Again: Minot B-52 Nuclear Weapons Story

October 10th, 2007

Via: Star Telegram:

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.

Opinion columns and editorials appeared in America’s newspapers, some blasting the Air Force for flying nukes over the U.S. and some defending the Air Force procedure. None of the news reports focused on the real questions of our nuclear security.

Let me be very clear here: We are not talking about paintball cartridges or pellet gun ammo. We are talking nuclear weapons.

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.

Two armed munitions specialists are required to work as a team with all nuclear weapons. All individuals working with nuclear weapons must meet very strict security standards and be tested for loyalty — this is known as a “Personnel Reliability Program.” They work in restricted areas within eyeshot of one another and are reviewed constantly.

All security forces assigned are authorized to use deadly force to protect the weapons from any threat. Nor does anyone quickly move a 1-ton cruise missile — or forget about six of them, as reported by some news outlets, especially cruise missiles loaded with high explosives.

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.

Possibly Related: Todd Blue, et al.

2 Responses to “Again: Minot B-52 Nuclear Weapons Story”

  1. Alek Hidell says:

    In my misspent youth, I was enlisted and stationed at a SAC base in the mid 1970s. I can confirm all of the above. The nukes were stored in a bunker compound at the far north end of the flight line. There was a double fence around the compound, topped with razor wire and guarded by SPs with M16s and dogs. Procedures for any transfer of nukes were double checked all the way. The event reported by the media could not have happened by accident – if it happened at all.

    So what to think? Recall that the CIA owns everyone of any importance in the media, as Wm Colby kindly informed us (actually more like the other way around, the guys that own the media also own the CIA, but no matter). The media story is therefore a plant, a psyop. But for what purpose? That is the mystery. Two major possibilities:

    1) The entire story is completely fictitious. No flight took place, no nukes were moved. In this scenario, the story is a bizzare form of saber rattling, meant to pressure Iran. Let the Mullahs know that Darth Cheney is a wild and crazy guy who might do ANYTHING if western oil firms aren’t given access to Iranian oil leases. Maybe that will bring them to the table?

    2) Something actually happened, some neocon from high up authorized an illegal transfer of nukes for some dark purpose. In this scenario, patriotic ‘Murkan heroes from the USAF and the CIA controlled media exposed this scheme. Of course, the perps are allowed the traditional “incompetence” limited hangout. Yeah, right. Is there a mutiny going on in the heart of the empire? Maybe. The Chicago Tribune article about the USS Liberty atttack suggests that at least part of the US media (CIA) establishment is unhappy with the Israeli centered neocon movement.

    But it is so hard to care. If Governor Tarkin (the famous holder of Darth Vader’s leash) had overthrown the emperor, would the empire have been any less evil? I think not.

  2. Cloud says:

    If there’s a bright center to the universe, we’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.

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