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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

Posted on 09/24/2007 8:00:15 PM PDT by 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

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 915; agm129; barksdale; bentspear; minot; munitionscustodnoffi; ordnance; wapo
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To: Stoat
This all seems fishy to me.

;-)

41 posted on 09/24/2007 9:30:52 PM PDT by Red Steel
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To: Robe

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


42 posted on 09/24/2007 9:32:10 PM PDT by southland (Proverbs 22:7)
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To: Robe

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


43 posted on 09/24/2007 9:32:31 PM PDT by southland (Proverbs 22:7)
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To: Incorrigible; Southack
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

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

Report Topics:

REDUCING ACCESS TO FAMILY PLANNING

BUILDING THE PLATFORM TO OUTLAW ABORTION

REDEFINING THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE FETUS

PACKING THE COURTS TO OVERTURN ROEREPLACING SCIENCE WITH RIGHT-WING IDEOLOGYCENSORING FREE SPEECH 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
44 posted on 09/24/2007 9:37:27 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Support Scouting: Raising boys to be strong men and politically incorrect at the same time.)
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To: txroadkill
Nothing really to see here


45 posted on 09/24/2007 9:39:58 PM PDT by maine-iac7 ("...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time" LINCOLN)
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To: khnyny

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).


46 posted on 09/24/2007 9:40:18 PM PDT by Schwaeky (The Republic--Shall be reorganized into the first American EMPIRE, for a safe and secure Society!)
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To: Red Steel

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.........


47 posted on 09/24/2007 9:42:42 PM PDT by straps (Give then)
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To: Southack

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


48 posted on 09/24/2007 9:43:47 PM PDT by southland (Proverbs 22:7)
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To: Red Steel
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)

49 posted on 09/24/2007 9:45:08 PM PDT by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
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To: Red Steel

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.


50 posted on 09/24/2007 9:48:15 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. ©)
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To: pfflier
WTF is a "flight officer"? This is not the RAF and we haven't had any since WWII.

Actually, the U.S. Navy uses that term to describe flying officers other than pilots. But your criticism is still valid, since we're talking about the USAF.

51 posted on 09/24/2007 9:49:25 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Support Scouting: Raising boys to be strong men and politically incorrect at the same time.)
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To: Squantos

Since you obviously know the correct procedures, what really happened here?


52 posted on 09/24/2007 9:54:38 PM PDT by Stayfree (*************************Get your copy of The Fred Factor by David Gill at Capitol Hill Comedy.com)
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To: cpdiii

“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?”

They wrote 40, you quoted it as 40, you even agreed it was 40, and you still say it is wrong? Yeesh!


53 posted on 09/24/2007 9:55:31 PM PDT by Kirkwood
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Since you obviously know the correct procedures, what really happened here?


54 posted on 09/24/2007 9:55:47 PM PDT by Stayfree (*************************Get your copy of The Fred Factor by David Gill at Capitol Hill Comedy.com)
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To: Squantos

Since you obviously know the correct procedures, what really happened here?


55 posted on 09/24/2007 9:56:46 PM PDT by Stayfree (*************************Get your copy of The Fred Factor by David Gill at Capitol Hill Comedy.com)
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To: straps

Since you obviously know the correct procedures, what really happened here?


56 posted on 09/24/2007 9:57:36 PM PDT by Stayfree (*************************Get your copy of The Fred Factor by David Gill at Capitol Hill Comedy.com)
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To: Stayfree

As others have pointed out, what really happened here was that a message was sent. There was no accident. Someone was reminded that we can and will put nukes on planes.


57 posted on 09/24/2007 10:00:27 PM PDT by Sender (Dar al-harb, USA)
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To: Kirkwood
They wrote 40, you quoted it as 40, you even agreed it was 40, and you still say it is wrong? Yeesh!

That is when the Washington Post said it stopped. IT DID NOT STOP THEN!

58 posted on 09/24/2007 10:02:53 PM PDT by cpdiii (Roughneck, (Oil Field Trash and Proud of It) Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist, Iconoclast.)
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To: Stayfree

Well the most PC answer I can give is something that I have no “official” need to know yet ...........

Uncle Sugar screwed the pooch trying to cover up a unofficial leak of an operation by a couple of disgruntled officers, who spewed to the presstitutes, with a BS response that anyone who served and performed duties in that arena be they lifer or one term wonders knows is cow crap.

Too many career vets out here now to believe for a minute that this happened as described. Too many individuals outside of the span of control and unity of command for any ONE individual or a series of individuals to make such a goof of the proportions described.

That’s my SWAG based on status as a lifer in EOD .......


59 posted on 09/24/2007 10:07:59 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet. ©)
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To: mdittmar; Robe; Red Steel; Cyber Liberty; patton; theDentist; VRWCmember; CholeraJoe; AFPhys; ...
We read about this about two weeks ago on FR, but this is the first time I’ve seen details (as sketchy as they are!) about the sequence of events.

Those of us who track technology “issues” - or who have played with nuclear weapons in the past/present/future, respect the threat this reveals.

But I still think it’d be easier/cheaper to break into a Russian/non-KGB-guarded nuke storage facility than a US base. You can break into the US base easy enough, but getting out back alive and the weapon would be the hard part.

Use hostages maybe?

60 posted on 09/24/2007 10:09:18 PM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but Hillary's ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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