Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley warned Tuesday that the “potential for significant international conflict is increasing, not decreasing,” during an appearance before the House Armed Services Committee.
During his testimony, Milley argued that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe and perhaps the world,” during his 42 years of service in the U.S. military. “We are now facing two global powers: China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities both who intend to fundamentally change the rules-based current global order,” Milley argued.
Senate Armed Services just kicked off a hearing on DoD’s budget with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley.
Will it be as contentious as Tuesday’s HASC hearing? Stay tuned to see if Austin and Richard Blumenthal get into a shouting match. https://t.co/fcyBcVXgku
— Connor O’Brien (@connorobrienNH) April 7, 2022
The purpose of the hearing was to consider how the United States could do more to assist Ukraine in its fight with Russia, according to House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington state. (RELATED: Afghanistan Veteran Quits Job To Go To Ukraine War)
“One of the biggest questions we’re going to have in this committee is, ‘How can we do more?’” Rep. Smith said at the hearing.
Milley also said that he would support setting up permanent bases in certain NATO countries in hopes of deterring further Russian aggression.
“I believe a lot of our European allies, especially those such as in the Baltics or Poland or Romania or elsewhere, they are very, very willing to establish permanent bases,” Milley said. (RELATED: Biden Calls For War Crimes Trial For Putin)
But U.S. forces would rotate through these permanent bases, avoiding the costs associated with keeping soldiers and their families at a certain base permanently.
“They’ll build them, they’ll pay for them, etc., for us to cycle through on a rotational basis. So, you get the effect of permanent presence of forces, but the actual individual soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines are not permanently stationed there for 2-3 years,” Milley said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion against Ukraine in February, calling on Ukraine to “lay down its arms.” Russian forces have so far failed to take Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.
Last week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared on Fox News to ask President Biden for weapons, citing what he saw as the similar values of “freedom” shared by Ukraine and the U.S.