Nuclear Weapon ResponsibilityMike Rappaport

From the Wall Street Journal interview of Nobel Prize winner Tom Schelling by Nobel Prize Winner Michael Spence: 

TomSchelling expects Iran to get nuclear weapons. “Once a country becomesthe owner of nuclear weapons, it is imperative that they learn to dealwith them responsibly.” He pointed out that it took the U.S. 15 yearsafter World War II to learn to think seriously about the security ofits weapons. Before that, weapons did not have combination locks, letalone complex electronic security codes. Now, most weapons will notdetonate even if given the codes unless they are at their designatedtargets. He recalled that a friend who had a role in developing theweapons told him that one day in the late 1950s, he got off a plane atan air base in Germany and saw a military aircraft on the tarmac with abomb beside it guarded by a single soldier. In those days there werenot locks and codes. The man strolled over and asked the soldier whatthis was. The answer: “I believe it is a nuclear bomb, sir.” When askedwhat he would do if someone started to roll the weapon away, thesoldier replied that he would call his superiors for instructions. Afurther enquiry established that the phone was some 300 meters away.