Word: commandeer
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...potential is there for some form of nukenapping--grabbing weapons for ransom or nuclear blackmail--or sales to rogue states or terrorists, or unauthorized launches by renegade commanders. Some Russians even fret about a nuclear civil war. If a region in Siberia were to declare its independence, a retired senior officer in Moscow speculates, "the entire missile force in the area might cut itself off from the chain of command and control and get reprogrammed to be able to launch at will...
...secret CIA study last September, first reported by the Washington Times, rated the likelihood of such a launch as still low but found the Russian control system under such unprecedented stress that some high-level commanders in Moscow were worried about the security of their nuclear weapons. The CIA also reported that the famous code briefcases are not what they seem. They allow the President or the Defense Minister or the Chief of the General Staff to authorize a nuclear attack, but the actual ability to launch missiles lies much further down the line of command, even in regional command...
Under these circumstances, uncountable things could go wrong, and the CIA lists three most feared scenarios. First is a political crisis in Moscow that could lead to a military coup or a breakdown in command authority from the top. This could leave elements of the strategic forces to their own devices...
...rockets. This danger has greatly increased because the Russian early-warning system is not what it used to be. It has lost major radar stations in the new nations of Ukraine, Latvia and others. Some of its satellite-tracking stations have gone to Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan. The high command is now partially blind, which increases its apprehensions, produces false alarms and makes good decisions harder...
...dreams of Iwerks or even Walt. The Lion King earned $300 million at the domestic box office, more abroad, and zillions more in video. This summer's Disney feature, Hercules, looms huge: it might make Simba roar with envy; it will surely spur the rebels at DreamWorks, under the command of former Disney exec Jeffrey Katzenberg, to draw bigger and faster on their animation slate. On TV, The Simpsons, now in its eighth superb season, begot Ren and Beavis, Duckman and King of the Hill. Disney and Warner stores sell upmarket T shirts and gewgaws based on new and classic...