Annie Jacobsen

You have to get the blue impact clock ticking. He needs to look at this list to decide what targets to strike and what weapon systems to use. And that is what is on, according to Buzz Patterson, a piece of sort of laminated plastic. He described it like a Denny's menu. And from that menu... The president chooses targets and chooses weapon systems.

Yes, and it's non-digital. Non-digital.

Yes, and it's non-digital. Non-digital.

Yes, and it's non-digital. Non-digital.

Right? And there's a—meanwhile, I learned this only in reporting the book. There is a identical black book inside the STRATCOM bunker in Nebraska, okay? So let me—three command bunkers are involved when nuclear war begins, right? There's the bunker beneath the Pentagon, which is called the National Military Command Center, okay? Mm-hmm.

Right? And there's a—meanwhile, I learned this only in reporting the book. There is a identical black book inside the STRATCOM bunker in Nebraska, okay? So let me—three command bunkers are involved when nuclear war begins, right? There's the bunker beneath the Pentagon, which is called the National Military Command Center, okay? Mm-hmm.

Right? And there's a—meanwhile, I learned this only in reporting the book. There is a identical black book inside the STRATCOM bunker in Nebraska, okay? So let me—three command bunkers are involved when nuclear war begins, right? There's the bunker beneath the Pentagon, which is called the National Military Command Center, okay? Mm-hmm.

Then there is the bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, which everyone has, you know, many people have heard of because it's been made famous in movies, right? That is a very real bunker. And then there is a third bunker, which people are not so familiar with, which is the bunker beneath Strategic Command in Nebraska. And so it's described to me this way.

Then there is the bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, which everyone has, you know, many people have heard of because it's been made famous in movies, right? That is a very real bunker. And then there is a third bunker, which people are not so familiar with, which is the bunker beneath Strategic Command in Nebraska. And so it's described to me this way.

Then there is the bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, which everyone has, you know, many people have heard of because it's been made famous in movies, right? That is a very real bunker. And then there is a third bunker, which people are not so familiar with, which is the bunker beneath Strategic Command in Nebraska. And so it's described to me this way.

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

Yeah. Okay, so imagine this. Imagine being the president. You got that six-minute win. You're looking at your list of strike options. You're being briefed by your chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and your SECTAF. And this other really spooky detail happens.