Wild if true.

"Twice in the final months of the Trump administration, the country’s top military officer was so fearful that the president’s actions might spark a war with China that he moved urgently to avert armed conflict.

In a pair of secret phone calls, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, that the United States would not strike, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa.

One call took place on Oct. 30, 2020, four days before the election that unseated President Trump, and the other on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol siege carried out by his supporters in a quest to cancel the vote.

The first call was prompted by Milley’s review of intelligence suggesting the Chinese believed the United States was preparing to attack. That belief, the authors write, was based on tensions over military exercises in the South China Sea, and deepened by Trump’s belligerent rhetoric toward China.

“General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley told him. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you.”

https://archive.is/nmNWr

    • BynarsAreOk [none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      I mean it sounds silly but it is logical when you realize all those things are a theatrical performance made specifically for US allies and the population, reinforcing the appearance of strength but never willing to go out and prove it(all wars were always against inferior enemies), as long as someone isn't willing to call your bluff it will always work.

      In any case as sinophobic as the American people may be there would never be enough popular consensus to overcome the capitalist class own interests and declare a war that would make the stock market crash 50-80% in a matter of days permanently.

          • rubpoll [she/her]
            ·
            3 years ago

            I mean, the way the material conditions are, it very well maybe that the bourgeois class are going to be the ones resisting the Sabre rattling against China if it starts looking like the populace has been worked into a fervor.

            Yeah I was barely joking. I truly think the American economy being entrenched in China is the only reason a nuclear war might not happen in our lifetimes.

        • LeninWalksTheWorld [any]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Actually one of the United States' main foreign policy goals since the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 is to maintain what they call a "Open Door Policy" in China. Most important is open commerical access but also political access to stop anyone (especially the Chinese) from closing that door. It's why we started sanctioning Japan for invading China in WW2, why we drove a wedge between China and the Soviet Union, and why we are freaking out about China's ascendancy right now. If a president went off the rails and like declared a full economic embargo on China he'd definitely be Business Plotted right out of there.

      • Awoo [she/her]
        ·
        3 years ago

        It's only a theatric performance because the internal models they have say "if we do a war we'll lose". This is based on constant activity from the Chinese warding off ships, fighters and threatening retaliation.

        If the models ever say "if we do a war we'll win" they'll pull the trigger. It's an arms race right now of two sides building forces and testing one another but fortunately only China has any productive capacity.

    • bort_simp_son [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      "frankly, we'd like all the benefits of a nuclear war with China, and none of the downsides, thanks."