A military aide will be carrying a satchel over his or her shoulder containing a briefcase known as "the nuclear football". Inside will be a piece of digital hardware measuring 3in (7.3cm) by 5in, known as "the biscuit".

　　一位军事助理将携带一个挎包，里面有一个被称之为“核足球”的手提箱。手提箱内有一块3英寸(约合7.3厘米)x5英寸大小的数字硬盘，被称之为“饼干”。

　　This contains the launch codes for a strategic nuclear strike. The briefing for the incoming president on how to activate them will have already taken place out of public sight, but the moment President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office that aide, and the satchel, will move quietly over to his side.

　　这块硬盘里含有战略核打击发射密码。为新总统介绍如何激活核武器将在公众视线之外、宣誓之前进行，但是等当选总统唐川普宣誓就职的时候，那位军事助手、以及那个挎包将静悄悄地移动到他身边。

　　Donald Trump will then have sole authority to order an action that could result in the deaths of millions of people in under an hour. The question on a lot of people’s minds right now is, given his thin skin and impulsive temperament, what are the safeguards, if any, to prevent an impetuous decision by one man with catastrophic consequences?

　　之后川普将唯一有权下令展开一场在一小时内造成数以百万计人死亡的行动。现在许多人脑子里的问题是，鉴于他脸皮薄和易冲动的脾气，什么保障措施(如果有的话)可以阻止这个人的冲动决定造成灾难性的后果?

　　First off, it should be said that Donald Trump has rowed back on some of his earlier, provocative comments on the use of nuclear weapons. He has recently stated he would be "the last person to use them", although he has not ruled it out.

　　首先，应该指出川普已经收回了他早先发表的一些关于使用核武器的挑衅性言论。尽管川普并没有排除会使用核武器的可能，但他最近声明自己会是“最后一个使用它们的人”。

　　Other senior figures are also involved in the chain of command, such as the incoming US Secretary of Defence, retired US Marine Gen James Mattis, But Mark Fitzpatrick, a nuclear non-proliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Washington, says that ultimately, the sole authority to launch a strike rests with the president.

　　其他高级官员也参与到了核武器指挥链中，例如新任美国国防部长、退休海军陆战队将军詹姆斯·马蒂斯。但是据华盛顿国际战略研究所的核不扩散专家马克·菲茨帕特里克表示说，最终发动核打击的唯一决定权在总统手里。

　　"There are no checks and balances on the president’s authority to launch a nuclear strike," he says. "But between the time he authorises one and the time it’s carried out there are other people involved."

　　他说道：“总统发动核打击的权力没有制衡。但是在他授权发动打击和打击最终发动之间牵扯到其他人。”

　　The idea of a rogue president taking such a monumental decision on his own is unrealistic. He gives the order and the secretary of defence is constitutionally obliged to carry it out.

　　认为一个流氓总统独断专行做出这样一个重大决定的想法是不切实际的。总统做出命令之后，国防部长将按照宪法规定执行。

　　The secretary of defence could, in theory, refuse to obey the order if he had reason to doubt the president’s sanity, but this would constitute mutiny and the president can then fire him and assign the task to the deputy secretary of defence.

　　理论上来说，如果国防部长有理由怀疑总统的理智的话，他可以拒绝服从命令，但是这有可能构成哗变，总统可以解雇他，然后将任务交由国防部副部长执行。

（编辑：何莹莹）