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He then brought up the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol.

\"So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that?\" Milley asked. \"I want to find that out. I want to maintain an open mind here and I do want to analyze it.\"

\"It's important that we understand that because our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and guardians, they come from the American people,\" he added. \"So, it is important that the leaders, now and in the future, do understand it.\"

Milley also said that it is important for students to be informed by subject matter that may be controversial.

\"I've read Mao Tse-tung. I've read -- I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin. That doesn't make me a communist,\" he said. \"So, what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend?\"

\"And, I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commission -- non-commissioned officers of being 'woke' or something else because we're studying some theories that are out there,\" he continued.

Milley said he respected Waltz's service as a Green Beret but added, \"I want to know and it matters to our military and the discipline and cohesion of this military, and I thank you for the opportunity to make a comment on that.\"

\"PHOTO:General
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO:General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifies on the department's fiscal year 2022 budget request during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2021.
>

A televised video feed of Milley's comments showed Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., shaking his head at Milley's comments.

Gaetz had earlier raised the issue of critical race theory with Austin, asking how the Defense Department should think about critical race theory.

Austin dismissed the notion that it is being officially being supported by the Pentagon or that the stand down focusing on extremism had been counterproductive.

\"I don't know what the issue of critical race theory is and what the relevance here in -- with the department,\" said Austin. \"We do not teach critical race theory.\"

\"We don't embrace critical race theory and I think -- I think that's a spurious conversation,\" he added. \"And, so we are focused on extremist behaviors and not ideology, not people's thoughts, not people's political orientation. Behaviors is what we're focused on.\"

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