How warheads made an unplanned flight (B-52 flight Minot to Barksdale AGM-129 Snafu)

WaPo via LA Times ^ | September 23, 2007 | Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus

[Red Steel]

WASHINGTON -- -- Just after 9 a.m. on Aug. 29, a group of U.S. airmen entered a sod-covered bunker on North Dakota's Minot Air Force Base with orders to collect a set of unarmed cruise missiles bound for a weapons graveyard. They quickly pulled out a dozen cylinders, all of which appeared identical from a cursory glance, and hauled them along Bomber Boulevard to a waiting B-52 bomber.

The airmen attached the gray missiles to the plane's wings, six on each side. After eyeballing the missiles on the right side, a flight officer signed a manifest that listed a dozen unarmed AGM-129 missiles. The officer did not notice that the six on the left contained nuclear warheads, each with the destructive power of up to 10 Hiroshima bombs.

That detail would escape notice for 36 hours, during which the missiles were flown to a Louisiana air base that had no idea nuclear warheads were coming. It was the first known flight by a nuclear-armed bomber over U.S. airspace, without special high-level authorization, in nearly 40 years.

The episode, serious enough to trigger a rare "Bent Spear" nuclear incident report that raced through the chain of command to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush, provoked new questions about the adequacy of U.S. nuclear weapons safeguards while the military's attention and resources are devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Three weeks after word of the incident leaked to the public, new details obtained by the Washington Post point to security failures at multiple levels in North Dakota and Louisiana, according to interviews with current and former U.S. officials briefed on the initial results of an Air Force investigation.

The warheads were attached to the plane in Minot without special guard for more than 15 hours, and they remained on

[Robe]

Don’t believe a word of it .....

[mdittmar]

Welcome to FR.

[Doctor Raoul]

The episode, serious enough to trigger a rare "Bent Spear" nuclear incident report that raced through the chain of command to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and President Bush, provoked new questions about the adequacy of U.S. nuclear weapons safeguards while the military's attention and resources are devoted to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of course, if the Comrades at the LA Times and the KOSmanuats at the DailyKooks had their way, there would be no nuclear deterrent and America would be defenseless.

[magellan]

"The episode, serious enough to trigger a rare "Bent Spear" nuclear incident report ... "

Now don't go bringing Bill Clinton into this.

[Pistolshot]

I doubt seriously the “physics package” was inserted in these. Those are heavily guarded and the 2-man rule applies when moving them.

[Southack]

It’s to be expected that there is a “cover story” about the B-52 flying armed with nukes, but no serious adult should believe that “no one noticed” any of the dozen safeguards being broken that would be required for such an “Accident.”

Which is to say, it was no accident. Happened about the time that North Korea agreed to dismantle their WMDs and allow full U.S. inspection...while simultaneously some mysterious events transpired inside Syria, too.

[Drew68]

Don’t believe a word of it .....

On the contrary. As an ordnanceman, something like this could only happen if several procedures were violated. This isn't just an "Oops, we loaded a nuke!" This happened precisely because of dereliction and complacency at many different levels just as the article stated.

[Army Air Corps]

I agree. “Accidental” my butt.

[Incorrigible]

Maybe we can accidentally carry some nukes over Iran?

[Drew68]

I doubt seriously the “physics package” was inserted in these. Those are heavily guarded and the 2-man rule applies when moving them.

IIRC, a previous article stated that these weapons did not have the arming devices needed for detonation. Still, the real fear is that the USAF could be so sloppy in their custody of nuclear weapons.

[roses of sharon]

Can you expand? What does the timing mean to you?

Thanks!

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Don’t believe a word of it .....

Neither do I. Having it happen they way they describe is a near to impossible as you can get.

[Schwaeky]

dont u mean accidentally drop on Iran?

[Old Flat Toad]

Still not buyin’ it. Somebody’s diggin’ for something.

[Southack]

We sent a message.

Likewise, this week Israel told Syria that Damascus would cease to exist if Syria used chems or nukes.

...those two messages (one from us via the nuclear-armed B-52 and the other Israel’s statement to Syria) didn’t just happen in isolation.

Those were coordinated messages.

And you might take note that there are no protests on the Arab Street right now. Everyone is quiet because they *know* that Bush and Barak would nuke them.

We really would.

[NonValueAdded]

zinggggggggg!

[Incorrigible]

We really would.

I don't know Southack. I think I need one of your "all thest things Bush has done" replies to make me feel better about GW right now!

