The US president can order a nuclear strike within minutes and without congressional approval, exposing the absurd danger of entrusting civilisation to one fallible person.

As William Perry, former Secretary of Defense under Clinton and Tom Collina state in The Button:

Within minutes, with just one phone call, President Trump could unleash up to a thousand nuclear weapons, each one many times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It would be the end of civilisation…For President Trump, starting nuclear war is about as easy as sending a tweet.

Within minutes, with just one phone call, President Trump could unleash up to a thousand nuclear weapons, each one many times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It would be the end of civilisation…For President Trump, starting nuclear war is about as easy as sending a tweet.

US policy, which invests “sole authority” in the president to launch nuclear weapons, crystallises the utter absurdity of the nuclear predicament that we have lived under for 81 years. Contrary to popular belief, there is no “button”. Instead, there is a military aide, who carries a 40-plus pound briefcase, referred to as the “nuclear football” (officially called the Presidential Emergency Satchel), which follows the president 24/7/365, whenever he is away from fixed command centers. The fact that the president can use the football to launch US nuclear weapons at any moment, day or night – without having to consult or listen to anyone – beggars belief. Clearly, the ability to start a nuclear war that could destroy most life on earth should not be entrusted to one person, especially one known to be erratically capricious and highly unstable.

Inside the nuclear football is a secure communications device that allows the president to order a launch, as well as a “Black Book”, outlining pre-planned presidential options for targets, delivery systems and estimated casualties. It originally contained a heavy set of war plans, but after Carter complained that it was too complicated for the extremely short timeframe, it was simplified into a menu of strike options for either limited strikes or full retaliation, presented as a “one-page, cartoon-like menu”. One of Clinton’s aides quipped that it was like a “Denny’s breakfast menu.”

There is also a small laminated card, called the “biscuit”, with unique codes used to establish the president’s identity. If the president were to decide on a nuclear launch, he would read the codes over secure communications to the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon or one of its alternates. Once authenticated, it is converted into a “highly encrypted, time-sensitive message called the Emergency Action Message, which includes the........

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