Losing Control of Our Nukes ... and the World
Leading the world towards a more secure international order requires the United States pursue our long-term interests while answering to a higer standard. The same goes for getting Iran to play by the global ruleset. Yet both have been systematically undermined by our willingness to proliferate nuclear technology to India, disregarding our leadership role in the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Now, our own Jeffrey Lewis is reporting that what many thought was a one-off incident, the unauthorized movement of nuclear weapons from one military base to another, is actually part of a broader dysfunction in the management of our nuclear forces. If we cannot even control our own nuclear program, how can we expect others to?
By Jeffrey Lewis
Er, again. Another nuclear weapons related incident:
The U.S. military has regained control of four non-nuclear nose cone assemblies for a Minuteman missile mistakenly sent to Taiwan in 2006, Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne said during a news conference here today.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates learned of the situation on March 21 and immediately ordered that the United States regain “positive control” of the systems, Wynne said. He also notified the president of the situation.
It was the second incident with a strategic weapon in the past year. In August, an Air Force B-52 flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., carrying atomic weapons. The crew did not realize they were carrying nuclear weapons until they landed.
Today, Gates signed a memorandum directing Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of Navy Nuclear Propulsion, to conduct a comprehensive investigation “to determine the facts into how this error occurred and who is accountable throughout the chain of command,” said Christopher R. “Ryan” Henry, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
There it is again, the rhetoric of personal accountability when what we have is a sick organization. I’ve said it before. I will say it again:
