The supreme commander of NATO should not be granted any type of predelegation “to fire nuclear weapons,” McNamara argued—and even the president should never order their use without knowing all the details of a nuclear explosion, whether it was deliberate or accidental, “whether or not it was Soviet launched, how large, where it occurred, etc.” Secretary of State Rusk agreed with McNamara. But their views did not prevail. The head of NATO retained the authority to use nuclear weapons, during an emergency, on the condition that “every effort to contact the President must be made.”
