The transfer of the nuclear suitcase is a discreet act that will go unnoticed during the presidential inauguration; but of paramount importance to the security of the United States.
Who has the nuclear case? It is a suitcase of about 20 kilos of black leather that always accompanies the US president and contains the necessary protocols to carry out a nuclear attack anywhere in the world, the EFE agency reports.
Normally, the transfer of the suitcase from one president to another – known as a “ nuclear ball ” – takes place on January 20 in front of the steps of the Capitol: when the new president takes office, the suitcase moves from one soldier to the next. other, appointed to assist the new head of state.
It is a discreet act, destined to go unnoticed; but paramount to American security.
In a documentary from 2013, former Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009) described that moment: “You have the ceremony there in front, but more or less behind one of the large columns there are two boys in their military uniform. and at the right time one approaches to give it to the other ”.
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And if that soldier 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 the new US president, Joe Biden, was sworn in on Wednesday, the position, his predecessor, Donald Trump, was already 1,000 miles away in sunny Palm Beach, 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 didn’t have one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world.
Fortunately, there is not a single “nuclear ball,” and there are at least three, nuclear weapons expert Stephen Schwartz said in a recent podcast from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
In this way, when Trump left the White House on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m., he took the briefcase because, according to protocols, it should be in his possession until noon, according to the media. International
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But in the absence of the outgoing president at the ceremony, when only Biden took office, the new president’s new military assistant received one of two other “nuclear balls” available.
Few details of that pivotal moment are known, as the Pentagon refuses to provide information; But shortly before the inauguration began, a group of reporters could see a soldier enter the Capitol with the characteristic black suitcase, reported Mike DeBonis, a reporter for The Washington Post, who posted a video to his Twitter account showing that moment.
Image video recording from Twitter @mikedebonis
The “cookie” that verifies the president’s identity
However, in order to launch a nuclear strike, the most important thing is not the briefcase, but a small laminated card known as a “cookie” or “golden code” that serves to verify the president’s identity, Schwartz revealed at the time. podcast.
Contrary to what the movies show, the head of state does not have a red button to fire the missiles, nor does the “cookie” contain secret nuclear codes.
United States President Joe Biden in the White House Oval Office. Photo agency EFE
These codes are kept close to the Pentagon, so if the president wants to launch a nuclear strike, he must first use a special phone that his military assistant has that connects him to commanders in charge of the missiles. .
The president would then have to verify his identity using the alphanumeric codes from the “cookie,” such as “DE-5,” and only then would the launch process begin, Schwartz said.
When Trump went to Florida, he also took the “cookie” with the code to confirm his identity, but that key was canceled once Biden took office.
“A menu” of attack options
According to Schwartz, the ‘nuclear ball’ is not hiding advanced military technology, as Hollywood has portrayed on the big screen, but a host of documents, including instructions for a transmission system that would allow the president to speak to the public in case Van attack.
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It also includes a list of places on land, at sea, and in the air where the president could seek refuge from an attack, and a filing cabinet with all the options for an offensive that, according to Schwartz, looks like a “Chinese food menu.” “with icons to show the different possibilities and specify the damage each of them causes.
According to the official journal of the reputed Smithsonian Institute, the origin of the nuclear suitcase has been classified for security reasons, but it was President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) who established the protocols of that system after the missile crisis in Cuba. .
The “nuclear ball” and “cookie” bear a great responsibility and have been surrounded by controversy in the past.
For example, in 1981, during the chaos that followed the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), it was not known where the ‘cookie’ with the codes was: the doctors took off his clothes to treat him and the card , which was in his jacket, ended up in a plastic bag.
Bill Clinton (1993-2001), for his part, lost the card with the codes for several months, which caused great concern among his advisers as soon as they found out.
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