Reply #20: I think a leader can order such a strike. However...

[phantom power]

others in the chain of command can also choose to disobey such an order. That might be construed as mutiny, or treason, or something. But they could do it, and clearly, a reasonable person might consider avoiding a nuclear war worth being courtmarshalled.

It seems that Bush believes he has been given the authority to order pretty much anything he pleases. Unitary Executive, Commander In Chief During War Time, etc. Whether or not he ever gets it in his head to order nuclear strikes is a matter for speculation.

The kind of nuttiness that really, really scares me is this rapturist business. A guy like Stalin, Mao or Kim Jong might be nuts, but their nuttiness includes some measure of rational self interest. Rapturists, on the other hand, consider the end of the world as a cause for celebration. The end of the world is literally what they live for, what they pray for. And some of them consider it their responsibility to help make it happen.