[Incorrigible]

Well, you know. Maybe one of the weapons not secured tight enough. Could happen....

[txroadkill]

Nothing really to see here, they were always in control of the US Air Force, it’s not likely that the pilot would have launched them over Arkansas just to see what would happen, and I’m pretty damn sure they was no chance of them landing at a 7-11 for gas and a slurpy where they could have been stolen while the flight crew was inside waiting for a burrito to heat up in the microwave.

[JSteff]

“there are no protests on the Arab Street right now.”

There were no protests on the arab streets or in a major way in the arab capitals. The reason for that is mostly because the leaders in the arab capitals trust Israel with nukes more than they trust Syria or Iran with nukes.

They all know that Israel does not want their territory. Iran and Syria want to control it all. They were actually happy Israel did what they did.

[Southack]

No protests in Damascus or Tehran, either...

[khnyny]

Um, hate to break it to you, but it happened. The question is how and perhaps why. This story should scare the beejesus out of everyone.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/05/loose.nukes/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295797,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090500762.html

[Squantos]

As an ordnanceman, loader or BB stacker you as well as I (EOD) know that the CG point of attachment changes when the W80 warhead is installed. The “handling” gear they used would have to be configured for full or empty to load it. Uncle Sugars Wind Force couldn’t have made this many errors in a long chain of events required before a move is made.

Munitions control would have had each of those ACM’s by serial number listed as full up or empty on their data grease board as well in digital and paper files. The noooook munitions team leader, the load team at the aircraft, the WSO on the BUFF, The AC Commander, The enlisted Crew Chief for the AC, the flight safety officer, command post on main base..... wayyyyyyyyyy too many FUBARS to think for one minute this was a Ooooops by the Wing Nuts on the ground and in the air etc etc etc etc etc ............ô¿ô¬

[Red Steel]

The warheads were attached to the plane in Minot without special guard for more than 15 hours, and they remained on the plane in Louisiana for nearly nine hours more before being discovered. The warheads slipped from the Air Force's nuclear safety net for more than a day without anyone's knowledge.

Did the the munitions line-delivery crew think the AGM-129s were trainers? If they were the real AGM-129s, then were was security police escort to convoy them to the plane? where's the no-lone-zone cordon on the tarmac with 360 degree view coverage? The cops just left? The load crew has to sign for the weapons before they gain custody - where's the chain of custody receipt? Or are the load crew and delivery crew the same? if not, they didn't recognize the weapons? If this was to be special shipment to Bardsdale, Where's the Munitions Custodian or MASO to personally verify the nuke shipment?

So many more questions...?

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

If this story is true ( I can’t correct any inaccuracies due to the loose lips rule ) then several people should at least be demoted/fired over this. From what I could gather there are many places I would have caught this error even as a lowly new 2 striper.

Several somebodies didn’t do their job.

[khnyny]

This is from the WP article:

An Air Force B-52 bomber flew across the central United States last week with six cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads that were mistakenly attached to the airplane’s wing, defense officials said yesterday.

The Stratofortress bomber, based at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, was transporting a dozen Advanced Cruise Missiles to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Aug. 30. But crews inadvertently loaded half of them with nuclear warheads attached.

Air Force officials said the warheads were not activated and at no time posed a threat to the public. But a timeline of the episode supplied by the Air Force yesterday to House and Senate lawmakers indicated that the missiles in question sat on a runway in Louisiana for nearly 10 hours before workers noticed that the nuclear warheads were inside.

Military officials also said they were concerned that the warheads were unaccounted for several hours while the missiles were in transit. The missiles never left Air Force control, they said.

The cruise missiles — part of an Air Force fleet of more than 400 of their kind — are being retired and usually would not carry nuclear warheads while being transported. Defense officials said the B-52’s mission last week did not include training runs, so the missiles were never meant to be launched. The cruise missiles have a range of about 2,000 miles and are designed to hit precision targets well behind a potential enemy’s lines.

Two defense officials said it is unclear how stringent safeguards for the handling of nuclear weapons were skirted, allowing the missiles with the warheads to be loaded onto a pylon that was then attached to the underside of the B-52’s wing. Air Force officials said the mistake was a serious breach of rules and that an investigation began immediately.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I doubt seriously the “physics package” was inserted in these. Those are heavily guarded and the 2-man rule applies when moving them.

My thoughts exactly.

There may have been fissionable material in the ordnance but there's no way in Hades that they were capable of being armed or detonated.

