Nuke General would not obey 'illegal' orders from Trump

Washington -- Air Force General John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) was quoted as saying that he would disobey President Trump if he ordered an "illegal" launch of nuclear weapons, according to CBS News.

Hyten told an audience at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada that he thought about it a lot to what he would say if he received such an order.

"I think some people think we're stupid," Hyten said in response to that question of what he'd do. "We're not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?" he asked rhetorically.

CBS said Hyten explained the process he'd follow on such an illegal command.

"As head of STRATCOM, I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do," he said.

"And if it's illegal," he continued, "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, with a mix of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is, and that's the way it works. It's not that complicated."

"If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life," he said.

The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to a request for a comment on those remarks. But they came after U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle about Trump's authority to wage war, use nuclear weapons and enter into or end international agreements, amid concerns over tensions with North Korea and its nuclear ambitions.

Some senators on the left want legislation to reduce the nuclear authority of President Trump (although they claim it's to do so for all future presidents). A Senate committee held the first congressional hearing on Tuesday. It was the first such hearing on the president's authority to launch a nuclear strike.

On one hand, it's not a terrible idea to have safety features built into the law that would keep any president from launching a strike over an argument he or she had with their spouse. 

But you cannot take critical power away from the commander in chief because you don't like the way talks or makes circles with his index finger and thumb while doing so.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton won the presidency and she caught Bill with his pants down.


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