First, all of the prior assumptions (and then many more) need to be true. So no, the argument does not hold water. Second, you are conflating political with ci

First, all of the prior assumptions (and then many more) need to be true. So no, the argument does not hold water. Second, you are conflating political with civilian in my prior comment. A military system that controls nukes is still a political system. The military itself is a political invention. I am drawing this distinction not on military vs civilian boundaries but on system versus individual. The reality is that as a functional necessity of having nuclear deterrence, there is not a small number of red buttons controlled by a small number of people. There are countless red buttons controlled - ultimately - by whatever low level service member is on duty at this particular moment.