What if POTUS snapped & tried to fire up the nuke football outta the blue?

[mike1963]

I mean, without any reason other than going completely nuts. Would the guy carrying it just let him go through the procedure? And there'd be other people around presumably (where's the thing when the "prez" is asleep?)...is there any way for anyone else in the chain of command to stop a launch if it's been initiated by this gizmo? I guess I don't know much about just how the system supposedly works (or if it does or would)...
:eyes:

[punpirate]

1. My guess if he does, the first ones will...

... land on Massachusetts. They won't be pleased....

[AntiCoup2K4]

2. I don't believe any ONE person ever has the ability to launch nukes

Any launch mechanism I've ever seen or heard of requires 2 keys to be entered at the exact same time - either a physical key or a digital code sequence.

Now on the other hand, if Bush and Perle happenned to snap at the same time, in the same room, and both had a key ...... :nuke: :scared:

[hatrack]

3. Wouldn't work - any launch order needs secondary confirmation

It has to be by someone confirmed by Congress, so political appointees couldn't approve, say, turning Tehran or Frisco into a glass beach.

Any such orders inspired by potential koo-koo loony tunes behavior by Bush would not get further than his initial command - we hope . . .

[mike1963]

5. Okay thanx, I suspected as much. You can guess why I was asking...

;-)

[DieboldMustDie]

7. Someone confirmed by Congress...

Like Rummsfeld perhaps?   Oh well, at least I don't think he's one of those end-times crackpots like Ashcroft. :scared:

[OpSomBlood]

4. Do you REALLY think the "football" rests in the president's hands?

The phone call to use nukes would come from even higher up the food chain than the White House.

[Dying Eagle]

6. It takes 2

The president or a member of his cabinet. So the Vice, SOS, SOD, Nation Security Ad, or any high level cabinet member has to confirm the launch. That is my understanding.

[T Town Jake]

8. Unfortunately...

...it only takes two: the President and just one confirming member of the cabinet. So, yea, Bush & Rumsfeld acting together could send the missles flying. Yet another reason I'll be relieved when they're shown the door on Jan. 20, 2005.

[AndyTiedye]

10. I'll Rest Easier When Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al are shown THIS Door

and pushed through it.


The UN Prison at the Palace of Peace in the Hague.

[terrya]

9. My understanding is that he could. The "football" contains...

the authentication codes he would need to give the order. In other words, to say, "Yes, I'm the President of the United States and I'm authorizing a nuclear strike". The warrant officer who carries the "football" couldn't say no, since he's a military officer who must carry out the orders of his Commander in Chief.

[AndyTiedye]

11. Widely Reported They Took the Football Away from Nixon in the Last Days

since many close to Nixon feared he would lose it as he was going down.
Bush*'s mental stability is, if anything, more questionable than Nixon's was then.

[Rick Myers]

13. That's an urban legend

[Rick Myers]

12. The 'football' only has two functions

To carry the SIOP (Single Integrated Operating Plans) data and to act as a 'verification' system that the person using it is who (s)he claims to be...

Any or all weapons can be used without it...