January 19, 2017
Transcript of Oval Office Recorder 7B Seq#AC-994
!!! TOP SECRET !!! - Executive Office Staff Members Only
19:27 Chief of Staff
"Mr. President, NUDET has issued a priority one notice. Orbital systems have reported a significant EMP event followed by increased radiation levels in central Moscow. Eighteen minutes ago. Preliminary intelligence reports from sources on the ground are consistent with the detonation of a nuclear device between 7 and 13 kiloton."
19:27 President Williams
"Jesus!! Didn't we confirm complete Russian nuclear disarmament just 20 months ago."
19:27 Chief of Staff
"Yes sir ... information from NUDET indicates that detonation characteristics are not consistent with anything in the Russian stockpile. Langley analysis is currently indicating a 62% probability that this might be terrorist activity in retaliation for NATO air strikes launched from within Russia on the Middle East."
19:27 President Williams
"I want DEFCON 3 now. Did we notify the rest of NATO that one of our allies is under probable terrorist attack? Is there any intelligence on the source of that nuke? Any indication that we might be targeted as well?"
19:28 Chief of Staff
"We are in the process -"
19:28 CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
"Mr. President <pause>"
19:28 President Williams
"Go ahead Director"
19:28 CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
"I have just received reliable information that the detonation … the <Moscow?> nuke … might have been one of our own sir."
19:29 President Williams
"<pause> John…what the hell do you mean ‘one of our own’?"
19:29 CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
“Mr. President, in the early eighties we ran a project called Hibernate. The project’s objective was to provide us with guaranteed retaliation and undetectable pre-emptive strike capability against the former USSR.”
“Under this project we deployed eighteen nukes in strategic locations within the Soviet Union. Eleven of those nukes have been recovered since the wall went down, but seven are still in Russia today. <pause>”
“Ground zero of that blast was within a 1km radius from the deployment point of a remaining nuke. Latest analysis of the detonation characteristic show a 98% match with what is expected from the N-73 model that was deployed in Moscow in 1984.”
<long pause…possible recording interruption>
19:31 President Williams
“Oh no…do the Russians have enough information on our old nukes to reach the same conclusion?”
19:31 Chief of Staff & CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
<Unable to distinguish speakers>
“They do.”
“They will.”
19:31 CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
“Mr. President <pause> there is one more complication.”
<pause>
19:31 President Williams
“Speak up!”
19:31 CIA Director (via Langley voicelink)
“We have reason to believe that the USSR ran a project similar to Hibernate. It is estimated that there are at least 23 functional cold war era USSR nukes located in major US cities”