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Nuclear button
Figurative term for access to nuclear weapons / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The "nuclear button" is a figurative term referring to the power to use nuclear weapons.[1] "Pushing the nuclear button" refers to actually using them. The actual procedure for using such weapons is more complex than simply pushing a button.[2] The "nuclear button" may be transferred to another official due to political changes or the incapacitation of a person currently in control of it.[3]
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Various nuclear countries have nuclear briefcases that accompany the leader (such as the president of the United States), allowing them to launch nuclear missiles at any time.
Depictions of nuclear buttons sometimes appear in popular culture – for example, the music video for It's a Mistake in which an officer accidentally presses the nuclear button; and Land of Confusion, in which president Reagan launches a nuclear attack using the button.[citation needed]