Copyright washingtontimes
In Kathryn Bigelow’s new political thriller, “A House of Dynamite,” the president is all smiles at a photo op — until a Secret Service agent leans in to whisper something that wipes the smile from his face. Moments later, inside the motorcade, a military aide opens the nuclear football: A missile is inbound for Chicago. “I had one briefing when I was sworn in — one!” he shouts into the secure phone. Every U.S. president inherits the power to end civilization — but none rehearses that critical moment when they might have to use it. This scenario — known as launch under attack — is the hair trigger at the heart of our nuclear posture. The protocol is to launch our arsenal before incoming missiles can destroy it. Although a sophisticated early-warning system detects the danger, the outcome must begin and end in the human mind. We assume our presidents can rise to such a moment — calm, rational, unflinching. But the body betrays the mind. When adrenaline floods the brain, the prefrontal cortex — the seat of reason — shuts down. The walls close in. Brilliant minds freeze; decisive leaders falter. Researchers call it “the emotional basement.” This is why we must practice — not to prevent chaos, but to function inside it. Rehearsal turns panic into muscle memory. Pilots do it in simulators, surgeons in cadaver labs, firefighters in burn towers. The more vivid, chaotic — even anxiety-inducing — the drill, the better. As someone who has spent 25 years navigating crises from terrorist attacks to power blackouts to hurricanes, I cannot fathom a leader facing such a moment unprepared. And yet, we must go back nearly 50 years to find the last time it was done (under President Jimmy Carter, in 1977). Every president since, Republican and Democrat alike, has declined. The gap isn’t curious. It’s catastrophically dangerous. No pilot flies without time in a simulator. No surgeon operates without practice on a human body. Yet we entrust the president with civilization itself — without a single drill. Before taking office, every president-elect should face a full-immersion, launch-under-attack exercise. They must feel what it means to hold the world in their hands. We cannot rely on hope or temperament. When the clock strikes midnight, practice — not instinct — may be the only thing that saves us. KELLY MCKINNEY Vice president, emergency management, New York University Langone Health New York, New York
