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It really is just a few people in a room that decide how to do this. This Bloomberg article has more details: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-n

by avar 8y ago

It really is just a few people in a room that decide how to do this. This Bloomberg article has more details: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-nuclear-weapon-launch/ https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2016-nuclear-wea... The verification step is just that they have to acknowledge that the person ordering the launch is indeed the president. They get no say in whether it happens. > There’s also no obligation for the > military to obey an illegal order. The entire system is designed as to minimize the discretion of commanders on the ground. Once the launch order goes submarine crews or crews in various missile silos aren't going to be given the chance to check what Trump has been saying on Twitter, and they have no independent way to verify that North Korean / Russian / Chinese ICBMs aren't already in-flight heading towards every major city in the US.

philwelch 8y ago
Sure; the place to sabotage the launch process would be within the Situation Room, and the procedures make it pretty clear that the President’s word is final. And that does make the nuclear deterrent more credible. OTOH, an illegal attempt by the President to order a nuclear first strike could conceivably be stopped before the order left the National Command Authority, and the apparent violations of policy would be legally defensible after the fact. If the President orders a blatantly illegal, unjustified nuclear first strike, the outcome will be millions of innocent deaths and the probable complete devastation of the United States. Refusing to verify the order, physically isolating the President from the ability to communicate down the chain of command, or even more drastic actions could be papered over and excused after the fact a lot more easily than “just following orders” that would lead to the largest and most pointless loss of life in human history.

by avar 8y ago

philwelch 8y ago

Sure; the place to sabotage the launch process would be within the Situation Room, and the procedures make it pretty clear that the President’s word is final. And that does make the nuclear deterrent more credible. OTOH, an illegal attempt by the President to order a nuclear first strike could conceivably be stopped before the order left the National Command Authority, and the apparent violations of policy would be legally defensible after the fact. If the President orders a blatantly illegal, unjustified nuclear first strike, the outcome will be millions of innocent deaths and the probable complete devastation of the United States. Refusing to verify the order, physically isolating the President from the ability to communicate down the chain of command, or even more drastic actions could be papered over and excused after the fact a lot more easily than “just following orders” that would lead to the largest and most pointless loss of life in human history.