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7
Aug
2017
The question came at the end of a security conference in Australia. An academic in the audience for Admiral Scott Swift’s public address in Canberra asked a hypothetical question: “If… you were to receive an order from the commander in chief, the president of the United States, to make a nuclear attack on China, would you do it?"
Swift’s answer was an unequivocal yes.
Then he amplified: “Every member of the U.S. military has sworn an oath…to obey the officers and the president of the United States as the commander in chief appointed over us."
“Admiral Swift answered the question the only way a serving military officer could,” explained Rory Medcalf, the program’s host. “It would have been a lot more controversial if he had said no, he would not obey the commander in chief.”
Okay, now let’s switch locales. Imagine a similar question directed at one of Kim Jong Un’s generals in Pyongyang, North Korea: “If you were to receive an order from your Supreme Commander to launch a nuclear attack on the United States of America, would you do it?"
Can you imagine that general saying no?
Categories: Sharp Edges
Tags: Serenity prayer, Nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, ICBMs
5
Feb
A week ago Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order restricting immigration from seven Muslim countries where he doesn’t have business ties. He branded them “evil”.
Two days later, a Canadian with far-right sympathies entered a mosque in Quebec City and shot six men in the back as they knelt in prayer. Eight others were injured.
The timing is too close for pure coincidence. If you’re a white supremacist feeling you should take action against people you dislike, what better justification could you ask for than encouragement from the world’s most powerful person?
Trump called Ottawa to offer his condolences. I think he should be charged as an accessory to murder.
Tags: Trump, mosque, killing, Serenity prayer