If one of our nuclear missiles were to be fired accidently...

[NNN0LHI]

...and destroyed Teheran, or Beijing, or, Moscow, would any of their leaders or people believe Bush when he explained to them that a terrible accident had happened?



From the movie Fail-Safe:



Yes, Mr. President.



- General Bogan?
- Yes, sir.



This is what will happen if even one
of the bombers gets through.



It will drop two
-megaton bombs on Moscow.



- Jay?
- Yes, Mr. President?



You might hear
the sound of the engines...



just before the bombs drop,
maybe not.



In any case, you'll hear
the defensive missiles going off.



Right after that,
the bombs will explode.



I'm told that what we will hear
at this end...



will be a high, shrill sound.



That will be
the ambassador's phone...



melting from the heat
of the fireball.



When we hear that sound...



the ambassador will be dead.



You understand,
Mr. Ambassador...



you're to stay
exactly where you are.



Yes, Mr. President.



He's got to attack.



Is this your proposal?



To sacrifice one American
for five million Russians?



No, no, listen to me!



I've ordered a Vindicator bomber
into the air from Washington.



In a few minutes, it will be
flying over New York City.



It is carrying two
-megaton bombs.



The moment I know
that Moscow has been hit...



I will order that plane
to drop its bombs.



It will use the Empire State Building
for ground zero.



When we hear the shriek
of Mr. Lentov's phone melting...



we will know that he is gone...



and with him, New York.



Holy Mother of God.



No.



He can't do it.



What else can he do?



I don't know any other way,
Mr. Chairman, unless...



unless you feel
the offer itself is enough.



Showing our intentions.



Would you think it enough?



If Russian bombers
were flying against New York...



could you accept
only my good intentions?



No.

[TheBaldyMan]

1. they don't fire accidentaly, thats what fail safes are for

you can't accidentaly place two keys in different safeties and turn them simultaneously and even then codes have to be OKed first.


Why don't you just post with the title EVERYBODY PANIC AND RUN AROUND LIKE HEADLESS CHICKENS!

[benburch]

2. Q: What is the only possible failure mode of a failsafe system?

A: Failing to fail safe.

[Cronus Protagonist]

8. Are they made by Diebold?

Just wondering, because the record of the company making the hardware must come into play here....

:scared:

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[benburch]

11. Wouldn't matter WHO made them.

Some day, a non-failsafe-failure WILL happen. It is a mathematical certainty.

[Poll_Blind]

3. The US has had a few scares with our nuclear missiles arming for launch

You're right that we have a system that two keys and codes are needed to launch the missiles but at least on one occasion the missile reported that it was going to launch in x minutes when noone had entered the codes or turned the keys.

I remember reading about, maybe from Federation of American Scientists?, about a minuteman that we thought was going to launch. We parked an armored truck ontop the silo just in case.

If any of our missiles were going to launch unintentionally the only thing to do is to destroy it before it leaves our territory. Even if it killed millions of our own countrymen we could never let such weapons of god-like destruction sail out of our airspace.

PB

[Poll_Blind]

5. Here's the article from the NY times.

Right here.

PB

[TheBaldyMan]

7. that was a fault with the nav system so it wouldn't have gone any

where, the missile would have been ballistic as soon as it left the silo and most probably have crashed. Admittedly that would have been a dangerous radiation spill but more of a threat to Moose Jaw than Moscow.

[TheBaldyMan]

6. the safeties are physically separated and the firing assembly

is isolated so they can't physically fire. I think the details would be very highly classified but it's something you could jury rig but not at all easily. You'd have to input guidance info and firing sequences directly. Even the A-team would be pushed, not to mention the irate marine and air-force guards that would take exception to deliberate sabotage.

[havocmom]

4. LOL true that

But a big part of the population that bought into Iraq being such a threat we had to invade would buy the lie that any big clouds over Persia were all an accident.

Doesn't have to be the truth... just has to be repeated often enough by enough people **



**taught by Newt Gingrich to many idiots now in politics and power

[NNN0LHI]

9. I am not as concerned about our land based nuclear weapons as our...

...submarine launched ones. There we have only one person making the final decision to launch or not. The commander of the sub. If they had to wait for orders from elsewhere to launch that order may never come.

Now back to my original question. Would anyone believe it was an accident?

Don

[TheBaldyMan]

10. the internet was designed to keep working even after a nuclear

full scale attack.

It can supposed that even after the USSR had launched every single one of their missiles at the West enough comms infrastructure would survive to get the message out to the submarine force.

The scenario you suggest really belongs in a Tom Clancy novel rather than the real world. The USN is a very professional outfit (for a bunch of 'golden riveters' ) ;)