Connect with us

National Security

Pompeo says if Milley talked to China, it was an ‘usurpation of authority’

Published

on

Screen Shot 2021 09 16 at 12.13.55 PM

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley over reports that he kept then President Trump from nuclear weapons. In addition, Milley reportedly had several secret phone calls with Chinese officials to undermine Trump. Pompeo appeared on Hannity Wednesday to share his thoughts. According to Pompeo, Milley’s alleged behavior was “unconstitutional, incomprehensible, and completely out of line for any military leader.”

“He is not in the chain of command for operational activity,” Pompeo told host Sean Hannity. “So, this would be dangerous and a usurpation of authority that is historically anomalous.”

As a result, Pompeo is calling for further investigation. “We should make sure that we, as quickly as we can, figure out if General Milley spoke to Woodward himself,” he said. Bob Woodward is one of two authors behind the book that makes the allegations against Milley. “We should find out if Milley is prepared to testify. We could do it tomorrow or the next day to get clarity about what General Milley said.”

After the news about Milley broke, the Department of Defensed claimed there was no transcript of a reported call between Milley and senior Chinese officials regarding nuclear weapons. However, Pompeo believes there is still a way to verify whether or not a conversation happened. “I don’t know the DOD’s policy, Sean, exactly of whether there would be a transcript of this phone call, but I promise you there were note takers in the room,” Pompeo said.

“I’m very confident that conversation could be reconstructed.” Pompeo went on. “If you had a senior military leader, who was simply an advisor, tell the Chinese Communist Party that they would get notice of an attack, this rivals anything we have seen in our nation’s history. Only the president of the United States has the capacity to make those decisions. I would be shocked if then-acting secretary of defense gave him any authority to even contemplate that very conversation.”

The report comes out of Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book “Peril.” It will be released September 21st.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

Continue Reading

International

Iran and Iraq sign controversial five-year contract to continue export of natural gas

Published

on

GettyImages 1238706937 scaled

Despite the Biden administration having ‘strongly suggested’ that Iraqis find other ways solve their production problems, they have signed a new deal with Iran. Iraq’s ministry of electricity announced a finalized agreement on Wednesday, of which the Iran regime has signed a five-year contract to continue the export of natural gas for use in Iraq’s power generating plants.

Iraq will import up to 50 million cubic meters per day of the vital fuel; prior, Iraq had been procuring approximately half of that amount from Iranian suppliers, according to The Foreign Desk News.

The outlet notes this relationship between American adversaries has often brought criticism from Washington because the imports and their payments are subject to U.S. sanctions. The government in Baghdad must ask for waivers from the State Department to complete their purchases.

The Foreign Desk News goes on to explain:

Iran’s national gas company has been provisioning their neighbor for the last 10 years, as Iraq has long suffered domestic production problems due to corruption and inadequate infrastructure.

Most of the natural gas that Iraq imports is used to produce power for an unstable and maintenance-prone electrical grid. Service outages are common amid the country’s growing consumption and many residents frequently must rely on private generators during times of disruption.

Including the electricity that Iraq directly purchases from Iran, the Islamic republic is reported to be responsible for supplying nearly a quarter of the country’s total power use.

 

 

Continue Reading

Trending