Johanna Faust, a mixed race Jew, prefers to publish pseudonymously. She is committed: first, to preventing war, ecological disaster, and nuclear apocalypse; last to not only fighting for personal privacy & the freedom of information, but, by representing herself as a soldier in that fight, to exhorting others to do the same. She is a poet, always. All these efforts find representation here: "ah, Mephistophelis" is so named after the last line of Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, whose heretical success flouted the censor for a time.

Six (Leave from Minot) Minus Five (Arrive at Barksdale) Equals: ONE MISSING NUCLEAR BOMB Updated



(what follows, Gentle Reader, was written by one of my most trusted sources, the thorough, most excellent Mr. Chuck Simpson. Bravo: well done.)

2007 FLASHBACK: 
Six Nukes Leave Minot 
Minus 
Five Nukes Arrive At Barksdale 
Equals:
ONE MISSING NUCLEAR BOMB


Someone, operating under a special chain of command 
within the United States Air Force, 
...just stole a nuclear weapon.


Some History:

Barksdale Missile Number Six deserves far more public attention than it's received to date. Missile Number Six is potentially the major story of at least this year.

Until 1968 under the Airborne Alert Program, informally called Operation Chrome Dome, the Air Force routinely kept about a dozen strategic bombers with nuclear weapons flying at all times.

One predictable result was crashes and incidents. In 1968 the Department of Defense published a list of 13 serious nuclear weapons accidents that occurred between 1950 and 1968. In 1980 the list was revised to include 32 incidents through that year.

Notably, the Pentagon has not acknowledged any accidents since 1980. This alone highlights the importance the Pentagon is placing on the recent transportation of nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana.

Through 1968, several reported incidents involved plane crashes or malfunctions, beginning with the crash of a B-29 near Fairfield, California in August 1950. The resulting blast was felt 30 miles away.

In July 1950 a B-50 crashed near Lebanon, Ohio. The high-explosive trigger for the nuclear weapon detonated on impact. The blast was felt over 25 miles away.

In May 1957 a nuclear weapon fell from the bomb bay of a B-36 near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Parachutes malfunctioned and the weapon was destroyed on impact.

In October 1957 near Homestead, Florida a B-47 crashed. The nuclear weapon was burned.

In March 1958 a B-47 accidentally dropped a nuclear weapon near Florence, South Carolina. The high-explosive trigger detonated on impact.

In November 1958 a B-47 crashed near Abilene, Texas. The trigger of the nuclear weapon exploded upon impact.

In July 1959 a C-124 crashed near Bossier City, Louisiana. Both plane and nuclear weapon were destroyed.

In October 1959 a B-52 with two nuclear weapons was involved in a mid-air collision near Hardinsburg, Kentucky. One weapon partially burned.

In January 1961 a B-52 broke apart in mid-air near Goldsboro, North Carolina. Two nuclear weapons were released. The parachute on one weapon malfunctioned, and contamination was spread over a wide area. The uranium core was never recovered. Daniel Ellsberg reported that detonation was a very real risk because five of six safety devices failed.

In that month near Monticello, Idaho a B-52 carrying nuclear weapons exploded in mid-air. No information was made available as to the weapons.

In March 1961 a B-52 with two nuclear weapons crashed near Yuba City, California.

In January 1964 a B-52 carrying two nuclear weapons crashed near Cumberland, Maryland.

In January 1966 a B-52 carrying four hydrogen bombs crashed after a mid-air collision near Palomares, Spain. Two weapons exploded on impact, with resulting plutonium contamination. A months-long program was undertaken to locate and extract the other two weapons from the ocean. Major policy changes were taken under consideration.

In January 1968 a B-52 carrying four hydrogen weapons crashed and burned near Thule AFB in Greenland. Explosives in one bomb detonated, spreading plutonium contamination. Apparently, the other three weapons have never been accounted for.

Following large public protests Denmark, which owns Greenland and prohibits nuclear weapons on or over its territory, filed a strong protest. A few days later the Secretary of Defense ordered the removal of nuclear weapons from planes. After that order was issued, all aircraft armed with nuclear weapons were grounded but kept in a constant state of alert.

In 1991 by Presidential order, nuclear weapons were removed from all aircraft. Bomber nuclear ground alerts, during which nuclear weapons are loaded onto bombers during test and training exercises, were halted. After that time, all nuclear weapons to be delivered by plane were permanently maintained in secure storage facilities.


