NUCLEAR WARWho Can Start a Nuclear War? Inside U.S. Launch Authority and Reform
The U.S. president can order a nuclear launch without consulting anyone, including Congress, and U.S. nuclear weapons have been prepared to launch within minutes since the Cold War. While reforms to U.S. retaliation policy seem unlikely, restraining a president’s ability to launch a first strike could be possible.
The United States has the power and a process to respond when it is under nuclear attack, but only the president can decide if and when to launch the world’s most devastating weapons. Nuclear deterrence hinges on the notion that the U.S. military would retaliate as soon as the president gives a legal order. Past reforms—and even the policy that the president has sole authority to order a launch—have sought to ensure rogue military commanders or mistakes in missile silos, on submarines, or aboard bomber aircraft cannot launch a nuclear weapon without authorization. Today, reform options focus not on an unauthorized launch but on preventing an unwise first strike.
The U.S. military is always ready to launch promptly if it or the intelligence community learns of an incoming attack and the president authorizes a response. Threats have evolved and technology has advanced, yet this policy has been consistent since the Cold War. The system is designed to prioritize speed when implementing the president’s decision. Military service members must carry out all legal orders to launch.
Some experts argue that it is the singular command, plus the option to launch when there is a warning of an incoming assault, that allows the president minutes to decide on a course of action and therefore most risks miscalculation. The United States has survivable nuclear forces, proponents of the current posture counter, and there is no requirement that the president direct the launch of nuclear weapons if systems indicate one or more nuclear delivery systems are en route to the United States. U.S. forces can withstand an initial attack; presidents need not rely on “launch-under-attack,” the Biden administration confirmed in its 2022 policies. The Trump administration has the option to reiterate this approach or to reform it through its own forthcoming National Defense Strategy.
Launching a Nuclear First Strike
Two U.S. presidents—Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden—have now affirmed, along with other permanent members of the UN Security Council including Russian leaders, that a nuclear war “cannot be won and should never be fought.” At the same time, U.S. declaratory policy and military practices allow the United States to use nuclear weapons first. Some outside of government have suggested reforms to shift the country to a “no first use” policy.
