New Delhi [India], May 15 : Former CIA Analyst, Larry Johnson, said on Friday that US President Donald Trump asked US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, if they could use the nuclear weapons, but the latter denied.
Johnson, while speaking to ANI on the Iran war, said that Trump was mulling nuclear action.
"There have been denials. So, well, the issue. I was reporting what my source had said. And then when I did further checking, it wasn't so much a battle over the codes because the reality is the president holds the codes. Trump was seriously entertaining and asking about the use of a nuclear weapon. And General Caine, to his credit, said, absolutely not. Very firm. So there was the issue of nuclear use discussed," he said.
Johnson said that after Caine's disapproval, Trump told the media that there would be no use of nuclear weapons.
"It was shot down by General Caine, and that's the reason that Donald Trump later came out and admitted in the meeting, no, no, no, we're never going to use a nuke. Good. Got that off the table. So, no, I stand by it. It was, again, it wasn't my source, but it was someone I have confidence in. Later, we got confirmation that the issue of using a nuke had come up. That was discussed, and it was shot down by General Caine," he said.
Johnson explained that Trump, as the Commander in Chief, could order nuclear use, but the order would then fall on the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"It's not so much a veto power as the role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By law, he is the president's senior military advisor. Now, the chain of command for using a nuke is if Trump ordered it, it would then go to the general that's in charge of what's called STRATCOM," he said.
Johnson added that Trump would go through the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, now. But although Caine is not in a position to overrule the President, he may resign if the President overrides his advice.
"And he would go through the Secretary of Defense, or Secretary of War now, and then from Secretary of War to the general that commands the STRATCOM. The STRATCOM would be responsible for executing that. So the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is not in that chain of command where he can overrule the president. But his advice, he's there to advise the president, and he said, no, bad idea, don't do it," former CIA analyst said.
He continued, "And, you know, the implication in that is if Trump actually tried to go forward or something like that, you can see possible resignations by Chairman Caine. You just say, no, this is outside the bounds. It's unacceptable. It's an actual military consideration. General Caine wasn't expressing a political view."
Johnson said that the US risks pushing all countries into fisticuffs with each other, including India and Pakistan.
"I mean, just look at it from a practical standpoint. What are you going to accomplish? What is it going to achieve? And the answer is nothing except making the United States the ultimate pariah and putting us at risk of further nuclear engagements with Russia, China, North Korea, you know, other countries. So it's, you know, the world's already dangerous enough as it is. As you know, India and Pakistan, as neighbours, both have nukes. It gives you some incentive to say, let's be nice to one another," he said.
The comments come as Trump on Friday said that he threw Iran's proposal away as he asked for no nuclear material to Iran.
Trump, in his gaggle with the Press on Air Force, said, "I looked at the latest proposal from Iran, and if I don't like the first sentence, I just throw it away. It was an unacceptable sentence because they had fully agreed to no nuclear. If they have any nuclear of any form, I don't read the rest of it. Twenty years is enough, but the level of guarantee from them was not enough. In other words, it's got to be a real 20 years, not a fake one like the last one."
"We have to get everything, but we're not even talking about what I call the nuclear dust. I came up with a term which seems to have caught on. They said that they can't remove it because they don't have the technology to remove it. They don't have the type of tractors. They told me directly that the only one that can remove it is China or the US. We're the only ones with the equipment. They said it is a complete obliteration. With that being said, I want to get it. They agreed to it, but then they took it back. They'll agree to it eventually," US president added.