Captain Eric H. May, the Internet intelligence writer, takes a much-needed look at the implications of the loose nukes story that has been reported (badly) by the mainstream media, and is still the focus of the cyber community.
Loose Nukes Looming Near
By Captain Eric H. May
Military Correspondent
This week we learned that on August 30 the United States Air Force flew a B-52, locked and loaded with nuclear warheads, from North Dakota to Louisiana. This broke a military policy going back to the 1960s against such flights.
"I just can't imagine how all of this happened," said Philip Coyle, a senior adviser on nuclear weapons at the Center for Defense Information. "The procedures are so rigid; this is the last thing that's supposed to happen."
But it did happen, and we would not know about it at all had it not been for three Air Force officers, speaking under condition of anonymity, who Informed The Military Times about the event. And of course, everyone is trying to "get to the bottom of it."
So says the White House, which has lied about everything from 9/11 to Iraq to lead us into a global war for which the Neocons were planning well before the presidency of George W. Bush.
So says the Air Force, which just violated 40 years of policy without explanation, and states that it had no idea of the nukes were in the air over the United States for the duration of their flight.
So says Congress. "These reports are deeply disturbing," said Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "The American people, our friends, and our potential adversaries must be confident that the highest standards are in place when it comes to our nuclear arsenal." Everyone would be much more confident, I believe, if the Congress now promising to investigate the loose nukes were anything but the quislings that they have shown themselves to be, both before and after the Democratic election successes of 2006. They have made it apparent that there is really only one party in power: the War Party.
The presstitute media, to its credit, has not bothered to say that it will do look into, let alone report about, the loose nukes. In other columns I have explained that they are no longer even lapdogs, they are shameless lap dancers. They sit and squirm at the seat of power, proud to say that they have been embedded, ever willing to keep pulling tricks for treats.
So whom are we to trust from among the discredited list of our political, military and media leaders? If your answer to this question is "none of the above," then welcome to the Internet community of conspiracy theorists (like me) who aren't willing to accept official reassurances that all is well as airborne Armageddon takes flight over America for the length of the Mississippi River.
To take a single M-16 rifle from the arms room of a stateside military unit requires the permission of several military officials, along with numerous keys, combinations and codes. It is inconceivable to me, and to every other military veteran with whom I have spoken this week, that the loose nukes were a mere accident of oversight, or that the order to fly them came from any source other than the White House.
The official account of a slip up, parroted by the official media, is a transparent lie. The task for thoughtful and patriotic American citizens is to fathom the "why" behind the lie, and it comes down to a simple question: was the White House threatening to use the nukes or preparing to use the nukes?
Like all bullies, our King George likes to frighten others. The loose nukes may have been intended to bait the Russian bear, whose President Putin has been growling for a year that Neocon America reminds him of Nazi Germany. In response to our predatory Pax Americana, Russian bombers are now overflying foreign territory for the first time since the end of the Cold War; Russian nuclear facilities are ramping up for a new generation of production as their nation prepares to withdraw all from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1988; and Russian ground forces are now training alongside their Chinese counterparts in preparation for a Central Asian showdown with us.
It's ill advised, though, to suppose that the nuclear warheads flown across America were only a bluff, and not intended for use. There are two other sets of Bush opponents for whom the weapons could have been meant as either a demonstration -- or as an awful action.
Iran and Syria, defiant Middle Eastern nations, have been on the Bush target list since before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Israel is still in an un-ended war with Syria, and a few days ago sent its jets into Syrian territory, where they were fired upon by Syrian forces. As Colonel Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, recently pointed out, Israel was pushing for a US attack on Iran instead of Iraq as early as 2002. Washington insiders whisper that the Bush administration has promised an attack on Iran to its supporters in the Israel Lobby. AIPAC was instrumental in ensuring that the Democratic Congress did not take measures to repeal Bush's unilateral war making authority, given him by the War Powers Act of 2002.
There is a still more dreadful prospect though. Our "unitary executive" may be threatening or preparing a strike against US, the unruly and now war weary American People who are the greatest impediment to the Neocon New American Century plan. It used to be that only the 911 Truth community would entertain the idea that the next 911, the "911-2B" attack, could come from our own government. However, a recent spate of Bush administration pronouncements that we are due for such an attack has made it apparent to many other Americans that Bush would welcome a 911-2B event -- or might even arrange one
Six of my last seven columns have examined the prospect that a false flag nuclear attack may be in our near future, and this week's loose nuke story has not done anything to undermine my thesis. It's fine to wish that our own government were not such a threat to us, but anyone who thinks the loose nukes in our skies are not a threat to us is only engaging in wishful thinking.