August 30, 2007

All of which makes the transport of nuclear weapons in combat position on a combat plane so newsworthy.

On August 30, for the first time since 1968, nuclear warheads in combat position were carried by an American bomber. Numerous international treaty provisions were violated in the process.

That Thursday, a B-52H Stratofortress flew from Minot AFB in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana while carrying twelve cruise missiles. Either five or six of those missiles were armed with nuclear warheads.


Cruise Missiles

The missiles on the B-52 were AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile units, specifically designed to be launched from wing pods of B-52H planes.

A total of 460 units were manufactured by Raytheon. A total of 394 units are currently maintained by the Air Force. Apparently, 38 are to be modernized and upgraded in Fiscal Year 2008 and the other 356 are to be decommissioned pursuant to the 2002 Moscow treaty.

Raytheon has publicly announced the AGM-129 missiles are to be modified to accomplish a "classified cruise missile mission". This has widely been interpreted to mean conversion to bunker-busters, most likely for use in Iran. This widely accepted explanation is being used to explain why armed cruise missiles are being flown in American airspace.


Nuclear Warheads

The AGM-129 was specifically designed to deliver a W-80 nuclear warhead. The W-80 weapon has a variable yield capability, of 5 to 150 kilotons. For comparison purposes, the bomb used on Hiroshima was 13 to 15 kilotons, or equivalent to 13,000 to 15,000 tons of TNT explosive.


News Stories and Flawed Explanations

The story of the B-52 flight was first reported by Army Times, owned by Gannett, on Wednesday September 5. Gannett relied on information provided by "anonymous officers". The story was picked up by Yahoo Wednesday morning, published by USA Today and The Washington Pos, and then quickly spread.

In response, the Pentagon quickly spread an official explanation.

The Air Force admitted to an inadvertent error: The intent was to transport ACMs without weapons. According to military officers, the nuclear warheads should have been removed before the missiles were mounted on the pylons under the wings of the bomber.


In the words of the Pentagon:

"There was an error which occurred during a regularly scheduled transfer of weapons between two bases. The weapons were safe and remained in Air Force control and custody at all times."

For almost the first time in the history of the nation, the military has publicly and promptly admitted it "made a mistake". This in itself is truly astounding.

To reinforce the military's claim that a mistake was made, a system-wide stand-down was ordered for September 14.

That official explanation was quickly explained away. The mistake was made intentionally, so a "deliberate leak" of a secret operation could occur.



The CIA and the Office of Counter-Terrorism in the State Department explained that Barksdale AFB is a "jumping off point" for re-supply of the Middle East.

The "deliberate leak" was intended to serve as a veiled warning to Iran. This deliberately misleading explanation is evidently intended to lead the public or Iran or both to logically conclude the missiles are bound for Iran.

Bluntly, State and the CIA converted a whistleblower leak by true American patriots into a deliberate leak by official Washington, to scare Iran.

By this means Washington has led the public to forget or overlook the real issue.

To begin, the multiple official explanations reek to high heaven. They collectively read suspiciously like flimsy cover stories concocted in hasty desperation. And no amount of pretty lipstick will be able to make the official explanations pretty.


Transportation Violations

More conflicting explanations followed. These missiles are part of a group scheduled to be decommissioned. This would explain why they were shipped out of North Dakota.

But the missiles were not transported on their way to decommissioning. Missiles are normally decommissioned at Davis-Monthan AFB at Tucson. Nuclear weapons are decommissioned at the Department of Energy's Pantex facility near Amarillo, Texas, accessed through Kirkland AFB in New Mexico.

And military policy requires minimization of the number of flights made with nuclear weapons aboard. So the weapons should not have been mounted on the missiles, flown to Louisiana, un-mounted and flown to New Mexico.

The mode of transportation is also a major issue not defused by official explanations. Per standard operating procedures, or SOPs, both missiles and nuclear warheads are transported primarily by air, in specially modified C-130s or C-17s. Under no peacetime circumstances do military SOPs allow transport of nuclear weapons mounted in cruise missiles mounted in combat positions on combat planes.

Department of Defense Directive Number 4540.5, issued on February 4, 1998, regulates logistic transportation of nuclear weapons.

By delegation of Commanders of Combatant Commands, movement of nuclear weapons must be approved by commanders of major service commands.

Commanders of Combat Commands or service component commanders must evaluate, authorize and approve transport modes and movement routes for nuclear weapons in their custody.

