US and Chinese diplomatic security got into a physical fight over the nuclear football last November - Polidicks

[url]https://www.axios.com/scoop-skirmish-in-beijing-over-the-nuclear-football-1518992774-1e7a513d-4190-459d-ad4f-2c8746fecc6f.html[/url] [quote]When the U.S. military aide carrying the nuclear football entered the Great Hall, Chinese security officials blocked his entry. (The official who carries the nuclear football is supposed to close to the president at all times, along with a doctor.) A U.S. official hurried into the adjoining room and told Kelly what was happening. Kelly rushed over and told the U.S. officials to keep walking — "We're moving in," he said — and the Americans all started moving. Then there was a commotion. A Chinese security official grabbed Kelly, and Kelly shoved the man’s hand off of his body. [b]Then a U.S. Secret Service agent grabbed the Chinese security official and tackled him to the ground.[/b] The whole scuffle was over in a flash, and the U.S. officials told about the incident were asked to keep quiet about it. Trump's team followed the normal security procedure to brief the Chinese before their visit to Beijing, according to a person familiar with the trip — but somebody at the Chinese end either didn't get the memo or decided to mess with the Americans anyway.[/quote] Crazy fucking shit. Appears to have all been China's fault and they later apologised for the misunderstanding.

TIL there is a briefcase called the [I]nuclear football[/I]

[QUOTE=Egon Spengler;53142105]TIL there is a briefcase called the [I]nuclear football[/I][/QUOTE] I find it hard to believe you've never heard of it I'm not even American and I know of it...

[QUOTE=Karmah;53142131]I find it hard to believe you've never heard of it I'm not even American and I know of it...[/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html"]My favorite fact about the nuclear situation was that the code to launch nukes was just zeros for the longest time. [/URL] On so many levels that's just fucking diabolical. :v:

[QUOTE=snookypookums;53142138][URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html"]My favorite fact about the nuclear situation was that the code to launch nukes was just zeros for the longest time. [/URL] On so many levels that's just fucking diabolical. :v:[/QUOTE] Yea, but even then, there are so many protocols into it you can't just dial it in and launch nukes

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;53142146]I mean, it works. Legit, anyone trying to fire a nuke would have probably though "only an idiot would set their password to 8 zeros, it must be something else"[/QUOTE] The beauty of the whole thing was that the military did this specifically to bypass the presidents own order to install a secondary check system on the missile to prevent an unauthorized launch. So the military basically worked around their own supreme commander to do this, because in their opinion, the risk of a complete failure of communications in the event of an attack that prevented soldiers from getting the authorization to launch, thus hampering their protocols, was a [I]worse risk[/I] than any of their own deciding to launch it for jollies. I don't know what that speaks to more - the army's infinite faith in their troop's discipline to not fuck shit up by accident or their over-the-top adherence to protocol, to the point of being willing to circumvent a presidential directive, in the middle of one of the most tense political periods in known history. :v:

[QUOTE=snookypookums;53142138][URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html"]My favorite fact about the nuclear situation was that the code to launch nukes was just zeros for the longest time. [/URL] On so many levels that's just fucking diabolical. :v:[/QUOTE] Well, it was the launch codes on one arm of the nuclear tried (ICBMs). SLBMs at the time didn't need launch codes at all and didn't get PALs until the mid 1990s. Honestly seems to be a waste of time to me to put a code system on only one part of the strategic nuclear arsenal.

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;53142146]I mean, it works. Legit, anyone trying to fire a nuke would have probably though "only an idiot would set their password to 8 zeros, it must be something else"[/QUOTE] I don't know. I always try dumb passwords first. I joined a lot of locked gmod servers by just entering 'poop' or 'ass' as the password.

Actually, the "0000 0000" code was in the launch manuals, which you follow like a checklist to launch.

[QUOTE=ilikecorn;53142146]I mean, it works. Legit, anyone trying to fire a nuke would have probably though "only an idiot would set their password to 8 zeros, it must be something else"[/QUOTE] I think it was more a matter of "higher-ups are dumb and clueless, this new security latch is dumb and a waste of time etc. etc."

TIL even if the president went insane and just snapped and gave the order for a nuclear strike, there is nobody that can veto the order. Scary.

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;53142254]I think it was more a matter of "higher-ups are dumb and clueless, this new security latch is dumb and a waste of time etc. etc."[/QUOTE] The military just really hates codes, for a lot of good reasons.

