Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said he stands by his actions during and after the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, testifying that those who criticized the military’s response do not understand “the nature of military situations.”
“Those of you with military experience or understand the nature of military deployments will recognize how rapid our response was. Criticism of the military response is unfounded and reflects inexperience with or lack of understanding of the nature of military situations, or worse, is simply a result of politics. I suspect a combination of both of these factors,” he said.
Miller is testifying in front of the Committee and Oversight and Reform, which is looking into how the insurrection was handled.
Miller emphasized that the military must play a “subordinate role” when it comes to troops needed to get involved in domestic situations to support local law enforcement agencies.
“I stand by every decision I made on January 6 and the following days. I want to emphasize our nation’s armed forces are to be deployed for domestic law enforcement only when all civilian assets are expended and only as an absolute last resort,” he said.
He added, “This isn’t a video game where you can move forces with the flick of a thumb or movie that glosses over the logistical challenges and the time required to coordinate and synchronize with the multitude of other entities involved or complying with the important legal requirements involved with the use of such forces.”
