Top general says he'd push back against 'illegal' nuclear strike order
Updated 0323 GMT (1123 HKT) November 19, 2017
Story highlights
- Gen. John Hyten shared what would happen if he were ordered to launch a nuclear strike
- Senate hearing this week focused on the presidential authority to launch nuclear weapons
Washington (CNN)The
top US nuclear commander said Saturday he would push back against an
order from President Donald Trump for a nuclear strike if it were
"illegal."
Speaking
at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada, Gen.
John Hyten, who is the commander of US Strategic Command, shared what
would happen if he were ordered to launch a nuclear strike.
"I
provide advice to the President," Hyten said. "He'll tell me what to
do, and if it's illegal, guess what's going to happen? I'm gonna say,
'Mr. President, that's illegal.' 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."
US Strategic Command oversees US nuclear weapons and missile defense.
Hyten's
remarks come after a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this
week on the President's authority to launch nuclear weapons -- the first
such congressional hearing in more than 40 years.
While
the President retains that authority, Hyten publicly emphasized that
the US military always has the obligation to follow only legal orders,
including those entailing the launch of nuclear weapons.
Testimony at Senate hearing
At the Senate hearing this week,
experts testified that the use of nuclear weapons must be proportional
to a threat, and the Pentagon has extensive options for use of
conventional weapons against North Korea.
Retired
Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, who previously served as the commander of
US Strategic Command under President Barack Obama, explained at the
hearing that there are layers of safeguards within the current system
designed to ensure any order is both legal and proportionally
appropriate.
"US nuclear forces
operate under strict civilian control. Only the President of the United
States can order the employment of US nuclear weapons," Kehler said.
"This
is a system controlled by human beings ... nothing happens
automatically," he said, adding that the US military does not blindly
follow orders and a presidential order to employ nuclear weapons must be
legal.
While the President retains
constitutional authority to order some military action, Kehler
explained that the nuclear decision process "includes assessment, review
and consultation between the President and key civilian and military
leaders, followed by transmission and implementation of any Presidential
decision by the forces themselves."
"If there is an illegal order presented to the military, the military is obligated to refuse to follow it," he said.
Anxiety over Trump
Members
of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee called into question a
decades-old presidential authority to deploy nuclear weapons.
"We
are concerned that the President of the United States is so unstable,
is so volatile, has a decision-making process that is so quixotic that
he might order a nuclear weapons strike that is wildly out of step with
US national security interests," said US Sen. Chris Murphy,
D-Connecticut.
Republican members
of the committee were less blunt in their criticism of Trump's judgment
but did seek assurances that there are legal and strategic oversight
measures in place to prevent the rash use of nuclear weapons.
Ultimately,
some of those who testified warned against legislative changes to rein
in the President's authority to exercise nuclear authority.
Brian
McKeon, who served as principal deputy undersecretary of defense for
policy in the Obama administration, told the committee: "I think hard
cases make bad law, and I think if we were to change the decision-making
process in some way because of a distrust of this President, I think
that would be an unfortunate precedent."
