What a wonderful question! In the post-Cold War era, I suspect most of us scarcely take note of the fact that Russia and the United States still maintain a sizable nuclear deterrent composed of bomber, ICBM’s and submarine-launched nuclear missiles. As I recall as an undergraduate I wrote a paper on launch control procedures, and seem to remember a dual key process that required the simultaneous action of two individuals. But I think my focus was on preventing an accidental launch – not on disobeying the President’s orders to launch. I assume there are procedures in place designed to insure compliance with the President’s directives, but as 9-11 showed, the human component is not always reliable. Actions that require the compliance of a single individual to succeed are always going to be subject to some uncertainty, I’m guessing.

Does the control of ICBMs have any of the weaknesses that appeared in the 9/11 crisis?