[Red Steel]

No convoy commander...hello Munitions Control...hello Command Post. This is weird. What are they doing at Minot?

[terycarl]

what’s the difference??? If nuclear weapons were indeed transported somewhere....makes little difference other than the security breach....you don’t drop a nuke on someone...it will not detonate unless programmed to do so and the proceedure to do so is more than a little bit complicated....it is either our intention to detonate the weapon....or it doesn’t happen!!!

[Red Steel]

Yup. No loss of control just accountability.

Right, you can drop them them from orbit....

[Delacon]

While it may not have been fissionable, if dropped from altitude, wouldn’t it make one heck of a dirty bomb?

[Southack]

http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/html/521041m.htm

[dusttoyou]

WITH the “physics package”!

[Stoat]

No convoy commander...hello Munitions Control...hello Command Post. This is weird. What are they doing at Minot?

Minot AFB - United States Nuclear Forces

In 1988, the Air Force selected Minot AFB for the Commander-in-Chief's Installation Excellence Award. This presidential award recognizes those military installations that combine mission excellence with the concern for people to produce working and living conditions truly above other installations.

(emphasis added)

Could things have fallen apart so very badly after less than twenty years?

At so very many points in the chain?

This all seems fishy to me.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...wouldn’t it make one heck of a dirty bomb?

I'm not familiar with the stress tolerances of the particular casing used on theses devices. Many variables. It is very possible.

However, I have good reason to believe that there was no plutonium on board these devices.
More, I cannot say.

[cpdiii]

It was the first known flight by a nuclear-armed bomber over U.S. airspace, without special high-level authorization, in nearly 40 years

Forty years ago was 1967. That was the absolute height of the cold war. The US Air Force loaded up live nukes every day and flew toward the USSR and then returned. There were nukes in the sky over the continental United States every day. The purpose of this was to insure that regardless of what happened in a first strike by the USSR, there was enough ordinance in the air and on missiles and subs to render the enemy into a smoking cinder. What else did the Washington Post get wrong in this article?

[Sender]

I don’t buy the accident story. There is nothing more heavily guarded and closely inventoried than a nuke. Even if they didn’t have all the parts inserted, there is no way that nuclear warheads could be “accidentally” put in plain “cylinders” alongside conventional or unarmed missiles. I’m not speaking from any kind of personal experience, but I’m quite sure that the military puts their nukes in special storage and there is no way they can be taken out without orders from on high. If nukes were indeed on that plane, it is because someone ordered nukes to be on that plane.

[Apercu]

Yawn.....Remember SAC? Looking Glass,Offut AFB EC 135’s in the air from 1961 thru 1998, 24-7 with nuke ready B-52’s on alert or in the air.....much ado about nothing.

[pfflier]

1. ACMs are not cylindrical.

2. WTF is a "flight officer"? This is not the RAF and we haven't had any since WWII.

3. How could a reporter so ignorant of facts 1 and 2 know what a "Bent Spear" is unless tutored by someone who wanted them (and everyone else) to know the information?

[Red Steel]

This all seems fishy to me.

;-)

[southland]

I agree with you.. I also do not believe a word of it.

[southland]

I agree with you.. I also do not believe a word of it.

[Mr. Silverback]

I don't know Southack. I think I need one of your "all thest things Bush has done" replies to make me feel better about GW right now!

May I jump in with one?

Here's a list from The Ancoress Online, via Freeper ravingnutter. It's followed (after the line of asterisks) with a list I got from Planned Parenthood during the 2004 election. though some of the horrible things Dubya did to those poor baby-killers are repeated, note how many of them there are and consider that it's a list of pro-life accomplishments from just the first term. “For a while now, and really, since shortly after the 2004 election, I have gotten emails from folks who say, “Bush forgot that you have to dance with the one that brung you.” They’ve been sending me that message for so long, on so many different issues, that I suspect Bush feels a little like a girl who is invited to a fancy ball - and proves to be excellent company for most of the night, despite being hated by many of the guests – but manages to fall out of step, at which point she is abandoned on the dance floor and told to find her own way home.“For a while now, and really, since shortly after the 2004 election, I have gotten emails from folks who say, “Bush forgot that you have to dance with the one that brung you.” They’ve been sending me that message for so long, on so many different issues, that I suspect Bush feels a little like a girl who is invited to a fancy ball - and proves to be excellent company for most of the night, despite being hated by many of the guests – but manages to fall out of step, at which point she is abandoned on the dance floor and told to find her own way home.