# # #
Captain May is a former Army military intelligence and public affairs officer, as well as a former NBC editorial writer. His political and military analyses have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Houston Chronicle and Military Intelligence Magazine. For a list of his recent columns, refer to:
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/07/09/03/may.htm
(email)
captainmay@prodigy.net
(at) Houston, Texas
By Captain Eric H. May
Military Correspondent
This week we learned that on August 30 the United States Air Force flew a B-52, locked and loaded with nuclear warheads, from North Dakota to Louisiana. This broke a military policy going back to the 1960s against such flights.
"I just can't imagine how all of this happened," said Philip Coyle, a senior adviser on nuclear weapons at the Center for Defense Information. "The procedures are so rigid; this is the last thing that's supposed to happen."
But it did happen, and we would not know about it at all had it not been for three Air Force officers, speaking under condition of anonymity, who Informed The Military Times about the event. And of course, everyone is trying to "get to the bottom of it."
So says the White House, which has lied about everything from 9/11 to Iraq to lead us into a global war for which the Neocons were planning well before the presidency of George W. Bush.
So says the Air Force, which just violated 40 years of policy without explanation, and states that it had no idea of the nukes were in the air over the United States for the duration of their flight.
So says Congress. "These reports are deeply disturbing," said Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "The American people, our friends, and our potential adversaries must be confident that the highest standards are in place when it comes to our nuclear arsenal." Everyone would be much more confident, I believe, if the Congress now promising to investigate the loose nukes were anything but the quislings that they have shown themselves to be, both before and after the Democratic election successes of 2006. They have made it apparent that there is really only one party in power: the War Party.
The presstitute media, to its credit, has not bothered to say that it will do look into, let alone report about, the loose nukes. In other columns I have explained that they are no longer even lapdogs, they are shameless lap dancers. They sit and squirm at the seat of power, proud to say that they have been embedded, ever willing to keep pulling tricks for treats.
So whom are we to trust from among the discredited list of our political, military and media leaders? If your answer to this question is "none of the above," then welcome to the Internet community of conspiracy theorists (like me) who aren't willing to accept official reassurances that all is well as airborne Armageddon takes flight over America for the length of the Mississippi River.
To take a single M-16 rifle from the arms room of a stateside military unit requires the permission of several military officials, along with numerous keys, combinations and codes. It is inconceivable to me, and to every other military veteran with whom I have spoken this week, that the loose nukes were a mere accident of oversight, or that the order to fly them came from any source other than the White House.
The official account of a slip up, parroted by the official media, is a transparent lie. The task for thoughtful and patriotic American citizens is to fathom the "why" behind the lie, and it comes down to a simple question: was the White House threatening to use the nukes or preparing to use the nukes?
Like all bullies, our King George likes to frighten others. The loose nukes may have been intended to bait the Russian bear, whose President Putin has been growling for a year that Neocon America reminds him of Nazi Germany. In response to our predatory Pax Americana, Russian bombers are now overflying foreign territory for the first time since the end of the Cold War; Russian nuclear facilities are ramping up for a new generation of production as their nation prepares to withdraw all from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1988; and Russian ground forces are now training alongside their Chinese counterparts in preparation for a Central Asian showdown with us.
It's ill advised, though, to suppose that the nuclear warheads flown across America were only a bluff, and not intended for use. There are two other sets of Bush opponents for whom the weapons could have been meant as either a demonstration -- or as an awful action.
Iran and Syria, defiant Middle Eastern nations, have been on the Bush target list since before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Israel is still in an un-ended war with Syria, and a few days ago sent its jets into Syrian territory, where they were fired upon by Syrian forces. As Colonel Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, recently pointed out, Israel was pushing for a US attack on Iran instead of Iraq as early as 2002. Washington insiders whisper that the Bush administration has promised an attack on Iran to its supporters in the Israel Lobby. AIPAC was instrumental in ensuring that the Democratic Congress did not take measures to repeal Bush's unilateral war making authority, given him by the War Powers Act of 2002.
There is a still more dreadful prospect though. Our "unitary executive" may be threatening or preparing a strike against US, the unruly and now war weary American People who are the greatest impediment to the Neocon New American Century plan. It used to be that only the 911 Truth community would entertain the idea that the next 911, the "911-2B" attack, could come from our own government. However, a recent spate of Bush administration pronouncements that we are due for such an attack has made it apparent to many other Americans that Bush would welcome a 911-2B event -- or might even arrange one
Six of my last seven columns have examined the prospect that a false flag nuclear attack may be in our near future, and this week's loose nuke story has not done anything to undermine my thesis. It's fine to wish that our own government were not such a threat to us, but anyone who thinks the loose nukes in our skies are not a threat to us is only engaging in wishful thinking.
