{"id":34462,"date":"2017-11-14T19:25:18","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T19:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/14\/retired-us-general-says-nuclear-launch-order-can-be-refused\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:24:11","slug":"retired-us-general-says-nuclear-launch-order-can-be-refused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2017\/11\/14\/retired-us-general-says-nuclear-launch-order-can-be-refused\/","title":{"rendered":"Retired US general says nuclear launch order can be refused"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 A retired Air Force general told the Senate on Tuesday that an order from President Donald Trump or any of his successors to launch nuclear weapons can be refused by the top officer at U.S. Strategic Command if that order is determined to be illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee, retired Gen. Robert Kehler said the U.S. armed forces are obligated to follow legal orders, not illegal ones. Kehler, who served as the head of Strategic Command from January 2011 to November 2013, said the legal principles of military necessity, distinction and proportionality also apply to decisions about nuclear weapons use. The command would control nuclear forces in a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the committee\u2019s top ranking Democrat, asked Kehler if that means Strategic Command can deny the president\u2019s order if it fails the test of proportionality and legality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Kehler responded, adding such a situation would lead to a \u201cvery difficult conversation.\u201d It might prompt a president to put a new general in charge to carry out his order, said Brian McKeon, a former acting undersecretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration, who testified alongside Kehler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruce Blair, a former nuclear missile launch officer and a co-founder of Global Zero, an international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons, said that even if a four-star commander of nuclear forces believed a presidential launch order to be illegal, he could not stop it because the order goes to him and to launch crews in the field simultaneously. The commander could try to override the order by sending a launch termination order, Blair said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it would be too late,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t