Originally Posted by
Coborn C6
If the investigation into this accident concludes that it was the result of a missile, and the itchy/clumsy finger that pushed the button did so as a result of the dysfunctionality you refer to, then it might pose the question as to what might have happened if the missile had been a nuclear armed one and the accidental target was Israel or Saudi Arabia, rather than a 737.
The Iranian authorities are going to have to demonstrate (via the accident investigation if possible) that they are fully in control of all their weapon systems and they never have accidents. Otherwise the number of countries lining up to say Iran should never have nukes is only going to increase. In a strange way this terrible tragedy has the potential to give Trump a kind of victory after all.
If I'm right in linking these issues then it means the accident investigation is going to be difficult and very, very protracted.
The very same argument could be made of the other nations that have mistakenly downed airliners. SAM battery command and control would have to be, by definition, looser than for any kind of strategic weapon system for obvious reasons. I do not think that you can compare nuclear launch failsafes to an anti-aircraft battery nor the trigger finger of a soldier in the field. You'd hope the SAM would not be subject to human error, but clearly that’s not the case.