# # #
Captain May is a former Army military intelligence and public affairs officer, as well as a former NBC editorial writer. His political and military analyses have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Houston Chronicle and Military Intelligence Magazine. For a list of his recent columns, refer to:
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/07/09/03/may.htm (email)
captainmay@prodigy.net (at) Houston, Texas
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
UK Fighters Scrambled
09.09.2007 13:30
James Jones
6 Nukes Over US-Big Problems With This Story
09.09.2007 16:27
As the "official" story of six wayward nukes unfolds inconsistencies abound, and government reacts with absurd remedies. Government culture is not known for it's intelligence or common sense I grant you, but their reaction seems almost "Alice in Wonderland" like. Let's examine:
Air Force official fired after 6 nukes fly over U.S.
The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down on Sept. 14 to review procedures, officials said. In addition to the munitions squadron commander who was relieved of his duties, crews involved with the mistaken load — including ground crew workers — have been temporarily decertified for handling munitions, one official said.
According to the U.S. Air Force statement, the commanding officer in charge of military munitions personnel and additional munitions airmen were relieved of duties pending the completion of the investigation.
According to Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, "the error could not have come from confusing the Advanced Cruise Missile with a conventional weapons since no conventional form exists. So the munitions Airmen should have been easily able to spot the mistake. Other routine procedures were violated which suggests a rather obvious explanation for the error. The military munitions personnel were acting under direct orders, though not through the regular chain of military command."
Now the question is - How did a squadron commander get access to nuclear warheads? (Weapons of mass destruction?) All nuclear weapons are released only by upper echelon authority. There are fail-safe procedures and protocols in place to keep just this sort of thing from happening.
A nuclear submarine commander cannot launch his nuclear missiles without direct orders from the Commander in Chief or next in the chain of command. There are authentication codes and redundant verification procedures to stop this from happening.
How did it happen? Was the president involved, was this a covert operation, or was there a security breach? Any way you slice it, there is something very, very wrong with this story.
The timing of this looks very suspicious. This happens now at a time when there is much talk of: The US preemptively Striking Iran and large scale terrorist attacks on US soil.
Is all of this just coincidence? Time will tell. Don't expect the truth from the military investigators though.
Take a look at these comments to get the seriousness of the crisis.
Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of the weapons “deeply disturbing” and said the committee would press the military for details. Rep. Edward J. Markey, a senior member of the Homeland Security committee, said it was “absolutely inexcusable.”
“Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible,” said Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House task force on nonproliferation.
Another angle of the story coming out also looks suspicious. Why was the nuclear armed B-52 sent to Barksdale AFB?
If initial reports that the weapons were being decommissioned, but were mistakenly transported by a B-52 bomber, then the weapons should have been taken to Kirtland Air Force Base. According to Kristensen, this is “where the warheads are separated from the rest of the weapon and shipped to the Energy Department’s Pantex dismantlement facility near Amarillo, Texas”
It is well known that Barksdale AFB is used as a staging base for operations in the Middle East.
Another strange twist here from MSNBC:
Langley jets grounded next week for safety review
WAVY-TV HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- Langley Air Force Base will ground its jets next week.
The Air Force says the service's Air Combat Command has ordered all jet fighters and bombers to remain grounded so airmen can review safety procedures and protocol.
Langley is home to three fighter squadrons, which fly the F-15 Eagle and F-22A Raptor.
The nuclear tipped cruise missiles were on bombers not fighters! Fighters do not carry nuclear weapons. Furthermore the incident happened at Minot Air Force Base and not Langley Air Force Base. What is more disturbing is the fact that Langley is charged with defending the airspace over much of the east coast including the capitol. Why are fighters being ordered to stand down? This just doesn't compute!
Let's review the strange and inconsistent aspects of this unfolding story:
1. Nuclear tipped weapons loaded and transported skirting layers of fail-safe security measures and the chain of command.
2. Nuclear tipped weapons supposedly slated for decommission transported to a base that does not have the facilities necessary.
3. Very suspicious timing. This all happens at a time when there is much talk of the US preemptively Striking Iran and/or large scale terrorist attacks on US soil.
4. Langley Air Force Base will ground its jets for a week leaving vital airspace much less protected.
The whole scenario doesn't sound good or square up. Something much more is going on than we are being told!
Free World Survey
Steve Fossett
10.09.2007 11:40
The reason for Fossett's flight is also suspicious, apparently he was looking for a dried lake in which to attempt a land speed record - uh?, what's wrong with Bonneville Salt Flats were previous land speed records have been set? Also, he failed to log his flight plan which is a breach of FAA law.
This is stinking up a bit. 14th September: highly publicised US military stand-down. 21st September: massive put options mature predicting a huge stock market collapse. All getting a bit like 911.
Elmo