Reuters: Hypothetically speaking, U.S. Admiral says ready for nuclear strike on China if Trump so ordered
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, addressing a security conference in Australia, said in answer to a question on Thursday that he would be prepared to launch a nuclear strike on China if President Donald Trump so ordered.
The fleet spokesman later said the question was asked as an "outrageous hypothetical".
Admiral Scott Swift was speaking at the Australian National University in Canberra when he was asked whether he would be prepared to launch a nuclear attack on China if ordered to do so by Trump.
"The answer would be yes," he said.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The answer should not surprise anyone .... but it is causing a stir in the media.
More News On US Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift Admitting That He Will Launch A Nuclear Strike On China If President Trump Ordered Him To
What if Trump Ordered a Nuclear Strike on China? I’d Comply, Says Admiral -- NYT
US admiral stands ready to obey a Trump nuclear strike order -- AP
U.S. admiral says he would be willing to launch a nuclear strike on China NEXT WEEK if Trump ordered it -- Daily Mail
I’d launch nukes at China on Trump's orders, says US Pacific Fleet chief -- RT
US Pacific Fleet Commander says he'd nuke China next week if Trump ordered him to -- Shanghaiist
'If Trump Asked, We'd Nuke China Next Week,' Says US Navy Fleet Commander -- Newsweek
7 comments:
WNU,
All kinds of messages for all kinds of receiptiants.
What an unwise statement. Look. .I don't agree with the south China Sea disputes, nor all the other stuff China pulls, but speaking like this about nuking another country is not only wrong but counterproductive, especially as information doesn't flow symmetrically and is being used to stir patriotism and nationalism to dangerous levels already. ..so we don't need Admirals talk like that, only to be used in propaganda messaging later on. ..
I don't know why this would be a surprise, when a soldier is given an order it is expected to he carried it out, that is why Officers Carry Pistols to shoot any soldier that refuses to carry out his orders. This is not a game or some intellectual exercise this is War and in War the only sin is losing, just ask any German woman that was in the Russian Zone in May 1945 or a Pole in 1939 to 1944 or Russian in Occupied Russia, this is not a game.
Just telling Orange Julius that he is loyal and will do as ordered if tweeted to drop nukes
Sounds like a page out of a North Korean paper.
A general/admiral is expected to follow orders. While they should be able to lobby their leaders and have their thoughts considered, once the leader, in this case POTUS, makes a decision military personnel will be expected to follow it.
As has been said, "this is not a game." I couldn't have said this better myself. The reporters who asked this obviously has no clue.
With that said would he actually follow the order? I don't know. In another time and place, to have said he would disobey a direct order from POTUS, right or wrong, would have been a career ender along with court martial and probably a busting back to ensign first class, private, or whatever the lowest rank in their service is.
There is a time and a place where men and women of good conscience would probably be expected to disobey an order from a superior. As I recall, during the Bosnian war, Javier Solana who then occupied some bureaucratic position, head of NATO, I think ordered General Mike Jackson of the British to take an airport that Russian forces had been deployed to prevent this. General Jackson disobeyed this order. His response was classic and so true. "I'm sorry I want start the third world war for you." While we cannot "know", had general Jackson obeyed this order, it is very likely we would have had the third world war. With no good reason for this general Jackson wisely disobeyed this order.
Finally, rightly or wrongly America and Americans feel extremely guilty about what was done to Japan with Hiroshima and Nagasaki and have deep regret over it. (Yes, I know some will say it should have been done and was the right thing to do. "Some," at least in America, are a minority of Americans who feel extreme guilt over this action.) Given this situation, the only way America would ever launch a nuclear attack against anyone would be if it was attacked first or there was absolute proof that the only way to stop an attack like this on America would be to launch first. Even then, given the guilt America carries over what happened with regards to Japan, it is very likely the personnel charged with carrying out the launch would hesitate and be unable to do it.
A very stupid question indeed that this reporter asked. this person indicates they have no understanding of military matters or the military chain of command and they have no understanding of Americans or how they think.
This is not so much as a message to The Western Left as much needed shock therapy.
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