AGF Management : A New Furor Grips Washington

Insights and Market Perspectives

Author: 8

September 16, 2021

A New Furor Grips Washington
September 16, 2021
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP: The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff becomes convinced that the president is crazy and alerts a U.S. foe that they don't have to worry about any U.S. military action; the general won't allow it. The stuff of Tom Clancy novels . . .

THIS HAS PRODUCED A FUROR in Washington, eclipsing negotiations on infrastructure spending and taxes, and the looming debt ceiling showdown. It has given conservative Republicans - and Fox News - a cause celebre after their drubbing in California.

A KEY QUESTION: Gen. Mark Milley apparently had a conversation with Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 8 in which both agreed that Trump was 'crazy.' Were they medically qualified to make that assessment? Even if they were correct, there are procedures to deal with a mentally incapacitated president.

BUT MILLEY, convinced that Trump was a threat to global stability after his election loss and the Jan. 6 riot, took it upon himself to assure the Chinese military that he would warn them if Trump attempted anything hostile. Milley reportedly feared Trump would provoke a crisis that would allow him to hold on to the presidency by declaring an emergency.

ALL OF THIS COMES FROM THE LATEST BOB WOODWARD book, which will make millions but continues a outrageous tactic by the author: Woodward puts into direct quotes what people said, even though he wasn't present and there's no official transcript. Even more maddening, he writes what key officials were thinking. He knows for sure what they were thinking ??

MILLEY WILL TESTIFY before Congress next week amid growing calls from Republicans for him to resign. His critics are adamant that Milley's action was treasonous, and they want to grill him on the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan. Milley dominated Fox news last night as the troika of Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham demanded his ouster.

IT'S QUITE A SCANDAL - a general determining that
the president was crazy and going behind his back to the Chinese. Pelosi and other Democrats were terrified that Trump would launch a right wing coup, but was Milley preparing to launch a de facto military coup?

THIS WILL REINFORCE TRUMP'S PARANOIA, and it gives him an issue to rally his troops. This country's bitter divisions over Trump, the military, Covid, taxes, immigration, etc. will persist - as Trump claims, perhaps with justification, that America's top general colluded against him.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds or investment strategies.

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