US general says he would resist 'illegal' Trump nuclear strike order

Air Force General John Hyten says ‘we’re not stupid people ... if you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail’

The top US nuclear commander said on Saturday that he would resist President Donald Trump if he ordered an “illegal” launch of nuclear weapons.

Air Force General John Hyten, commander of the US Strategic Command (Stratcom), told an audience at the Halifax international security forum in Nova Scotia, Canada that he had given a lot of thought to what he would say if he received such an order.

Hyten said running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal order was standard practice, and added: “If you execute an unlawful order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life.”