# Can the President by himself order a preemptive nuclear strike? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-by-himself-order-a-preemptive-nuclear-strike/722776 "2015-06-17T19:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-by-himself-order-a-preemptive-nuclear-strike/722776/61 "2016-10-28T18:34:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > …Back in the day, they used to have something called the SIOP- Single Integrated Operations Plan that detailed the targeting options, procedures, etc… for nuclear war. These days it’s been replaced by an Operations Plan (OPLAN 8010, Strategic Deterrence and Global Strike) which does the same thing… The target list for the 1956 SIOP has been declassified somewhat recently. The nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein [took the list, wrote a script that coupled the list with local weather conditions](http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2016/05/09/mapping-us-nuclear-war-plan-1956/) and his [NUKEMAP](http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/) code, (which is basically [Glassstone](https://www.amazon.com/Effects-Nuclear-Weapons-Samuel-Glasstone/dp/1258793555) rendered on Google Maps), and put the resulting interactive [graphic](http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/misc/targets1956/) on his website. The fallout plumes assume 100% groundbursts were used, and are consequently considerable. I’d read before from people like [Rhodes](https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Sun-Making-Hydrogen-Bomb/dp/0684824140) and [Schlosser](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143125788) that the SIOPs were ridiculous overkill, but the graphic really brings it home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-president-by-himself-order-a-preemptive-nuclear-strike/722776.md?page=3)