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Missile alert accidentally issued across Hawaii.


IanMan
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Where does the average person "shelter" themselves from an inbound ballistic missile? I doubt if I hid in the basement that it is going to do much good.

 

For some interesting history: During the 1980s, the U.S. launched a rocket and accidentally forgot to inform the Soviets of what they were doing. So the Soviets immediately detected a sudden missile launch from the United States. The head guy in charge of whether to make the command that it was a real attack or just a fluke, made the decision that it was a fluke before knowing for sure that it actually was. He knew though that if he decided it was a real attack and alerted the higher authorities, then they would have to make a decision about whether to counter-strike, because the leadership in Moscow wouldn't have much time in the event of a real attack before possibly being killed.

 

He decided though, based on what he knew of the United States and Reagan, that it was just too nuts for the U.S. to actually be attacking as it would mean certain doom for themselves too, so he got on the phone and told the higher-ups it was not real.

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Who put the intern in charge of the ballistic missile alert system again?? :eusa_naughty:

 

Googling on it, they say someone hit a "wrong button." I don't know anything about how such systems should work, but just as a regular person, I'd think maybe it should involve more than just one button a person could accidentally press. A person on Twitter made the following point:

 

"My phone and laptop ask me if I am sure before it lets me do something really irreversible. One would think a missile warning would have a similar level of cross-checking caution."

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Where does the average person "shelter" themselves from an inbound ballistic missile? I doubt if I hid in the basement that it is going to do much good.

 

For some interesting history: During the 1980s, the U.S. launched a rocket and accidentally forgot to inform the Soviets of what they were doing. So the Soviets immediately detected a sudden missile launch from the United States. The head guy in charge of whether to make the command that it was a real attack or just a fluke, made the decision that it was a fluke before knowing for sure that it actually was. He knew though that if he decided it was a real attack and alerted the higher authorities, then they would have to make a decision about whether to counter-strike, because the leadership in Moscow wouldn't have much time in the event of a real attack before possibly being killed.

 

He decided though, based on what he knew of the United States and Reagan, that it was just too nuts for the U.S. to actually be attacking as it would mean certain doom for themselves too, so he got on the phone and told the higher-ups it was not real.

 

Wheels is correct, in 1983 the Russian's thought we launched a nuclear war head at them.

This could have led to an all out nuclear war between us.

 

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