The Air Force is required to maintain a Prime Nuclear Airlift Force capability to conduct the logistic transport of nuclear weapons.

Under SOPs, combat planes with combat-ready nuclear weapons can only be flown on the authority of the Commander in Chief, the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the National Military Command Authority.

All of these transportation regulations were flagrantly violated on August 30.


Handling Violations

Violations of regulations concerning handling of the nuclear weapons in North Dakota are worse.

A sophisticated computerized tracking system is used for nuclear weapons. Multiple sign-offs are required to remove the weapons from their storage bunkers.

The AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile was designed to carry nuclear weapons. No non-nuclear warhead is available for this missile. So the only possible error could have been loading nuclear warheads on the missiles instead of practice dummies.

The practice warheads have standard blue and yellow signs declaring "Inert, non-nuclear". The nuclear warheads have at least three distinctive red warning signs. This error is therefore highly improbable, absent tampering with signage.

Nuclear weapons are transported from the storage bunker to the aircraft in a caravan that routinely includes vehicles with machine guns front and rear and guards with M-16s. All steps in the process are done under the watchful eyes of armed military police.

Rules require that at least two people jointly control every step of the process. If one person loses sight of the other, both are forced to the ground face-down and temporarily "placed under arrest" by observant security forces. All progress stops until inspections are made to assure the weapons weren't tampered with.

All nuclear weapons are connected to sophisticated alarm systems to prevent removal or tampering. They could only be removed from the storage bunker by turning the alarm off. And the squad commander clearly would not have authority to turn off the alarm.


The Impossible Mistake

Bluntly, the mistake of loading nuclear weapons on a combat aircraft in combat-ready position is simply not possible to make. Safeguards are far too stringent and far too many people would be involved. Particularly given that the mounting was in violation of policy that's been in place without exception for almost 40 years.

No discipline is expected to be meted out. The New York Times tried to imply the commanding general had been fired. Actually, the squad commander in charge of munitions crews at Minot was "relieved of duty pending an investigation". He has not been removed from his position or disciplined. The crews involved have been "temporarily decertified pending corrective actions or additional training" but have not been disciplined. No mention has been made of the wing commander.

Note carefully: These actions amount to nothing at all. The wing and squad commanders are still in place and the crews can easily be re-certified.


Successful Confusion

Washington's efforts to confuse the public have been successful. Attention has shifted from the crucial issue.

This news has already become non-news. The August 14 stand-down will momentarily become news, followed by announcements of more stringent restrictions, improved safeguards and additional training. The public always has been and always will be safe.


One of the major issues will be avoided:

Someone in an irregular chain of Air Force command authorized loading and transport of nuclear weapons.

And that would never have been done without a reason. Given the magnitude of regulatory violations involved, the reason must be extremely important.

The paramount issue will be avoided, if necessary with repetition of the reassurance that the Air Force was in control at all times. The weapons were only missing during the 3.5-hour flight.

At Barksdale, the missiles were considered to be unarmed items headed for modernization or the scrap heap, and of no particular importance. They were left unguarded for almost ten hours.

According to one report, almost ten hours were required for airmen at Minot AFB to convince superiors that the nuclear weapons had disappeared. According to information provided to Congress, this time lapsed before airmen at Barksdale "noticed" the weapons were present. News reports will continue to overlook this fact also.

Even here the focus is on time. The number of missiles and warheads issue was overlooked.

Early news reports spoke of five nuclear warheads loaded onto the bomber. Apparently, this information was provided from Barksdale.

That number was later updated to six weapons missing from Minot, apparently based on anonymous tips provided to Military Times by people at Minot. This information has also been forgotten.


Conclusion

Six nuclear weapons disappeared from Minot AFB in North Dakota.

Five nuclear weapons were discovered at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

Which leads to my chilling conclusion:

Someone, operating under a special chain of command within the United States Air Force, just stole a nuclear weapon.


What next?

The answer has been provided several times, most recently by CIA Director and General Michael Hayden. On September 7, dressed in full military uniform, Hayden told assembled members of the Council of Foreign Relations:

"Our analysts assess with high confidence that al-Qaida's central leadership is planning high-impact plots against the U. S. homeland."

"We assess with high confidence that al-Qaida is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant aftershocks."

An eye for an eye. Use of nukes will justify use of nukes. A perfect excuse to wage nuclear war against Iran.

