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There is an entire nuclear football[0] to ensure that's not an absolute power of the Presidency, what are you on about? 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucle

There is an entire nuclear football[0] to ensure that's not an absolute power of the Presidency, what are you on about? 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football

shepherdjerred 2y ago
I think you interpreted the parent as saying the president might be drunk & order an unprompted nuclear attack. The parent was really saying that the president might need to respond to a nuclear attack at any time, therefore they should always be sober and ready to respond. Essentially, the president is oncall 24/7 for reacting to nuclear threats. There are some protections though where the presidents orders can be disobeyed, which are mentioned in that Wikipedia article you linked. Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering#Discharge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering#Discharge > "What if [the president's] mind is deranged, disordered, even damagingly intoxicated? ... Can he launch despite displaying symptoms of imbalance? Is there anything to stop him?" Rosenbaum says that the answer is that launch would indeed be possible: to this day, the nuclear fail-safe protocols for executing commands are entirely concerned with the president's identity, not his sanity. The president alone authorizes a nuclear launch and the two-man rule does not apply to him.
- avar 2y ago
  Even if they didn't mean that, drunk or not, the US president has the sole authority, both legal and practical, to launch a nuclear strike. Respectfully, you might want to read something more current on the subject. The excellent book Command and Control [1] is a good place to start. The "protections" you appear to be alluding to presumably mean the "NCA"'s role in this. That's a term that has no official meaning since 2002 (and before that the president also had the sole authority to order nuclear strikes). 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book)
- HaZeust 2y ago
  Ah, I did! I do, however, understand that the president does have sole authority to launch a nuclear strike. Sorry for ambiguity.

shepherdjerred 2y ago

I think you interpreted the parent as saying the president might be drunk & order an unprompted nuclear attack. The parent was really saying that the president might need to respond to a nuclear attack at any time, therefore they should always be sober and ready to respond. Essentially, the president is oncall 24/7 for reacting to nuclear threats. There are some protections though where the presidents orders can be disobeyed, which are mentioned in that Wikipedia article you linked. Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering#Discharge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hering#Discharge > "What if [the president's] mind is deranged, disordered, even damagingly intoxicated? ... Can he launch despite displaying symptoms of imbalance? Is there anything to stop him?" Rosenbaum says that the answer is that launch would indeed be possible: to this day, the nuclear fail-safe protocols for executing commands are entirely concerned with the president's identity, not his sanity. The president alone authorizes a nuclear launch and the two-man rule does not apply to him.

avar 2y ago
Even if they didn't mean that, drunk or not, the US president has the sole authority, both legal and practical, to launch a nuclear strike. Respectfully, you might want to read something more current on the subject. The excellent book Command and Control [1] is a good place to start. The "protections" you appear to be alluding to presumably mean the "NCA"'s role in this. That's a term that has no official meaning since 2002 (and before that the president also had the sole authority to order nuclear strikes). 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_Control_(book)
HaZeust 2y ago
Ah, I did! I do, however, understand that the president does have sole authority to launch a nuclear strike. Sorry for ambiguity.