BASIC’s Chairman of the board, Dr Trevor McCrisken was interviewed by the News & Star about the new President-elect, Donald Trump and his pending responsibility over the nuclear codes. Trump’s seemingly implusive and reactive temprement has aroused global concerns that he could launch a reckless nucear strike – McCrisken outlined the potential risks;
“You could imagine perhaps a situation where he just loses his mind or gets angry and decides to launch.”
“It’s possible that his orders would be resisted or rejected, either at the command centre or maybe some of the silo operators would refuse to enter the codes they need to actually launch.
“But given how responsive people within a chain of command are to orders that come to them, it’s not very likely. If your president tells you to do something it’s very difficult to refuse that order.”