I suspect Hayden is absolutely correct, except for his mistaken identification of the "central leadership" that is planning detonation of a nuclear weapon on American soil.


Have a nice day, and



Be seeing you.



********************************



Now what do you think of:



********************************
UPDATE ( a response to comments):
]A Note to my gentle Readers: I wish you would give a pseudonym of some sort -- it makes it easier to sort out replies...)

Robert: the conclusion is most certainly tempting, though it behooves us to remember the incredible power of sheer ineptitude coupled with a need to 'save face' -- the latter is, IMHO, what is really killing America.Anon. ("We just have to keep an eye on Al-CIAda"): how?Anon. ("For years I have pointed out") -- I fear there is not one unified 'plan' because there is not one unified 'they' -- but i share your fears indeed. Belief, however, is in my opinion inappropriate. The word has an aroma of conviction irrelevant of fact. The people are waking up -- (I noticed before Zbigniew or Salon)-- and all of us in gathered in this virtual place are a part of that.anonymous "i thought some or all of the airmen involved in this incident were killed or died suspiciously. Was that a rumor or the truth?": as far as I know, the truth.
" Why hasn't the Air Force or the FBI investigated the 6-8 untimely deaths including three alleged suicides, one of a Minot weapons guard, one of an assistant defense secretary, and one of a captain in the super-secret Air Force Special Commando Group, as well as alleged fatal vehicle "accidents" involving four ground crew and B-52 pilots and crewmembers at Minot and Barksdale? Could any of this strange cluster of deaths have been related to the incident? The Air Force "investigation" didn't even mention these incidents, and my investigation, reported in the Oct. 24 issue of the magazine American Conservative, found that none of the police investigators or medical examiners in those incidents had even been contacted by Air Force or other federal investigators."
anonymous "Do americans think that they are shielded and that nothing can kill them?" yes, quite frankly. never been an attack on us soil: thats why we have the gall to swagger into other people's homelands and tell them what to do. Disgusting, and stupid.



anonymous "What would give the neocons and corporate elite": Peak Oil is as far as I can tell a myth propaated by doulblefaced corporate toadies like Matthew Simmons (don't trust him as far as can throw him) to jack up Oil. Just another way to fleece the last drops out of up: the transfer of $$ to the very very top has been unprecedented in the past twent years. As in, it has sped up.
anonymous "With troops and a massive armada of warships surrounding Iran": I hope you are also. I hope that should anything of the sort happen, we will see right through it, the way we saw through the h1n1 scare -- mostly --


I HOPE THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN. And hope to warn my Fellow Americans...

Be seeing you -

19 comments:

  1. i could not agree with you more..if the bp fiends could get away with destroying the whole gulf of mexico..et al..then whats next?..yes its blow some us city to hell and blame it on....they will figure something out after the aftermath.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. We just have to keep an eye on Al-CIAda ,I tell ya waht!

    ReplyDelete
  3. For years I have pointed out,to anyone whom would listen,that "the powers that be" have no problem with killing off a good portion of "their" constituents to further the one-world-government goal.
    I truly believe this is THE YEAR their plan will come to fruition.
    Wake up!!,arm yourselves!!!,prepare!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. i thought some or all of the airmen involved in this incident were killed or died suspiciously. Was that a rumor or the truth?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous: And you know what's worst? Not the BP oil disaster or 9-11. The worst i see is that most americans are more worried about the world series of soccer than about their own reality, and their own survival. Do americans think that they are shielded and that nothing can kill them? I dont understand how can people in USA behave like if they are not scared of being in a baseball game or a big public place and being blown to pieces by the zionist jews and CIA. To tell you the truth americans hate their own lives too much

    .

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  6. What would give the neocons and corporate elite a great excuse to suspend the constitution and declare permanent martial law, while at the same time eliminating any democratic opposition? Nuking Washington DC.

    They know that Peak Oil will lead to massive unrest in our country, and they believe that a totalitarian regime is the best way for the rich to protect their riches.

    granted, this is a speculative theory, but I wouldn't put it past them, especially considering what they did on 9-11-01.

    ReplyDelete
  7. With troops and a massive armada of warships surrounding Iran, the US needs a trigger to start the war that will garner both domestic and international support.

    I suspect that this trigger will come in the form of a false flag nuclear explosion in a US city on or around July 4th, when patriotism is at its peak.

