Could Trump start a nuclear war in his last days?

A_Thinker

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Along with millions of others I have been watching the recent invasion of the US Capitol building with some dismay. America is meant to be the Light on the Hill and the Leader of the Free world, but here we have an insurrection that threatened to overthrow the normal Democratic process. This was the first time since 1812 when the British did this and included a Confederate flag being waved inside the building. It is clear that Trump directly incited this invasion and repeated various lies about the election process in doing so.

Is this man still in charge of the nuclear football? What checks and balances still exist to prevent a nuclear war authorised by Trump since he has gutted the command structures and replaced them with Trump loyalists? Should the allies of the USA be worried. I understand America has a 25th Ammendment. Is it practical now to get rid of a man who has clearly demonstrated his unfitness for office.
I think that he's fairly "defanged" now ...
 
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A_Thinker

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He is acting entirely in his own self interest. What happens when he realises that he lost and is leaving January 20th. He is still the Commander in Chief of the most powerful military ever.
Serious discussions have occured concerning his mental stability ... around the potential for enacting the 25th amendment.

Trump has no more power ...
 
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Petros2015

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Is this man still in charge of the nuclear football? What checks and balances still exist to prevent a nuclear war authorised by Trump since he has gutted the command structures and replaced them with Trump loyalists?

I doubt it. I heard he was planning on taking an action a week or two ago (maybe in regards to Iran) and got stared down by the generals because it was dangerous (even thought it was non-nuclear). He did do some replacements but not enough; right now his cred is zippo. He may technically have the authority and capability but he will find it remarkably difficult to execute. 25th amendment is probably being serious considered and more likely than him successfully executing an order that would have international impact.
 
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civilwarbuff

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Given the level of delusion to believe this election was stolen, which led to an interruption of Democratic process unprecedented since 1812 in a war, how can you be sure of that?
Actually, the democrats have a very long history of attempting (often successfully) the subversion of the democratic process at least since 1860 (and probably earlier).
 
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Triumvirate

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And if there is an actual attack on the USA, how will military people know if an authorisation to respond is a legitimate order from the president or just an unhinged and self serving act?

While it is still entirely too easy for POTUS to launch nuclear weapons, I am somewhat sympathetic to the argument that context matters and people involved down the chain of command would object to firing weapons - at least at this particular point in time.

There are no geopolitical rumblings afoot at the moment - at least in the public sphere anyway - that make a nuclear exchange more likely than usual. So it would be highly unusual in that context for a launch order to come from Trump.

However - even one/a few being launched accidentally could have incredibly severe repercussions. At that stage, if the US was will to take the embarassment, it's possible that friendly and even hostile missile defences could be targeted to bring down the weapons - and there isn't a huge window in which to do so. Nuclear weapon systems don't tend to have abort functions, in case they can be hacked and compromised.
 
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civilwarbuff

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And if there is an actual attack on the USA, how will military people know if an authorisation to respond is a legitimate order from the president or just an unhinged and self serving act?
Maybe because there would be an "actual attack".....?
 
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Petros2015

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Nuclear weapon systems don't tend to have abort functions, in case they can be hacked and compromised.

That would be pretty funny...
.... hack the GPS satellites navigating them
... set my capital location = your capital location
... "return to sender" ;)
DOH!

upload_2021-1-8_8-57-39.png


Never bring a nuclear weapon to a cyber fight ;)
 
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Triumvirate

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That would be pretty funny...
.... hack the GPS satellites navigating them
... "return to sender" ;)
DOH!

View attachment 293012

Well, quite. Doesn't help your deterrent if your opponents think they can hack them out of the sky. Though that wouldn't automatically stop them from compromising those systems left of launch.
 
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Triumvirate

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Other fun fact - the satellites controlling strategic weapons are increasingly used for controlling conventional weapons.

So if you're in a conventional war and someone goes for your satellites - will that look like you're trying to go nuclear when you're actually not intending as such?
 
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Petros2015

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Other fun fact - the satellites controlling strategic weapons are increasingly used for controlling conventional weapons.

Absolutely it's a MASSIVE Achilles Heel.
It's not even an Achilles Heel, it's like an Achilles Cheekless Chaps lol
You guys are so lucky I'm not in charge of anything; I don't play nice ;)
 
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Triumvirate

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Hm. Apparently Pelosi thinks better safe than sorry, and I'm inclined to agree on the off-chance.

Nancy Pelosi: I've Talked With Joint Chiefs About Stopping Trump From Using Nukes

"Preventing an Unhinged President From Using the Nuclear Codes: This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike. The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy."
 
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civilwarbuff

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Hm. Apparently Pelosi thinks better safe than sorry, and I'm inclined to agree on the off-chance.

Nancy Pelosi: I've Talked With Joint Chiefs About Stopping Trump From Using Nukes

"Preventing an Unhinged President From Using the Nuclear Codes: This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike. The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy."
It sounds like the only person unhinged here is Pelosi. This woman is simply filled with hate.
 
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