[Senate Hearing 115-439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
NOVEMBER 14, 2017
AUTHORITY TO ORDER THE USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND
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Starting under President Truman, the point was made crystal clear that the White House was in charge of the atomic bomb and its uses, not the military.
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STATEMENT OF GENERAL C. ROBERT KEHLER, U.S. AIR FORCE, RETIRED,
FORMER COMMANDER, UNITED STATES STRATEGIC COMMAND, ALEXANDRIA,
VIRGINIA
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Finally, I think it is important to remember that the United States military does not blindly follow orders.
A presidential order to employ U.S. nuclear weapons must be legal. The basic legal principles of military necessity, distinction, and proportionality apply to nuclear weapons just as they do to every other weapon.
It was my job and the job of other senior leaders like the Secretary of Defense and the chairman and the other combatant commanders to make sure these principles were applied to nuclear orders.
Prepared Statement of Hon. Brian P. McKeon
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For context on these two questions, I would answer a third: what is the current policy on use of nuclear weapons? The Trump administration is working on a Nuclear Posture Review ordered by the President last January. For now, my understanding is that the policy set by the Obama administration continues to obtain.
That policy is set forth in the report of the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) in 2010 and presidential employment guidance issued in 2013. While the specific guidance to the commanders is classified, the NPR report is unclassified, and the Defense Department submitted an unclassified summary of the employment guidance to the Congress in 2013. A few elements of these documents bear highlighting.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHR ... g34311.htm