    It will probably be in one the Gulf States, because the Gulf State Emergency Preparedness Agencies have confirmed that they have already "drawn up emergency plans to evacuate much of the population surrounding the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of toxic rain and severe environmental damage". I know that this is due to the oil spill, but remember the FEMA training exercise on 9/11 that turned live?

    I TRULY HOPE THAT I'M WRONG.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gentle Readers: I have posted my responses, above, where I had the benefit of HTML...

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Senator WARNER. I want to do that, but I want to follow on just
    one point that my distinguished colleague brought out. In no way
    do we forgive, or anyone else, the sloppiness and the breakdown in
    discipline and training and so forth. But the weapons were never
    armed, is that correct?
    General DARNELL. That is correct, Senator.
    Senator WARNER. As a consequence we could say that the American
    public was never in danger if there had been an accidental dropping
    or otherwise of these weapons; is that correct?
    General DARNELL. Yes, sir, that iscorrect.
    Senator WARNER. Good.
    General Welch, it is nice to see you again. It was a wonderful, wonderful
    time we had together over these 30 years Senator Levin and
    I have been on this committee. Glad that you are still very active on
    behalf of the interests of our country and your beloved Air Force.
    Thank you.
    Chairman LEVIN. Just to clarify something that I said. Now, if
    these weapons had been jettisoned for whatever reason if there was
    mechanical failure or they had been jettisoned over water for whatever
    reason could they represent a dangerous release of plutonium?
    Could that happen?
    General DARNELL. Senator, it is not my understanding that that
    would be the case, but we all have to clarify that for you.
    Chairman LEVIN. You are saying that if these weapons were jettisoned
    over land
    General DARNELL. Yes, sir.

    ReplyDelete
  11. General DARNELL. Yes, sir.
    Chairman LEVIN. that there could not be a release upon the destruction
    of these when they smashed into the ground, that there
    could not be a release of plutonium? Is that what you are saying, or
    you don’t know?
    General DARNELL. Sir, I don’t know. I woud have to confirm whether
    that would be or not.
    Chairman LEVIN. Does anyone here know? My understanding is
    it could be dangerous.
    General PEYER. I am a logistician, not a technician. But knowing
    the knowledge of how a system is developed, and that is part of the
    reliability of the system, is that there is no inadvertent detonation
    of the system”
    Chairman LEVIN. No, I am not talking about detonation. I am talking
    about could the plutonium be released inadvertently if this
    weapon were smashed into the ground from 15,000 feet.
    General PEYER. That piece I would not know.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    Plutonium dispersal is virtually impossible without a high explosive detonation.
    The W80 warhead is designed to resist detonation and remain intact in an accident
    or jettison scenario. The W80 utilizes insensitive high explosive (IHE) technology.
    IHE is designed to decompose rather than detonate in a fire. The weapons were
    never armed and the release of plutonium would have been highly unlikely in the
    event of a crash or jettisoning scenario.
    Chairman LEVIN. Do you know, General Welch?
    VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:36 Dec 03, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 C

