Why can US generals resist nuclear attack orders from Mr. Trump?

US Air Force General John Hyten has said he would reject President Trump if he issued an "illegal" order to launch nuclear weapons.

Commander of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) John Hyten. Photo: Reuters.

General John Hyten, Commander of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), said on November 18 at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, Canada, that he had thought a lot about what he would say if he received an order to launch a nuclear attack, Reuters reported.

General Hyten, who oversees the US nuclear arsenal, also explained the procedure he would follow if ordered to launch a nuclear attack.

As head of STRATCOM, “I give the president advice and he tells me what to do,” Hyten said. “And if it’s illegal, guess what? I say, ‘Mr. President, that’s illegal.’ And guess what he does? He says, ‘What’s legal?’ And then we present options, a set of capabilities to respond to whatever the situation is. That’s how we work. It’s not that complicated.”

"If you execute an illegal order, you will go to jail. You could go to jail for the rest of your life," he stressed.

The Pentagon has not commented on Mr. Hyten's statements.

Tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear development programs have been rising steadily in recent months. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have repeatedly criticized and attacked each other. Mr. Trump once warned that he would "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatened the US. Meanwhile, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to "make the US pay the price."

According to VNE