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Base breach sparks nuclear worries
Stars and Stripes ^ | 02/06/2010 | Kevin Dougherty

Posted on 02/06/2010 12:02:18 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld

A recent security breach of a Belgian air force base widely believed to possess U.S. nuclear warheads is being downplayed by Belgian military officials who maintain the activists never got close to any sensitive areas.

Videotaped and later aired on YouTube, the security breach shows six anti-nuclear activists gaining access to Kleine Brogel Air Base last weekend. The activists were arrested by Belgian authorities, but not before they ambled across the snow-covered base for at least 20 minutes.

A similar stunt occurred last November, according to Ingrid Baeck, a chief spokeswoman for the Belgian Ministry of Defense, who sought to minimize the danger.

"I can assure you these people never, ever got anywhere near a sensitive area," Baeck said in a telephone interview Friday. "They are talking nonsense."

U.S. military spokesmen in Europe referred queries to NATO, because the alliance is responsible for the control of sensitive munitions stored at Kleine Brogel and other locations on the Continent.

As per NATO guidance, Baeck would not confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons at the Belgian base, which has a small U.S. detachment.

Two years ago, an internal U.S. Air Force investigation found significant deficiencies at military bases in Europe that store nuclear bombs. Some of the bases failed to meet some of the most basic security requirements outlined by the U.S. Defense Department, according to the report.

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


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airbase; belgium; nato; nuclearbomb; nuclearweapons

1 posted on 02/06/2010 12:02:18 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

Sombody’s head will roll on this one.


2 posted on 02/06/2010 12:06:47 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
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To: sonofstrangelove
A similar stunt occurred last November

they should have shot a few then

3 posted on 02/06/2010 12:22:42 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: paul51

Yep a few of these fools being shot and killed would break this crap up.


4 posted on 02/06/2010 12:24:01 AM PST by The Magical Mischief Tour
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To: paul51

I agree. At any missile base in the United States Air Force Police have the authorization to shoot. Why not at these overseas bases that have B-61 bombs?


5 posted on 02/06/2010 12:24:22 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
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To: paul51

We had one here, too.

ovember 5, 2009 - 4:28 PM | by: Dan Springer

The U.S. Navy is reviewing its security policies following an embarrassing breach this week in Washington State. Five anti-war protesters were able to cut through a perimeter fence around Naval Base Kitsap and walk around the base undetected for four and a half hours.The group was protesting the nuclear weapons kept at the base and hoped to get as close to them as possible. Members claim when they cut through a second and then a third fence they were within fifty yards of a bunker where nuclear warheads are stored.
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/11/05/senior-citizens-break-into-military-base/comment-page-6/?action=late-new
***********************************************************
Even more comforting:
Air Force Chief, Secretary Resign

The service inadvertently shipped “four high-tech electrical nosecone fuses for Minuteman nuclear warheads were [t]o Taiwan in place of helicopter batteries. The mistake was discovered in March — a year and a half after the erroneous shipment,” The New York Times reports. “The mishandling of the nosecone fuses was viewed as another indication of lack of discipline within America’s nuclear infrastructure, and was another embarrassment for the people in charge of those weapons.”

Last fall, the Air Force’s 5th Bomb Wing lost track of six nuclear warheads. Then, in mid-May, the service flunked a nuclear surety inspection, when security personnel couldn’t even be bothered to stop playing videogames on their cellphones. Now, it looks like Moseley and Wynne has some serious time to play with themselves.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/06/breaking-air-fo/#ixzz0ek6AcJiz


6 posted on 02/06/2010 12:30:03 AM PST by Irenic
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To: Irenic
Last fall, the Air Force’s 5th Bomb Wing lost track of six nuclear warheads

Also known as the Barksdale Incident, the USAF ended up disciplining everyone involved in the incident.
7 posted on 02/06/2010 12:35:24 AM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
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To: sonofstrangelove

I’ve seen far better civilian corporate security. They need to keep disciplined 24/7 guard mounts on that, more electronic/mechanical security or both.


8 posted on 02/06/2010 2:48:23 AM PST by familyop (cbt. engr. (cbt), NG, '89-' 96, Duncan Hunter or no-vote.)
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To: The Magical Mischief Tour

That’s what I was thinking. The reason they tried it was because the last group did not get shot.


9 posted on 02/06/2010 6:18:09 AM PST by sig226 (Bring back Jimmy Carter!)
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To: familyop

At ICBM bases they have both electronic and mechanical. The alarm is sounded in the missile pod where the missileers are located. From there, the security is sounded. Often, its just deer wandering on to the base. But, you have your occasional protester trying to deface the missile blast door.


10 posted on 02/06/2010 2:17:54 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld ("I have learned to use the word "impossible" with the greatest caution."-Dr.Werner Von Braun)
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