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Top Nuclear General Says He Would Refuse 'Illegal' Order From Trump to Launch Nukes
PJMedia ^ | 11/18/17

Posted on 11/18/2017 6:58:35 PM PST by Liberty7732

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told a security conference in Nova Scotia that he would refuse to obey an "illegal" order from Donald Trump to launch nuclear weapons.

Asked if he has given much thought to how he would handle a nuclear strike order from President Trump that he thinks is unlawful, Hyten, who oversees the U.S. nuclear arsenal, answered, "I think some people think we're stupid. We're not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?"

"I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do," Hyten said. "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."

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: again; fakenews; genhyten; hyten; illegalnukeorder; trumpdod; trumpnukeorder
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To: Mr Rogers
Nuke San Francisco. Or “Bomb a bunch of dams to show a country we’re not at war with that we are serious.”

Ordering the nuking of a US city would certainly be an illegal order. Not sure about your second example.

41 posted on 11/18/2017 7:56:58 PM PST by FreeReign
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To: ConorMacNessa

The Battle of Maldon, if I remember my Tolkien correctly.


42 posted on 11/18/2017 7:56:59 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are silly those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: grey_whiskers
Your memory serves you well - now in our hour of need.

I too stand in this hour - weak in flesh, yet strong in will.


_

43 posted on 11/18/2017 8:06:45 PM PST by ConorMacNessa (FMF Corpsman - Lima 3/5 RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel defend us in Battle!)
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To: Liberty7732

The general is doing his job.

There are rules established within the system that pertain to the attacking or counter attacking of a foe.

The rules of engagement (ROE). enable mission accomplishment, force protection, and compliance with law and policy. While ROE are always commanders’ rules, the interpretation, drafting, dissemination, and training of ROE are also the business of OPLAW JAs (Judge
Advocates).

ROE are commanders’ rules for the use of force. Operations personnel are principally responsible to ensure that the ROE further operational requirements. OPLAW JAs assist the commander to interpret, draft, disseminate, and train ROE because all ROE must conform to international law, because a Department of Defense Directive and service regulations give military attorneys a role in ROE compliance, and because the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has directed that attorneys will review all operations plans and participate in targeting meetings of military staffs.

Also, the Hague and Geneva Conventions contain dissemination provisions that encourage the involvement of judge advocates in ROE matters. A provision of the 1977 Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions-which though not ratified by the United States is considered declarative of customary international law on this point-expressly mentions the role of “legal advisors.”

So that general is bound by political, military and international law to inform decision making personnel making an ROE decision, to include especially the president in the deployment of nuclear weapons. And then like the general mentioned, when they figure out how to do it legal, it’s full steam ahead.

This has been going on since the early 70’s and is part of the briefings in Army Field Manual 100-5, Operations. It is also dispersed through the different branches and levels of command. Nothing new. Just something to make noise about to try to embarrass Trump.

The media ought to be slapped for this BS.

rwood


44 posted on 11/18/2017 8:27:19 PM PST by Redwood71 (uality, they want better)
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To: Liberty7732
Sensationalist headline.

The general’s comments were completely reasonable.

However, the general does need reality training about the MSM’s desire to utterly destroy Republicans, Conservatives, and Donald Trump.

The general should have instantly smelled the political poison in this question and volunteered to send a written response once he had time to reflect on it.

45 posted on 11/18/2017 8:29:48 PM PST by zeestephen
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To: Redwood71

We will see what “job” he will be doing in the near future.
And it won’t be the same job he has now.
Running his mouth about our Nuke Process
won’t keep him in the job he is in now.


46 posted on 11/18/2017 8:32:29 PM PST by tennmountainman ("Prophet Mountainman" Predicter Of All Things RINO...for a small fee.)
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To: FreeReign

Bombing dams to send a message would be grossly disproportionate and probably a criminal act. Doing so to destroy enemy industry during a war is legal.

I once sat in on a long, hypothetical discussion during an exercise concerning when dams could be bombed and when they could not. A general, bunch of Colonels, some lawyers, etc. That was probably why that particular inject to the exercise was done. Those of us who flew and dropped bombs tended to be on the “Just drop them!” side, while the lawyers discussed what would or would not make it legal.


47 posted on 11/18/2017 8:39:36 PM PST by Mr Rogers (Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
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To: GreyFriar
“I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do,” Hyten said. “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.”

The title is purposely misleading.

48 posted on 11/18/2017 8:41:31 PM PST by Irish Eyes
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To: Liberty7732

And so Mr President, when you allowed Secretary Mattis to countermand your cross dresser’s order, you opened a pandora’s box of insubordination and disrespect by other senior officers. You have not lifted a finger to drain the swamp at Defense, it is still riddled with Obama appointees and Generals, don’t expect any changes there until you get serious about what you said you would do.


