I'm sympathetic to your overall argument, but not to this specific example. It's very much in US interests to know that someone else knows the launch codes. The

I'm sympathetic to your overall argument, but not to this specific example. It's very much in US interests to know that someone else knows the launch codes. The consequences of having them made public (a public scandal, the cost of changing them, internal investigations, etc.) are much less dire than the alternative - when your potential enemy knows them and you're not aware of the fact.