http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pentagon--Over-1000-Nuclea-by-Rob-Kall-...

June 20, 2008 at 06:38:50

Pentagon: Over 1000 Nuclear Weapon Parts Missing?

by Rob Kall Page 1 of 2 page(s)

Many people have raised the specter of nuclear WMDs being sourced from nefarious sources-- from errant former Soviet states, from N. Korea, Iran or Pakistan. It may be that to those fears must be added the threat that American nuclear weapon technology may be circulating in the black market as well.

Recently, the Air Force has faced serious lapses in Nuclear weapons security. A bomber carried six nuclear bombs across the US without anyone in charge knowing about it, and nuclear nose cones were unintentionally shipped to Taiwan without anyone discovering the error for 18 months.

Recently, Defense secretary Robert Gates fired the civilian and military heads of the Air Force as a result of an investigation by Admiral Kirkland Donald into the above incidents and the general state of Nuclear weapon technology inventory security. Donald concluded that both of the above incidents had, according to the Financial Times, "'common origin' which was 'the gradual erosion of nuclear standards and a lack of effective oversight by air force leadership'."

Apparently, according to a closed, classified briefing the Pentagon made to congress, the nuclear security problem is much worse.

Yesterday, the Financial Times ran an article, by Demetri Sevastopulo headlined, "US N-weapons parts missing, Pentagon says."

On Wednesday,the senate Armed Services committee received a closed, classified briefing from the Pentagon that discussed the problems the Airforce is having managing its nuclear weapons inventory. seeking further information, I contacted the office of the majority committee chair.

A staffer for Senate Armed Services Committee majority chair, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) responded to my inquiry, "The briefing was classified so we cannot comment on the substance of the briefing. As indicated in the hearing notice, Admiral Kirkland Donald was the briefer. He briefed his report on the nosecone shipment to Taiwan incident. The report was conducted at the request of Secretary Gates. The committee takes the security of nuclear weapons very seriously."

The FINANCIAL TIMES article reported, that as the result of an investigation into why missile nose cones were inappropriately shipped to Taiwan, "According to previously undisclosed details obtained by the FT, the investigation also concluded that the air force could not account for many sensitive components previously included in its nuclear inventory.

One official said the number of missing components was more than 1,000.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking at Nellis Air Force Base, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported, said "the problem has been mounting "for at least a decade. Some say longer.""

The FT article cited Darryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association think tank, in Washington D.C., as commenting on the report of the missing technology as
"'very significant and extremely troubling' because it meant the US could not establish the positive control referred to by Mr Gates.

'It raises a serious question about where else these unaccounted for warhead related parts may have gone,' said Mr Kimball. "I would not be surprised if the recent Taiwan incident is not the only one.'"