3 ms·
It is also a scary thought that a decision on nuclear war was/is in the hands of a few individuals.
by arbuge 13y ago
It is also a scary thought that a decision on nuclear war was/is in the hands of a few individuals.
- dfritsch 13y agoEspecially ones operating without any knowledge of what is going on elsewhere.
- ekianjo 13y agoIt still is. Most nations' Commanders in Chief (i.e. the Presidents) have the power to order a nuke launch by themselves. Of course they have advisers and so on, but that does not mean they have less of a power.
- vl 13y agoAll nuclear submarines carry all launch codes on board - as indicated in this article, 3 top officers can access them together.
- dredmorbius 13y agoUnder US protocols, only the President can authorize the use of nuclear weapons, however the Secretary of Defense must also approve the use.
- ekianjo 13y ago> Under US protocols. I wasn't only talking about the US. There are many other countries in the world who own nukes and where their usage protocol is different.
- dredmorbius 13y agoInteresting factoid: The US made it's PAL (permissive access link) technology available to other nuclear powers, including enemies in order that they could secure their weapons against unauthorized use. Which makes everyone better off.
- ekianjo 13y agoHow many are using their technology as well, then ?
- elementai 13y agoAnd then there are stories that automated systems have this power too, like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand_%28nuclear_war%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand_%28nuclear_war%29