US nuclear commander would resist 'illegal' presidential order for strike

The commander of America’s nuclear forces says he would resist any “illegal” presidential order to launch a strike.

General John Hyten made his comments after Democrats raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s volatile behaviour and his escalating war of words with North Korea.

Gen Hyten said he had spent years studying US laws of conflict and the criteria that a sitting president must consider before ordering a nuclear strike.

“If it’s illegal... I’m gonna say, ‘Mr President, that’s illegal.’ And guess what he’s gonna do? He’s gonna say, ’What would be legal?’ And we’ll come up with options, of a mix of capabilities, to respond to whatever the situation is,” he told the Halifax Security Forum in Canada after being asked about the conversation he would have with Mr Trump on a potential strike.

Gen Hyten heads US Strategic Command, which is responsible for American cyber capabilities, missile defence and nuclear capabilities. 

“We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?" he said, adding that the armed forces were obliged to refuse illegal orders.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea if it continued to threaten the US by pursuing its goal of building long-range nuclear missiles.

Last week, Democratic senators expressed their concerns during a session of the armed forces committee.

Chris Murphy said: “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.”