The Forgotten Threat: ‘Countdown to Zero’ on Nuclear Weapons

At this point, the knowledgeable viewer may start to worry that the film regards nuclear weapons solely as something whose use threatens the United States but not something with which the United States (inventor and sole user of the bomb) has long threatened others.

But the worry is quickly dispelled. In a particularly powerful and perhaps newsworthy episode, Blair reveals that when he was a missile control officer in the 1970s it was technically within his power to precipitate the launching of not only the fifty missiles in his squadron but the entire US missile force. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had tried to rule out just such an unauthorized launch by requiring the prior receipt of a twelve-digit launch code from headquarters, but the Strategic Air Command had neutralized the requirement by setting the code at 000 000 000 000, as the control officers well knew.

In an interview, Blair explained that once that code was known a launch order could be formatted, and this, when conveyed by ultra high-frequency radio—or any other medium—would enable other crews to launch without further authorization of higher command. “They could take the code off the lid of a TV dinner, and as long it was correct it, would be carried out,” he commented.

(via Instapaper)