Prior to the actual election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th U.S. president, I had the hopeful thought that the confrontational stance of the Obama-HRC regime would halt and that the master builder, Donald Trump, would construct anew bridge-building proposals linking the United States and the Republic of Russia positively. However, he simply cannot quell the war fever of Democrats and Neo-Cons. This was proven by the insane legislation congress passed that strengthened sanctions on Russia.
Putting aside the fact that our European allies probably emphatically don't want this, as well as the fact that it is another blunder in the energy sphere as that relates to LNG and oil, the legislation forced Putin to harden his stance toward NATO and the USA. Given the hotspots which U.S. aggression and truculence has generated, it seems timely to turn our thoughts toward the possibility of nuclear conflict.
Above all other considerations, which oddly isn't discussed, one must ask: Does the United States even have nuclear deterrents?
For the president of the United States to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike, he must turn to the person, usually a sturdy, middle-level officer selected from the armed services, who is carrying the "nuclear football," and take possession of the "black book." This is digital hardware, basically 3"x5", which contains the launch codes for a strategic strike. The president has a plastic card, known as "the biscuit," which he inserts to confirm his identity and authority. Then, he is presented by the book with a long-prepared menu of limited options from which to choose. After choosing, the command goes to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then to the Pentagon War Room. From there orders are passed by means of sealed authentication codes to U.S. Strategic Command HQ in Offutt Airbase in Nebraska. At this base the order to fire is transmitted to designated soldiers using encrypted codes. These latter codes must be identical to those locked inside their safe.
Although this may at first glance seem to be a highly secure system, is it? Neither man nor men are perfect.
Consider the plastic card which the president carries to identify himself.
General Hugh Shelton in his autobiography stated that President William J. Clinton mislaid the plastic card ['the biscuit"], and it was missing for several months. At that time Shelton was Clinton's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He stated in his book, "this is a big deal, a gargantuan deal."
Now, given Bill Clinton's numerous, serial-like "romantic" affairs, removal of the plastic card might well have been a snap, especially for skilled "tootsies" employed in honey-trap operations by an intelligence agency. Note the relatively lengthy period of absence. Russian, British or Israeli intelligence agencies were all capable of spiriting off "the biscuit" and analyzing it. Since it must have been digital, surely such intelligence groups could rewrite the code. Perhaps they left only a back-door spy. If "the biscuit" was subsequently altered for a new president's usage, the hacking might occur again through remote devices quietly inserting spy codes, which might include an identity kill-code. Or, as with Stuxnet virus, it might spread slowly through the whole code system. In short this was indeed gargantuan!
Another important matter is that the "nuclear football" is carried by a person who is always at the president's side. While the president usually has an entourage accompanying him, the whereabouts of the person carrying the "nuclear football" might be uncertain during a traumatic event. For example, in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan was shot near the Washington Hilton, he became separated from the man carrying the "nuclear football." Curiously, his regular, sturdy military carrier was not on duty that day. [Parenthetically, a man who had been only 16 years old at that time and who can be seen running up the street as the Secret Service, et al, acted to protect the president, claimed that he had been given the temporary fill-in task of toting the "nuclear football."] At any rate, Ronald Reagan had been taken to George Washington Hospital for treatment. The nurses, doctors etc. promptly removed his clothes to take him for surgical preparation. In this process "the biscuit" was temporarily lost. It was found bagged with his clothes - now bloody rags - in a plastic bag which might well have been picked up by orderlies or maintenance and trashed.
Further, on a trip to Russia, President Ronald Reagan was seen walking on Red Square with a man who was carrying the "nuclear football." Of course, he also had an entourage of others. Still, any megalomaniac spirit coursing through the veins of a Russian leader might generate a scheme to order lethal machinegun fire, killing all the Americans before any defensive action could be taken. Then, possessed of the U.S. "nuclear football" and presumably " the biscuit" removed from the dead Reagan, the Russian strongman could identify himself as the president and, with the aide of Russian advanced IT personnel, alter the black book's menu, allowing him to order the launch of U.S. nuclear missiles against America. Crazy? Perhaps.
One thing is for sure: in the scenario above the Russian strongman would have his full complement of nuclear weapons, while the U.S.A. would be temporarily unarmed. Can you say, "Surrender?"
Under ordinary circumstances and situations, the president of the United States is the sole person with the power to order the launch of America's formidable array of nuclear weapons.
Nevertheless, a Caine Mutiny scenario might occur. With renderings of Trump-like "Caesars" being assassinated on a New York stage, the possibility of a Capitol Hill production of a "Manson family" conspiracy shimmering through Neo-Con affiliated minds may not be too surreal. "Protect yourself at all times!" [Million Dollar Baby]
If a presidential candidate ill-advisedly selects a closet psychopath as his vice president, and he wins, then the beast within may slowly begin to emerge. In a Donald Trump scenario, there would be a convenient pronounced opposition the members of which would all-to-gladly agree that Trump was seriously mentally ill. The Veep, struggling to contain the beast within and seeing an opportunity, might go to Trump's cabinet and press, gently at first, that something was "bad wrong" with the president. He should quietly be removed to Saint Elizabeth Mental Hospital, informing the newshounds that his absence was to rest at Camp David and work on an address planned for the United Nations. In the meantime, the Veep could quietly remove "the biscuit" while commandeering the man with the bag ("nuclear football") in furtherance of his role as Acting President. From this point he could turn to the mirror in the White House as state: "Don't make me angry! You won't like it if I'm angry."
In all of this present consideration I have presented real and perhaps strained scenarios. I believe that anything digital can be hacked. There are moderns lobbying to make our nuclear security system even more high-tech and digital. With America shot through with a legion of technically advanced intelligence organizations - hostile and "friendly" - I believe that remote access to our nuclear launch protocols is getting to be increasingly likely.
[Research aids: Frank Gardner, BBC, "Trump and Security Codes"; Mark Fitzpatrick, IISS]