Nukes on B-52, Mistake, Inside Job, or Message
By Kamangir • Sep 7th, 2007 • Category: Iran, US
A few days ago, a rather strange news was carried in many news outlets, that five nuclear bombs have been mistakenly loaded on a B-52 and have been flown over the US for a few hours,
..the US Air Force sent five nuclear-armed cruise missiles into US air space without realising. Fortunately, 3½ hours later, the missiles were back on terra firma. The mix-up happened when a B-52 bomber aircraft left Minot Air Base in North Dakota for Barksdale in Louisiana. Unknown to those on the ground - and presumably in the cockpit - it was carrying cruise missiles tipped with W80-1 warheads….
Larry Johnson had a quite different explanation,
…So I called a old friend and retired B-52 pilot and asked him. … [He] reminded me that the only times you put weapons on a plane is when they are on alert or if you are tasked to move the weapons to a specific site…Barksdale Air Force Base is being used as a jumping off point for Middle East operations. … Can’t imagine we would need to use them in Iraq. …. His final point was to observe that someone on the inside obviously leaked the info that the planes were carrying nukes. …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. … Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran?
Larry’s piece was posted in the Iranian Digg, Balatarin, and then I posted a brief translation of it in Persian Kamangir, and that was also posted in Balatarin. This is the Persian comments Iranians left on the post,
This can be a trick. It was mentioned in the Iranian news and probably had good benefit in the psychological war, for the US.
Is it only Iran that should comply with UN resolutions?
I am dead scared.
Attack? No way! Go turn the TV on and watch the news about Iraq.
Sorry, Mr Ahmadinejad! I’ll wake you up when they attacked!
They said we won’t go to the Security Council, and we did. That we will not be sanctioned, and we were. That there will not be an attack…
This is what should make us suspicious that they may attempt to attack using nukes. Practically, there is no way for a ground or air-borne attack. They have to get rid of Iran in a glimpse, and nukes do that.
All the clues imply a face-off very soon.
Just imagine this, the Americans warn that we will annihilate Tehran in the next 24 hours, warning Tehranis to leave the city. They don’t even need to attack. Can you imagine how the hell will broke loose?
I think this is propaganda war to prepare the public for a conventional attack. To make them beg “No Nukes! Please!”
Posted by Kamangir
Author's email address: arash@kamangir.net | All posts by Kamangir
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I don’t believe there will be an attack on Iran anytime soon, however, it doesn’t mean the regime will survive in the long run.
The only way America drops anything on Iran is if Iran sends it’s soldiers into Iraq, of if there’s an imminent nuclear threat from Iran. Despite all the bullshit to come out of Ahmadinejad over the past few years there’s no serious threat from Iran, the guys really in charge of Iran understand the consequences of open warfare. If there was any message to Iran it was “wake the fuck up”, but it could have been aimed at Russia as well. Don’t forget, Russia is sending up the fully armed bombers on patrol again. Norwegian and British fighter jets just intercepted one over “International Waters” a few days ago.
DEFINITELY not good. No matter whom this was aimed at, this is eerie and makes me very nervous.
Interesting analysis of recent shake up in IRGC an AOE (Assembly of Experts):
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2657
President Bush lacks the political capital to launch an attack on Iran unless Iran does something to change perception of Iran.
The Bush Administration is bogged down in Iraq and there is no reasonable hope that the US will leave Iraq anytime soon.
On the home-front America is facing a growing economic slow-down and a looming credit crunch that will extend far beyond home mortgages. The cost of out-of-control greed will have to paid by American citizens who are now enslaved to millionaire and billionaire corporate kings who have turned free-enterprise into a return of the robber-baeron days. The only thing holding the nation afloat is the citizens willingness to continue to believe such nonsense is good for them and nation.
