We have previous incidents like this, so I consider Gen. Milley's actions to be commendable in trying to prevent some kind "wag the dog" incident.
After the
1969 EC-121 shootdown incident,
F-4 Phantom fighter jets at
Kunsan Air Base were ordered to load
B61 nuclear bombs and began planning and preparations for a nuclear strike against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (
North Korea).
[22] After a few hours, the order to stand down was given. The jet never took off. Reportedly,
President Richard Nixon was drunk when he gave the order for a nuclear attack against the DPRK.[23] The order to stand down was given on the advice of
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
26 September 1983
Main article:
1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident
Several weeks after the downing of
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 over Soviet airspace, a satellite early-warning system near Moscow reported the launch of one American
Minuteman ICBM. Soon after, it reported that five missiles had been launched. Convinced that a real American offensive would involve many more missiles, Lieutenant Colonel
Stanislav Petrov of the
Air Defense Forces refused to acknowledge the threat as legitimate and continued to convince his superiors that it was a false alarm until this could be confirmed by ground
radar.