Air Force General John Hyten says ‘we’re not stupid people ... if you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail’
Gen John Hyten says an order from Donald Trump to launch nuclear weapons can be refused. Photograph: Nati Harnik/AP
The top US nuclear commander said on Saturday that he would resist President Donald Trump if he ordered an “illegal” launch of nuclear weapons.
Air Force General John Hyten, commander of the US Strategic Command (Stratcom), told an audience at the Halifax international security forum in Nova Scotia, Canada that he had given a lot of thought to what he would say if he received such an order.
“I think some people think we’re stupid,” Hyten said in response to a question about such a scenario. “We’re not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?“
Hyten, who is responsible for overseeing the US nuclear arsenal, explained the process that would follow such a command.
As head of Stratcom “I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do,” he said in his remarks, retransmitted in a video posted on the forum’s Facebook page.
“And if it’s illegal, guess what’s going to happen? I’m going to say, ’Mr President, that’s illegal.’ And guess what he’s going to do? He’s going to say, ’What would be legal?’ And we’ll come up with options, of a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that’s the way it works. It’s not that complicated.”
Hyten said running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal order was standard practice, and added: “If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life.”
he Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hyten’s remarks.
They came after questions by US senators, including Democrats and Trump’s fellow Republicans, about Trump’s authority to wage war, use nuclear weapons and enter into or end international agreements, amid concern tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs could lead to hostilities.
Trump has traded insults and threats with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and threatened in his first United Nations address to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million people if it threatened the US.
Some senators want legislation to alter the nuclear authority of the US president and a Senate committee on Tuesday held the first congressional hearing in more than four decades on the president’s authority to launch a nuclear strike.
Source: The Guardian
Thank lord not everyone is as childish and retarded as Dotard Trump.
Woah hang on........then what's the deal about this tweet?
At least US military leaders have the balls to stand up for what is right. In SG the SAF will blindly obey orders given by Pinky Lee regardless whether they are right or wrong.
This general with lotsa common sense need not fear, because Dotard Trump will end up behind bars sooner than he can get the codes to the nuclear silos........on the other hand Fatty rocketman will continue to enjoy awesome trips to the barber till he drops dead at the age of 60 from too much sex and a massive heart attack.