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavour to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.†: Abraham Lincoln - 1865
In Canada, we require a min. of 10 signatures in various log books to ship any munition by air: (4 of which are lower ranks);
shipper\driver and his MC; AC loader and his MC; Stores C & NC: (WO + Col. for override for Non-Convential (we are not allowed by law to load any nuclear ordinance except under a temporary executive order from the CoS); base commander & wing or lt. commander; and finally the pilot & co-pilot. Since we are talking nuclear ordinance here, this situation would also require the requisite teams to assemble, arm, disassemble and disarm on the bases (from what I understand the munitions were shipped in a live state).
A brave and courageous junior officer or NCO saw something seriously amiss here and did the right thing by outing it. So what do we now have on our hands…
Sabre-Ratting? Maybe. It doesn’t hurt, but then it never amounts to much either unless it’s backed up. Four years of huffing and puffing @ Kim Jong Il have only emboldened him to force the US to finally capitulate on most of their original demands. So no.
Ineptitude? I don’t think so - not from 24 signatures, in a variety of log books, on two different bases spread across the country, all officially sanctioned by their immediate seniors.
Perimeter or Operations Test? Awfully expensive way to test operational procedure. The PSYOPS mouthpieces are in damage control mode though, so that argument is untenable.
Covert Operation? Against Iran? Very possible. Listen to the ainstream media. A covert operation to strike Iran (think Nicaragua\El Salvador 70’s) without the official sanction or oversight of Gates’ office, perhaps to shield him, in the event things go awry. [Remember: TWO bases involved here, so you have at least one person at the level of Lieutenant Commander or higher, calling the shots. Is it conceivable? Maybe. Is it practicable though? A definite yes.
The most tenable scenario in my opinion however though, is that this was an inside job setup to ‘lose’ some nukes for a definite hit, probably domestically, but perhaps internationally; but in either case, a false-flag operation. Then they can blame it on the Iranians and nuke them (I say definite, because lunatics don’t acquire nuclear weapons simply to shelve them).
A)
They were left on the tarmak for 12 hours, fully crated and completely un-guarded, i.e. for immediate pickup & delivery. Anyone on that base (a leftist sympathizer) could have loaded them onto a truck and driven them to anywhere within a 12 hour window. Remember, no one know they were missing. And Cheney needs an ‘incident’ to galvanize support for nuking Iran anyway.
B)
They were fully activated and mounted in flight, no doubt to prove to the intended recipient that the weapons are fully functional and will operate as expected.
Rogue military elements sanctioned or not, these people are playing a very dangerous game. Ironically, the way back to a sane (i.e. Ron Paul) US foreign policy, instead of the current debacle, may rest with Vladimir Putin. The Russian Bear has fully awakened as of late, and he is, understandably, none too pleased.
Seredip, that quote was great find! somethings never change, indeed to understand any current situation, one must refer to history.
Pundit, I think you should lay off the spy thrillers, man.
At most, this was a reminder to Russia that yes, the US still has nukes and is quite capable of loading them onto bombers, just like Russia. The denial of calling this a ‘mishap’ is to divert any blame from the current US administration as to restarting the Cold War (as the Left likes blaming the US for everything, nevermind that Russia is playing Cat and Mouse again with the air-force, and flying nuclear bombers around within strike limit).
Iran isn’t that important, really, and Russia already has plenty of nukes.
Serendip, arguably the US has already passed the period Lincoln predicted during the Great Depression, and survived it. People think the economic reality today is bad, but few realize that it’s *nothing* compared to the late 19th/early 20th period.
All those conspiracy guesses are fairly amusing. I think it was just a screw-up, since humans are imperfect, and it’s happened before. Over 60 years, several times. USAF SAC twice accidently dropped nuclear free-fall bombs in the ’60s (?memory here). Once in the Mediterranean, once on the Spanish mainland. The weapons were not armed, nor did the high explosives involved even go off. These were loaded in bomb-bays, indicating a string of mistakes. Asteriods crash through roofs, stuff falls off aircraft. Live with it.
RK: You’re right about that.
Here is a interesting post the possibility of war with the Islamic Republic:
http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2007/09/iran.html
Very interesting post, Serendip, thanks for the link. I guess we’ll just wait and see how the public debate develops.
You have a point, Gerry. Shit does happen, and human beings are experts at making mistakes.
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