Originally Posted by
Just This Once...
Thankfully no US President has a nuclear trigger, or indeed any individual for that matter. He can ask for a strike for sure, but there are real people in the chain.
Consider a few points:
1. At least one leg of the U.S. nuclear triad actually has weapon systems with physical triggers that are held in a human hand. But fear not; pulling said trigger simply closes one permissive link in a very long line of permissive links.
2. The statement by U.S. SotH about “taking the codes away” from Trump is legally absurd (but certainly political dynamite for an ignorant media).
3. The scenario of the U.S. POTUS unilaterally launching a nuclear strike is procedurally absurd. That’s not how the U.S. nuclear command and control system works.
4. During times of U.S. administration transition, it is common (and prudent) to bolster U.S. military readiness in global hot spots. Iran certainly qualifies.