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Only a few days into 2018
2018年才开年几天，
and President Trump tweeted that he has a nuclear button on his desk that is "much bigger" and "more powerful" than North Korea's.
特朗普总统就在推特上发文，声称他手里握着的核按钮比朝鲜的“更大”、“更有威力”。
Except, that nuclear button? It doesn't really exist.
问题是，他所说的核按钮，其实并不存在。
Instead of a button, there are two physical objects key to initiating a nuclear attack.
真正对启动核武器攻击起关键作用的，是两个实实在在的东西，而不是一个按钮。
They're called the "football" and the "biscuit".
就是所谓的“核足球”和“饼干”。
You may already be familiar with the football - nope, not that kind of football.
你或许已经对（美式）足球很熟悉了——不不不，不是这个足球。
It's more of a secure briefcase.
我们说的实际上是一个安全公文包。
A military officer at the President's side at all times is tasked with carrying it.
总统身边一直有一位军官提着这种公文包。
Inside is a menu of nuclear options available to the President,
包里放的是供总统选择的核方案菜单，
including possible targets and instructions for contacting US military commanders around the world.
包括潜在攻击目标，连线美国驻世界各地军事指挥官的说明。
Next, the President would be required to consult with military and civilian advisors.
接下来，总统需要和军事顾问、民事顾问进行协商。
In this case Trump would include Lieutenant General John L. Dolan and Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, General John Hyten,
这种情况下，特朗普可以指定中将John L. Dolan和美国战略司令部司令John Hyten将军与他进行协商。
but beyond a few required advisors, the President can actually include whoever else he wants.
然而，除了一些规定的顾问，总统其实还可以指定任何他中意的人选参与协商。
The length of this conversation and the ultimate decision to launch is completely up to the Commander-In-Chief.
协商对话的时长以及最终发起核攻击的决定都完全取决于总司令。
If the president decides to proceed, the biscuit comes into play.
总统如果决定出击，“饼干”就要发挥作用了。
A senior officer in the war room has to verify that this command is actually coming from the President. Safety first, right?
作战室的高级官员需要确认该命令是否的确来自总统。安全第一嘛。
So the officer recites a code and in turn the President responds with a code printed on the biscuit,
该官员要说出一个密码，总统则需要在饼干上回复相应的密码，
which is actually a card that the President carries at all times.
而这个饼干实际上是总统一直携带在身边的一张卡片。
Once the command is confirmed, it is communicated to the military personnel who will actually launch the attack.
一旦命令得到确认，该命令就会传达到具体发动攻击的军人那里。
Finally, launch crews execute the plan.
最后是作战队员开展作战计划。
This basically involves unlocking various safes, entering a series of codes, and turning keys to launch the missiles.
基本上就是打开各种保险装置，输入数串指令，插入各种钥匙，启动导弹攻击。
The whole process is designed to be fast, because if missiles are heading towards the United States ,
整个过程被设计得非常紧凑，因为如果导弹要飞起来，
they could land within 30 minutes.
不到30分钟就能到达美国。
In other words if the President chose to, he could order a nuclear strike in about the time it takes to write a tweet.
换句话说，总统要是真的决定发动核攻击，下达相关的命令只需要写一条推文的时间。
