The top nuclear commander in the US says he would resist any “illegal” presidential order to launch a strike.<\/p>\n
Air Force Gen John Hyten, said as head of the US Strategic Command he provided advice to a president and expected that a legal alternative would be found.<\/p>\n
His comments come just days after US senators discussed a president’s authority to launch a nuclear attack.<\/p>\n
Some of them expressed concern that President Donald Trump might irresponsibly order such a strike.<\/p>\n
Others though said a president must have the authority to act without meddling from lawyers. It was the first such hearing in more than 40 years.<\/p>\n
In August, Mr Trump vowed to unleash “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea if it continued to expand its atomic weapons programme and threaten America.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Bob Corker, accused the president of setting the US “on a path to World War Three”.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, Gen Hyten said: “We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?”<\/p>\n
“I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do,” he said.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“It’s not that complicated,” Gen Hyten added.<\/p>\n
He also added: “If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life.”<\/p>\n
President Trump has not publicly commented on Gen Hyten’s remarks.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"