ByKathryn WatsonCBS NewsNovember 18, 2017, 11:26 AM
Top general says he would resist "illegal" nuke order from Trump
Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the head of U.S. Strategic
Command, speaks at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova
Scotia on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017.
The
top U.S. nuclear commander said Saturday he would push back against
President Trump if he ordered a nuclear launch the general believed to
be "illegal," saying he would hope to find another solution.
Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum
in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday that he has given a lot of thought
to what he would say if Mr. Trump ordered a strike he considered
unlawful.
"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 explained
the process that would follow such a command. As head of STRATCOM, Hyten
is responsible for overseeing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
"I
provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do," Hyten
added. "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 options,
with 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 he has been trained every year for decades in the law of armed conflict,
which takes into account specific factors to determine legality --
necessity, distinction, proportionality, unnecessary suffering and more.
Running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal
order is standard practice, he said.
"If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life," Hyten said.
Hyten's
comments come against the backdrop of Mr. Trump's bombastic comments
about North Korea and how he might respond to that regime's nuclear
threat. The president has pledged to unleash "fire and fury"
and to "totally destroy" North Korea if necessary. Hyten's comments
also come as Congress is re-examining the authorization of the use of
military force and power to launch a nuclear strike.
In a hearing
earlier this week, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, said Mr. Trump "can
launch nuclear codes just as easily as he can use his Twitter
account."
Hyten said the U.S. military is always ready to respond to the threat of North Korea, even at that very moment.
"And we are ready every minute of every day to respond to
any event that comes out of North Korea. That's the element of
deterrence that has to be clear, and it is clear," Hyten said.
But
Hyten also said handling North Korea and its unpredictable leader Kim
Jong Un has to be an international effort. Mr. Trump has continued to
put pressure on China to help manage its tempestuous neighbor.
"President
Trump by himself can't change the behavior of Kim Jong Un," Hyten said.
"But President Trump can create the conditions that the international
community can reach out in different ways where we can work with the
Republic of Korea, where we can work with our neighbors in the region." CBS News' Stefan Becket contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment