication to duty and country and happy he did not resign. Thankfully I could only imagine the consequences if the General did resign his position. You are probably correct Steve, General Milley will be remembered but not for a resignation letter never submitted but for not submitting under the pressure from the Oval Office. He is a true hero and deserves to be honored as do all who serve honorably defending our Constitution.
Reading the Gen. Miley's letter, I am reminded of the joint letter signed by ten former DoD Secretaries, reminding everyone of their oath to defend the Constitution.
The first two paragraphs from the Jan 4 2021 Washington Post :
Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld are the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.
Miley remembered his oath.
Gen. Milley is an example of our military at its best. Sadly, we have seen the opposite as well. May we rally around the Milleys.
The Trump presidency caused extreme damage to the American people, morally with his separation policies at the border, deadly with his triumphant disdain for the health of Americans in a continuous lunatic (I believe it was actually intended) approach to SARS-CoV-2 and the deaths he caused, and the in-between violence of an insurrection with a Kremlin rhetoric giving shape and form to his alliance with extreme right fascism and nazism styled in a grifting and fraudulent Trump State driven by power in wealth. General Mark Milley represents the Americans who voted him out with an overwhelming majority. General Mark Milley represents the sacrifice of Americans who have given us the country the majority of us honor. General Milley represents the institutional strength of the Constitutional Republic, the very institutions that Trump's Plan F would do away with cheered on by Fascist Orban's influence from afar and the wealth of countries such as Saudi Arabia. Should he attempt to snatch the presidency fraudulently, cloaked under the fake legitimacy of stolen votes, can only by stopped by a solid execution of Justice driven by the oath to uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law, by birth and choice as every American citizen, and as exemplified here by General Mark Milley.
Should Trump become president again, his chairman will be someone like Michael Flynn, who should never again have his rank read before his name. His dishonor, hatred and ignorance have forfeited him that respect.
General Milley is honorable, if flawed, just like the rest of us. The man certainly knows his history, but even though he was repeatedly warned about the job and to stay away from the White House because it was so toxic, he thought he could reach Trump in a way that no one else was able to.
General Milley learned very quickly that there is no reaching Trump because there is no depth in Trump to reach. Trump is a shallow, vain, exceedingly stupid man, who is also an egomaniacal “narcissistic sociopath.”
I am glad General Milley did not resign. As one person of the several he reached out to for advise told him, “don’t quit, make them fire you.” It was good advise for a myriad of reasons, not least of which was that Trump would have immediately filled the chairman position with a real flunky, and also, General Milley et al were keeping Trump’s worst instincts, which are truly horrendous to hear, from becoming real events.
And lastly, as Trump’s current staff could have told him: Trump has the attention span of a gnat. He would never have made it through the entirety of that letter, instead relying on his aides to spin him a fairy tale synopsis of what General Milley must have ‘really’ meant.
General Milley is an honorable man and a patriot. He knows what it means to serve and to be a civil servant. He would never have bent to Trump’s will. Thank God for that.
Thank you for sharing General Milley’s letter. His letter gives me hope that there are more people in places of power than we realize that will defend our constitution and our democracy against threats from within. Can you imagine the chaos that would have ensued had General Milley submitted that letter? Would our government have survived the attempted coup on January 6,2021? I fear not.
We owe General Milley our thanks and admiration for doing what was best for our country in the face of evil. The pressure on him must have been great but he stood fast for our democracy. Thank you.
Should be required reading. Every school. Every class on civics. Every military academy.
I have been actually on crisis alert since his first rallies before he even was ( elected )! I don’t know how many times, growing up in my TEENS, we heard factual accounts from friends, what a derelict he was. In the 70’s!
Nothing he does or says surprises me.
General Milley is a man of Substance and Honor. We need his types to keep the Trump narcissistic lies, with his supporters, at a disadvantage and distance.
We must fight this with intelligence. We need our brightest minds and eyes on this.
Disinformation is rampant. General Milley had taken his Oaths seriously. Trump uses a oath like a set of dice, whatever occasion he has use for.
It is my true belief, without Men and Women in positions of power within The Trump Administration who stayed, saved our Country Daily! They must be exhausted and sickened from the sights and knowledge.
Thank you again Steve. You are a shining light in my EMail everyday. I appreciate your words.
Gen. Miley is a patriot, who did as best he saw fit in an insane situation. I am glad he remained, although we will not know at what cost to his conscience. We all witnessed from the outside looking in, but he was in the opposite scenario. There’s a diversity in the definition of what constitutes bravery, remaining as a fortress against the evil of a traitor President like Trump is a worthy one.
It was a good thing he didn’t leave. I do believe the US Military and Law Enforcement are full of insurrections and wannabes. That is extremely scary. It begs the question- what will those people do when the 2nd American Civil War starts?. What do you think?
Thank you for your comment Dr. Morton. Great to hear from someone who understands, and shares my outrage at what has happened here in Ontario and sadly seems to be spreading across the country.
Steve, this is one of the best I have read. I read things like this out loud as if I am speaking to people and I really sensed the urgency in this . I have been following your countries elections for many decades and I knew right from when Trump came down that elevator that things were not going to be good. He is pure evil and nasty. You can see it in his demeanor. I am so hoping for a swift coming to judgement for this former president. I pray that the American people come to their senses.
The letter is great, but Milley did not end up resigning. As such, I am somewhat less impressed by it, which I am sure places me in the minority here.