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US Presidential Nuclear Codes 'Lost For Months'

Martin Hellman writes "Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Hugh Shelton, has dropped a nuclear bombshell, metaphorically speaking. Shelton's recently released memoir Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, asserts that an aide to President Clinton lost a card containing key phrases needed for ordering a nuclear strike, and that the codes were missing for months. This confirms a similar allegation, made in 2004 by Lt. Col. Robert Patterson, a military aide who frequently carried the 'nuclear football' during the Clinton presidency. Unfortunately, human error within the nuclear weapons complex is a frequent and dangerous occurrence."

4 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Gee, and I thought Bush was the dumb boob by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Reality.

    Blowing up the /sheep political dreams.

  2. Re:This is Clinton we're talking about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Actually, he did eventually retaliate, but by most measures it was pathetic, and in doing so, both missed Bin Laden and struck a chord with Bin Laden's follows of just how ineffectual the US is as responding to serious terrorists threats. Basically, he emboldened Bin Laden and his followers. As such, you can literally draw a line connecting Clinton's inept response to the 9/11 attacks.

  3. Re:Absurd idea to begin with by JockTroll · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Loserboy nerd, the reason that football is here in the first place is to enable the President to react swiftly in the worst-case scenario. The worst case scenario, loserboy nerd whose arms I happily twist, is a nuclear strike launched by a foreign power through ICBMs: the time to impact is measured in minutes, and if SLBMs are involved it's a very tight race. No time for planned and thorough discussion. By the way, the President can't order a strike by himself, the order must be validated by another member of the National Command Authority, you loserboy nerd whose head I gladly smash against walls. Now, loserboy nerd on whose face I joyfully defecate, think back to the last time you've been beaten up: how much time did pass from early warning to first kick in the groin? I'll tell you: 2 seconds and a half. How much time from that first kick to having your scrawny neck grabbed and your head bashed into a locker's door? 1 second and a half. From this to arm twisting, less than 3 seconds. It's another 5 seconds or so until brown swirling. Another 10 seconds until facial defecation. When exactly did you have time to react, huh? Nowhere. Not enough to have a planned discussion on what to do. And now that I think of it, I'll think next time I'll leave you exactly the time for that, before I laugh in your face, kick your teeth in and have the rest of the football team stomp on your twisted spine and urinate on your quivering remains. Dismissed, loserboy nerd.

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    Geeks are so full of shit that "beating the crap out of them" takes a whole new meaning.
  4. Re:awesome by frank_adrian314159 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ... a slightly less crazy ruler, but he is a religious idealogue. If he thinks god told him to nuke someone, it could very well happen. Or worse, he might have to live up to his hyperbole or risk the rath of his own people.

    Hmmm... Sounds like the last US President, if by "his own people" you meant the Republican base.

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    That is all.