谁的手指在按钮上?

The choice to use nuclear weapons is one of the most significant, 一个领导人或一个国家所能做出的有影响力的决定. A single warhead or bomb could kill hundreds of thousands of people; the use of even a small number of weapons could cause dramatic and disastrous impacts.

在美国， a single person is authorized to make the decision to use a nuclear weapon—the president. They are not required to consult with any advisors before issuing a launch order. 没有国防部的人, 国会, or the judicial branch can lawfully prevent the use of nuclear weapons once the president’s order is given.

This system of control (known as “sole authority”) is not the only way to handle launch decisions. 事实上, other nuclear states have adopted chains of command that are distinctly less risky than sole authority, and which may provide safer models for the United States to learn from.

• 英国: Although the prime minister would be the one to issue a launch order, 君主是正式的总司令. If officials in the Ministry of Defence receive a launch order that they judge wrongful, 他们可以合法地向女王上诉推翻该法案. 议会也可以要求进行不信任投票, which would require the prime minister’s immediate resignation.
• 印度和巴基斯坦 have both established councils to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. 在巴基斯坦, orders to launch require consensus among the council’s members, 哪个是模仿董事会设计的.
• 以色列: 尽管关于以色列核政策的信息很少, multiple experts have suggested that Israeli nuclear weapons aren’t controlled by a single person, 但“受制于严格的民事控制体系”.”
• 中国: Little is publicly known about China’s nuclear launch protocol. 然而, 2004年的中国军事文本, 由忧思617888九五至尊娱乐家联盟翻译, suggests that the Central Military Commission—or perhaps its chair alone—holds the authority to launch. The Commission’s 11 members are senior generals and senior party officials and its chair is China’s president. It’s also possible that recent reforms have changed this process.
• 俄罗斯: The president, defense minister, and chief of general staff all have access to the nuclear codes. 目前尚不清楚这三家公司是否都需要订购发射, but the system is designed to prevent a single person from issuing the launch command. Some experts also suggest that “there are additional hurdles (i.e., more people involved)” if Russia decides to use weapons first.
• 法国: 和美国一样, 只有总统才能下令进行核发射, though the chief of the presidential military staff and the chief of defence staff may also be involved.

在美国， 2017年立法建议 would require a declaration of war by 国会 before the president could order the first use of nuclear weapons. 然而, the president would still wield sole authority for retaliatory strikes, i.e., those made in response to a nuclear attack—a problem that must also be addressed.

Adopting either this or another system of checks and balances could help reduce the riskiness inherent in granting a sole person authority over the world’s most destructive weapons.