If this is all true, then Gen. Milley did exactly the right thing. And he needs to resign.
We are a nation of laws, not men. If he did these things, Milley broke the law and undermined the office of the President, civilian control of the military, and the Constitution itself. And I will not say that he should be proud of having done so… but I will say that while he likely regrets the necessity of his actions, he should never regret rising to meet that necessity. But that does not mean he can remain in his position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
If anything, Gen. Milley’s actions should be viewed through the lens of civil disobedience: the refusal to obey to a law that compels immoral behavior. The thing about civil disobedience though… it comes with consequences, and the consequences are part of the point. Accepting the consequences of our civil disobedience is important. When we engage in civil disobedience, we are calling attention to our issues and placing the case before our peers to ultimately render their judgment of our cause. And we may say ‘I will never stop working to convince you’, but that social compact only has weight and power if we accept the consequences that society says we should incur. And in doing so, we magnify the power of our commitment by demonstrating our confidence in the righteousness of our cause. Dr. King did not insist he should not be arrested for breaking the law. He used the arrests to raise the profile of the issues he was protesting.
If General Mark A. Milley has done what it is alleged he did, then he has done this nation a tremendous service. Now he should do one last thing to serve his country: he should show Republicans that accepting the consequences of our actions is an honorable and patriotic act, and resign.