49 posted on 11/18/2017 8:45:10 PM PST by Uncle Sam 911
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To: txrefugee

So far he has not lifted a finger to drain the swamp there or anywhere else. It was all talk it seems.


50 posted on 11/18/2017 8:45:52 PM PST by Uncle Sam 911
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To: hal ogen
Re: “Did this fellow get promoted by traitor and fraud Obama?”

Trump's Chief of Staff, retired general John Kelly, got his last two stars from Obama.

Trump has a highly disturbing habit of doing this.

Alleged Republican Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Special Prosecutor Mueller, was Obama’s U.S. Attorney in Maryland for eight years.

Trump appointed Rosenstein as Number Two at the Department of Justice.

Rosenstein directed the Obama-FBI investigation into bribery charges concerning the “Uranium One” scandal that involves Hillary Clinton.

51 posted on 11/18/2017 8:50:11 PM PST by zeestephen
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To: Uncle Sam 911

Trump needs to hire one you armchair generals. LOL


52 posted on 11/18/2017 8:51:27 PM PST by TigersEye (0bama. The Legacy is a lie. The lie is the Legacy.)
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To: Liberty7732
"I provide advice to the president, he will tell me what to do," Hyten said. "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."

Before everyone jumps on the general over this misleading headline, the general makes it quite clear in the first sentence that he advises the president and the president tells him what to do. If the president orders an illegal action, it's the duty of his advisers to tell him so, and it's the duty of the president - any president - to look for legal alternatives.

Total non-story.
53 posted on 11/18/2017 9:08:53 PM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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To: TigersEye

I’m no arm chair general but I was a Field Grade Army Officer, if you have any idea what that is.


54 posted on 11/18/2017 9:29:38 PM PST by Uncle Sam 911
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To: cornfedcowboy
He is supposed to disobey an illegal order. What is the news here?

What is an illegal order? If The President orders something to be done, does this general then consult the Supreme Court?

This man must be fired immediatly.

55 posted on 11/18/2017 9:43:08 PM PST by cpdiii (DECKHAND, ROUGHNECK, GEOLOGIST, PILOT, PHARMACIST, LIBERTARIAN The Constitution is worth dying for.)
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To: Liberty7732

Trump should fire this guy right now and replace him with someone who will unequivocally follow his commander-in-chief’s orders.


56 posted on 11/18/2017 9:43:27 PM PST by catnipman ( Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: Liberty7732
"that's the way it works. It's not that complicated."

Your ass needs to be immediately fired, it's not the complicated. This guy thinks that he gets to vet orders from higher up and has veto power if he doesn't like them? Yeah, that goes over real well in the military. This Obama-era idiot needs to be fired yesterday.

57 posted on 11/18/2017 10:20:36 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity (Liberalism is a social disease.)
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To: cornfedcowboy

How’s he going to know? This guy clearly jeopardizes national security and should be dumped immediately. All he’s doing is emboldening people like Kim Jong.


58 posted on 11/18/2017 10:22:04 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity (Liberalism is a social disease.)
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To: tennmountainman

“We will see what “job” he will be doing in the near future.”

All he did was what the military expected him to do. It won’t make any difference who is in the slot the next time it comes up, but they will be expected to do the same thing.

The US has a lot of red tape we go through to attack someone. The US government set it up that way. so we couldn’t end up with a rogue president or his replacement if he is killed or stopped down the ladder to just launch. There is way too much at stake and too many countries that could kick in creating a possible nuclear winter which could devastate the earth’s surface. And if it could be done conventional, that would be the first choice.

Firing the general that did his job, is not the answer. The correct way is use the system as it is designed. We may live longer that way.

rwood


59 posted on 11/18/2017 11:45:22 PM PST by Redwood71 (uality, they want better)
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To: Liberty7732

This has nothing to do with hypothetical ‘illegal orders’. Every last one of these corrupt and politicized pieces of living sh!t that voted for Hillary, all 96% of the putrid swamp, believe that the Trump admin is illegal in and of itself. They do not recognize his legitimacy as POTUS. The reason why they’re in open rebellion and #resist mode.

If you haven’t figure that out after the massive leaks, the special counsel coup, the spying, the tweets by holder and his ilk to ‘hold the line’, etc...then there’s no hope for you.


60 posted on 11/19/2017 12:55:49 AM PST by Electric Graffiti (Obama voters killed America...Treat them accordingly.)
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