The Center on National Security was cited in a BuzzFeed article about the latest GOP debate.
The Center on National Security at Fordham Law School ran a fact check on the topics of national security and foreign policy that came up during Wednesday night’s debate and shared its findings with BuzzFeed News. Here is their answer to the question: Does the President actually possess the nuclear codes?
The President cannot unilaterally use the nuclear codes to launch a nuclear attack, according to a report by Jason Fritz that was commissioned by the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament. Rather, the United States enforces a two person rule with respect to nuclear activation at every level. At the highest level, this rule requires that the President jointly issue launch orders with the Secretary of Defense. The rule continues down the line, with commanding officers and executive officers working in tandem, and missile operators agreeing on launch order validity.
…
According to Fordham Law, only Donald Trump opposed it at the time, though Paul and Ben Carson say today that the invasion was a mistake and Ohio Gov. John Kasich regrets his vote in favor of the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq.
…
On the question of whether the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq created the Islamic State. The Center for National Security says the answer is no.
“The first iteration of ISIS, Al Qaeda in Iraq, formed in Iraq in 2004, after the Bush led toppling of Saddam Hussein and more than seven years before the Obama Administration presided over the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of 2011. Al Qaeda in Iraq eventually morphed into ISIS and the civil war in neighboring Syria became a boon for ISIS as it allowed them to gradually expand their territory and rebuild before storming across the Euphrates River with a vengeance in June 2014.”
Read the Center on National Security’s Q&A on the second Republican presidential debate.
