Former Nuke Missile Officer Explains Why Morning Joe’s Trump Story Is Absolutely Frightening…
We’re forced to really confront a frightening prospect because Americans just aren’t taking this election seriously. What would it mean for Trump to have his short stubby finger on the nuclear button?
If Joe Scarborough is being honest about the story he tells in this clip, it should scare any Americans who cares about the security of the country more than they care about being entertained by politics.
Watch below:
Watch: What are some major concerns about Trump’s handling of national security? Hayden and #morningjoe weigh in. https://t.co/FyFoSmJlJI
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) August 3, 2016
Unfortunately, it’s an anonymous source which leads many to doubt its veracity. I myself have heard a similar account from someone asked to give Trump a crash course in foreign policy affairs, so I’m more inclined to believe it.
Then there’s this very sobering instruction from John Noonan, a former nuclear missile officer who tries to describe how sacred and harrowing it is to actually bear the burden of sending out a monstrously destructive weapon:
1. I cant get this in one tweet. So bear with me as I air some laundry here on Scarborough's claim Trump's interested in nuclear First Use
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
2. Pulled 300 nuclear alerts, 100 ft under the Wyoming turf. Job is serious and full of serious people.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
3. When we went into ICBM training, we went through a battery of tests and interviews. Are you sane? Are you willing to turn your key?
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
4. I see how those might sound at odds.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
5. But the whole idea behind nuclear deterrence is that you don't use the damn things. So I thought the mission credible and worthy.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
6. There are a hell of a lot of bad actors out there who have nukes. They are restrained only by our ability to instantly lay waste to them.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
7. The nuke triad, which Trump doesn't have a clue about, has been the single greatest contributor to global peace for decades. You heard me
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
8. I dont know if Scarborough is telling whole truth here. Anonymous sources suck. BUT… if he is… buckle the hell up.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
9. Because Trump would be undoing 6 decades of proven deterrence theory. The purpose of nukes is that they are never used. Trump disagrees?
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
10. This would be the single greatest strategic shift in US national security in decades. In a Trump Presidency, our foreign policy
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
11. ….would be this. "Leave our alliances, fall back on a nuclear first use policy." Does he understand just how F'ing dangerous that is?
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
This is important – Trump has made it very clear that he doesn’t care much for alliances. He thinks he can “negotiate” every other country in doing what we want to happen in the world instead of doing it ourselves. The second part I’m shaky on – it depends on Scarborough’s account because there’s very little of Trump acknowledging that this would be his foreign policy. But it’s certainly possible.
12. But what really concerns me, as a former nuke guy, is the idea of a narcissist walking around with nuclear authenticators.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
13. I could sit 100ft underground, on alert, knowing that the POTUS would not make me do my duty — not unless it was absolute last resort
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
14. But imagine having to turn launch keys not knowing if we were under attack or if it was b/c foreign leader said a mean thing on twitter
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
People laugh at this prospect, but without having seen Trump with any experience in a governmental position, how do we know?
15. The power is there to kill millions. Permanently alter the geopolitical landscape. It is a sacred, sobering responsibility.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
16. Idea that nukes would be used, say over Raqqa or Mosul, simply because we have no more allies and it's a simple, easy fix is nauseating
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
17. Simply signaling that you're open to using strategic weapons as a tactical solution rewrites the rule book. Russia, China, others will
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
18. respond. Nuclear deterrence is about balance. Trump is an elephant jumping up and down on one side of the scale. So damn dangerous.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
19. But geopolitics aside, I can't get my mind off the young officers on nuke alert right now. Wondering if they'll soon answer to a madman.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
20. And be asked to do a duty that should morally be asked of no human being, ever. //end
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
I don’t know about you, but the prospect scares the hell out of me.
On the other hand:
The bright side is that under a President Trump, our precious bodily fluids should be safe.
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
And also, we might be able to take comfort in the fact that his fingers are so short and stubby he won’t be able to reach the nuke button or press it hard enough.