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chairman LEVIN. that there could not be a release upon the destruction
    of these when they smashed into the ground, that there
    could not be a release of plutonium? Is that what you are saying, or
    you don’t know?
    General DARNELL. Sir, I don’t know. I woud have to confirm whether
    that would be or not.
    Chairman LEVIN. Does anyone here know? My understanding is
    it could be dangerous.
    General PEYER. I am a logistician, not a technician. But knowing
    the knowledge of how a system is developed, and that is part of the
    reliability of the system, is that there is no inadvertent detonation
    of the system”
    Chairman LEVIN. No, I am not talking about detonation. I am talking
    about could the plutonium be released inadvertently if this
    weapon were smashed into the ground from 15,000 feet.
    General PEYER. That piece I would not know.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    Plutonium dispersal is virtually impossible without a high explosive detonation.
    The W80 warhead is designed to resist detonation and remain intact in an accident
    or jettison scenario. The W80 utilizes insensitive high explosive (IHE) technology.
    IHE is designed to decompose rather than detonate in a fire. The weapons were
    never armed and the release of plutonium would have been highly unlikely in the
    event of a crash or jettisoning scenario.
    Chairman LEVIN. Do you know, General Welch?
    VerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:36 Dec 03, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 C:\DOCS\45602.TXT SARMSER2 PsN: JUNEB
    73
    General WELCH. Yes, sir. The plutonium can not be released unless
    There is a high explosive detonation.
    Chairman LEVIN. There is no possibility of release if jettisoned
    and it smashes into the ground?
    General WELCH. Not unless there is a high explosive detonation,
    and that is very, very unlikely.
    Chairman LEVIN. Unlikely. Impossible?
    General WELCH. I am reluctant to say anything is impossible. Let
    me say I can not imagine how it could happen.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chairman LEVIN. All right. Then why are these so dangerous?
    Why do they need special inspection and security when they are on
    a flight line? Why is it important that a pilot even know that he
    has a nuclear weapon on board?
    General WELCH. Because with a high explosive detonation you
    will indeed scatter plutonium. So the concern is to ensure that no
    one can have access to these weapons in a way that they can intentionally
    create a high explosive detonation. There are ways to do
    that.
    Chairman LEVIN. Thank you.
    Senator Bill Nelson.
    Senator BILL NELSON. Mr. Chairman, that is the appropriate response.
    There is no assumption of detonation; however, in the crash
    of two planes in the late 60s or early 70s, plutonium was spread
    all over the place, and plutonium is lethal. Is that correct, General
    Welch?
    General WELCH. Absolutely.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sneaky Pete Sez
    Just to clarify the incident, the plane departed Minot with six missiles, one was launched in flight (from the left, port, wing pylon) and the plane landed in Barksdale with 5 missiles. The AGM-129 cruise missile fitted with the W80 warhead is too long to fit into the weapons bay and must be mounted on the wing pylons. The W80 warhead can be targeted and the yield adjusted (5-150 kilotons) when loaded, when in flight by the air crew, and by satellite after launch. It can also be armed and disarmed in flight by satellite command. The launched missile was tracked by satellite using the thermal signature from it’s engine. When in a safe secure place the flight motor was shut down and tracking was lost. The precise location of the crash was lost due to a loss of signature.
    Three days late the famous aviator Steve Fossett was declared missing and a massive search was launched to find him. The search for Fossett was an excuse to search for the missing missile as Steve Fossett is alive today. The missile did not leak radiation and was not found by the high tech Air Force aircraft involved in the search. After the search was discontinued two retired Air Force Colonels who had been involved in the search died in a questionable aircraft accident. Six months after the search the missile was located just inside the Nellis test range and was recovered without incident.
    Below is an excerpt from the Congressional Investigation into the incident, note that there is no discussion as to who authorized the release of the weapons and who released the launch codes. The incident is blamed on the loading and air crews and does not address the theft or attempt to explode the weapon on a US target. The load crew was responsible for stopping the thief of six nuclear weapons!
    Neither the Congress nor the Justice Department possess the integrity to conduct a criminal investigation into an act of treason!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sneaky Pete Sez
    Just to clarify the incident, the plane departed Minot with six missiles, one was launched in flight (from the left, port, wing pylon) and the plane landed in Barksdale with 5 missiles. The AGM-129 cruise missile fitted with the W80 warhead is too long to fit into the weapons bay and must be mounted on the wing pylons. The W80 warhead can be targeted and the yield adjusted (5-150 kilotons) when loaded, when in flight by the air crew, and by satellite after launch. It can also be armed and disarmed in flight by satellite command. The launched missile was tracked by satellite using the thermal signature from it’s engine. When in a safe secure place the flight motor was shut down and tracking was lost. The precise location of the crash was lost due to a loss of signature.
    Three days late the famous aviator Steve Fossett was declared missing and a massive search was launched to find him. The search for Fossett was an excuse to search for the missing missile as Steve Fossett is alive today. The missile did not leak radiation and was not found by the high tech Air Force aircraft involved in the search. After the search was discontinued two retired Air Force Colonels who had been involved in the search died in a questionable aircraft accident. Six months after the search the missile was located just inside the Nellis test range and was recovered without incident.
    Below is an excerpt from the Congressional Investigation into the incident, note that there is no discussion as to who authorized the release of the weapons and who released the launch codes. The incident is blamed on the loading and air crews and does not address the theft or attempt to explode the weapon on a US target. The load crew was responsible for stopping the thief of six nuclear weapons!
    Neither the Congress nor the Justice Department possess the integrity to conduct a criminal investigation into an act of treason!

    ReplyDelete
  16. this is overwhelming...interesting site here...

    ReplyDelete
  17. thanks -- and yes, kept me up when it happened.

    dream i had may be of interest.....

    ReplyDelete