Betrayal is such a strong word; did he betray you, really?

—Did he protect us from the reach & province of the International Criminal Court? Yes.
—Did he keep us from the Kyoto mess that is currently tying up Europe? Yes.
—Did he create a workable alternative to Kyoto that other countries have embraced? Yes. Bet you didn’t know that!
—Have US Carbon Emissions decreased on his watch, without Kyoto? Yes.
—Did he submit a comprehensive energy plan that got killed by a weak congress? Yes.
—Has he lowered the deficit ahead of schedule in time of war? Yes. Even the NYTimes admits it!
—Did he cut taxes? Twice? Yes. And yes.
—Did he try to get the cuts made permanent? Yes. Congress dropped that ball.
—Did he stop government funding of EMBRYONIC stem cell research? Yes.
—Has he kept the promises he made as he held a dead cop’s shield before the Joint Houses? Yes.
—Did he go after the Taliban and AlQaeda in Afghanistan barely a month after 9/11? Yes.
—Has he been unflagging in his efforts to subdue terrorism, worldwide? Yes.
—Has be been the consistent voice for human liberty around the globe? Yes.
—After some serious missteps, is the surge working? Yes.
—Has he been a staunch friend to Israel, the only stable democracy in a frantic region? Yes.
—Did he end the farce of world-wide Arafat admiration? Yes.
—Did he remove Saddam Hussein, whose state supported terrorists, from power? Yes.
—Did he invade Iraq at a time when the whole world believed Saddam had and “would use” WMD? Yes.
—Did he bring a much-maligned coalition with him? Yes. Some are still there.
—Did he liberate 50,000 people in keeping with the ideals of the 1998 Iraqi Liberation Act? Yes.
—Has he inspired the Iraqi people to finally believe enough in freedom to fight AlQaeda with us? YES!
—Has he figured out that a free and engaged Middle East makes America safer? Yes.
—Has he kept you safe since 9/11? So safe that you’ve almost forgotten to fear? Yes.
—Did he remove “the wall” between the CIA and the FBI? Yes.
—Did he go to the UN before invading Iraq? Yes.
—Did he tell the UN that the US would never ask permission to defend herself? Yes.
—Didd he inspire Libya to surrender it’s WMD without firing a shot? Yes.
—Did he appoint excellent SCOTUS and Federal Judges to the bench? Yes.
—Did he implement the NSA terrorist eavesdropping program? Yes.
—Did he immediately move to freeze assets and make terror funding more difficult? Yes.
—Did he reform Medicare? Yes.
—Did he reform Social Security to give you more power over your money? He tried. See Congress.
—Did he manage an economy thru recession, terror attack & war w/ consistent gains for over ten quarters? Yes.
—Has he kept unemployment between 5.5% and 4.4% for an impressive period? Yes.
—Does he say what he means and mean what he says? Yes.
—Did he try to address immigration last year, when the houses were in his party? Yes.
—Does he support the second amendment? Yes.
—Does he support school vouchers and school choice? Yes.
—Did he sign the ban on Partial Birth Abortion? Yes. It went to court, but he signed it.
—Did he reverse Clinton’s intent to kill Reagan’s pro-life Mexico policy? Yes.
—Did he support the Defense of Marriage Act? Yes. That used to be vitally important to you.
—Did he expand the roles of faith-based organizations in social programs? Yes.
—Did he prosecute the white-collar criminals like Ken Lay who ran riot through the ‘90’s? Yes.
—Has he handled himself with enormous courage, dignity and grace in the face of world/media/hate? YES!
—Is he a man with a creed before he’s anything else? Yes.
—Did he establish Health Savings accounts? Yes.
—Did he have the Border Patrol installing monitoring devices along the borders? Yes.
—Has he made mistakes? Yes. Some undeniable beauts.
—Has he been an imperfect president? Yes.
—Has he spent too much? Probably.
—Has he given you most of what you’ve wanted? Actually, looking at the list…yes!
—Has he dared to disagree with anyone to keep his principles, even you? Yes.
Did he ever question your patriotism, or tell you you were a bad person? No, actually, he didn’t. Go read his remarks in context, instead of looking at one sentence blared at you by the very media you distrust. Be intellectually honest enough to admit that in this immigration controversy there are (sadly) some who are using fear to move their agenda, and there are some (only some, but they hurt us all) who reveal bigotry in their rants. You needn’t be offended if you can remember that there are those “somes” in every group; conservatives have no corner of perfection.
Credit to: http://theanchoressonline.com

