Our Own Loose Nukes

Sometimes the mainstream media misses a story altogether...and sometimes they simply cover the wrong angle--to the detriment of us all.

Here is a column written by Robert Stormer, a retired Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Navy, about that little incident not too long ago when the Air Force flew some nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base (according to him the "staging area for Middle Eastern operations", in clear violation of seemingly every policy there is:

Last month, six W80-1 nuclear-armed AGM-129 advanced cruise missiles were flown from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana and sat on the tarmac for 10 hours undetected.

Press reports initially cited the Air Force mistake of flying nuclear weapons over the United States in violation of Air Force standing orders and international treaties, while completely missing the more important major issues, such as how six nuclear cruise missiles got loose to begin with.

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There is a strict chain of custody for all such weapons. Nuclear weapons handling is spelled out in great detail in Air Force regulations, to the credit of that service. Every person who orders the movement of these weapons, handles them, breaks seals or moves any nuclear weapon must sign off for tracking purposes.

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The United States also does not transport nuclear weapons meant for elimination attached to their launch vehicles under the wings of a combat aircraft. The procedure is to separate the warhead from the missile, encase the warhead and transport it by military cargo aircraft to a repository -- not an operational bomber base that just happens to be the staging area for Middle Eastern operations.

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This is about how six nuclear advanced cruise missiles got out of their bunkers and onto a combat aircraft without notice of the wing commander, squadron commander, munitions maintenance squadron (MMS), the B-52H's crew chief and command pilot and onto another Air Force base tarmac without notice of that air base's chain of command -- for 10 hours.

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Does the Bush administration, as some news reports suggest, have plans to attack Iran with nuclear weapons?

His full article is here.