The transfer of the nuclear briefcase is a discreet act, destined to go unnoticed during the presidential inauguration; but of paramount importance to the security of the United States.
Who has the nuclear briefcase? It is a suitcase of about 20 kilos of black leather that always accompanies the President of the United States and contains the necessary protocols to launch a nuclear attack around the world, details the EFE agency.
Normally, the transfer from one president to another of the briefcase – known as the “nuclear ball” – takes place on January 20 in front of the steps of the Capitol: when the new president takes office, the suitcase passes by from one soldier to another, appointed to assist the new head of state.
It is a discreet act, destined to go unnoticed; but of paramount importance to U.S. security
In a 2013 documentary, former Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009) described this moment: “You have the ceremony here unfolding at the front, but more or less behind one of the large columns, two guys are standing there. with his military uniform and, at the right time, one approaches to hand him over to the other. “
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And, when that military man accepts the briefcase, “the new president is the one in control of the nuclear assets.”
Trump was not at the ceremony to deliver the “nuclear ball”
This time, however, when new U.S. President Joe Biden was sworn in on Wednesday, the charge, his predecessor, Donald Trump, was already 1,600 miles away on sunny Palm Beach in South Florida.
It was the first time in 151 years that a president did not attend the inauguration ceremony of his successor. The last to do so was Andrew Johnson in 1869, but then the US did not own one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world.
Luckily, there is not a single “nuclear ball” and there are at least three, said such weapons expert Stephen Schwartz in a recent podcast from the Center for Arms Control and No Proliferation.
Thus, when Trump left the White House at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, he carried the briefcase with him, so according to the protocols, it was to be in his possession until noon when culminate his position, international media explain.
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But in the absence of the outgoing president at the ceremony, in the sun taking Biden’s possession, the new president’s new military aide received one of the other two “nuclear balls” available.
Few details are known of this crucial moment, as the Pentagon refuses to provide information; but shortly before the investiture began, a group of reporters was able to see a soldier enter the Capitol with the characteristic black briefcase, reported Mike DeBonis, a journalist for The Washington Post, who posted on his Twitter account a video showing this moment.
Twitter video capture image @mikedebonis
The “cookie” that verifies the identity the president
However, to launch a nuclear attack, the most important thing is not the briefcase, but a small laminated card known as a “cookie” or “gold code” and used to verify the identity of the president, Schwartz revealed in the podcast .
Contrary to what the movies show, the head of state doesn’t have a red button to fire missiles and the “cookie” doesn’t contain the secret nuclear codes either.
U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House Oval Office. Photo agency EFE
These codes are locked and locked in the Pentagon, so if the president wants to launch a nuclear attack the first thing he has to do is from a special phone that has his military assistant and that connects him with command officials. in charge of the missiles.
Then, the president would have to verify his identity using the alphanumeric codes of the “cookie,” for example “DE-5,” and only then would the launch process begin, Schwartz detailed.
When Trump left for Florida, he also took the “cookie” with the code that allowed him to confirm his identity, but that key was overturned as Biden assumed power.
“A menu” with attack options
According to Schwartz, the “nuclear ball” does not hide sophisticated military technology, as Hollywood has portrayed on the big screen, but a lot of paperwork, including instructions from a broadcast system that would allow the president to speak to the public in case of attack.
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It also contains a list of places on land, sea and air where the president could take refuge in the event of an attack and a file cabinet with all the options for an offensive and which, according to Schwartz, resembles a “Chinese food menu.” with icons to show the different possibilities and specify the damage caused by each of them.
According to the official journal of the renowned Smithsonian Institution, the origin of the nuclear briefcase is classified for security reasons, but it was President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) who created the protocols for this system. after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The “nuclear ball” and the “cookie” are a big responsibility and have already been surrounded by controversy in the past.
For example, in 1981, during the chaos that followed the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), for a moment it was not known where the “cookie” with the codes was: doctors removed it. the clothes to take care of him and the card, which was in his jacket, ended up in a plastic bag.
For his part, Bill Clinton (1993-2001) lost the card with the codes for several months, which caused great alarm among his advisers when they found out.
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