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Report Topics:

REDUCING ACCESS TO FAMILY PLANNING

• Anti-choice governor Tommy Thompson selected as Secretary of Health and Human Services (December 29, 2000).
• On his first day in office, the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the president restores the Reagan-era global gag rule on international family planning assistance (January 22, 2001).
• The president closes the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach (March 29, 2001).
• Contraceptive coverage for federal employees striped by the president from his first federal budget (April 9, 2001).
• The president floats possibility of nominating John Klink - an ardent opponent of birth control and spokesperson for the Vatican in it's opposition to condom use - to oversee the U.S. Global population program (May 23, 2001).
• "Abstinence-only" proponent Patricia Funderburk Ware named the head the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) (November 30, 2001).
• House passes the "Child Custody Protection Act," which would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion unless the parental involvement requirements of her home state have been met (April 17, 2002).
• U.S. delegation to the U.N. Children's Summit, led by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, fights sexuality education and opposes condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention (May 2002).
• Louise Oliver, former president of the pro-life Harvard Law School's Society for Law, Life, and Religion appointed special assistant to the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (July 2002).
• The president withholds $34 million in funding for birth control, maternal and child care, and HIV/AIDS prevention from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (July 22, 2002).
• House passes abortion ban legislation H.R. 4965 (July 24, 2002).
• Announcement made by administration that approximately $900,000 available for financial assistance and applications for embryo "adoption" (July 25, 2002).
• The U.S. Department of Justice does an about-face and withdraws support for women's rights treaty, maintaining U.S. as only industrialized nation not to ratify the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (July 26, 2002).
• Anti-condom "abstinence-only" proponent Dr. Freda McKissic named to the CDC Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention (September 6, 2002).
• House passes the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (ANDA), a sweeping refusal clause that allows any health care entity to discriminate against any provider who provides or even gives information about abortion (September 25, 2002).
• U.S. State Department freezes $3 million in funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to anti-choice objections to the WHO's Human Reproduction Program (October 2002).
• HHS Web sites remove medically accurate information about condom effectiveness and the lack of a proven link between abortion and breast cancer (October 2002).
• HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection Charter gives embryos new status as "human subjects" (October 2002).
• "Abstinence-only" proponent Dr. Alma Golden named to oversee Title X, nation's family planning program (October 7, 2002).
• Family Planning foe Chris Smith calls on USAID to exclude reproductive health organizations in developing countries from receiving HIV/AIDS funding, thus extending global gag rule (October 24, 2002).
• U.S. delegation to U.N. regional meeting reverses U.S. position in support of 1994 global agreement affirming the right of all couples and individuals to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children, and to have the information and means to do so (United Nations, 1994) (November 2, 2002).
• Anti-choice and religious extremist doctors opposed to contraception, mifepristone, and reproductive rights appointed to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (December 24, 2002).
• The president's FY 2004 budget fails family planning programs and denies women access to abortion services (February 3, 2003).
• Politics trumps women's health, Senate passes S.3 abortion ban (March 13, 2003).
• Senate and House defeat Department of Defense (DOD) amendments that would have allowed access to abortion for women in the military who use their own funds (May 22, 2003).
• Abortion ban, H.R. 760, passes the House of Representatives (June 4, 2003).
• State Department denies funds for refugee AIDS prevention (August 1, 2003).
• The president extends global gag rule to all international family planning programs (August 29, 2003).
• Abortion ban, S.3, is sent to conference with the House of Representatives (September 17, 2003).
• Congress passes S.3, dangerous ban on abortion, endangering women's lives for political gain (October 22, 2003).
• The president signs abortion ban, the first federal legislation since Roe v. Wade to criminalize abortion, imperiling women's health (November 5, 2003).
• Budget released for FY 2005 funds "abstinence-only" sex education and marriage initiatives, freezes funding for Title X family planning services (February 2, 2004).
• FY 2005 budget pours money into discriminatory "Healthy Marriage" initiative (February 2, 2004).
• FDA bows to political pressure and delays making decision on converting emergency contraception to over-the-counter status (February 13, 2004).
• U.S. Delegation to Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean stands alone in refusing to join a declaration reaffirming the Cairo consensus on population development because it objects to the use of phrases like "reproductive rights," "reproductive health," and families "in all their various forms" (March 11, 2004).
• July 16, 2004 — Bush administration withholds funding for UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund for third year in a row (July 16, 2004).
• Congress denies funding for military women seeking abortion after rape or incest, strips bipartisan Boxer-Snowe amendment from Department of Defense Authorization Bill. (October 7, 2004).

