Nuclear button: U.S. has no way to stop president's legal order

Woodward book 'Peril' sheds light on blind spot of command and control

20210928NY Nuclear football

A military aide carries the "nuclear football" on the South Lawn of the White House. (Getty Images)

KEN MORIYASU, Nikkei Asia chief desk editor

NEW YORK -- If a U.S. president decides to launch a nuclear attack, the order is conveyed to a duty officer at the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon. The one-star commander executes the order in roughly a minute.

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