‘This is crazy’: Dem blasts GOP for attacking Milley – claiming a Trump-ordered nuclear strike would have been ‘illegal’
U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) is going on the offensive against Republicans, conservatives, and media attacks against the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, over reports he assembled top Pentagon officials and made them vow to not launch a nuclear strike without him being part of the "procedure." Gen. Milley also spoke with his counterpart in China assuring them the U.S. would not launch an attack in the crazed, waning days of the Trump presidency.
Calling it "crazy," Congressman Lieu, an Air Force Colonel who serves in the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) reserves, says it would have been illegal for then-President Donald Trump to launch a "rogue nuclear first strike" without provocation. He's calling on the press to "slam" Republicans for wrongly saying Trump should have been able to:
I can't believe I have to say this: a rogue nuclear first strike ordered by the President without provocation would be an ILLEGAL ORDER.
Why is the mainstream press not slamming Republicans for saying Trump should be able to order a rogue nuclear launch? This is crazy. https://t.co/R0x0Pjb4G6
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 16, 2021
Congressman Lieu, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was asked why it would be illegal. Lieu had an easy answer:
Killing millions of civilians for no reason would be mass murder.
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 16, 2021
Earlier in the week, responding to a tweet from Naval War College Professor of National Security Affairs, Tom Nichols, Congressman Lieu made the same point:
I previously served on active duty as a JAG. General Milley was referring to a “rogue" nuclear launch. That would be an illegal order if the former President ordered a rogue nuclear first strike without provocation. General Milley was correct in trying to prevent a rogue launch. https://t.co/OZ3bXKKzzy
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 15, 2021
And urged passage of his legislation making it more difficult for a rogue president to launch nuclear weapons:
The fate of the world should not depend on a single general, in this case Mark Milley, trying to stop a President who is unstable. That's why we need to pass my bill with @SenMarkey that requires POTUS to get congressional authorization before launching a nuclear first strike. https://t.co/qvy7aJdAyq
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 14, 2021