BUILDING THE PLATFORM TO OUTLAW ABORTION

• Extreme anti-choice zealot John Ashcroft proposed for U.S. attorney general (December. 22, 2000).
• Anti-Choice governor Tommy Thompson selected as Secretary of Health and Human Services (December 29, 2000).
• Chris Smith (R-NJ), U.S. House of Representatives' most ferocious opponent of international family planning programs, asked to address the annual "pro-life" march on behalf of the administration on the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (January 22, 2001).
• The president closes the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach (March 29, 2001).
• House passes the so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" (April 26, 2001).
• The president floats possibility of nominating John Klink - an ardent opponent of birth control and spokesperson for the Vatican in its opposition to condom use - to oversee the U.S. global population program (May 23, 2001).
• HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announces new rules making fetuses, but not pregnant women, eligible for prenatal care in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (March 5, 2002).
• House passes the "Child Custody Protection Act" which would make it a federal crime to transport a minor across state lines for an abortion unless the parental involvement requirements of her home state have been met (April 17, 2002).
• Louise Oliver, former president of the pro-life Harvard Law School's Society for Law, Life and Religion appointed special assistant to the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (July 2002).
• House passes abortion ban legislation (July 24, 2002).
• Announcement made by administration that approximately $900,000 available for financial assistance and applications for embryo "adoption" (July 25, 2002).
• The U.S. Department of Justice does an about-face and withdraws support for women's rights treaty, maintaining U.S. as only industrialized nation not to ratify the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (July 26, 2002).
• House passes the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (ANDA), a sweeping refusal clause that allows any health care entity to discriminate against any provider who provides or even gives information about abortion (September 25, 2002).
• HHS Web sites remove medically accurate information about condom effectiveness and the lack of a proven link between abortion and breast cancer (October 2002).
• HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection Charter gives embryos new status as "human subjects" (October 2002).
• House passes Bankruptcy Bill HR 333. without Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) provisions that would have prevented violent anti-choice protesters from avoiding debts by declaring bankruptcy (November 14, 2002).
• U.S. delegation advances position that life begins at conception at population conference for the Asia and Pacific region (December 11-17, 2002).
• The administration supports anti-choice Sen. Bill First (R-TN) to take the helm of the U.S. Senate after Trent Lott (R-MS) steps down (December 23, 2002).
• Anti-choice and religious extremist doctors opposed to contraception, mifepristone, and reproductive rights appointed to the Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (December 24, 2002).
• The Presidents FY 2004 budget fails family planning programs and denies women access to abortion services (February 3, 2003).
• House passes ban on therapeutic cloning (February 28, 2003).
• Politics trump women's health, Senate passes abortion ban, S.3 (March 13, 2003).
• Senate and House defeat Department of Defense (DOD) amendments that would have allowed access to abortion for women in the military who use their own funds (May 22, 2003).
• Abortion Ban H.R. 760 passes the House of Representatives (June 4, 2003)
• Abortion ban, S.3, is sent to conference with the House of Representatives (September 17, 2003).
• Congress passes S.3, dangerous ban on abortion, endangering women's lives for political gain (October 22, 2003).
• The president signs abortion ban, the first federal legislation since Roe v. Wade to criminalize abortion, imperiling women's health (November 5, 2003).
• Congress aims to suspend FDA approval of mifepristone and restrict access to medical abortion — a safe and medically established procedure (November 21, 2003).
• House passes so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" giving zygote, embryo, or fetus the same legal rights as a person and further undermining a woman's right to an abortion (February 26, 2004).
• Federal District Judge Phyllis Hamilton Protects Patients' Privacy by Denying DOJ's Request for Planned Parenthood Medical Records in Course of Federal Abortion Ban Trial (March 5, 2004).
• U.S. Delegation to Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean stands alone in refusing to join a declaration reaffirming the Cairo consensus on population development because it objects to the use of phrases like "reproductive rights," "reproductive health," and families "in all their various forms" (March 11, 2004).
• Federal judge in San Francisco strikes down federal abortion ban as unconstitutional; decision in Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) v. Ashcroft a victory for women's rights (June 1, 2004).
• Justice Department Files appeal in Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) v. Ashcroft; Continues to pursue unconstitutional Abortion Ban (August 2, 2004).
• Federal judge in New York strikes down unconstitutional federal abortion ban; ruling in National Abortion Federation (NAF) v. Ashcroft echoes June 1 decision in Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) v. Ashcroft (August 26, 2004).
• Third federal court rules federal abortion ban is unconstitutional; decision in Carhart v. Ashcroft echoes rulings in San Francisco and New York (September 8, 2004).
• Justice Department files appeal of Nebraska and New York Abortion Ban rulings; Continues to pursue unconstitutional law (September 27, 2004).

