The Washington Post has an article today in which they reveal the mistakes which led to a B-52 bomber ferrying six nuclear warheads from North Dakota to Louisiana. The reporters fault Air Force personnel for the grievous error which had live nukes flying over the heartland. They detail the mistakes made but other, interesting accounts of this nuclear fiasco have been making the rounds on the internet and offer an alternative scenario.
The official story, recounted in The Post, is that mistakes were made unwittingly and Barksdale Air Force base had no idea six nuclear weapons were being deployed to them. Supposedly there was no authorization by anyone for the transfer of warheads ten times the power of that dropped on Hiroshima. Had the aircraft crashed or had an in flight emergency there could have been a catastrophe.
The Air Force and Pentagon have complex, redundant safe guards in place for all nuclear weapons and such a mistake as this raised many eyebrows and fueled much speculation. Accidents like this simply don't happen with nuclear cruise missiles. The speculation arose around their transport to Barksdale, the primary jumping off point for Mid east long range bomber missions. Were the nukes being redeployed as part of a rumored imminent attack on Iran? Was the news of their deployment meant to send a dire message to Tehran?
After the London Times broke a story saying the Bush Administration is preparing a massive first strike attack against 1,200 Iranian targets the close timing of this fiasco was curious. The only people who really know sit in the White House and Pentagon and they aren't saying. If there is a massive first strike against Iran we'll know the answer, especially if George W. Bush elects to include nuclear weapons as part of a first strike military attack.
Ordinarily, I'd be among the first voices to caution against jumping to such a "wild and crazy" conclusion. But with this ideologically driven, reailty challenged crew in charge, I wouldn't put anything past them.
I'm still waiting for them to acknowledge Israel's recent raid on Syria, quite possibly involving nuclear material.
Posted by: Lee Levan | September 23, 2007 at 04:31 PM
Lee is referring to an air attack Israel recently launched against a suspected nuclear site in Syria. Apparently they mounted the strike with satellite intelligence from the U.S.
The attack has the entire Mid East in an uproar and, very well, may be the flashpoint for a new war.
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 07:18 PM
If there was nuclear material involved, don't you think we would have heard through the grapevine by now? After all, wasn't it the Norwegians or Swedes that gave us a hint about Chernobyl?
Posted by: Ghost of Tom Joad | September 23, 2007 at 07:31 PM
It seems the site attacked was being built as a potential nuclear development facility. That's the scuttlebutt at least.
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 07:35 PM
Here's a bit of a heads up for our regular readers. Check tomorrow's Philadelphia Inquirer for an article about the blog and a story we broke Friday about the Montco Commissioners race.
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 07:38 PM
The rhetoric and posturing by the Bushies is certainly indicative that Cheney will get his air strikes against Iran.
However, it should also be noted that Mohamed El Baradei of the IAEA has said there is absolutely no basis for doing so. The world is not falling for the disinformation again.
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 07:38 PM
"If there was nuclear material involved, don't you think we would have heard through the grapevine by now?"
Hmmmm....like the forged documents claiming Saddam was seeking to purchase yellow cake uranium from Niger, perhaps?
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 07:41 PM
There you go dredging up ancient history again with the infamous 16 words. Don't you understand the GOP wants us to forget how they lied us into this war?
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 07:51 PM
"Check tomorrow's Philadelphia Inquirer for an article about the blog and a story we broke Friday about the Montco Commissioners race."
Should we start calling you Muckraker Morgan? LOL <8O)
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 07:52 PM
"The Matt Drudge of Pennsylvania" will work fine, lol.
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 08:12 PM
Who was it that called you that? Wasn't it somebody from the Reading Eagle?
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 08:36 PM
Kori Walter, formerly of The Eagle.
Posted by: John Morgan | September 23, 2007 at 08:44 PM
" If there was nuclear material involved, don't you think we would have heard through the grapevine by now? "
Ghost, Check the latest news. Both Reuters and the (British) Sunday Times are reporting that nuclear material shipped from North Korea to Syria was involved.
Posted by: LeeLevan | September 23, 2007 at 09:08 PM
"Both Reuters and the (British) Sunday Times are reporting that nuclear material shipped from North Korea to Syria was involved."
But is that accurate, or is that what the US and/or Israel would have us believe?
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 09:17 PM
Why would the Bush Administration or Israel want us to believe that nuclear material was involved, if it wasn't?
Posted by: LeeLevan | September 23, 2007 at 09:42 PM
"Why would the Bush Administration or Israel want us to believe that nuclear material was involved, if it wasn't?"
To justify taking heavy-handed actions against Syria and/or Iran?
To try to sell the world on some notion that action is absolutely and immediately necessary?
I don't know whether it is true or it isn't, but once you've been lied into war by an administration, everything else it claims becomes suspect.
Posted by: Melissa | September 23, 2007 at 10:13 PM