Our Best Hope Against Nuclear War

Consider what is, for the moment, an entirely hypothetical question: What might Defense Secretary Jim Mattis do if he received an order from President Trump to launch a nuclear attack on North Korea in retaliation, say, for a hydrogen bomb test that had gone awry?

Certainly, Mattis could try to talk the president out of the attack, if he thought the action was unwise. He could request delays to prepare for contingencies or gather intelligence. He could even, perhaps, argue that the action raised legal questions, because it might cause disproportionate civilian casualties in North and South Korea and thereby violate the laws of war. 

Yet, in the end, legal experts argue that Mattis would have to follow the orders of his commander in chief. That’s the way our system works. If Mattis’s efforts at persuasion failed, he could resign. But if he stayed on the job and refused a lawful presidential order, he could be fired.