NTI-Led Delegation Advances U.S.-China Nuclear Fail-Safe Dialogue in Beijing
Former senior U.S. officials and NTI experts met Chinese counterparts to reduce the risk of accidental, mistaken, or unauthorized nuclear use.
New Interactive: Is Launch Under Attack Feasible?
See the timeline.
What does it mean for the U.S. president to “push the button”?
Recently, retired General Michael Hayden was asked about remarks attributed to Donald Trump regarding U.S. nuclear weapons. One of the hosts of the show, Joe Scarborough, asked Hayden how quickly a U.S. President could launch nuclear weapons. Hayden replied “The system is designed for speed and decisiveness. It is not designed to debate the decision.” What Hayden is describing is “Launch Under Attack” — the option to launch U.S. nuclear-armed ICBMs after enemy missiles have been launched, but before they strike targets in the United States.
A new timeline, produced by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies for the NTI website, illustrates how much time is lost to determining that an attack is underway (or whether it is a false alarm) and the time needed to physically launch U.S. ICBMs, and how little is left over for a U.S. President to weigh options and consider alternatives.
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U.S.-China Workshop Tackles Missile-Launch Notifications and AI-Nuclear Risks
On November 3, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) convened U.S. and Chinese experts for a virtual workshop on reducing nuclear risks in the U.S.-China relationship.
85% of Registered Voters Support the United States Working with China to Mitigate AI Risks, according to New Poll
New YouGov polling commissioned by NTI and ReThink Media finds that nearly 80 percent of registered voters, across party lines, say it is in the interest of U.S. national security to work with China to mitigate catastrophic threats associated with nuclear risks, AI development, and bioterrorism.