REDEFINING THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE FETUS

• House passes "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" (April 26, 2001).
• HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announces new rules making fetuses, but not pregnant women, eligible for prenatal care in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (March 5, 2002).
• Announcement made by administration that approximately $900,000 available for financial assistance and applications for embryo "adoption" (July 25, 2002).
• HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Human Research Protection Charter gives embryos new status as "human subjects" (October 2002).
• House passes so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" giving zygote, embryo, or fetus the same legal rights as a person and further undermining a woman's right to an abortion (February 26, 2004).
• Federal District Judge Phyllis Hamilton Protects Patients' Privacy by Denying DOJ's Request for Planned Parenthood Medical Records in Course of Federal Abortion Ban Trial (March 5, 2004).
• "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" passes Senate, grants fertilized egg legal status distinct from woman, posing threat to the foundations of Roe v. Wade (March 25, 2004).
• President signs so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" into law, may help lay groundwork for future effort to reverse Roe v. Wade (April 1, 2004).

PACKING THE COURTS TO OVERTURN ROE

• Anti-choice Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owens nominated to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 9, 2001).
• Law Professor Michael McConnell, hardline opponent of Roe v. Wade who believes the U.S. Constitution does not protect women's right to choose, nominated to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (May 9, 2001).
• Anti-choice District Court Judge Dennis Shedd, with a pattern of ruling against plaintiffs in civil rights cases, nominated to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (May 9, 2001).
• Lavenski Smith, past executive director of the right-wing, anti-choice Rutherford Institute of Arkansas, nominated to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 22, 2001).
• Anti-choice extremist Judge Carolyn Kuhl nominated to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (May 25, 2001).
• Anti choice Federal District Court Judge D. Brooks Smith, who held a long-standing membership in a private club that excludes women, nominated to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (September 10, 2001).
• Anti-Choice Federal District Court Judge Charles Pickering, Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owens, and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl, who had all been rejected by the Senate, re-nominated to Circuit Courts of Appeals ( January 7, 2003).
• Miguel Estrada, who gave evasive responses when questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee on reproductive rights, abandons his bid for appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (September 4, 2003).
• Anti-choice, anti-civil rights hardliner Federal District Court Judge Charles Pickering appointed during congressional recess (i.e., without Senate confirmation) to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (January 16, 2004).
• Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, who describes Roe v. Wade as "an abomination," appointed to 11th Circuit Court of Appeals during congressional recess, (i.e., without Senate confirmation) (February 20, 2004).
• Anti-choice extremist James Leon Holmes, former president of Arkansas Right to Life, appointed to U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Arkansas (July 6, 2004).

REPLACING SCIENCE WITH RIGHT-WING IDEOLOGY

• The president floats possibility of nominating John Klink - an ardent opponent of birth control and spokesperson for the Vatican in its opposition to condom use - to oversee the U.S. global population program (May 23, 2001).
• House passes the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001" (July 31, 2001).
• The president prevents taxpayer funding for additional stem cells beyond existing stem cell lines, placing severe limits on stem cell research (August 9, 2001).
• The president's FY2001 budget doubles education funding for dangerous "abstinence-only" programs (October 11, 2001).
• "Abstinence-only" proponent Patricia Funderburk Ware named to head the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) (November 30, 2001).
• U.S. delegation to the U.N. Children's Summit, led by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, fights sexuality education and opposes condoms for HIV/AIDS prevention (May 2002).
• U.S. Department of Education appoints Title IX commission that threatens athletic programs for girls and women. (June 6, 2002).
• The president withholds $34 million in funding for birth control, maternal and child care and HIV/AIDS prevention from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (July 22, 2002).
• The president withholds more then $200 million in funding for programs to support women and address HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan (August 2, 2002).
• Anti-condom "abstinence-only" proponent Dr. Freda McKissic named to the CDC Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention (September 6, 2002).
• HHS Web sites remove medically accurate information about condom effectiveness and the lack of a proven link between abortion and breast cancer (October 2002).
• "Abstinence-only" proponent Dr. Alma Golden named to oversee Title X, nation's family planning program (October 7, 2002).
• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Web site posts a "revised" fact sheet that suggests an unproved link between abortion and breast cancer (November 25, 2002).
• House passes ban on therapeutic cloning (February 28, 2003).
• State Department denies funds for refugee AIDS prevention (August 1, 2003).
• Anti-choice hardliners resort to intimidation tactics to pressure NIH scientists to abandon research on AIDS, sexuality and high-risk behavior (October 28, 2003).
• Budget released for FY 2005 funds "abstinence-only" sex education and marriage initiatives, freezes funding for Title X family planning services (February 2, 2004).
• FDA bows to political pressure and delays making decision on converting emergency contraception to over-the-counter status (February 13, 2004).
• FDA disregards recommendations of its own independent review board, and denies over-the-counter status to Barr Laboratories' Plan B® emergency contraception (May 6, 2004).
• Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage fails to garner necessary votes in House; follows defeat of amendment in Senate (October 1, 2004).

