What is certain is that the pilots of this plane did not just make a last minute decision to strap on some nukes and take them for a joy ride. We need some tough questions and clear answers. What the hell is going on? Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran? I don't know, but it is a question worth asking.

This IS a question worth asking.

Is anyone but Mr. Johnson asking it?

And is not, why not?

here we have this "netroots" thing.

YOU know, the one that is always trumpeting its power?

So...where is the info, folks?

DISSEMINATE THIS QUESTION.

NOW!!!

This is important.

Please...DO it.

Y'all are involved in other places on the net.

DO something.

Something other than sitting reading horror material of this sort and clucking your tongues, that is.

DO something.

Please.

AG

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

so you write and we read and then we share with others and maybe if we are lucky, some of us get comments posted on other sites!
BUT- ya know what? Its all bullshit. unless and/or until we can get the major media outlets to start to report on some of stuff that the blogs are reporting on. AND WE KNOW THAT THAT AINT HAPPENING !!!!!!!!!!
 Well???

Question for Jack. D. Ripper:

during the height of the 'cold war' SAC had birds with nuclear payloads in the air 24/7/365, IMS. Is/has/was this practice suspended?

lf so, then it lends greater credence to the theory that the game is afoot.

And just who might this leak be intended to impress?

Iran, ya think?

Given the increased bellicosity and Darth's directive to begin the propaganda spin this week, it seems very likely that some bird col's career has just been sacrificed on the neocon altar of all war, all the time.

lTMF'sA

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

Now there's a hell of a thing.

Remember the memes here:

1) "This was a mistake."

Really?  I doubt that.  The nukes were supposedly needing to have been detached from the missiles first before being shipped, but that wasn't done.  You think somebody would have noticed.  That would have required mistakes by a lot of people other than the commander...unless they weren't being shipped detached for a reason, and somebody ratted the operation out.

2) "An Air Force Commander lost his command over this."

A whole lot more people should have if this happened:  the pilot, the technicians, the loading crew, the nuke specialists, on down the line.  Again, this seems awfully convenient.

3) "The nukes were being transported to be dismantled."

Who transports dismantled nukes from North Dakota to Louisiana, anyway?  Does Barksdale AFB have nuke disposal capability?  If you were trying to keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists, especially dismantled, more easily transportable nukes, why would you want to bring them closer to a major port city?  Why load them in a B-52?

Seems to me Minot North Dakota would be an ideal place to dismantle nukes...it's freakin' North Dakota.  Why take them to Louisiana?

No, Larry's right.  This stinks to high heaven.

Dudehisattva...

There was a blurb in the Grand Forks (ND) Herald on this today.  In part:

WASHINGTON - A B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown for more than three hours across several states last week, prompting an Air Force investigation and the firing of one commander, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.

The incident was so serious that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were quickly informed and Gates has asked for daily briefings on the Air Force probe, said Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell. He said, "At no time was the public in danger."

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".

CNN has more on this story.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six nuclear warheads on cruise missiles were mistakenly carried on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last week, prompting a major investigation, military officials have confirmed.

 The plane took the cruise missiles from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base for decommissioning Thursday, the Air Force said.

"This is a major gaffe, and it's going to cause some heads to roll down the line," said Don Shepperd, a retired Air Force major general and military analyst for CNN.

Shepperd said the United States had agreed in a Cold War-era treaty not to fly nuclear weapons. "It appears that what happened was this treaty agreement was violated," he said.

The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

Say again?

The missiles were supposed to be decommissioned at Barksdale AFB, but the warheads should have never left Minot, because of the treaty that we have against flying nuclear weapons...that makes...no sense whatsoever.

How did the warheads get on the missiles in the first place?  Shouldn't somebody have notified the B-52 in flight?  "Hey guys, you're flying with LIVE NUKES ON THE PLANE, you want to turn around and come back to Minot?"

Also, why would the warheads be decommissioned in North Dakota, and the missiles be decommissioned in Louisiana?  Are you telling me we have regular flights from North Dakota to Louisiana for the express purpose of decommissioning cruise missiles with their warheads removed?

This story STILL stinks.

Oh, come on Larry, there are plenty of nukes at Barksdale already.  They don't have to be shipped in from Minot.

Some background on the rarity of such event. This has been against policy for for nearly 40 years:

...The risk of flying accidents, however, led the United States to abandon all nuclear-armed bomber flights in 1968, according to Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert with the Federation of American Scientists.

[...]

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara that day ordered the grounding of all nuclear-armed aircraft, a policy that has continued for four decades. Instead of flying with nuclear weapons, armed bombers were kept on alert on the ground with flight crews nearby to enable the planes to take off within minutes, if necessary.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush reduced the bomber alert status further by ordering nuclear weapons to be removed from the aircraft and kept in nearby storage facilities.

"To my knowledge, the recent incident was the first time that a live nuclear weapon has been flown on a U.S. bomber in the air since 1968," Kristensen said.  "But I'm sure there are bound to be some surprises in the classified files somewhere."

[...]

via NTI

l'll bet there are bound to be lots of 'surprises' with BushCo™ in charge.

lTMF'sA

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

"What is certain is that the pilots of this plane did not just make a last minute decision to strap on some nukes and take them for a joy ride."

Retarded statement...shoot yourself. You have absolutely ZERO perception to the seriousness of working with nukes. One doesn't just "strap" on a nuke. People fucked up and did not follow procedure, from the loaders to the aircrew. The loaders are the initial culprit.

"Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran?"

