Scuffle with security-guards over nuclear football when Trump visited China.

[DetlefK]

Last edited Mon Feb 19, 2018, 10:34 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/02/us-chinese-officials-got-physical-scuffle-nuclear-football-november-report/

Five sources told Axios’ Jonathan Swan that on Nov. 9, as a delegation of U.S. officials including Kelly and President Donald Trump attempted to enter Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

As the entourage crossed the threshold into the Great Hall, Chinese guards stopped the military aide tasked with carrying a briefcase containing the materials necessary for the president to authorize a nuclear strike, the so-called “nuclear football.” This aide is to remain close to the president at all times.

Axios said that when the aide was stopped, Kelly — who had already entered the hall — rushed to where the aide was being detained and ordered all U.S. personnel to continue into the Great Hall and disregard Chinese instructions. The Americans began to move forward.

A “commotion” ensued, Swan said, in which a Chinese security official lunged at Kelly and grabbed him, which Kelly responded to by shoving the man’s hands away. A Secret Service officer then tackled the Chinese official and wrestled him to the ground.

The whole confrontation was over in a matter of moments, but the question remains as to how it happened. White House officials assured Swan that they did all the necessary advance work to coordinate with Chinese officials.

But, Swan wrote, “somebody at the Chinese end either didn’t get the memo or decided to mess with the Americans anyway.”



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Let's recap:
1. Trump and his entourage enter a buidling.
2. The chinese security-guards pick out the guy with the nuclear football from the entourage and try to arrest him.
3. After a brief violent scuffle, the guy and the nuclear football are back with the President's entourage.



Two thoughts:
- The Chinese are masters and perfectionists of diplomacy and soft power. The chinese government does not make such mistakes. They simply do not.
- Why did the Chinese think, they could get away with that. "Oops, sorry, here's your nuclear football back. We didn't look, we swear." Is it maybe because Trump has proven to be a cowardish braggart?



EDIT:
Changed title.

[denbot]

1. Im guessing the launch codes are w/the football, or the military aid.

With both the Chinese could then have launched our own nukes against any other country, or they could have launched against us knowing that there would be a delay in retaliation, and a chance at saying whoops, then suing for peace.

With Shitler at the helm we are incredibly weak right now, and both our friends and our enemies know it. If a rival wanted to pull an audacious move, this would be their time window to act.

[FBaggins]

4. Having the football doesnt give you the ability to launch nukes

The launch process is a little more complicated than that

[denbot]

9. You are likely correct that the football alone does not grant a launch.

The football is a mobile means to immediately launch a nuke attack, or retaliation. A football with launch codes is all you need. The delegation was in enemy territory, and susceptible to jamming and thereby being cut off from our government and military.

In that scenario, the CIC cut off, both incommunicado and in the hands of the enemy, with the only communication being a seemingly legitimate launch order, a launch will likely occur.

BTW My ship was nuclear qualified (tactical), and we worked hard to become, and maintain our qualification. I am not totally unaware of some of the protocols we use.

That being said, the story doesn’t seem to pass the smell test, and if it is B.S., my guess is the “leak” would be coming from Kelly to shore up support against Shitler firing him..

[FBaggins]

18. The process can't keep the President from launching intentionally...

... but it can keep anyone else from doing it.

The scenario that you imagine couldn't possibly result in a nuclear launch. If the President is "incommunicado" then the SecDef can't confirm that it's the President giving the order. If the President's delegation goes offline in China (ignoring that this could constitute enough for the VP to become acting President and nuclear authority passing to him) and suddenly there's a signal from the football to attack, say, India... you think SecDef is going to confirm the order?

I'm sure that the case is secured with multiple levels of security (intentionally put the wrong combination into the lock and it won't work... cut through the case and it won't work... ) and that the launch process includes more than just "follow the checklist in the case". Someone untrained in the process couldn't get around it. If everything you need for a launch is in the case... then launch authority isn't limited to the President (the guy with the football could do it for instance).

[FBaggins]

2. The story does not support you invented title

Nor is it accurate to say that the Chinese never make protocol mistakes.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Yes, and we do know that the tRump clowns & chief clown DO make protocol mistakes. . . . nt

[nocalflea]

3. The Chinese never had the football.

Doesn't matter if they did. Codes and protocol would have been changed, so there is no real advantage here for the Chinese.

Were they sending a message ? If so, I suspect the meaning is known only to the Chinese.

[Iliyah]

5. fake news (Murdoch) or sin sin clair?

Sounds like something coming out of Hollywood.

I truly hope the good ole USA does have some sort of fail safe system, but alas, this whole present administration down to the low life control congress, and security officials scares the shit out of me because of the incompetence level.

[Farmer-Rick]

14. Kelly wasn't Chief of staff back then

But I guess he could have been a member of the visiting party. Just strange that it comes out now. Do you think China has joined the Russians in troll farming us?

[oberliner]

6. This is Raw Story stealing content from Axios to generate hits to its ad-filled clickbait website

With a (barely) paraphrased version of somebody else's work.

Here's the actual Axios article, with the actual reporting, from the actual reporter:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-sneak-peek-852ce0f7-5ca9-4020-8b81-082c15f69df1.html?chunk=0#story0

[SWBTATTReg]

7. tRUMP was more than likely bragging about the 'football' to his hosts...

on and on and on. They probably wanted to take it away from him to shut him up! Ha, just for laughs.

Seriously, this is no laughing matter, and tRUMP needs to get a grip on it.

[bronxiteforever]

10. This is about the beautiful chocolate cake incident

Remember Trump was enjoying the “most beautiful” chocolate cake at his Palm Beach resort with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago when he ordered the missile strikes on a Syrian air base in April 2017.

He was trying to bully Xi with American power. I think this is China returning Trumps disrespect.

[PatrickforO]

11. This is really messed up. It NEVER would, ever, have happened under

Obama.

Of course, he was a serious and very powerful US president.

Trump is sort of a joke.



That's the problem right there. Trump is a joke. A sick joke on the American people.

[FreepFryer]

12. Still waiting for this story to be corroborated by a second news outlet. (n/t)

[bearsfootball516]

13. Your headline is misleading. Nowhere does it say they tried to steal it.

It sounds more like they were just trying to be intimidating.

[DetlefK]

17. Plausible deniability.

They saw how cavalier Trump was with the nuclear football.

They easily could have arranged this incident.

- If they manage to get their hands on the nuclear football, fine.
- If not, "Well, my apologies for those security-guards getting out of hand. Here's a red carpet, a photo-op and two scoops of ice-cream."

[hexola]

15. CHINA ON U.S. OVERTHROW - "Wow - that was easy!"

"All you nukes belong to us"

[NewJeffCT]

16. if it was a movie

somebody would have planted a bug or tracing device on the suitcase.

Since the Russians could have done that with the Oval Office when they met Trump there with only the Russian press and nobody from the US there...