CENSORING FREE SPEECH

• On his first day in office, the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the president restores the Reagan-era global gag rule on international family planning assistance ( January 22, 2001).
• House passes the so-called "Abortion Non-Discrimination Act" (ANDA), a sweeping refusal clause that allows any health care entity to discriminate against any provider who provides or even gives information about abortion (September 25, 2002).
• HHS Web sites remove medically accurate information about condom effectiveness and the lack of a proven link between abortion and breast cancer (October 2002).
• U.S. delegation to U.N. regional meeting reverses U.S. position in support of 1994 global agreement affirming the right of all couples and individuals to determine freely and responsibiliy the number and spacing of their children and to have the information and means to do so (United Nations, 1994) (November 2, 2002).
• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site posts "revised" fact sheet downplaying condom effectiveness (December 2, 2002).
• USAID directs USAID-funded programs to reflect the anti-choice policies of the Bush administration on their Web sites (January, 2003).
• The president extends global gag rule to all international family planning programs (August 29, 2003).
• Anti-choice hardliners resort to intimidation tactics to pressure NIH scientists to abandon research on AIDS, sexuality, and high-risk behavior (October 28, 2003).
• U.S. Delegation to Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean stands alone in refusing to join a declaration reaffirming the Cairo consensus on population development because it objects to the use of phrases like "reproductive rights," "reproductive health," and families "in all their various forms" (March 11, 2004).

Oh...and here's one of Southack's lists, which covers the first 35 months of the Bush Presidency: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1059691/posts?page=434#434

[maine-iac7]

Nothing really to see here

[Schwaeky]

Consider this, maybe in between Minot and Barksdale, it flew in the direction of Pyongyang, and Chia Pet decided discretion was the better part of valor (and cowardice is the better part of discretion).

[straps]

This is a load of crapola if I ever heard it. For 12 years I loaded the Bomb on B47s,52s and Lead Sleds. Its crap x 10. First of all there is no such thing in the USAF Inventory. What you have is trainning shapes and live ordanance period. Live ordinance has to be delivered in a armed convoy. Trainning shapes are painted Baby Blue period end of story.
Too boot the SAC 2 man policy has been in effect since 1950. At no time can 1 person by themselves be at a nuke weapon. It has to be 2 people of equal knowledge. If an incident did occur it is called a Broken Arrow. Not a bent whatever. This is just some idiot reporter getting a small slice of information and filling in the blanks to fit his story line. Too boot the LA Slimes give me a break
In addition it has not been 40 years since nukes were flown live over the usa it was common place before and during the Cuban Crisis. It was 20 percent of the b52 fleet flew on preselected tracks it was called Operation Chrome Dome.
I love it when a filthy slime paper makes a big deal out of nothing.
Only trainning shapes are moved from base to base on front line aircraft. Then only when transport aircraft are not operational.

I wish these jerks knew half about what they write about what jerks. Anything to try to embarass the President.........

[southland]

SAC did not operate that way. I did not carry missiles but did haul big yield devices.

[Liberty Valance]

It was the first known flight by a nuclear-armed bomber over U.S. airspace, without special high-level authorization, in nearly 40 years.

Hot dang! Let's do it again! Once more ...
with planning this time ... ;o)

[Squantos]

Agree.....something more was happening here than Uncle Sugar wants to admit.

Too many of us old SAC trained killers around to believe for one damn minute this happened as reported.