Duh. Shoot yourself. This is not like strapping the latest accessorty to your toy transformer.

"I don't know, but it is a question worth asking."

No. Because if you ask a credible person, they'll shuff you off as the idiot you are.

"during the height of the 'cold war' SAC had birds with nuclear payloads in the air 24/7/365"

Decent question..sometimes in the sixties. A Buff went down with a nuke onboard. Bad scene. Process stopped.

"Given the increased bellicosity and Darth's directive to begin the propaganda spin this week, it seems very likely that some bird col's career has just been sacrificed on the neocon altar of all war, all the time."

--Dude. Read some fucking history...as screwed up as it is, the fact remains a Commander is ultimately responsible when something really bad happens in their command. This was REALLY bad, and heads are gonna roll from the top down. Only, the reporting starts with the first head to roll. Have fun being some Muslim's little bitch when your NEOCON war alter kicks you to the other side of the wire to enjoy dong Anal for the unwashed invaders.

1) "This was a mistake."

--Oh hell yah it was.

Really?  I doubt that.  The nukes were supposedly needing to have been detached from the missiles first before being shipped, but that wasn't done.  You think somebody would have noticed.  That would have required mistakes by a lot of people other than the commander..."

Oh yah...a lot of people missed it.

"...unless they weren't being shipped detached for a reason, and somebody ratted the operation out."

It's not an "OPERATION". Shouldn't you fucktards be all like...jumping for joy because nukes are being dismantled? The nuclear warhead is removed from the missile in North Dakota and the missile is "flown" aboard a Buff back to Barksdale to be "De-mil'd" meaning de-militarized, meaning dismantled.

"2) "An Air Force Commander lost his command over this."

A whole lot more people should have if this happened:  the pilot, the technicians, the loading crew, the nuke specialists, on down the line."  

--Yes.

"Again, this seems awfully convenient."

What is/is not convenient? People screwed up. Heads should roll.

3) "The nukes were being transported to be dismantled."

"Who transports dismantled nukes from North Dakota to Louisiana, anyway?"  

--they don't

Does Barksdale AFB have nuke disposal capability?  

--No

If you were trying to keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists, especially dismantled, more easily transportable nukes, why would you want to bring them closer to a major port city?  Why load them in a B-52?

--non nuke missiles are loaded.

"Seems to me Minot North Dakota would be an ideal place to dismantle nukes...it's freakin' North Dakota."

--Tard. Do you read? They were supposed to be.

Why take them to Louisiana?

--see above, what is supposed to be taken to LA.

No, Larry's right.  This stinks to high heaven.
by Zandar1 on Wed Sep 5th, 2007 at 05:57:39 PM EST

--You and Larry are missing a chromosome.

    The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

---OOH, you used the word operative. The people responsible for preflighting anything, or loading anything are responsible. Joe shit the ragman passing by is not canned.

        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 suspended from handling munitions, one official said.

--Yes. A missile looks like a missile. Despite a deranged persons probably belief, it does not have NUKE written in big bold letters on the side.

"[new] light sabre rattling from Darth Cheney. (none / 1)"

Go back to making your transformers tickle-fight. Cheney has nothing to do with it.

"At no time was the public in danger."

The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

"Say again?"

---The warheads should have been removed from the missiles before they were attached to the B-52 bomber, according to military officials.

The missiles were supposed to be decommissioned at Barksdale AFB, but the warheads should have never left Minot, because of the treaty that we have against flying nuclear weapons...that makes...no sense whatsoever.

How did the warheads get on the missiles in the first place?  Shouldn't somebody have notified the B-52 in flight?  "Hey guys, you're flying with LIVE NUKES ON THE PLANE, you want to turn around and come back to Minot?"

Also, why would the warheads be decommissioned in North Dakota, and the missiles be decommissioned in Louisiana?  Are you telling me we have regular flights from North Dakota to Louisiana for the express purpose of decommissioning cruise missiles with their warheads removed?

"This story STILL stinks."

--It does. But it don't mean we're about to bomb Iran.

"Are you telling me we have regular flights from North Dakota to Louisiana for the express purpose of decommissioning cruise missiles with their warheads removed?"

--Yes

"That's actually the only plausible part. The military has been trying to shut down bases all over the place for years. Congresscritters, acting on behalf of base towns that want to keep their military welfare dollars,"

--"Welfare Dollars?" What the fuck. We're a capitalist economy commie assclown.

"...work very hard to keep unnecessary bases open."

--What bases are necessary? Are any? Should there even be a military? Enjoy the gulags if your utopia ever transmogrifies.

 "Do not underestimate the number of votes a congressman can get by funneling military money into poor areas, e.g. South Dakota and Louisiana."

--Turd Boy...any idea how long the bases have been there? Any idea how much money the local community makes off the bases?

Keep in mind dolts, every country that is a threat has a plan for it one way or another. Strategy, tactics, and defense doesn't amount to harsh words, strongly worded letters, and tickle fights.

I'm going to give this thread a big Wahhh Wahhh Wahhhhhhh.......Duh-jet-mac! Reaper come talk to me....But really, this eff-up, is bad.  can you imagine what iran and russia is thinking (besides gee i need to go mutilate my daughters private area so she doesn't disgrace the family name by getting pregnant from a shiite)i'm sure they'll chalk this up to "an offensive move from big satan"(b/c thats what we are to them, and isreal is the little satan)

so now they can really throw some fuel into the fire-as well as some other cliches'-and possibly...scratch that..finally get WWIII on its way.

whoopsie