[QUOTE=Str4fe;53142523]TIL even if the president went insane and just snapped and gave the order for a nuclear strike, there is nobody that can veto the order. Scary.[/QUOTE] Well technically they can't veto the strike, but they can refuse it. So all hope isn't lost right away.

[QUOTE=snookypookums;53142138][URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html"]My favorite fact about the nuclear situation was that the code to launch nukes was just zeros for the longest time. [/URL] On so many levels that's just fucking diabolical. :v:[/QUOTE] uh there's still no assurances they changed the combos to something actually random instead of just zeros with a 1 at the end. the pentagon was supposed to randomize the codes to begin with after all

Is the briefcase necessary though? "Hi, I'm on a state visit, oh and by the way I'm bringing mobile launch codes just in case"

[QUOTE=Petrussen;53142774]Is the briefcase necessary though? "Hi, I'm on a state visit, oh and by the way I'm bringing mobile launch codes just in case"[/QUOTE] Of course? What sort of question is that?

[QUOTE=Petrussen;53142774]Is the briefcase necessary though? "Hi, I'm on a state visit, oh and by the way I'm bringing mobile launch codes just in case"[/QUOTE] If I recall, the president has to have it with them everywhere whenever they travel. Something like that, cold war protocols that were never changed.

[media]https://twitter.com/SecretService/status/965625677247668225[/media] [editline]19th February 2018[/editline] [media]https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/965659368422330368[/media]

[QUOTE=Petrussen;53142774]Is the briefcase necessary though? "Hi, I'm on a state visit, oh and by the way I'm bringing mobile launch codes just in case"[/QUOTE] Mutually Assured Destruction only works if the US is able to respond to a theoretical nuclear first strike by Russia/anyone else. If Russia knows that the President leaves the nuke button at the White House when he goes home for the weekends, they know that they can get away with nuking America with probably little retaliation if they wait for him to leave Mar-a-Lago to go to his golf course on Saturday. MAD falls apart and the world is in danger of a one-sided nuclear attack.

America always wins a fight over the nuclear football because America is the only country where you can grab a football with your hands

[QUOTE=Str4fe;53142523]TIL even if the president went insane and just snapped and gave the order for a nuclear strike, there is nobody that can veto the order. Scary.[/QUOTE] Absolutely nobody would act on it without just cause, and it would be the death knell for the president. It's not like Trump goes "WHACK 'EM" like a Max Payne character and the whole world goes kablooey. Please stop spreading misinforming hyperbole like this. It is posts and misinformation like this that leads to improper education and understanding of nuclear weaponry, leading to confusion and chaos over something that should be treated with the utmost caution and understanding. [editline]20th February 2018[/editline] First the SecDef has to sign off on the order-- if he refuses he's likely to be fired, but the next man down the line has to accept the order, or he too will resign or be fired, and so on and so forth. And then even if the order passes the bureaucratic branch it then has to be passed to military forces, who, if given the directive to launch a nuclear strike on a non-belligerent target during a state of peacetime without escalation, will almost certainly refuse the order. The repercussions for the President would, at the very least, be impeachment and mental assessment. At worst it might lead to an armed coup. It would take a staggering amount of ducks in a row to lead to a nuclear strike actually being performed. The chances of it are so absolutely infinitesimal and even after having a legitimately dementia-stricken president it's not happened yet. It is not something worth actively worrying about, because the probability of it happening is more than a million to one. [editline]20th February 2018[/editline] I'll put it this way: There's more likelihood of every nuclear weapon in the entire world spontaneously detonating in their silos and secure-cases (something that is literally impossible, since an unarmed nuclear weapon is a big tin dick with a lot of fissile material in it) than there is of the President being able to pull a General Ripper. And this goes for [B]absolutely [I]every[/I][/B] stage of the nuclear strike system. No lone man in a silo who finds out he's got cancer and decides he wants to end the world. No crazy pilot wanting to go out a hero by wiping out the reds. Without the codes in the football, those nukes are about as useful as dropping the dildo in your mum's knicker drawer on the enemy. At the most there might be a (relatively underpowered) detonation of conventional explosive or missile fuel. But all you'll be doing is ruining a perfectly good nuke, because [I]nothing[/I] short of a nuke itself will set off an unarmed nuke. When they were writing the screenplay for Doctor Strangelove they intended to make a serious, straight-faced critique and satire of the nuclear system. However, Kubrick found out that the concept of one lone general launching nukes was [I]so[/I] crazy they turned it into a slapstick comedy. That was in 1964. Long before PAL codes were standardized on all nukes and before years of improvement, increased safety, and disarmament. That should tell you how crazy the idea of the President getting away with a one man army strike really is.