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Home Front: WoT
Bent Spear
2007-10-19
From the blog, In from the Cold, a clear, detailed analysis and news so far about the the accidental transfer of six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles from North Dakota to Louisiana this past August. Useful companion piece to the news item below on the USAF response.
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#13  Fighter pilot mafia still screwing the rest of the USAF.
Posted by: OldSpook   2007-10-19 20:59  

#12  Oom McZoid, it was Oom.
Posted by: gromgoru   2007-10-19 19:28  

#11  Iff the USAF is indeed going to can = end the careers of several officers + very prob senior NCO's, etc. for this, then it is likely not PC disinformation to intimidate IRAN + respond to Putin-renewed Russ strategic bomber flights. The US-USSR Cold War is supposed to be over, correct! IFF WILFUL IMPROPER HANDLING DID OCCUR, QUESTION > HAS THE USAF BECOME TOO REGULATORY/BUREAUCRATIC FOR ITS OWN GOOD, AS PER SAFE TRAINING/PEACETIME OPERATIONS??? USAF-USDOD NOW HAS SO MANY RULES AND CHANGES NOT EVEN SENIOR OFFICERS KNOW WHICH WAY = WHAT TO DO ANYMORE? Safer and more convenient [read -saving careers/pension plans] to be political and "pass-the-blame" to others???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-10-19 19:16  

#10  Maybe we could rename Iran someting like, "U.S. nuke proving grounds"
Posted by: Mike N.   2007-10-19 17:19  

#9  "sorry, we were aiming for Qom"
Posted by: Frank G   2007-10-19 09:24  

#8  I would rather Tehran was nuked on purpose.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-10-19 09:18  

#7  #3 Yes gromyko, now we nuke Teheran by "mistake."

Is it wrong of me to like that idea?
Posted by: charles   2007-10-19 09:02  

#6  Anything that gets the moonbats in a tizzy make me happy.
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-10-19 07:00  

#5  Plots within plots, wheels within wheels.

You're making moonbats dizzy.
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-10-19 06:49  

#4  But...I thought the whole thing was a warning to Iran?

The other explanation by the Usual Suspects was this had been a coup inside the US armed forces, preventing the neocons from hijacking a nuke to use in a Conus false flag mega-terror attack, to then be able to attack (and nuke) poor, defenseless iran.

Because, you know, that makes much more sense than a screw up. Plots within plots, wheels within wheels.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-10-19 05:37  

#3  Yes gromyko, now we nuke Teheran by "mistake."
Posted by: McZoid   2007-10-19 05:19  

#2  But...I thought the whole thing was a warning to Iran?
Posted by: gromky   2007-10-19 03:37  

#1  The Minot-to-Barksdale flight was the first by a nuclear-armed aircraft (without required authorization) in more than 40 years.

As I noted in the other thread about this, 40 years is a very long time between significant incidents. However alarming this situation was—and make no mistake that it was indeed disturbing—all of us should take heart over the infrequency of such events.

Making matters worse, the presence of nuclear weapons on the missiles was missed by munitions technicians at Minot who routinely handle the devices. Then, the nuclear-tipped cruise missiles sat on the B-52 at Minot (without the required level of security) for 25 hours, before the bomber departed for Barksdale. After that, it would take ground crews another nine hours to discover the error. All told, the six warheads were officially "missing" for 36 hours.

All in all, a fairly major breach in security and one deserving of the punitive measures being considered. As the linked article notes, the personnel selection criteria and vetting procedures probably need some hefty retooling. From all appearances, the Air Force is taking this very seriously and not looking to sweep it under the carpet.
Posted by: Zenster   2007-10-19 02:54  

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